Dexter: Original Sin Episode 4 recap – Dexter’s third kill goes horribly wrong

Dexter finds a new potential victim in Original Sin Episode 4, ‘Fender Bender’, all while Miami-Met makes a gutting discovery. (Warning: major spoilers ahead!)

Original Sin Episode 3 ended with a conflicting sense of hope for Dexter. He’d successfully captured and killed Ferrer – a killer who Angel had some unresolved business with. But as he sunk Ferrer’s body into the swamp, the alligators failed to munch on an arm, meaning this particular murder may come back to haunt our wannabe serial killer.

Episode 3 abandons the Ferrer storyline for a horrible development in the Judge Powell case. After a body is discovered, Miami-Met become desperate to find any other leads in the investigation.

Meanwhile, Dexter is on the lookout for a new victim, and Deb is rebelling after feeling abandoned by her family. Read on for our full Dexter: Original Sin Episode 4 recap!

Miami Metro makes a shocking discovery in Dexter: Original Sin Episode 4

Episode 4 begins with an unfortunate opening. As two neon-clad roller skaters dance down the beach, they come across the sight of a body hanging from a tree. It’s Judge Powell’s son.

Not long after, the Miami-Met team roll up, Dexter included, to investigate the crime scene. With pressure at an all-time high, Captain Spencer orders an irritated LaGuerta to go and take a look at another body all the way in Coconut Grove.

Paramount

Dexter seems uncomfortable around the body of Powell’s son (“murdered children always got to me,” his voiceover tells us), so Harry checks in on him and sends him to the Coconut Grove crime scene too, under the supervision of the friendly Officer Sanders. Elsewhere, Deb and Sofia panic when they find out Harry took the truck, meaning they can’t drive the rest of the volleyball team to the beach.

When they arrive, Sanders shares the story of his first time seeing a child victim and tells Dexter that the way to cope is to channel his shock into doing something about it. LaGuerta watches Dexter as he gets to work examining the body, and he theorizes that the victim in question was strangled slowly while the murderer savored their kill. Unfortunately for him, LaGuerta doesn’t seem too keen on his input.

Meanwhile, Deb is encountering problems of her own. Just as they’re on the way to the beach, her rival teammate pulls up in a brand-new Jeep, taking the rest of the team and leaving her and Sofia in the dust.

Dexter comes up with his next kill

Back at the station, Harry sweet-talks Camilla into checking Laura’s case file to make sure Dexter’s name isn’t still logged as being on the scene. As he does, we flashback to his early relationship with Laura when she was an informant for the police. When she can’t make it in one day due to a cancelled babysitter, Harry offers to watch Dexter and Brian.

Paramount

While Deb and Sofia are off scoring drugs for the volleyball team, Dexter arrives home, still shaken from the sight of Powell’s son. Harry assures him they’re doing everything they can, but the budding young serial killer wants to strike again to satisfy his cravings.

He even has a subject already picked out: Mad-Dog, a contract killer for the mob who now runs fishing charters. He fits their code, but Harry refuses, saying there’s not enough evidence to justify killing him.

Deb walks in on the two having a secretive discussion, and it’s not long before she blows up at Harry for ignoring her all this time. He fights back and even accuses her of being high before she yells and storms out of the room. Before he leaves, Harry tells Dexter to make sure Mad-Dog is a guilty man before doing anything.

So, Dexter sets out on an investigation. He finds Mad-Dog at the port and tries to book in a fishing session, but is told he’ll have to wait. So, he instead heads to the potential victim’s house, searching through his belongings until he finds a half-shredded photo.

Dexter develops his forensic skills

While the Miami-Met team are hard at work trying to piece together some evidence from the murder, Captain Spencer’s ex-wife turns up, begging him to take his son to soccer practice. While the two adults argue in his office, Dexter gets talking to the young boy outside, befriending him through video game talk and candy.

After, he shows off his developing forensic skills by recreating the Coconut Grove crime scene for LaGuerta (with the help of a couple of melons and ketchup of course). This further proves his theory that the victim was already dead before they hit the ground, having been strangled.

Paramount

Later that evening, Deb and Sofia are getting ready to go out clubbing, all while Dexter is attempting to piece together the shredded photo he found in Mad-Dog’s house. He succeeds and discovers that the photo is of Omar Reyes, an accessory to money laundering who’s due to testify in court the following week. He’s not a past victim – he’s Mad-Dog’s next hit.

At the club, Deb manages to steal some champagne from the party of a successful boxer. She’s caught by his pal, Gio, who charms her and hands her his number.

Meanwhile, back in the past, Harry panics when he thinks young Dexter has run off. Fortunately, all is resolved when he finds the boy in the backyard, morning the loss of a dead lizard he found. Harry comforts him, telling him, “death is a part of life.”

A fishing trip gone wrong

Dexter is about to make a move for Mad-Dog, but is thwarted when he discovers a family is joining them on the fishing charter for the day. While out at sea, he attempts to get to know Mad-Dog and asks about his past, but the family keeps him well distracted from getting too much information.

Back at home, Deb gets frustrated when she sees that Harry is out (again), so she calls Gio to come and pick her up. Together, they drive off in his fancy car and head over to his place, where she kisses him.

In Harry’s flashback, Laura comes home to find him reading a bedtime story to Dexter. When they have a moment alone, she kisses him and the two end up making love.

In the present, Dexter is finally making moves. Mad-Dog comes home and is quickly attacked by the younger man. But as he’s trying to remove Mad-Dog’s clothes and wrap him down, he wakes up. The two engage in a fight for their lives, with Dexter almost getting suffocated by the plastic he used to cover the room.

Mad-Dog eventually escapes, running out into the street with Dexter hot on his tail. Unfortunately for Dexter, things go south as he watches Mad-Dog get run over by a car speeding out of nowhere.

If Mad-Dog is alive, then Dexter’s plan might be revealed. And if he’s dead, then Dexter will have to search elsewhere for another suitable victim.

Original Sin Episode 4 is available to stream on Paramount+ now. For more, check out our recaps for Episode 1 and Episode 2. Don’t forget all the other TV shows streaming this month!