Episode 3 of Dexter: Original Sin is hands-down the best of the series so far. Titled "Miami Vice", the episode continues creating tension as it introduces legacy character Maria LaGuerta, exposes more revelations about Harry and Deb, and sees Dexter stalk, capture, and take down his second victim while attempting to navigate a love interest. In case you missed it, here's a detailed recap and review of what went down. SPOILERS BELOW.
Maria LaGuerta makes an entrance at Miami Metro
It's been awesome to see Dexter character favorites in this prequel, such as Vince Masuka (Alex Shimizu) and Det. Angel Batista (James Martinez). Episode 3 ups the ante and shows us the moment when Maria LaGuerta (Christina Milian) first arrived at Miami Metro.
She makes quite the entrance, right on the heels of the media frenzy around the Jimmy Powell case. She's smart, aware, and bold, but the way she goes about inserting herself doesn't sit well with the department. Just prior to her arrival, she's seen giving a press conference on why Miami Metro's case rate is so low. She says the department classifies homicides as HIs (humans involved) or NHIs (non-humans involved, meaning homeless people, junkies, etc.), essentially giving precedence to white victims of a certain status. Her role at Miami Metro will be to clean things up.
Upon arriving at the station, Harry (Christian Slater) introduces himself while Captain Spencer (Patrick Dempsey) gives LaGuerta the cold shoulder. Later, Spencer pulls Harry aside and asks him to keep an eye on her. He doesn't trust her. He doesn't like her because she took inside information and spread it outside the family, and in Miami Metro's Homicide Department, they look out for their own. The way the captain sees it, she smeared the department in the press on purpose to force him to hire her. When he wouldn't, the commissioner did.
Already, LaGuerta is off to a rough start, which helps explain a lot of the tension she faced when trying to climb the ranks in the original series. She and Harry seem to work well together here, so something tells me he likely had a lot to do with the department's acceptance of her down the road.
Deb deepens her bond with Dexter and encourages a love interest
In the season premiere of Dexter: Original Sin, we're given the impression that Deb (Molly Brown) and Dexter (Patrick Gibson) do not have a close relationship at all. She's a popular volleyball player, and he's, well, awkward. When Harry forces Deb to take him to a party, her perception of her brother changes after he saves her from being sexually assaulted.
Episode 3 sees the siblings grow a little closer as they agree to work together to help each other. Deb faces some mean girl activity from her teammates after another girl vies for Deb's coveted Playoff Captain spot. The Deb we all know and love doesn't take s**t from anyone, and this case is no different. When she overhears the girls talking about a weekend party and the desire for cocaine, Deb chimes in saying she can get the drugs, but the party is moved to her house. Now she just has to find the blow.
At home that evening, Dexter is cooking dinner when Deb and Sofia (Raquel Justice) return from volleyball practice. Dexter notices Sofia wearing Nurse Mary's earrings and is unable to take his eyes off them at dinner. He later corners Deb about what she's done and demands she get the earrings back. He tells her they were a gift he bought for their mother before she died to alleviate suspicion. Deb agrees to get the earrings back but under one condition: Dex has to find her some cocaine. He tells her he can do her one better, then proceeds to whip up a cocaine-like substance made of caffeine pills and benzocaine that will produce the same effects. Voila, problems solved.
To alleviate any awkwardness in having to ask Sofia for the earrings back, Deb tells Dexter he should buy her a new pair of earrings, and she takes him shopping. Deb tells him that Sofia likes him, especially since seeing him "go all Karate Kid" on that guy at the party. And she's right. Sofia loves the new earrings so much, she plants a kiss right on Dex's lips in gratitude. However, being his awkward self, Dexter doesn't kiss back but instead gives her some dap and peaces out, saying he has to go run an errand. Will he entertain this love interest any further, or will his Dark Passenger win out?
Harry's flashbacks continue as he learns of Dexter's trophies
Harry notices the googly eyes between Dexter and Sofia at dinner but doesn't understand they're sending different signals. Later, Dex winds up telling him what's going on, revealing that he took Nurse Mary's earrings as trophies, to which Harry replies, "That's sick! Everything we're doing--the code, all of it--is to make sure you are different from the people that you killed." He then urges Dexter to get the earrings back and get rid of them, and not to take anymore trophies; it's too risky. Dexter agrees.
Since episode 1, Harry has continually suffered flashbacks of a time in the 70s when he worked an undercover drug case and arrested who we found out were Dexter's drug-dealing parents: Joe and Laura Moser. Last week, we saw Harry lure her in as a confidential informant on the Hector Estrada case in exchange for immunity. Episode 3 takes us deeper into their relationship and suggests it could be more than just a working one.
Harry remembers how the two diligently worked together as he coached Laura and readied her to play the part. She successfully completed phase one of their operation and is on to phase two, which involves a face-to-face with some "higher ups" in the cartel. Harry wires her up and sends her into the lion's den, and just when he thinks he's lost her and panics, she turns up with good news.
Their plan has worked. She secured a meeting with Hector Estrada. As the two hug in relief and excitement, it's clear they have romantic feelings for one another. But before anything can happen, Harry pulls away, much to Laura's dismay. Will their relationship further develop into one of intimacy as the Estrada case rolls on?
Dexter stalks his next victim and undertakes his second kill
From the moment in episode 2 when Angel told Dexter about Tony Ferrer (Roberto Sanchez), Dexter's mind has been on one thing: finding and killing him. Ferrer is a known bookie with a penchant for charging high interest and coupling it with brutality. He bleeds his community dry, then kills those who borrowed from him when they can't pay. In episode 3, Dexter aims to change all that. And he does.
Dexter locates and follows Ferrer, then breaks into his house for more information. As he does so, he reminds us of the first two rules of his code: don't get caught, and never kill an innocent. While he's careful not to get caught, he needs to secure hard evidence that Ferrer is guilty of murder.
Ferrer is clean and indulgent, the kind of guy who would notice if something is out of place. As Dexter rifles through his office, he finds his "little black book" of sorts containing the names of all those indebted to him and the amounts they borrowed and owe. Dexter pulls out his phone and takes photos so he can research some of these names at work. When he does and finds out most are dead, he smiles knowing he can move on to the next phase of proving Ferrer's guilt. So, he turns to Masuka for help.
Dexter needs a fake ID to get close to Ferrer, and Masuka delivers one of the highest quality in Dexter's chosen name, Patrick Bateman. If you'll remember from the original series, Dexter's favorite movie is American Psycho, whose main character's name is Patrick Bateman. So, Dexter's alias here is quite fitting.
Dex successfully connects with Ferrer and lays his trap, and Ferrer takes the bait. After making Ferrer think he's lost all the money he owes him, Dexter sits back and waits for the retaliation. Sure enough, Ferrer does exactly what he did with Renee in episode 2 and puts a gun in his face, then fires off to the side. This time, though, instead of being in a house and firing into a wall, the two are outside in an alley and Ferrer fires a bullet right into a tree. Dexter now has the evidence he needs to prove a bullet from the exact same gun killed Renee's mother Carla. And he does. This matchup not only means that Ferrer is guilty of murder but also that he meets Harry and Dexter's code for a new kill.
On the night of Deb's party, Dexter breaks into Ferrer's house and waits for him to come home. The buildup of tension here is fantastic, as we all eagerly await the moment when Ferrer arrives and Dexter takes him down. While it isn't as easy as Nurse Mary's takedown was, Dexter does manage to choke him, albeit clumsily. Then, he relocates him to the sports bar where they first met. When Ferrer awakens, he's naked and strapped to a table by tons of cellophane. As Dexter informs him why he's there and lists his crimes, Ferrer panics and pleads for his life, to no avail.
In a most gratifying moment that satiates even the hungriest Dark Passenger, Dexter plunges his knife into Ferrer's chest, causing blood to spatter all over Dexter's face, and he smiles. We can see the power and life each kill gives to his Dark Passenger, which, in my opinion, makes it that much more impressive that Dexter was ever even able to wrangle the passenger at all once he started killing. And especially as he got older and took on more adult responsibilities as his urges grew more intense.
As with Nurse Mary, Dexter chops up Ferrer and drives out to the Everglades, then feeds his body parts to hungry alligators. While there, Dex pulls out Nurse Mary's earrings and ogles them one last time before tossing them in the water and walking away. No more trophies.
It seems all is covered and Dexter is safe from getting caught. One more kill in the books, one more murderer off the streets, and one more meal for the Dark Passenger. However, as Dexter walks away, a part of Ferrer's arm and hand pop back up from underneath the water, leaving us wondering just how safe Dexter is from getting caught.
Dexter: Original Sin episode 3 review
Dexter: Original Sin is unfolding really well in telling the story of Dexter's past and how it led him to the Dexter we met in the original series. The first episode took us into his home life with the Morgans, showed us how he wound up in forensics at Miami Metro, and brought us into his first kill. The second episode presented us with more firsts, including Dexter working his first crime scene and locating his next victims.
Episode 3 continues creeping into Dexter's young psyche as he navigates the urges of his Dark Passenger and works to refine his code and process while blending in at work. With the third episode, it feels like we have all these random threads spread out that are slowly being pulled together into one big ole bloody, neat bow we will no doubt see in the final sequel. I can officially say this episode has generated much more intrigue about where the story of Dexter's past is heading and in which direction.
Dexter: Original Sin streams Fridays on Paramount+ with Showtime and airs Sunday nights on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET.