New Blood Episode 5 Ending Twist Explained — What Angela Knows
New Blood episode 5 features a twist ending that signals trouble for Dexter Morgan, with Angela discovering secrets from a surprise character return.
Warning: SPOILERS for Dexter: New Blood episode 5.
Dexter’s true identity has come to light in New Blood episode 5’s twist ending, with both Angela and Kurt posing separate threats for his new life. In the decade since Dexter’s original series finale, America’s favorite serial killer has been able to hide his identity from the world, but New Blood episode 1 was his long-lived facade completely breaking down. Upon the return of his son Harrison with his own Dark Passenger, Kurt Caldwell functioning as a serial killer in Iron Lake, and returning to his murderous habits himself, Dexter Morgan’s ability to remain anonymous is now impossible, especially now that Angela knows he isn’t “Jim Lindsay.”
Dexter: New Blood episode 5, "Runaway," featured a monumental turn in the series, beginning with Dexter confronting Harrison about his Dark Passenger. Harrison denies that he lied about Ethan, which leads an intoxicated Harrison to tell Audrey that his dad’s real name isn’t Jim Lindsay. At the same time, Angela is in New York City for a law enforcement conference about missing persons, with the main speaker miraculously being Dexter’s original series character Angel Batista. While asking Batista for advice on how to find the pattern between missing persons in Iron Lake, Angel passively mentions the tragic deaths of Deb, Dexter, while recalling he had a son named Harrison.
Back in Iron Lake, Kurt Caldwell has successfully trapped his next runaway victim, who he then murders after she messes up his killing ritual. After finishing up with his most recent victim, Kurt spots Harrison walking alone, then offers to buy him a meal and give him a job application for the diner. With Angela catching onto Dexter’s lies, Angel connecting his past and present, and runaway serial killer Kurt Caldwell on the hunt, Dexter: New Blood episode 5’s ending sets up a major twist for the series.
In the final moments of Dexter: New Blood episode 5, Angela has proof that “Jim Lindsay” is actually Dexter Morgan, and her boyfriend has been lying to her for years. When Angela returns home from NYC, Audrey tells her that Harrison said his dad’s name isn’t Jim Lindsay, which leads Angela to connect the dots from Angel’s statement. Having ended her conversation with Angel by him recalling the death of Dexter who left behind a son named Harrison, Angela searched up the obituary for Miami's Dexter Morgan, and, lo and behold, “Jim Lindsay”’s face was in the newspaper. The episode ends with the obituary being printed out, so Angela’s reaction is so far unknown, but it means Dexter is facing a heap of trouble for the rest of New Blood.
Now that Angela knows that Jim and Harrison Lindsay are actually Dexter and Harrison Morgan, Dexter will have to provide a reason for why he faked his death and changed his identity without telling her he’s a serial killer. Then, he’ll also have to explain the real reason why Harrison had been absent for so long, though he could still pull the excuse that he gave Harrison about having “demons” that he didn’t want to pass on. Either way, Dexter is extremely suspicious, and it’s only time before true crime podcaster Molly Park connects that Dexter and Harrison’s wife and mother, Rita, was The Trinity Killer’s final and most grotesque murder. With such background on the Morgans coming to light, Molly and Angela are also apt to come to the same conclusion as Dexter that Harrison was the one who attacked Ethan due to his Dark Passenger. As more suspicious information about Dexter and Harrison’s fake lives is revealed, it seems more than likely that Angela and Molly will be the ones to finally identity Dexter Morgan as Miami’s Bay Harbor Butcher.
Although Angel Batista’s New Blood cameo was one of the only moments to put a smile on the faces of original Dexter fans, it also sealed Dexter’s fate of having his Iron Lake facade revealed. While Deb and Dexter's Trinity Killer were confirmed to return ahead of New Blood’s premiere, they didn’t pose any real threat to Dexter’s new life considering they’re both deceased. The same goes for Harrison, he’s a relic of Dexter’s past but, as far as New Blood has shown, has little to no knowledge of Dexter’s murderous habits or any real interest in exposing him. Angel Batista, on the other hand, is the first true connection between Dexter’s past and present; someone who truly believes Dexter is dead but has dangerous knowledge of his life that those in Iron Lake can link to Jim Lindsay.
In an off-hand comment to Angela, Batista revealed the one clue that would connect the suspicious nature of Jim Lindsay - that he had a son named Harrison from Miami. Had Batista not remembered Harrison’s name at the last moment, it would have taken Angela much longer for her to piece the puzzle together. Until now, nobody aside from Harrison, who also has to cover up his own tracks, had concrete details that could reveal Jim Lindsay as Dexter Morgan. While seeing David Zayas return as Angel Batista was a satisfying return for Dexter fans, his presence signaled a profoundly unexpected danger to Dexter’s new livelihood and exposure.
While it was before suspected that Harrison’s story arc would mean becoming a serial killer modeled after his father, New Blood episode 5 indicates he may actually be Kurt Caldwell’s next victim. Since New Blood episode 1, Kurt has been shown to hold hostage and murder two young women, both runaways or drifters who were passing through town. As Dexter: New Blood has progressed, the series has given more hints to why he kills, who his victims are, and what his ritual involves. Angela’s storyline about missing persons in Iron Lake suggests all of the posters on her wall are victims of Kurt, with most being runaways. Along with the fact that Kurt plays the song “Runaway” by Del Shannon as he releases his victim to run into the woods while hunting them with a rifle, it’s clear his victim criteria is runaways.
Kurt finds Harrison about to run away from home at the end of Dexter: New Blood episode 5, then picking him up, bringing him to the diner, offering him a job, and telling him to “pay it forward” just as he did his previous victim. Although Harrison doesn’t fit in with New Blood's serial killer victim trends of being a young girl (though the female aspect doesn’t appear to be sexual) or someone who won’t be missed, Kurt’s actions toward him indicate he’s prepping for Harrison to be his next hostage. If Harrison continues to try to run away from Dexter, he’ll more clearly fit in with Kurt’s serial killer qualifications, likely becoming captured and held hostage by him before the end of New Blood. If so, this will be Dexter’s true test of how far he’ll go to protect his son, possibly sacrificing himself in the conflict.
Dexter: New Blood releases new episodes Sundays on Showtime.