Season 11, Episode 8: Fourteen Scenes to Enlightenment

Episode 8: Fourteen Scenes to Enlightenment

Having turned the tables on his captor, Dexter Dewey now had Rusty Trombonz tied up, and began torturing him Tarantino-style while playing “Stuck in the Middle With You” on the radio. After sticking his hand under Rusty’s hairline, Dexter told him that this was just a warning.

Bruce Brüce, having taken over the warden’s office, was tidying up when Arman Redder came in. After some debate on the merits of Italian vs. American fashion designers, Arman asked Bruce if he’d ever read “The Great Gatsby.” Arman explained that he’d found a way to use Fitzgerald’s concept of “the high white note” for an escape plan. He handed Bruce his recorder and asked him to play a note so high, it would burst the pipes and flood the prison, so that the prisoners would be released for safety reasons.

Former Warden Otis Barker was in the visitation room, meeting with his old college buddy, the hippie therapist Dr. Duke Chestworth. Barker admitted that he’d allowed Bruce to switch places with him so that he wouldn’t have to go home to his family. Dr. Duke took Barker back to a childhood memory (watching “The Dukes of Hazzard”) so that he could talk to his father in his mind; the imaginary father figure assured Barker that nothing was his fault.

In the cafeteria, Arman confronted Rusty for stealing the heart of his pen-pal bride during her visit last week. Rusty retorted that Arman had ruined their marriage all by himself, because he doesn’t know what love is. Rusty explained about love by joining Arman in a ballet-like dance, which gradually grew more and more erotic.

Dr. Duke was helping Ronni Peterson get ready for her wedding to Dexter Dewey, not to mention her execution shortly afterwards. She told him how much she wished her parents could be there for the wedding, but she killed them when she was eleven. Dr. Duke told her that she needed to contact the rest of her family and make amends, or else she’d go to hell.

Otis Barker was showering (with his suit on) when Dexter came in, looking for a best man for his wedding. Barker agreed, but informed him that the only way they could fit the wedding into the schedule was to have it at the exact same time as Ronni’s execution.

Later, Barker stopped by his old office and was amazed by how Bruce had fixed it up. He asked where all the money was coming from, and Bruce presented a spreadsheet showing how he’d turned the prison into a success. Bruce explained that he took his new duties seriously and wasn’t just in it for the power. Barker asked if Bruce would apply his master touch to planning a bachelor party for Dexter. Bruce apologetically replied that he couldn’t do that, because he had just banned straight marriage.

Dr. Duke brought Rusty and Dexter together to resolve their differences. Rusty went into a monologue how it felt to be tied up and tortured, explaining that it hurt his essence and took away his mantra. Rusty and Dexter began a ballet dance of apology, which once again turned sexual. Arman entered, shocked to see that Rusty was balleting with other men.

Later, Ronni was sitting on the roof, contemplating her mortality, when Arman arrived. She invited him to the wedding, but was taken aback by his racist rhetoric. She informed him that she had killed people of all races and creeds, and through that, she’d learned that we’re all equal in the end. She told him that he’d been looking at through one eye for so long that he couldn’t see the truth. With that, she removed his eyepatch. Seeing the whole picture for once, Arman suddenly realized that all men ARE created equal.

Dexter was sitting in his cell, reading the Mammoth Book of Word Games, when Barker came in with the bad news. He tried to break it gently by explaining that there’d be no bachelor party, and Dexter said that was all right with him. He then broke into song explaining an embarrassing incident about a guy getting a wedgie at the Gold Club during a bachelor party. Barker then explained that not only would there be no bachelor party, but Bruce had outlawed straight marriage. Dexter saw two solutions: Either he could dig a tunnel to Canada, or they could kill Bruce, reinstate Barker, and rescind Bruce’s ruling.

BARKER: “I don’t know. I’ve never deliberately killed a man before. Sure, accidents have happened…”

Meeting Bruce by the hole, Arman explained that he’d now seen the light of tolerance and realized the error of his ways. Bruce informed Arman that he’d heard through the prison grapevine that a hit had been place on him. He offered to blow Arman’s “high white note” if Arman would be his bodyguard. They both got down on their knees (in a non-fellatio way) to seal the pledge.

Otis Barker informed Dr. Duke of his moral dilemma, explaining that the only way he could get his old life back was to kill a man. Duke sensed the dark shadow forming in Barker’s mind, and tried to talk him out of it by asking how he’d feel if Bo Duke killed Luke Duke. Barker rejected Duke’s advice and sent him away. Duke replied that, if Barker wanted that darkness in his mind, he’d respect that decision. Duke then used his psychic powers to give Barker a taste of all the darkness Duke carries around in his own mind. Duke warned him that he’d be experiencing that all the time if he went through with his plan.

Back by the hole, Bruce was beginning to reconsider his decision. He explained that, if he blew the note and let everybody escape, he’d lose the power (and more importantly, the self-respect) he’d attained as the new warden. Bruce told Arman that he truly believed that he’d changed his ways and become a better person, and that he’d be going to a better place. With that, Bruce stabbed Arman in the gut with his recorder.

Dexter sneaked into Ronni’s cell, explaining that he wouldn’t let the straight-marriage ban stop their relationship (and quoting Tracey Ullman’s “They Don’t Know”). However, he had to confess that, during his therapy session, he wound up having ballet-sex with Rusty Trombonz. Taken aback, Ronni asked if he had enjoyed it. Before he could answer, we ended on that cliffhanger…

TO BE CONTINUED…