Water Snakes

Water Snakes are characters in Season Six of the Showtime series DEXTER.

Travis Marshall, aka The Doomsday Killer, murders and disembowels Omar Rivera. He then places seven baby snakes inside his body and stitches him up.

Summary

 * “Those Kinds of Things”

Under a crimson moon, Travis Marshall and Professor James Gellar row a boat through a Florida swamp searching for a pregnant freshwater snake. Gellar says it will be fat and slow since it gives live birth. When one is spotted, Travis captures it with a net and holds it up in his hand in front of the flashlight. When Travis remarks on the large number of baby snakes swirling around inside the mother, Gellar says they only need seven.

The next day, Travis approaches Omar Rivera, a fruit stand vendor, and kills him with the Sword of John the Revelator. Only Omar's intestines are found at the scene by Miami Metro Homicide.

Later, Omar’s corpse washes up on a beach after Travis dumps him offshore. A jogger calls in the body, and Dexter Morgan with the homicide team arrive to investigate. Upon lifting Omar's shirt, they discover he was cut open, then stitched up in the shape of an Alpha-Omega symbol. His wallet reveals his name and address. Suddenly, Omar's abdomen begins to move as if something is inside, so Dexter cuts open a bit of the stitching. They’re astonished when seven baby snakes slither out from the wound. Debra Morgan utters colorful profanity. Immediately, the snakes are bagged by Dexter and Vince Masuka.


 * “Once Upon a Time”

Vince receives the baby snakes back from the medical examiner, and begins working with his sexy, new lab assistant, Ryan Chambers. She examines a snake in the beaker while she spins back and forth on a stool. Vince asks if they make her squeamish and she smiles, stating,"Not at at all." As she spins, Vince stares at her butt. Sergeant Angel Batista notices what he’s doing and warns him of a potential lawsuit, but Vince shrugs it off.

After the snakes are dissected, Vince makes a recording in which he says the stomachs were empty, and they didn’t come from a pet store, likely the wild. Ryan runs tissue samples, finding traces of heavy metals. They think the mother snake was living in a toxic environment and passed the traces on to her young. Vince suggests looking up EPA cleanup sites.

When Vince tells Angel about the findings, he asks if all 4,000 square miles of the Everglades are to be searched. Vince explains why they only need to look at hazardous waste sites, near or around the Everglades. He’s hopeful that someone saw the “bad guys” coming or going. Batista says it’s a start.


 * “Smokey and the Bandit”

Debra gives her first briefing after being promoted to Lieutenant. First, she covers the murder of Rosalia Davalos, and then moves on to the snakes killing. The team agrees that it doesn’t appear to be a drug cartel hit. Joey Quinn suggests letting the public know about the snakes in order to scare up a lead. Debra refuses, saying it might compromise the case when it goes to court. Quinn tells her that if they don’t catch anyone, it will never go to court. Maria LaGuerta agrees with Quinn and says he has a point. She tells Deb if they let word out about the snakes, the press will eat it up and maybe shake something loose. Debra asks about the trial, and LaQuerta says Quinn is right, as there won’t be a trial unless they arrest someone. Quinn smiles at Deb’s discomfort (still angry because she turned down his marriage proposal).

Related Pages

 * Omar Rivera
 * Travis Marshall
 * The Seven Headed Serpent
 * Doomsday Tableaus
 * Doomsday Killer Case

Trivia

 * The snakes were CGI (computer generated imagery).