The Five Borough Killer may have recognized another serial killer when Dexter looked up at him from the street. One possible theory is that the encounter at the end of Dexter: Resurrection season 2 episode 2 gives him a reason to investigate Dexter, follow the people around him, and eventually discover what he does.

If he discovers the truth, he could find it hard to keep that knowledge to himself for long. He has already shown how much he enjoys making other people watch.

The look could be the beginning of that discovery rather than proof that he already knows Dexter’s name. Dexter could have revealed something about himself before either man has said a word. He wants to hunt this killer. He may have just given the killer a reason to hunt him back.

The Rooftop Encounter Could Start The Investigation

Dexter stays after the body crashes onto the Broadway newsstand. Charley wants to leave before the police arrive, but he keeps looking toward the roof. Dan Stevens’ killer is looking down at a man who seems unusually interested in him.

Dexter has spent years making himself appear harmless. Here, his attention could give him away. He watches as someone who wants to understand the person responsible, and a killer who studies people’s reactions might find that worth remembering. The distance leaves uncertainty about how clearly he can see Dexter, though his recording equipment offers another possibility.

Those smart glasses could have captured a face he can examine later. If Dexter and Charley are both visible, he would have two people to identify and a relationship to investigate. A recording would let him return to the encounter long after Dexter has gone home.

Composure alone can only take him so far. Dexter’s former forensic work offers a perfectly reasonable explanation for being accustomed to death. That suspicion could become dangerous if the killer starts following him and sees behavior Dexter has a much harder time explaining.

Dexter Has A Routine Someone Could Learn

Dexter has built a fairly ordinary life around his killing. He drives for a rideshare service and lives at Blessing’s place. Meeting Harrison at a diner helps him feel like a father again, while the gym gives him somewhere to work through his unease about getting older.

Those routines could make him easier to find after the rooftop encounter. The Five Borough Killer might recognize his car or follow him away from a familiar stop. Once he learns a name, he can start paying attention to the occasions when Dexter’s movements stop fitting the life he appears to lead.

That could be where the secret starts emerging. Dexter has another hunt underway with Charley, and preparing for Ray Ballard will require meetings and trips that an observer could notice. His ability to lie his way through a conversation has usually depended on knowing someone is asking questions. He could be watched for days before realizing he needs a story.

Charley Could Help Him Recognize A Fellow Killer

Charley knows Dexter’s secret and has agreed to help lure Ballard to a rented townhouse. Uma Thurman’s character can make an invitation sound credible to someone who remembers her working for Leon Prater. Dexter is relying on that history to get a killer through the door.

If the Five Borough Killer recognizes her, that same history could make her companion far more interesting. He would have to learn the connection himself, but following Prater’s former security chief could eventually put him close to the work she and Dexter are arranging. Watching Dexter prepare to kill someone would tell him more than the rooftop look ever could.

Their dinner also gives him a personal connection to investigate. The brief touch across the table suggests an intimacy that could deepen, although their shared knowledge already makes them vulnerable to pressure. He might see enough to understand that both of them need their meetings kept quiet.

Charley could notice the surveillance before Dexter does. She has the experience to be dangerous to someone who assumes he can follow her unnoticed. Underestimating her could cost him, especially if he starts treating her as an easy way to reach Dexter.

Harrison Could Be How He Forces Dexter To Respond

Harrison gives the investigation a more painful destination. Jack Alcott’s character has entered homicide and is training with Fiona Mixon, whose father runs the unit. The department chasing the Five Borough Killer is now where Dexter’s son is trying to prove himself.

Following Dexter to one of their meetings could reveal the relationship without any elaborate technical trick. Their location sharing adds another risk if Harrison is asked about his father’s whereabouts, though the killer would need a separate way to obtain that private information.

Once he connects them, Harrison could become the person he uses to make Dexter answer him. A photograph taken outside the precinct would be enough to show Dexter that his son has been found. Threatening a young officer would also suit a man who enjoys humiliating the police.

Dexter has already missed Harrison’s swearing-in to pursue Al. A threat against his son would make it harder to pretend the hunting and the parenting can stay separate. Harrison’s new life could be endangered by another killer taking an interest in his father’s.

Discovering The Secret Would Give Him Something To Use

The Five Borough Killer announces a murder before committing it, then sends a recording of the crime to a stranger. He seems to enjoy choosing when someone becomes involved. Discovering another serial killer would give him a much more personal way to exercise that control.

A private approach to Dexter would fit the way he has operated so far. He could send back an image of Dexter watching the Broadway attack and wait for a response. Later, a glimpse of Charley or Harrison could show how far his investigation has gone. Dexter would have to decide whether the sender had found his family or caught him doing something he could never explain away.

If he uncovers the killing, he could demand Dexter’s attention on his own terms. He might want recognition from someone capable of appreciating his crimes. He could also threaten to send what he has to Wallace. Public exposure would remain available whenever the private exchange stopped satisfying him.

Quinn’s presence in New York would make that threat worse. Desmond Harrington’s detective has old suspicions about Dexter and new questions surrounding Batista. His precise knowledge remains open, but he would bring a history with Dexter that Wallace lacks. A recording might prompt him to look again at matters he once let go.

Dexter Wants Recognition At The Worst Possible Time

Michael C. Hall’s Dexter is bothered that Rapunzel’s disappearance brings him no appreciation. At the gym, he wants a stranger to notice what has been done for the city. It is a small, uncomfortable glimpse of how much he wants credit for work he has spent his life concealing.

That makes this particular killer a dangerous person to interest. Dexter might enjoy being recognized by someone who understands his appetite, even while knowing he needs to kill the man. He has accepted that sort of attention before and usually left other people dealing with the damage.

Harry’s warnings matter here. Dexter can tell himself that stopping the Five Borough Killer fulfills the code he inherited, but his wish to feel relevant could affect how he conducts the hunt. He might keep an exchange going a little too long to learn what the killer thinks of him.

Al nearly killed him in Pennsylvania. Dexter already has reason to take his physical limits seriously, and a younger opponent who has been studying him could know where to put pressure. Wanting to impress that opponent would give Dexter another problem at a moment when he needs to be careful.

The Ripper Could Complicate A Hunt That Is Already Personal

Brian Cox’s New York Ripper also enjoys taunting people who have failed to catch him. A relationship between him and the Five Borough Killer could explain how the younger man has become so adept at evading the police. A mentor passing on his methods is an appealing possibility, particularly in a season so concerned with fathers and sons.

For now, their shared appetite for attention supports a thematic connection. A working partnership would need something firmer. Dexter has spoken with the Ripper and drawn the younger killer’s possible attention, so either could start taking an interest in him independently.

Dexter could still win by finding the Five Borough Killer before the man gets far enough into his life. An extended rivalry would give the killer more opportunities to discover the truth and use Harrison against him. Exposure becomes the danger if Dexter allows that investigation to continue.

The rooftop encounter could set that discovery in motion. Following that theory, the Five Borough Killer has noticed a man who may understand him, and his need to know who that man is could lead him straight to Dexter’s secret. Dexter may finally have attracted the attention he wanted. He could spend the next part of the season trying to stop this particular person from looking any closer.