Dexter sends Sonja and Harrison to Orlando to stay with Astor and Cole's grandparents, because he is determined to not put his family in danger now that Jordan knows he and Lumen are in cahoots. He puts up Lumen in his old apartment and Liddy spots them sneaking in. Batista and LaGuerta are still on the outs. Deb and Quinn talk to Jordan and Deb gives him shit because he didn't report Cole Harmon missing. Jordan doesn't like Deb, but luckily she isn't blonde.
Dexter and Lumen visit Emily Birch,and I think that's Angela Bettis playing her. Is it? I LOVE HER. She won't talk at first, but a bunch of videos are found at Cole's house that contain video of the torture of all of the Barrel Girls. Dexter steals Lumen's, since Deb has met her and that would blow their cover. He gives Lumen her video and she shows it to Emily, who then tells her that she was the first person attacked by the group. Apparently, Jordan was in the picture of the dudes. He was real fat back then. Emily tells her that the fifth guy is named Alex Tilden, someone we haven't met yet.
Liddy talks to Dexter at the station and snoops through his stuff. Lumen tells Dex that she wants to kill Alex, who Deb and Quinn interview, and he says he doesn't know any of the other killers. Liddy, with the help of police surveillance equipment, overhears Lumen and Dex plot to get Alex. They break into his house and find a piece of jewelry stolen from Lumen. Jordan visits Emily and is glad she told the truth to Lumen. Weird. She seems to love him and he her, but he won't let her touch him. So weird. Jordan goes with his lawyer to the station and submits to DNA testing... performed by Dexter. He tells Dex that Lumen is unstable. Dex tells Jordan that he's glad that he didn't touch any of the girls and will pass the test, because that leaves him for Lumen to get. Tick tick tick. Lumen gets dressed up in serial killer garb and Dexter thinks she's beautiful.
Alex gets nervous and wants to leave town, but Jordan tells him to sit tight. When Dex and Lumen sneak into Alex's house, Jordan is sitting in his car from outside his house. He calls Deb and tells her that Alex called his business and asked for Cole. So, Deb and Quinn head to Alex's as Dexter and Lumen have him tabled and ready to kill. Man, this show is on a fast track to Deb finding out about ALL of this. Also, Deb thinks that the people disappearing are being killed by a vigilante (true) and that the missing victim is the person (true).
Lumen kills Alex without being caught. Then, they go home and Lumen restrains Dex with his shirt and kisses him. Then, she unrestrains him and they get it on. Hopefully, I'm not the only person who found the post-killing make-out uncomfortably hot.
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Previously: Dexter found out that Jordan had spared a victim, Emily Birch. Deb found out that Quinn had been investigating Dexter. Meanwhile, Quinn ordered Liddy to stay away from him and Lumen. Jordan called Lumen -- he knows about them.
The show begins with Dexter holding Harrison and VO'ing that, though it is said that history repeats itself, he's not letting anything happen to his family again. Since Jordan knows about him and Lumen, he needs to plan for the worst. So, he's sending Sonja and Harrison to stay with Astor and Cody's grandparents. So, Sonja really has no life at all, does she? Dexter VO's that he is also planning on getting Lumen out of his house. It's time to leave, but Dexter is hesitant and tells Sonja that this is the first time he'll be away from Harrison since Rita's death. She assures him that nothing will happen to the baby. With the baby packed in, she agrees to call him as soon as she gets to Orlando.
Later, at his old apartment complex, Dexter stealthily walks along the balcony towards his unit. As he approaches his door, he calls for Lumen, who is hiding around the corner with her things. He says that they can't let anyone know that she is there, then they walk into his place. Too late. Liddy is spying on them from the pool house. He wonders what the fuck they are up to. This guy is EVERYWHERE. Seriously. And, Lumen and Dexter are moving targets but he is always stationary and spying on them. It's remarkable, really.
Inside the apartment, Lumen is antsy. She says that they can't wait anymore. They need to take out Jordan. Dexter points out the difficulty, considering all of the security surrounding Jordan. He thinks they should start with the others. Funny, they've already killed three people and they are still talking about "starting" this. Lumen says that they don't even know who the others are, but Dexter pulls out Emily Birch's file and suggests that she might be able to help. Lumen notes that she looks like herself and the other girls from the barrels, only older. Dex says that she's the same age as Jordan, Boyd and the others. He thinks she was their first victim. That seems like a lot to infer, no? Lumen wonders how she's still alive and Dexter says that they will try to find out when they talk to her today. He's taking a long lunch. Before he leaves, he tells her not to open the door. For anyone.
At the station, LaGuerta is introducing the new evidence found in the recently reopened Barrel Girls case. She points out that their original conclusion that Boyd Fowler was the sole perpetrator has been proven incorrect. Dexter walks in on this and is feeling uneasy. Batista points out that LaGuerta didn't give Deb the credit for finding the new evidence, but she says that she's just happy to be back on the job. Masuka says that Boyd is still on the hook, but Cole is a suspect now as well. LaGuerta tells Deb and Quinn to go to Cole's house and bring him in. Dexter congratulates Deb on having her suspension lifted. After the meeting, LaGuerta stops Batista and asks him if he's happy that he has Deb back. He's pretty cold with her and says merely that he'll keep her posted on the Barrel Girls case.
Deb and Quinn roll into Jordan's offices. They ask for Cole and the receptionist tells them that Cole hasn't worked there in over two weeks. Um, they're going to need to speak with Jordan. Deb's like fuck the fuck why didn't they let the police know that his Director of Security was missing? Quinn points out that Cole is wanted in connection with the rapes and murders of at least five women, so that Jordan can understand their urgency. Jordan thought they'd made a mistake. Deb says that Boyd's not the only suspect anymore and Jordan facetiously asks if he was supposed to divine that somehow. You're about to get a faceload of some pissed off Deb flying across that desk if you don't watch it, Trainspotting.
She snappily asks if he knows where Cole is and before he answers he says that Deb's anger is misplaced and could potentially be clouding her judgement. She tells him to save the bullshit for his seminars and to answer her question. He doesn't know where Cole is. He "said" he needed some personal time. Deb's not buying, but now Jordan gets all indignant and says that he's been completely cooperative with the police and now they're hurling accusations. Quinn says that they are not accusing him of anything and Deb looks at him like she forgot that he was there and is disgusted to realize that he is standing beside her. In reality, she's probably being more like, "Hell yes, I'm hurling some accusations," but I thought I'd offer multiple readings of the face. Jordan says that future correspondence will be through his attorney and Deb snaps that the unlucky counselor will be hearing from them. In the hall, Quinn asks why she antagonized Deb and she points out that the chance is small that Jordan has nothing to do with this case. He agrees and says that he's on her side, but you know she's not having that.
Dex and Lumen knock on a door. Who opens? Angela Bettis! Where has she been? Her freakout in Girl, Interrupted is one of my favorite moments of the '90s. Also, she and Jennifer Carpenter were in The Crucible on Broadway with Liam Neeson and Laura Linney. John Benjamin Hickey was also in that production and they're in The Big C together. AND, Winona Ryder was in the movie version and the lead in Girl, Interrupted also starring Angelina Jolie who is the ex-wife of Jonny Lee Miller! I LOVE THIS GAME. So, this is Emily Birch. They ask her if she knows Jordan Chase and she asks if she looks like someone who would know him. Lumen says that he knows her and shows her the photo of the young guys. Emily turns off at that point and tells them to leave and closes the door. Dexter says that her reaction to the picture proves that she knows something. Also, with the security bars on her doors and the DUI's that she has racked up, it's clear that she has a lot of defenses in place. Dex gets a text. He needs to go to Cole Harmon's house to help with a search. He'll drop her off at his apartment before going there.
At Cole's, Dex is all "where's the blood?" Well, it looks like Lumen and Dexter didn't clean up as well as they should have after beating the shit out of Cole when he found them in his place. There's some blood on the baseboard in his dining room. Deb wants him to test it to see if it's Cole's. Quinn comes in and tells Deb that there's something she has to see. In a back bedroom, there's a video being played of a woman being tortured. It's terrifying and horrible to hear. There are 13 disks. Dexter VO's that Lumen was the 13th victim. She must be on one of the disks.
Later, at the station, Masuka is matching girls on the videos to pictures of the Barrel Girls. Looking at the photos, Dexter says that, sure he's a monster and all, but he still gets surprised by the depth of evil that exist in the world. Deb approaches and asks him about the blood work. He won't get the results for another day. She's freaking out because of how horrible the videos are. Dexter, meanwhile, is worried about her seeing Lumen's video. He believes that everything will unravel if she sees it. Batista says that he has Cole's email and phone records. While they are digging through those, Dexter grabs a disk and walks into the evidence room. Masuka stops him, screaming, "Chain of custody!" He won't allow Dexter to touch anything. Masuka is putting a photo on the wall and Dexter VO's that they all look like Lumen. Masuka too notes that all of the girls could be sisters. He says that they found twelve locks of hair at Boyd's place (these killers and their souvenirs- they make it easy), but there are 13 disks. At that point, Dexter "accidentally" knocks over the disks, replacing the 13th disk with the one that he just prepared. He apologizes and leaves.
At his apartment, Lumen says that she can't get a handle on Emily. She has made no impact since high school, other than her DUI's. Dexter looks very somber and she asks him what's wrong. He shows her the disk. She takes it from him and asks if everyone watched it. No, he got it in time. Did he watch it? Only enough to make sure he had the right disk. He asks if she is sure that she wants to keep it. She freaks out over being called "#13." She says that she realizes that it must have been difficult to get the disk and knows that he puts himself in danger every day by having her around. She cries that he's been her only way through all of this. He says that they both met each other at the right time. Later, Dex can hear Lumen watching the tape. It's horrible. As we see Lumen watching the tape of her own torture, you see a thankfully discreet reflection of her struggle on her glassy eye.
The day, Dex sees Deb watching the other videos. She says that it's a blessing that the girls are dead, because no one could live through this stuff and have any sort of life. Dex says that people may be stronger than she thinks, but she insists that no one could come back from this. She says that disc #13 was damaged and Dex signs with relief. Also, she has connected Dan the dentist and Cole. They poke each other on Facebook (worst secret cabal of killers ever) and wore similar rings. Deb thinks that a vigilante is taking these guys out, because it looks like they vanished without making any plans. She tried to think of who would want to take these guys out and her first idea was herself. Someone who knew what these guys were up to.
Meanwhile, Lumen shows her torture video, which she downloaded onto her phone, to Emily. Finally, she agrees to talk. Lumen says that there were 13 girls after Emily and she says that she never knew there were any others. Lumen says that she is the only one who survived and asks to hear her story. Emily says that she knew the guys at camp. She was a CIT (counselor in training) and was a year older than the guys. Jordan was known as Eugene Greer then and was really chubby. Emily felt sorry for him and used to take walks with him. One day, she blacked out. She was drugged. Lumen says she was too. Emily woke up in a cabin, naked and tied. Eugene never touched her, but he talked the other guy into seizing their desires. They made her take the picture of them that everyone knows so well. Lumen asks who the fifth guy in the photo is. She says his name is Alex Tilden.
Dexter finds Liddy in the station. He says that he's leaving a note for Quinn. Then, he forges Quinn's signature and checks out some surveillance equipment. Dex gets a phone call from Lumen and goes outside to meet her. She says that Emily never told anyone because her father disapproved of her and would have blamed her. Even though she was a camp counselor? Weak. Dexter thinks the mean dad is why Jordan let her live. Well, THAT'S solved. Lumen says that Jordan became a monster when he tortured Emily, but Dex says he already was one. He reminds her that she was supposed to stay in the apartment, but she says she couldn't. He snaps that it's not safe and things get uncomfortably quiet. He asks her if she got the name of the fifth person and she says that she wants to be the one to kill him. Dex says it will change her, but she says she's already changed.
Deb and Quinn sit down with Alex Tilden, at his desk at a bank. He says that he knows Cole from a fantasy football league. He also says that he doesn't know Jordan. Mmhmm. Lumen and Dexter get ready to take out Alex. Dex buys Lumen some black gloves, which she loves. They are pretty cool. Meanwhile, Liddy is listening in on their conversation. In Alex's place, they find a box of jewelry, including a necklace that belonged to Lumen. She takes it back. Lumen goes looking for a kill room.
Jordan is at Emily's place. She tells him that she told Lumen and Dexter everything. She asks if he's in trouble. He says that a girl was making waves, but everything is fine now. Sometimes, I get this weird feeling like Lumen's role with Jordan and company was different before she was their victim. Emily says that Lumen was pretty and he gets all weird and says that no one could ever take her place and that they share an unbreakable bond. He says she made him what he is today. She approaches him and touches his hand, but he pushes it away.
The day, at the station, Jordan is with his attorney. He has been called in to give a DNA sample, but they are fighting the request. Deb shows a still shot from one of the torture video and he feigns (or doesn't?) disgust and says that he will give the sample. Great! Dexter will help with that! He goes into Dex's lab. He tells Dexter that he's getting involved with someone who will screw up his life. Dex says that he's glad that Jordan didn't touch any of the Barrel Girls, because he will pass the DNA test and it will leave him for Dexter and Lumen to take care of.
That night, Lumen gets ready for the kill. She's all in black and to Dexter that is like seeing lingerie or something. She looks at his knives and asks if she can touch one. She can. She practices a downward stabbing motion. Liddy watches them. Alex, meanwhile, is on the phone with Jordan who tells him not to leave town. He watches from his car as Lumen and Dexter break into Alex's place. He tells Deb that Alex Tilden called him. He said something about looking into flights. So, Deb and Quinn head for Alex's place.
Alex gets home and finds the video of Lumen playing on his television. He runs to try to open a drawer, but Dex stops him first and injects him with the knockout stuff. He wakes all wrapped in plastic. Dexter shows him pictures of all of the dead girls. Deb and Quinn are getting closer! They're inside the house! Alex says that he never wanted to do the stuff that they did to Lumen, but Jordan has a "way." He made them do it. It's all him. He says that he did things that he never would have done, but Lumen gets really upset and says that they made HER do things that she never would have done. So, Deb and Quinn don't find them. I don't know where they are. Lumen climbs up on top of the table. Dexter coaches her to aim for the heart, which she does. Deb wonders if the vigilante is the 13th victim.
At his apartment, wordlessly, Lumen and Dexter begin to touch each other. She takes his shirt off and positions it in such a way that it binds his hands. Then, she kisses him. She removes the rest of the shirt. They kiss some more and he carries her to his bed. Well now. Later, as they lie together in bed, Dex VO's that he's different with Lumen. He's not a monster in her eyes.
Jeff Long is a writer/performer in Brooklyn. He can be reached at jeff.long75@gmail.com