1x09 The Family Business

Dexter taught Harrison the code.

Dexter fits the code.

My guess for the finale:

Harrison kills Dexter. This gives the series the final closure that was promised. But due to the popular reception of this coda, the series comes back for a new season with Harrison as its new central character and with Dexter as his ghostly conscience; a new Harry for Harrison as the cycle continues. The “New Blood” in the title isn’t a reference to Dexter resuming killing but rather a reference to Harrison taking the mantle from his father. And the title of next week’s episode, Sins of the Father, suggests that Dexter may be facing some judgment with Harrison as the judge. To comply with the code, Harrison just needs some proof of Dexter’s prior killings - proof which Angela now has on hand. Deb (Dexter’s subconscious) tried to warn him away from revealing his Dark Passenger to Harrison, but Dexter didn’t listen. I think in the next episode, he pays a price for that; Harrison didn’t really warm to Dexter this past episode - he was just putting on an act. In the next episode, we’ll see Dexter saran-wrapped to a table, with Bay Harbor Butcher evidence arrayed around him.

[8.0/10] Dexter and Harrison bond. Dexter is open with his son. He’s honest about who he is and what he’s done. It makes Harrison feel less alone. It lets him know that there’s someone who understands. It makes Dexter feel less alone too. He can share this part of his life with someone, not have to hold back the part of himself that he hides from the rest of the world. He can provide space to his child. And he can even be admired for what he does, in the way he’d always wanted. He might even have a protege.

Oh wait. That...uh...might not be good?

That's the thought I’m left with after what is pretty easily the best episode of this season. One of the issues that the original run of Dexter tiptoed around but never fully confronted is that, as well meaning as Harry was, this might not have been the best path for Dexter. He had troubles. He had an addiction he couldn't kick. Even observing the code meant he and anyone close to him was in constant danger.

Deb represents that idea. As the voice in Dx’s head, she’s a reminder that there was collateral damage, the kind that gave Harrison the same kind of Dark Passenger Dexter himself struggled with. Bringing him into this committing him to this life in some way shape or form, is a comfort for Harrison as a way to deal with those dark feelings, but it’s also sentencing him to live the same complicated, morally fraught, and often-tragic life that Dexter has.

So when we see him coming together with Harrison, father and s on finally bonding, it feels wholesome and heartening. But the deeper Dexter brings Harrison into his other life, the more disconcerting it is, the more it starts to feel like corruption rather than comfort. I don’t know quite what to do with that, but as with the best stories in Dexter, it’s nice to see the show playing in those gray areas.

And hey, we even get a little bit of classic Dexter-ing! Watching him take down a child-murder clown is, perhaps, a little pandering. But it’s still a nice sop for old fans to see Dex redoing the old routine, even as Deb pokes her head in to make sure he doesn’t scar Harrison with too much too fast.

Even with that worry, it’s nice to see the two of them having honest conversations. Dexter doesn't hold back, gradually sharing the key details with his son, and answering tough questions honestly when asked. The prospect of them teaming up, becoming father-son vigilantes for the people who fall through the cracks, is a heartening one for both parent and child. Harrison only sees the good his dad does in this, the innocent people spared through his actions. It’s the kind of appreciation Dexter, he of the “Dark Defender” has always secretly wanted.

And hey, who better as their first victim than Kurt Caldwell, the man responsible for scads of murders? I’ll admit, I grew tired of his war with Dex pretty quickly. But I appreciate the guts it takes for the show to basically clear out the conflict now. Kurt burning down Dexter’s cabin,while Dex and Harrison expose him as the Runaway Killer, makes for a satisfying climax to their little dance. Harrison’s involvement seals the deal on the way Kurt had been dividing them, whereas here, his death is a unifying factor.

Kurt’s hallway of creepy preserved corpses is unnerving in a Return to Oz sort of way. The reveal that Molly Park becomes one o f his victims after all is a suitable shock. And we do get a little more psychological explanation from him. In his mind, he was sparing them the fate of being a runaway, believing that death and preservation is preferable to the sorts of things his father would subject these sorts of young women to. I have no idea whether that sort of idea is psychologically sound as a serial killer’s rationale, but it’s good enough for an outsized television show, and plays into the daddy issues that are the prime motif for New Blood.

What I’m curious about is whether Harrison is assuaged or disturbed by his father’s deeds in the end. The blood spatter from Kirk sends him into a minor panic attack and PTSD flashback to the Trinity Killer’s slaying of Rita. As much as he seems enthused at the idea of his dad “taking out the trash” and is excited to have someone who understands what he’s going through, there’s a sense that the reality of it is disquieting to Harrison, in ways he can't quite express. I’m admittedly hopeful that despite his dark passenger, his father’s actions are too much for him, more than he wants, in a way that might spare him his life.

That might be the difference. When Kurt talks to Dexter while strapped down on his table, they too have a certain understanding. Dexter accuses Kurt of not doing this for altruistic reasons, but rather because he loves the power, the control. Debherelf says that Dex loves this. As much a s Dexter talks in terms of being a force for good and taming an addiction, the truth i s that he g ets a thrill from his. He enjoys it, needs iti in a way that isn’t healthy.

Harrison doesn’t have the same reaction. He has something he can't control within him but maybe his damage isn’t so deep yet, or not so channeled into a fix, that he can be reclaimed. Who knows, but I love the show exploring his and tying up the conflict with Kurt in a far more satisfying fashion than I’d anticipated.

Hell, I even enjoyed Angela’s continuing investigation into Dexter. While the last episode felt tedious since she was tying together clues the audience already knew about, this is more fascinating because she knows, or at least suspects the truth, but has to pretend to be mostly fine around Dexter. I’ve given the actress some grief here, so credit where it’s due. Julia Jones does a great job of conveying someone who is trying to put up a front of normalcy, but is deeply questioning the person she’s let into her home and her life on the inside. That's a more interesting note for the actress and the character, as Angela starts putting the last of the puzzle pieces together.

That includes the truth that Dexter killed Matt Caldwell. Harrison knows now too, and giving the finale over to Angela potentially exposing Dexter, rather than a final standoff with Kurt, is a canny choice. It gives room for the show to surprise us and creates a broader threat to the life Dexter’s built in the decade since he left Miami rather than just a threat to his physical well-being with another bad guy. I’m here for it, and for once, genuinely curious to see where things land.

All-in-all, this was the crescendo of the season, and one that capitalizes on the great work done to set up the relationship between Dexter and Harrison, gives Kurt a satisfying send-off and revenge, and sets up an intriguing showdown between Dexter and someone he seemed to love for the finale.