Dexter Episode 73: Are You...?

Dexter spends the episode scrambling to contain the fallout after Debra catches him killing Travis Marshall, and Debra spends the episode trying to absorb what she has seen while helping him cover it up. By the end, she searches his apartment, finds proof that he has been hiding a much darker life, and forces him to admit the truth to her.

The episode opens with Dexter in a frantic rush to leave town, driving toward the airport with a packed bag and trying to buy time to disappear. His plans collapse when he discovers his credit cards have been canceled, pushing him back into the immediate crisis already unfolding around him.

The story then returns to the church, where Debra has just walked in on Dexter killing Travis Marshall. Shocked and armed, she demands an explanation, and Dexter quickly tries to frame the killing as an impulsive act of self-defense, claiming he “snapped” after being attacked. When Debra suggests calling the police or finding a lawyer, Dexter argues that such a route would destroy his life, his career, and his relationship with Harrison, and he persuades her that they need to remove the body instead.

Debra resists at first, but the two of them eventually agree to stage the death as a suicide and burn the church to destroy evidence. They set the fire using gasoline, and in the process Dexter accidentally leaves behind one of his blood slides in a floor vent without noticing.

While Dexter is dealing with the cover-up, other storylines begin to move. Detective Mike Anderson has an unfortunate encounter after finding a dead prostitute in the trunk of a car, and the case leads to his death at the hands of a member of the Ukrainian mafia. Quinn and Batista start repairing their strained relationship as they investigate the separate deaths connected to Anderson and the prostitute.

Dexter later identifies the man responsible for Anderson’s killing as Viktor Baskov, and he eventually kills him. In a parallel thread, Louis Greene continues his revenge against Dexter by hacking into Dexter’s computer and canceling all of his credit cards, which explains why Dexter’s escape attempt fails.

LaGuerta begins pursuing new clues connected to the Bay Harbor Butcher investigation after a blood slide is found at the church. Her discoveries make her reconsider the old case, and her suspicion starts to point back toward Dexter.

Debra’s reaction to what she has witnessed grows more intense as the episode continues. She returns to Dexter’s apartment, where she searches through his things and finds knives, blood slides, and other evidence that suggests a hidden violent life. Confronted with what she has uncovered, she asks him directly whether he is a serial killer, and Dexter answers, “Yes.”