Meanwhile, the Harrison storyline continues to be an unexpected delight. We receive confirmation that Harrison has a high IQ, another piece of evidence that suggests that maybe the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. More interesting is Harrison’s reaction to Zach and the other jocks bullying a fellow student named Ethan. Harrison’s instinct is to befriend the outsider, then physically intimidate Zach from bullying him further. While having empathy for a bullied kid is good, Harrison’s throat punch is another point for the “Budding Serial Killer” column. Interestingly though, bullied Ethan also shows some unsettling drawings to suggest that he potentially has some blood lust. Maybe Harrison has found the perfect scapegoat should he ratchet things up with Zach? Or is Ethan a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Regardless, I’m still enjoying Jack Alcott’s performance, and Harrison has my interest piqued.
Elsewhere, “citizen activist” Molly Park, a popular true crime podcaster, has arrived in Iron Lake. Seems like another new person that Dexter will have to outmaneuver as he attempts to put the Matt Caldwell murder, and his Dark Passenger entirely, behind him. Also, there’s another mention of Iris this week, who we learn was around the same age as Angela. Is she a sister or a close friend? It still seems unclear.
What has been made clear is that there’s another killer in Iron Lake, and it looks to be either oil billionaire Edward Olson, who goes out of his way to intimidate Audrey, or Kurt Caldwell. While Olson would be the obvious choice, there’s clearly something off about the older Caldwell. The episode ends with a drunk Kurt proclaiming to Dexter that Matt is alive and that he’s recently FaceTimed with his son. We know this can’t be true, so why would he be lying about this “good news?” In the past, Dexter would be able to get a sense that there’s something off about Kurt, but as we’ve seen, his old instincts are a little rusty. Is Kurt luring Dexter into a trap?
While this episode does feature some of the elements that caused me to burn out on Dexter during its original run, there’s enough mystery left that has me intrigued. I also like Dexter’s new mission statement. He may be lying to himself, but Dexter isn’t just trying to continually feed the beast inside of him. Now, his priority is to make this recent murder a “one and done. Then I’m just Dad.” We know things won’t go that smoothly, but having Dexter reinterested in being a father is new gear for this character.