Dexter: Original Sin Recap: Three Is the Magic Number — Plus, Another Child Gets Snagged
Another day, another dollar… another kidnapping.
In the opening moments of Friday’s Dexter: Original Sin, the serial kidnapper hits closer to home when Captain Spencer’s son Nicky gets taken from the family’s garage in a horrifying home invasion.
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But Harry is nowhere near able to work that investigation thanks to majorly flubbing the Levi Reed case. So he, Dexter and LaGuerta head to a new crime scene where the deceased’s head is covered with two plastic bags. Dexter hypothesizes that the death could possibly connected to some of the area’s other kills, like the sex worker in Coconut Grove. Despite the different methods of murder, he says each kill has been more “intimate” and refined, almost as if it’s evolving. And according to the FBI, three murders by the same perpetrator equals a serial killer by definition. LaGuerta isn’t sold, at least until later, when she finds a connection between the three vics. All of them had no family or next of kin. They were completely isolated. Did the killer intentionally select his targets?
Meanwhile, Dexter continues to eye Levi Reed, who would make kill No. 3 for him — the magic number. There’s no question the guy meets the code, but before we can follow Dexter’s next kill, Spencer’s wife comes into the station with a black eye. Spencer tries to interrogate his ex about the abduction, but she’s traumatized and can’t offer up any useful information.
In the ’70s, Harry and Laura both feel uncomfortable about their trysts, though the connection between them does feel real. It’s been over a year since she’s been working as his C.I., but Harry says he needs her to make just one meeting with Estrada before he can cut her loose. When she goes in for her next meeting, a man who skimmed off the top of the organization is tied to a chair and his finger is cut off in front of her. “Looks like you just got yourself a promotion,” she’s told.
Laura is obviously terrified after the encounter and she wants out. As Harry explains that it’s the only way he’s been able to keep her out of jail, Bobby interrupts: Doris is going into labor. When Harry arrives at the hospital, the baby is already born, and in a surprise twist, Doris tells Harry he’s got to end it. She knows he’s been seeing someone else, and he promises her it’s over.
Back in the present, Dexter starts hunting Levi in a dark Miami dive bar. He also begins meticulously taking photographs of Miami Metro’s files, almost as if he’s building a case for his very own code. A couple nights later, he makes his move and stabs his target as he’s urinating in an alley. Dex straps him to his kill table and uses his dad’s idea of smelling salts to wake Levi up. Dexter tells the guy who he is (Necessary? Probably not.) and shows Levi photographs of the people he’s killed. Seconds before he takes Levi’s life, he reflects on how his third kill officially makes him a “serial killer.” He admits that he isn’t sure how he feels about it, but that doesn’t stop him from sinking his knife deep inside Levi’s chest and feeling that sweet relief.
In the episode’s final moments, Spencer starts to unravel as the search for Nicky goes nowhere. And as Dexter heads to his special spot to dump Levi’s body, he drives right into an active crime scene. Tony Ferrer’s arm wasn’t eaten by gators after all. It’s been found.
OTHER GORY DETAILS:
-While Harry and Laura’s relationship is sort of sweet to watch unfold (despite all that adultery and whatnot), do the ’73 flashbacks feel a bit disjointed from the rest of the story? Of course we all know what’s coming: Laura’s going to get hacked to pieces by the Estradas in front of her own children, which will have an absolutely devastating effect on Harry and deliver one huge dramatic payoff. Yet still, these scenes feel like a bit of whiplash sometimes. Thoughts?
-We need to talk about Debra and Dexter’s double date. How cringey was it when Dexter complimented Gio’s teeth before ordering seemingly the entire damn menu all for himself? (Why’d Deb think this was a good idea again?) I guess it worked out, though. Dexter got some nookie in the bathroom, while the foursome committed some light grand theft auto. (Whatever, Tiffany deserved it.) It’s probably too early to start ‘shipping Dexter and Sofia, but it’s nice to see this young version of Dex make an attempt at normalcy.
So what’s going to happen with that arm, and do you think Laura will be dead by season’s end? Sound off in the comments!
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