The final few episodes of the second season of the Showtime hit Dexter have been leading towards the title character facing one of those dilemmas we all have to deal with at some point: whether to kill an innocent man or admit to the world that you are a serial murderer. What happened on last night's finale was thus a little bit of a cheat.

We began where we left off last week, with Lila showing up at the secret cabin, and Doakes calling for help from inside his cage. Dexter let Deb leave his home before him, before sneaking away and speeding to get to the cabin before anyone could find Doakes. Doakes introduced himself to Lila and said a psycho named Dexter put him in there because he found out Dexter is the Butcher. Lila's sympathy was with Dexter, as she now felt she understood why he was tortured. Lila declared herself Dexter's soul mate, set fire to the cabin, and left. Doakes stretched for the key Lila had dropped on the floor and reached it, but couldn't escape the cabin before the flames ignited the propane, blowing everything sky high. Dexter reached the vicinity and found out there had been an explosion; he wondered if it was a miracle.

The following morning what was left of the body of Doakes was discovered in the canal, along with the second body that Dexter killed and the Butcher tools, which were exactly like the tools found in the harbor. Lundy now agreed that it looked like Doakes was the Butcher after all. Dexter dropped by to see Rita for some afternoon delight; the kids discovered them and seemed happy to see them back together. LaGuerta was still working on clearing Doakes, but Lundy told her the ID was positive and the case would be closed. Dexter was told the stove was on in the cabin when it blew up, and he realized someone else had to have been there. He found that his GPS device had been stolen, and figured it had to be Lila.

Dexter and Lila met at an aquarium, and she casually brought up that she now knew he was a serial killer. Dexter accused her of needing to create drama because she had no normal feelings, but he admitted they were similar people and he invited her to go away with him, although he really just wanted to kill her. Dexter came by Lila's and she was absent; he pounced on a startled Deb when she also dropped by to check on whether Lila had left. Lila came home and asked Dexter if he wasn't coming away with her after all, which amused Deb. Lila left with Dexter's bag, and later opened the bag and found Dexter's set of butcher tools and his syringe.

Lundy told Deb they couldn't go on vacation; he had a new assignment. Deb was still gung ho for a long distance relationship and tried to arrange a leave of absence, but Lundy suggested she think twice. Lila used the drugs she found in the bag to immobilize Rita's babysitter and kidnap her children. The captain told Dexter a woman matching Lila's description called the station. Dexter realized Rita might be in trouble and arrived at her house to find the kids gone. Rita called Deb under instructions from Dexter; Deb was about to take the cab to the airport to follow Lundy, but decided she had to stay.

Dexter got to Lila's home only to have Lila set fire to it to trap him. Dexter rescued the kids but was padlocked inside, and was just barely able to run through a burning wall just as Deb arrived. Lila had left Miami and we picked up with her in Paris, where she received a postcard from Miami with Doakes's picture on it. Dexter was waiting with his syringe; he told her she had to die for killing an innocent man -- the code lives, but Lila did not. Dexter said that he now realized he needed his relationships, and he would continue to "evolve." Let's hear it for season three and more carnage! [Cultural Learnings]

Ghost Whisperer:
A man named William was zapped by his PDA, which according to his son was one of a series of mishaps he had had recently. Melinda was at the family's home, and a ghost told her he wanted William to know what it's like to lose everything. Melinda found that William's father had died recently, although the picture of the man didn't look like the ghost she saw. The ghost returned and introduced himself as Santa Claus. Melinda wondered why he was trying to hurt William, but he said he was trying to help his son Riley, who wrote a letter asking for his father back. Santa was "correcting" William when he ignored the boy.

William's car drove itself to a coffee shop where he saw his ex with another man. Melinda told William he was being haunted by Santa, which he didn't buy. Melinda wondered if the haunting had something to do with his wife, and William said they split up because she had an affair and he thought Riley might not be his son. The wife said the man William saw was her lawyer; she got full custody of Riley and would move away. Melinda was still positive the ghost wasn't Santa, because he was doing bad things, and besides he wasn't real (and ghosts are...? OK, never mind).

Melinda noticed that the letter supposedly from Riley looked like it might have been written by William as a little boy. The ghost, it turned out, was William's birth father. Melinda told the ghost he hadn't crossed over because he never reconciled with William before he died. Melinda talked to William's mom, who said her first husband felt a family trapped him. Melinda told William who was haunting him, and said he believed he was Santa because he went nuts before he died and started giving things away. The ghost now realized who he really was. William remembered the Christmas when he realized his mom and dad were lying to him about his father. Melinda mediated as Santa told William that loving his son and wife is all that counts, and that the past isn't important.

Moonlight:
Mick and Beth visit Coraline in the hospital, where she is recovering from the stake Beth (nearly) put through her heart. An old man issued an order to have Josef killed and said it had to be done by fire. The attack on Josef took place during a poker game, and blew his office to smithereens. Beth was ordered to cover the explosion, which upset Mick, who was originally supposed to be at the game. Coraline regained consciousness and Mick insisted on knowing how she was able to become human. Coraline said she became human for him, and knew he only wanted to know the answer because of Beth.

Josef showed up at Mick's, not "dead" after all. He said he did not know who it was that tried to kill him, but Mick said he would have to stay hidden so whoever put out the order thinks they succeeded. Josef said he needed to sneak back to his office to get into his safe, which Mick opposed. The doctors noticed some unusual things about Coraline, who noticed the neck of the nurse sent in to look after her. Josef got back to the office, but the assassin had been tipped off and was waiting for him. Mick arrived just in time to stop the assassin and got the name of Whitley, the New York real estate developer who ordered the hit. Josh came by as Beth was preparing to leave, and seemed downcast by the news she was leaving to New York with Mick.

The assassin escaped police custody and ordered Whitley to tell him how Josef could have survived. When told Josef was a vampire, he demanded to know how to kill him. Beth and Mick sneaked in to see Whitley, who told them Josef had killed his daughter Sarah in 1955. Sarah's diary showed she wanted to become a vampire to be with Josef. Mick and Beth found where Josef was in New York: with a still young-looking Sarah, who has been in a coma since 1955, when her transformation failed. He had been taking care of her ever since. The assassin came back a third time to put a stake through Josef's heart, but Mick killed him and Josef survived the staking. Beth gave Josef Sarah's diary. Coraline disappeared from her hospital room. [The TV Addict]

NUMB3RS:
A man rushed past security in the FBI building and shot a man; he then took a hostage and headed for the elevator. He yelled that he was acting in self-defense. David hopped in the elevator with him to take the place of the hostage. The man shot said the shooter, Blakely, was a subcontractor who worked in wiretapping and became gradually paranoid to the point he was let go. Don got on the call box to tell Blakely they would do anything to keep David safe. Charlie suggested thinking outside the box; meanwhile, the cops wanted to put a bullet into the elevator car.

Blakely freaked when he saw a small fiber-optic camera being lowered into the elevator car. Don ordered the camera be pulled. A thermal heat camera proved too vague to get good imagery from inside the elevator. Charlie stewed about his math-based advice being ignored. Don told Charlie the decision to make an assault has been made, and just wanted to know how to improve David's chances. Alan believed he knew something about the structure of the elevators that might be germane. A search of Blakely's place turned up video files he had intercepted showing surveillance of him -- he was indeed being followed by somebody. Don told Blakely they now knew he was being followed; Blakely said the guy watching him was the one he just shot. Don made one last appeal to surrender, and then the elevator dropped as the assault plan got under way.

Blakely wrestled the gun away from David. Charlie now got his chance to present his plan, which involved allowing Blakely to be permitted to reassert control. Investigation of the surveillance found that the man who had hired Blakely had started working for a political candidate and had secretly switched Blakely over to spying on a rival; when the rival discovered what was going on, he started spying on Blakely. Don called Blakely to say they knew what happened, and the man who had hired him confessed. David told Blakely he knew he wasn't a killer. As the elevator came to the ground floor, the doors opened to show Blakely had already given up. [I Like to Watch TV]

Survivor: China:
The three-hour (including the reunion) finale began with a reward challenge. The players had to navigate an obstacle course and use some three-dimensional puzzle pieces to fill in a missing brick from a wall. Amanda won the challenge and scored some pizza, beer, and brownies, which she chose to share with Todd. She admitted to Todd that she had been concerned about his loyalty lately. Once all were back in camp, Todd generally hovered around like a pest, making sure the three women weren't making plans without him.

The final Immunity Challenge required the players to balance china (the stuff you eat off, not the country) on the end of a long pole. Todd, who didn't win a challenge all season, was first out and Amanda won again. Denise made a frank pity-based plea to Amanda to be kept in the game, saying that this was her only chance to make something of her life; her pitch irritated Todd and Courtney. At the Tribal Council, Amanda gently told Denise that a promise she had made wasn't quite as airtight as Denise had thought it was, leading Todd to say it sounded like Amanda was selling Denise out. Denise was indeed the last one evicted, but Amanda was grumpy afterwards from guilt and from what she saw as Todd making her look bad in front of the jurors.

During the jury questioning at the end, Courtney essentially admitted she didn't know much about the game and let everyone know that she went along with what Amanda and Todd cooked up. Todd was firm in owning up to his actions; at one point he flattered Jean-Robert by saying he had to backstab him because he was worried that the poker player was a better strategist. Amanda claimed some strategy coups of her own, and she was mostly telling the truth, but overall seemed apologetic and too willing to let Todd take credit/blame.

To my surprise, Todd ended up taking the victory with four of the seven jury votes. The reunion saw Todd debuting what appeared to be a Denise tribute mullet, Courtney fielding questions about her anorexia or lack thereof, and Jeff Probst incredibly asking Erik if he was still a virgin now that he's dating Jaime. James was the winner of the $100,000 viewer's vote, and producer Mark Burnett impulsively decided to give Denise $50,000 after hearing she lost her lunch lady job on the grounds that she distracted students too much. Probst revealed that the coming season would pit some past players against a tribe of self-described Survivor super fans. Overall? A fair season with a (to me at least) surprise winner, but not quite as well cast as Cook Islands and Fiji in 2006-07. [Mad Professah]

America's Most Smartest Model:
The first (there will likely be more) season finale. VJ and Andre considered their final strategies, with VJ describing his sneaky maneuvers that got him farther ahead. Andre used his phone to call Pickel, and suggested that he should make the presentation for him. Pickel wondered why he would call a former competitor, but said he would go along with the idea despite his ADD. On the appointed day, VJ noticed that Andre didn't seem to have notes and assumed he had decided to wing it, not knowing about the Pickel plan. Pickel felt Andre's problems with English made it a good idea for him to pick an outside presenter.

The finalists stepped forward before Mary Alice and Ben Stein, as well as special judges from both the world of fashion and academia. VJ went first and threw out a lot of highfalutin quotes, but the audio portion of his multimedia presentation didn't work, forcing him to narrate on the fly. He said his status as the least experienced made him the one to pick. He ended feeling confident that he would win. When Pickel came out to speak for Andre, VJ assumed it was a joke. Pickel admitted he was once a major enemy, but was now in full support. VJ admitted it was a great sneaky move. Pickel talked up Andre's intellectual family and his modeling bona fides as the old Soviet national anthem played in the background. Andre was thrilled by how well it went, but came out to conclude and made a major malapropism. The academics praised Andre for being clever enough to come up with the Pickel idea, but the fashion experts disagreed on who was best.

Ben wanted to hear more from both models on the subject of what qualities a smartest model should have, but Andre used his time solely to hammer VJ. The judges retired to deliberate: Mary Alice said she had thought VJ wouldn't be good enough as a model, but now believed he had proved himself. Ben told Andre he was a "mad demon of energy," and managed to make friends after a rough start; he said VJ's presentation was good, but Andre's was more daring. Decision time: Ben Stein used a Soviet metaphor as he presented the title to VJ. Andre was a good sport in defeat publicly, but was still mad behind the scenes. Mary Alice said VJ's ability to improvise and think quickly was the reason he won. [Backseat Cuddler]

Best Year Ever:
VH1 does this sort of thing better than anyone. You already know what happened this past year, but two of the best strange TV highlights were among the subjects revisited: the phenomenon that was Sanjaya and the short-lived reality show Armed & Famous. May next year be even stranger.

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