Well, that was both very cool and very anti-climactic.

As Deb and Dexter shared the world's most tension-filled car ride toward the end of "Scar Tissue," I wondered what the former had in mind. Would she really grab the wheel? Was she really thinking of sending both effed up siblings to their watery graves?

You could see the disturbing wheels turning inside Deb's head, leading one to think she truly was contemplating just such a move... yet it was still startling when she actually went through with it. Yes, I may have gasped out loud.

But it was equally disappointing when she immediately rescued her brother.

Granted, I'm very glad the episode didn't conclude with a cliffhanger that tried to pretend as if Dexter might actually die. But couldn't that fisherman have jumped in and saved Dexter's life? It may make sense that Deb would regret her decision and realize she couldn't actually go through with it - but it felt like a pretty big cop out for that second guessing to take place the instant the car hit the lake.

The show wanted us to be shocked that Deb would actually take such a wrong (or right, depending on how you look at it) turn and yet it couldn't quite go all the way with her. It had to instantly assure viewers that Deb wasn't truly a murder. Well, a double murderer.

Still, allow me to continue to give props to the writing team for going so far with Deb. She's taking drugs, she's drinking and driving, she's committing murder, she's coming close to killing both herself and her sibling... this spiral seems to know no bounds and it's impressive for a series to take a main character to such a dark place.

In fact, this feels a lot like Deb's story now, doesn't it? We've spent over seven seasons inside Dexter's head, as he self-analyzes himself and tries to determine where he fits in. There's not very much left to explore at this point (although the addition of Dr. Vogel has opened up a few fresh doors). But Deb? She's been a straight-laced curse machine until now.

It's fascinating to watch Jennifer Carpenter's committed performance and to wonder what Deb will do next. The guilt of killing LaGuerta and the reaction to her brother's true identity has been the driving force behind Dexter Season 8, propelling the story in a number of directions. And none of them make it look like a happy ending is on the horizon.

Elsewhere:

• Masuka has a daughter.
• Quinn passed the sergeant's exam.

Yeah. I didn't care about either of those storylines either.

But sound off now on the ending to this episode. What did you think?

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.