"Where it all started"
Arthur Mitchell's Childhood Home is a location in Season Four of the Showtime series DEXTER.
It’s a two-story residential house near Tampa, Florida.
Summary[]
Dexter Morgan accompanies Arthur Mitchell on a trip to Tampa, where a build site is located. Both have ulterior motives -- Dexter is planning to kill Arthur, and Arthur is planning to commit suicide.
Upon arrival, they book separate hotel rooms. In the morning, Dexter sneaks out of the hotel to establish an alibi at a meteorology convention. However, he runs into Arthur in the parking lot. Arthur is giddy with excitement and says he has a surprise. He commands Dexter to go with him.
They stop in front of a small blue house. Arthur runs up and rapidly knocks on the door. When an Asian couple answers, he hurriedly tells them that he grew up in this house. He politely pushes past them and leads a perplexed Dexter up the stairs, leaving the couple to argue.
Upstairs, Arthur leads Dexter to the bathroom. He tells Dexter that this is “where it all started.” He says he was watching his sister, Vera, take a shower. “I was 10. It was innocent.” When Vera saw him in the mirror, she was startled and slipped in the tub, shattering the shower doors. The glass sliced the femoral artery in her leg, and she bled to death before the ambulance arrived. Born in blood, Dexter thought. Both of us.
As a result, Arthur was blamed for her death. His mother became a shell, and eventually jumped to her death, leaving him alone with his abusive, alcoholic father. Arthur only says that his father “died,” but Dexter believes that he killed him, likely with a hammer.
Arthur stares at Dexter and admits that he never told anyone any of this. When Dexter asks why he told him, Arthur explains, “So you'll know you're not alone. You're just like me. We're both responsible for the death of an innocent. We share that.” He then smiles and hugs Dexter. Arthur asks Dexter if he feels better.
The Asian couple appear at the bathroom door. They angrily order them to leave and say they’ve called the police. Arthur begins to lose his temper but Dexter convinces him they should have lunch, and they hurry out of the house.
Timeline[]
- 1959 - Vera dies at age 16.
- Between 1959 and 1961 - The remaining Mitchell family moves to Miami.
- 1961 - Arthur’s mother jumps off the Collins Canal Bridge in Miami.
- 1964 - Arthur bludgeons his father at Northeast Tavern in Miami (current site of 100 Oceangate).
- 2009 - Arthur returns to his childhood home, bringing Dexter.
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