‘Stumptown’ Episode 18: Dex grapples with PTSD once again as daunting memories of Benny resurface

Through Dex Parios (Cobie Smulders), ABC has given rise to a strong female character, which was much needed in the of television realm. However, despite her abilities to crack any case with ease (thanks to her intuitions of a wild cat), a skill which her counterparts in Portland lack, the PI is time and again brought down by a few unnerving memories from her time in the military.

While the previous episodes mainly focused on Dex’s professional integrity and her promiscuity, ‘All Quiet On the Dextern Front’ gives us a better insight into her backstory, which has shaped her into being a person that she is — grappled with mental and gambling issues.

In Episode 16, one of Dex’s old clients returns with a new case. She is approached to help a mother get her children back, who have been sent to foster care after she got charged for robbery, which claims she didn’t commit.

Unfortunately, the case reminds Dex of one of her investigations from when she was serving as a Marine, which on going wrong turned her life upside down. 

Although reluctant initially, Dex agrees to take up the case unable to see the plight of the devastated mother and mostly to achieve some peace herself. 

As the episode progresses it is revealed that when Dex was posted in Afghanistan along with the love of her life Benny (Lee McHale), she was asked to play the bad cop while investigating a woman, whose husband was supposedly involved in an insurgence. 

However, driven by her goodwill and concerned about the fate of the mother and her two children who are held captive by her husband, Dex decides to disobey the orders and tries to deal with the situation in a rather humane manner. 

But just when she thought she had saved an innocent mother from being tortured, the vehicle carrying Benny blows up, which is said to have been caused due to Dex’s inefficiency in the investigation of the case. 

Thus, unable to erase the daunting memories, Dex continues to blame herself for Benny’s death. She even says if she had done something differently, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point. 

Although Dex successfully solves yet another case and helps a mother reunite with her children, she continues to carry the weight from past each time she walked down the memory lane. 

‘Stumptown’ airs on Wednesdays on ABC.