Saagar Kote
In Prime Video’s ‘Lazarus,’ forensic psychiatrist Joel “Laz” Lazarus is plunged into chaos following the apparent suicide of his father, Jonathan Lazarus, also a psychiatrist. Laz is further burdened by intense guilt over the murder of his sister, Sutton, which occurred nearly 25 years earlier, and he experiences unsettling visions of the unknown assailant. As he navigates these two family tragedies, Laz’s life takes a dangerous turn when he starts to “see” his deceased father. Tormented by both past and present, Laz confronts mysteries and secrets that have the potential to rewrite his life story. Sutton’s death plays a consequential role in Laz’s life, driving his guilt and insecurities. The identity of her killer and the reason behind the killing are at the nucleus of the show. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Sutton is Killed by an Obsessive Individual
Sutton’s death in 1998 plays an important role in Laz’s character arc and drives him towards the edge of sanity. Initial suspicions point towards Sam Olsen, a supposedly weird young man who was obsessed with Sutton in the past. Sam is cleared of suspicion when the cops find no evidence against him. To get closure, Laz and Sam have a conversation in the present, and the latter tells the protagonist that he had no role in Sutton’s killing. He even gives Laz a toy dog, which was given to him by Sutton when they were all young. After this conversation, Laz is convinced that Sam has no connection with his sister’s death. But the tables turn, and the mystery appears to be deeper than initially assumed. At a later stage in the series, Jenna and Laz watch an old VHS tape from the day of Sutton’s death, before the prom.
The protagonist discovers something shocking. He spots the toy dog in the video and deduces something horrifying. This takes him back to his conversation with Sam, who had earlier told him that the toy dog was given to him by Sutton when she was a little girl. The fact that the toy dog appears in the video recorder at their house makes it clear that Sam was lying. This indicates that Sam probably kept the toy dog as a sort of trophy due to his obsession with Sutton, after killing her. Laz reaches out to the cops through Seth, who gets an arrest warrant for Sam. When Seth goes to the hospital to look for Sam, who was beaten up by Billy’s thugs earlier, he appears to have left. With no clues about Sam’s whereabouts, the cops reach a difficult point. However, Laz is able to remember that Sam goes fishing to get away from things. This leads him towards an isolated lake, where he finds Sam’s car parked.
He finds Sam and Aidan fishing together and confronts the former. After sending Aidan away, Sam is shocked when he realizes that Laz has found out the truth. The murderer denies being involved in Sutton’s death and falsely claims that Sutton made a move on him. He was at the house to secretly take the toy dog due to his obsession, but Sutton unexpectedly entered the room. While Sam claims that Sutton wanted to get intimate with him, the reality appears to be very different. It is revealed that Sam tried to forcibly get intimate with Sutton, which led her to resist. In the heat of the moment, he bashed her head into the hard wooden part of the bed, causing her death. In the present, the cops arrive on time to save Laz and arrest Sam. Thus, Sutton became the victim of the desires of an obsessive and toxic individual.
Read More: Who is the Videotape Killer?
