Dexter: Original Sin Recap: Happy Endings
Sometimes, you can tell how overstuffed an episode is by what you see in the “previously on” recap before it starts. Here, we get snippets of “Handsome Tony” Ferrer floating out of the swamp where Dexter dumped him, Captain Spencer arguing with his ex-wife Becca about their son, Deb’s volleyball team drama, the botched Levi Reed trial, and a press conference about murdered judge’s son Jimmy Powell. While I’ve been on Dexter: Original Sin about having too many loose threads, I did think last week’s episode offered a bit of course correction. Now I’m back to feeling like we’re all over the place.
“The Joy of Killing” is largely about Dexter becoming a serial killer — yes, we officially cross the threshold — but it’s also about him trying to live a normal life. He’s taking Sofia on a double date with Deb and Gio, which would be weird enough (are the two high schoolers not underage?) without Deb bursting into the bathroom while Dex is in there, making him change in front of her and telling him, “Guys in plaid make Sofia wet.” Boundaries! (Sorry for O.G. series spoilers, but I haven’t fully repressed that season where Deb falls in love with her brother, and I’m very uncomfortable.) Harry interrupts to call Dexter to a crime scene — “Why does there always seem to be a dead body more important than me?” asks Deb, the least self-aware person on the planet — and father and son head off on police business.
At the crime scene, Dexter uses his special Dexter powers to see how it all went down, with the killer nearly suffocating the victim, bringing him back, and then doing it again. Shockingly, Dex does not flag this as the M.O. of real-life Dating Game killer Rodney Alcala — in prison by this point, to be fair — but he does link the murder to the apparent drug-related deaths at his first and second crime scenes. All of the victims have been loners with no friends or family ties. The killer’s style keeps changing because he’s figuring out what he likes, but Dex is confident these murders are “pleasurable” for the killer. And since this is at least victim number three, the perp is now officially a serial killer. LaGuerta is unconvinced, and Harry tells his son to let detectives build the case. I think it’s safe to say Dexter is on the right track, both because we have to be building to something here and because his theories fit the themes of the episode: the joy of killing (also the episode title!) and what it means to be a serial killer. If Dex goes through with offing Levi Reed, he’ll be one by definition. (No explanation as to why this didn’t come up for him when he was about to kill Mad Dog.)
Miami Metro isn’t terribly concerned about these “lower-tier” murders, of course — that’s why LaGuerta and now Harry have been saddled with investigating them. Spencer has a much more personal connection to the department’s latest case, the kidnapping of his son, Nicky. We see this go down at the start of the episode, with Becca getting knocked out and Nicky being carted off by (presumably) the same masked assailant who kidnapped and killed Jimmy Powell. At the precinct, Becca’s boyfriend, Nelson, confronts Spencer, blaming his recent press conference for taunting the cartels into revenge. (I’m not convinced the cartels are behind the kidnappings, but I’ll let the detectives build the case, per Harry’s instruction.) Spencer then confronts Nelson for sleeping with Becca behind his back for 14 years. It’s all very dramatic, and while I’m glad this storyline is giving Patrick Dempsey more lines to sink his teeth into, some of them are very clunky, i.e., “I’m gonna find this son of a bitch and make him pay for what he’s done.”
Elsewhere, the double date we were threatened with at the beginning of the episode is unfortunately happening. It’s amusing watching Dexter try to be normal with Gio by offering a “nice teeth, man” — very me trying to make small talk with a straight guy — but the wacky sitcom vibes return as we have to watch Dex order too much food and eat it all himself. Calling him bad with women (and most everyone else) would be an understatement. Lucky for Dexter, he’s been stalking Levi Reed, who is evidently a real ladies’ man, and that’s helped him pick up some useful tips. After he shows Sofia how to throw darts, she’s so overcome with desire that she follows him into the bathroom, where Dexter loses his (oral) virginity. After he drives her home, Dex has to turn down her invitation for another date the next night since he has plans to kill Levi Reed. “Dating was fun, but it was also exhausting,” his voiceover notes. I know I said I enjoyed Original Sin’s slide into sitcom territory, but something about the tonal shifts in this episode really took me out.
The next night, Dexter does keep his date with Levi, ambushing the home invasion killer in the alley behind a bar. We get a great voiceover once Levi is strapped to the kill table: “Killing and romance — turns out the two had some things in common. They were both so much about the anticipation, the build-up, and then … the happy ending.” And this is key to the conversation that ensues between the serial killer and the man who will soon become one. Levi reveals that he murdered all those people, including children, because he wanted to see the fear behind their eyes. And while Dexter does his best to draw a distinction between himself and Levi — he even tries explaining the code — Levi sharply points out that Dex enjoys killing just as much as he does. The original series could occasionally lose sight of this, portraying Dexter as more of a vigilante doing his job. The reality’s focus is that he’s a freak who gets off on stabbing his victims, however “deserving” they might be. He certainly seems to get a kick out of plunging his knife into Levi.
Back at Miami Metro, detectives are struggling to find solid leads in Nicky Spencer’s kidnapping. If the perp follows the timeline of the Jimmy Powell case, Nicky’s got a few days until he loses a finger and 10 days before he loses his life. Spencer is appropriately freaked out and lashing out at just about everyone, though Bobby does offer him a potential suspect in Rafael Campos, the head of the Los Tigres cartel who is currently in prison thanks in part to Captain Spencer and Judge Powell. (I guess that would make sense. This is why I should let the detectives do their jobs!) Campos can’t be the kidnapper, but he could still be pulling the strings. A riled-up Spencer finally retreats to his office, where he and Harry share a drink. “It’s hard being a father,” Harry says, and he’s talking about the son he lost but also about Dexter, two children he struggled to protect. To make that clearer, this scene is intercut with scenes of Dexter disposing of Levi’s body.
Well, trying to dispose of it, at least. En route to Alligator Alley, Dex spots a ton of police activity: They’ve finally found Handsome Tony’s arm. Dexter gets pulled over, and it’s really the worst time for that to happen since he has the corpse of a serial killer in the back of his truck. Is this the end for our hero? Well, probably not. There are four episodes left this season, and also this is a prequel. It certainly complicates his situation, though — and it complicates a series that’s already too busy. Part of the problem with Original Sin is that there may not be much story to tell when it comes to Dexter’s origin; as much as he talks about his serial killer evolution in this episode, he sort of emerged fully formed in the premiere. As a result, the writers have thrown a lot of other storylines at us, and it’s making the whole show feel frustratingly unfocused.
Blood Spatter Analysis
• Of course, a major chunk of these episodes is devoted to the flashbacks, which I keep relegating to this section because they’re totally siloed off. This week, Harry and Laura have more sex, and then she’s pushed into an even more dangerous situation as she gets closer to Estrada. She begs for Harry to get her out, but he promises he can protect her. (I have doubts!) Meanwhile, Doris gives birth to baby Debra and tells Harry he has to end the affair she knows he’s been having.
• LaGuerta does eventually come around to Dexter’s serial killer theory once she’s able to confirm the third victim was another troubled loner with no ties. We get a mugshot of 23-year-old Felix Woodard, and he’s sporting one of the worst wigs I’ve seen on any Dexter series. Which is saying a lot!
• The double date was a real drag, and I’m still not sure what to make of Gio. Thank you to the commenter who pointed out that Mad Dog didn’t have a yacht, so they’re most likely not connected. My new theory is that Gio’s a dealer, and Deb will get screwed over in some major way that, years down the line, inspires her job on the vice squad.
• The other things we learn about Gio are that he appears to have anger problems and is not the best influence, though Deb seems to be leading the charge on stealing Tiffany’s car and taking it for a joy ride. (What are we doing here?)
• I remain frustrated by the underserved characters on this show, namely Tanya, who has all of two lines here. But what of Masuka, who makes an even briefer appearance despite Alex Shimizu being a series regular? We get more of Gio than some of Dexter’s Miami Metro colleagues.
• Delighted by the scenes we get with Clark this week, however. Dexter runs into him at a gay bar, and he is very nervous — probably because it’s 1991, but maybe there’s more story here! And it’s always nice to see queer-coded Dex get flirted with by men.