Swim Deep (Dexter)

In its original American broadcast, "Swim Deep" was seen by an estimated 2.28 million household viewers with a 1.2 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 1.2 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.^[2] This was a 4% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by an estimated 2.18 million household viewers with a 1.1 in the 18–49 demographics.^[3]

"Swim Deep" received critical acclaim. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode an "amazing" 9 out of 10, and wrote, ""Swim Deep" went off in many different directions at times, but they were always excellent. Dexter and Deb were able to get a little more intimate, which is okay considering their new bond, while still remaining in separate hotel beds. One thing we know now is that when Dexter says "I can handle it," chances are he can't."^[4]

Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" grade and wrote, ""Swim Deep" is a dense, taut episode that manages to avoid many of the show's stumbling blocks. There is no kill of the week. The supporting characters all feel part of the story in an organic way, and are used when there's a valid reason for them to be there. Even the deployment of Ghost Harry is merciful in its brevity, and he engaged Dexter in an illuminating conversation about the evolution of his relationship with Deb."^[5] Kevin Fitzpatrick of ScreenCrush wrote, "While "Swim Deep" certainly takes things in an intriguing direction with both Hannah McKay's story and Isaak's incarceration, we're hoping that the final scene isn't a way of shaking off the big reveal between Dexter and Debra. We're also not terribly thrilled to see Quinn falling in with yet another bad element, but for now the episode certainly keeps things moving."^[6]

Richard Rys of Vulture wrote, "Forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but how good is this season so far? All the tension between Dexter and Debra, along with his slow, inevitable march toward finally being exposed as a serial killer, is really paying off."^[7] Katy Waldman of Slate wrote, "He's just, as Deb says, the Terminator. Although maybe he represents the dangers of surrendering to all sorts of passions, romantic and vengeful? “This is personal,” he tells Dexter, even though he should be a bureaucratic figure: the head of a large crime organization."^[8]

Drusilla Moorhouse of Zap2it wrote, "With Isaak, Dex metes out justice that doesn't involve shrink wrap and duct tape. Instead, he lures the Koshka Brotherhood boss to a Colombian cartel bar, expecting the drug warlords to kill him. Instead, Isaak slays them all like a cyborg assassin -- but not without spilling some of his own blood, leading to his arrest. Is it truly "over," as Dexter swears to the imprisoned but patiently vengeful mob boss? Considering Miami Homicide's murder closure rate, we suspect not - especially since Quinn's hands are so dirty."^[9] Esther Gim of BuddyTV wrote, "Though not the most action-packed episode we've seen so far, it's nice to get a bit of a break to set up other storylines."^[10]

Billy Grifter of Den of Geek wrote, "It's times like that where Dexter can fall into a habit of messing with the audience because it can, which is a lazy alternative to building a narrative where a surprise is genuine rather than tactically constructed. It's time for real revelations and development, and less smoke and mirrors."^[11] Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "So another impressive episode overall. The show is managing to juggle a trio of storylines – Deb vs. Dexter, the presence of Hannah, the threat of Isaak – very well, keeping its foot on the suspenseful pedal without even including any major bloodshed."^[12]

Alex Moaba of HuffPost wrote, "So they've reached an uneasy understanding now, and with this relationship seeming more settled - at least for the time being - it will be interesting to see how the show pivots towards its eventual end-game, and if the main conflict will now become Dexter vs. the Ukrainian mob? After Dexter's showdown with mob boss Isaak Sirko, that looks like a distinct possibility."^[13] Television Without Pity gave the episode a "B+" grade.^[14]

• "Swim Deep" at IMDb