In this week’s episode of Dexter: Original Sin on Showtime and Paramount+, we get a little bit of business, a little bit of pleasure, and a whole lot of tension as we approach some climactic moments. We also experience a plethora of shock and horror when it is officially confirmed that Captain Spencer (Patrick Dempsey) is indeed our kidnapping, murdering perpetrator (I know, I still can’t get past it myself). But that’s not even close to everything that goes down. Check out this full recap and review of episode 8's tension, horror, and dread for more deets!
The kidnapper is revealed
With episode 7, we really hoped we were being misled about what kind of person Captain Spencer really is. Episode 8 proves no such misleading, as it reveals the captain is the masked perpetrator kidnapping high-profile kids, then torturing and killing them.
Episode 8 opens with our perp drugging Nicky (London Thatcher). It isn’t long before the sedatives take effect, and as Nicky starts to fade out, the perp moves in closer to remove the boy’s bloodied jersey while shushing him in a comforting manner. This is familiar to Nicky, who briefly comes around and asks, “Dad?” before he sacks back out. The perp stands up and backs away, then removes his mask, and our hearts sink to see that it really is Captain Spencer who is doing these horrible things.
Much like Dexter (Patrick Gibson) and Deb (Molly Brown), who both have their own Dark Passengers (the urge to kill and anger), Captain Spencer also has a passenger of his own. But his is diabolical. His is immoral. His is dangerous.
Deb makes a discovery about Gio
After arguing with her father in episode 7 about her suspension from school and her future, Deb stormed off to be with Gio (Isaac Gonzalez Rossi). She stays the night with him and wakes up to so much pampering that she chooses not to go home and instead spends the day with Gio, who will be making a run to Bimini in the Bahamas by boat to “make a pickup” for his father.
When they arrive, the champagne is a-flowin’ and the cocaine is busy making its way up all the noses of those partying on the beach, including Deb’s. When she notices a large crate being loaded onto Gio’s boat and questions him about it, he redirects her attention by distracting her with a gift: a diamond tennis bracelet. Deb is, of course, smitten, which is exactly where Gio wants her to be so that her curiosity remains fixed on him, not on what we assume are drugs being loaded onto his boat.
But this is Deb we’re talking about, and we all know her strong will to do what she wants. And she does. As soon as Gio steps away to make a phone call, she goes to the boat to retrieve her jacket and decides to do some snooping. When Gio catches her, he angrily tells her to forget what she saw, then aggressively steps up to her face and tells her to get off his boat “NOW!”.
Deb finally gets a glimpse of who Gio really is, and she doesn’t like it. On one hand, he’s this sweet, charming, rich hunk who knows all the right things to say and do. On the other, he’s a man full of dangerous secrets and darkness. Having proven himself an aggressive liar, Deb storms off and Gio leaves her there to find her own way home.
Dexter mixes business with pleasure
When Deb didn’t come home after her night out with Gio, Harry (Christian Slater) tasks Dexter with locating her, which he doesn’t want to do. He’d rather be spending his time investigating his suspicions surrounding Captain Spencer.
Dexter tries telling Harry his theory about why he thinks the kidnapper is the captain, but Harry defends Spencer with his whole heart. Dexter pleads with his father that Spencer is hiding something, that he can feel it in his bones, but Harry grows angry and lashes out at Dexter: “You’re like a hammer and everything is a f*****g nail. I know you have a darkness inside of you. I just didn’t know you’d project it onto everyone around you.”
Ouch.
On a whim, Dex searches Miami Metro’s system and locates Gio’s address, and this is perfect, because just as Dex is headed out of the office, so, too, is Captain Spencer. It’s the prime opportunity for Dexter to follow him, and he does. What he sees is Captain Spencer meeting a suspicious man at a gas station and handing off a plastic bag with something in it, then he leaves. Instead of following the captain, Dexter decides to follow the other guy, who drives to a local Estrada cartel stash house. Dexter feels strongly that Nicky could be in there, but he isn’t sure, so he moves on.
At Gio’s apartment, a woman answers the door, and we learn Gio is engaged and cheating. (I don’t think any of us are really surprised at that revelation, are we? I’m not.) When Dexter learns where Gio is, he flashes back to Camilla (Sarah Kinsey) from the Records Dept. when she invited him to come out with her and husband on their new boat, and to let her know if he ever wanted to take it for a spin. So, he of course goes right to Camilla and secures the boat, Slice of Pie.
When he finds Deb on the beach in Bimini, she’s sitting alone, cursing Gio. She’s relieved to see her brother, who has to break the news to her that Gio is engaged. She’s half surprised but half not and as she tells Dexter she and Gio are over, she falls in for a comforting hug. It’s a nice brother-sister moment to witness, especially since Deb has felt so isolated from her family throughout the entire series. They bond even further as they head back to Miami and talk with each other about how Harry treats them individually.
“I thought Mom was the only one who got me, and Dad was the only one who got you,” she says to Dexter, who responds, “I see you, Deb.” She then takes off the diamond bracelet Gio gave her and throws it in the ocean. Dexter watches as it slowly sinks its way down through the darkness, all the way to the bottom of the ocean.
“Once it’s in the ocean, it’s gone forever,” he tells Deb, and we can see that total light bulb moment that offers Dexter the perfect solution to his big, bad body problem.
Harry makes a connection on the N.H.I. cases
As the search for Nicky Spencer continues, Harry and LaGuerta (Christina Milian) continue working the N.H.I. cases. The two head to Tampa to track down a lead and wind up finding much more than they expected—at least as far as Harry is concerned. They learn their suspect, a former psychologist, died weeks ago. As Harry goes through the doctor’s files, he notices one marked “B. Moser”—as in Brian Moser, Dexter’s birth father.
As he flips through the file, he reads that Brian knew about his mother’s affair with Harry and that Dexter called Harry “Daddy.” Harry can’t have his name mentioned anywhere near the Moser case, especially in this manner, so he secretly takes the file. The further he digs into the paperwork, the more he uncovers: the name Raul Martinez (Michael G. Martinez), their second N.H.I. victim. Harry and LaGuerta are absolutely on the right track with their theory, and the connection Harry just found proves it. The only thing is, though, that he can’t necessarily tell LaGuerta right away without having to explain the Moser case and his involvement, so for now, we wait.
Miami Metro receives a tip about Nicky
Oh Captain Spencer, you busy little weasel. Tsk, tsk, tsk. He’s really going the extra mile here in his performance of a concerned father, and the scene he causes next is quite the Oscar-winning performance.
At the station, things are tense between the captain and Dexter, who lock eyes intently when they pass each other in the office. As Spencer talks with Bobby (Reno Wilson) and Angel (James Martinez) about his son’s case, he makes sure the department is looking hard at the Estrada cartel for the kidnapping, then pushes for the locations of known stash houses in the area.
To keep Dexter from working the case, Captain Spencer requests that Dexter spend his time reviewing blood spatter evidence on cold cases to search for any patterns. Dexter knows what he’s doing, trying to keep him busy and out of the way, and it won’t work. His Dark Passenger knows what he’s doing, and it won’t work with him either.
A report comes in that Nicky was spotted at a local stash house. Dexter hears this and, in considering the cartel could really be the ones responsible for the kidnappings, he wonders if what Harry said to him earlier was right. Is he just projecting his darkness onto others? Or is his hunch spot-on?
When Miami Metro roll up on the stash house, Dexter realizes it’s the same house he followed Spencer’s guy to earlier in the day. He also realizes he isn’t projecting darkness but rather is witnessing it, as Spencer puts on quite an emotional, belligerent show inside.
“WHERE’S MY SON?” he screams in the faces of those occupying the house—none of which are Nicky. In all the hubbub, a jersey is noticed at the feet of one of the suspects. Captain Spencer identifies it as belonging to Nicky. Dexter realizes this is what the captain was handing off to the suspect who now sits before him, tied to a chair. Dexter realizes he is right about Captain Spencer. Now he just has to gather all the evidence, which won’t be easy, but Dexter is a genius, so…
While Captain Spencer goes crazy, yelling for his son, house occupants panic and start yelling back, and before we can blink, guns come out and a shootout ensues (thanks to Spencer), and Bobby gets shot in the neck. And it’s bad … really bad. But the captain doesn’t notice, because he’s too busy putting on an Oscar-winning performance as a desperate, saddened father frantically trying to find his kidnapped son. He’s playing the part well, but Dexter is onto him. And Spencer knows it.
Laura’s cover is blown
We all knew this moment was coming, and when it hit, it hit hard.
Harry flashes back to a time when he and Laura met at a local park and were watching Dexter and Brian play. Laura carefully tells Harry she met Estrada (Carlo Mendez) and there’s a big shipment of cocaine coming into New York, that Estrada wants her to oversee the transfer. She is nervous, but Harry is overjoyed. This means Laura will soon be free to leave with her boys.
But then Dexter runs up, and he doesn’t run to his mother. He runs to Harry. And that was the moment that Laura’s cover was blown. Unbeknownst to her and Harry, the cartel had been following and watching her since she met with Estrada. When they see Harry hug Laura’s kid, they know she’s working with the cops. It’s a moment that leaves us deep in OH NO, because we absolutely know what’s coming next. And it isn't pretty.
Sure enough, later that day, the cartel kicks in the door of Laura’s home and take her and her boys at gunpoint. Brian is quick to react and manages to stab one of the guys with a pen before being pulled out of the house.
The next we see of them, they are—you guessed it—in the shipping container where Laura Moser was murdered. They aren’t the only ones in there, though, as three others huddle in fear and panic. Laura holds her babies close. She knows what’s coming next, and when the chainsaw starts up, well, folks, it’s intense. It’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Laura begs and pleads for their lives while shielding Brian’s and Dexter’s eyes from the gruesome slaughter that lay before them, but in her panic, she doesn’t realize Dexter can see everything. And he watches intently as these people are sawed into pieces, blood spattering and flying and spurting everywhere, never once blinking. We see the effect take hold in his eyes like a predator’s rush of adrenaline when he catches hold of its prey.
And that’s episode 8, kids.
Dexter: Original Sin episode 8 review
There’s so much tension, horror, and dread in episode 8, that we really can’t help but rubberneck. The series has done a stealthy job of creating unnerving tension wrapped in horror and dread that builds with each episode. It’s also given us a proper unfolding of ritual origins while exposing character depth, relationships, and some extremely important plot points that will tie our universe together.
So, let’s talk Captain Spencer. What’s his motive for these kidnappings? What’s his end game? Is it to make the department look better when they start making arrests, or is it to make his own self look like a hero? And how long has he been doing this? Dempsey was a smart choice for this role. Who better to play an unsuspected serial killer than Dr. McDreamy, who is just so sweet and handsome, why, he wouldn’t hurt a fly. It’s spooky how well he is at hiding his dark side.
Something else I’m loving about this series is its repeating themes of secrets and darkness. Most of our main characters are carrying them. Harry is so bogged down with secrets that he’s inhaling cigarettes like oxygen, having heart attacks, and can barely breathe because of all the stress. Officer Sanders (Aaron Jennings) is hiding a secret that he’s gay. Only Dexter knows, and only Dexter understands what it feels like to have to live two lives. Dexter carries heavy secrets and darkness, but his are out of necessity, not maliciousness, and even Deb carries her own secrets and darkness. But the one person in Original Sin to carry the dirtiest secrets and ugliest darkness is Captain Spencer. These characters are great metaphors throughout the series that remind us not to judge books by their covers.
I’m also loving these continual nods to the original series and all the easter eggs. From seeing how Dexter got the idea for his unique kill trophies and watching his code and rituals develop and evolve to being privy to moments that inspired his future disposal techniques, they just don’t stop. Remember the triple homicide case from episodes 1 and 2? Yes, yes, Levi Reed and all, but who else is thinking Trinity Killer?? And let’s not skip over the moment where the future Ice Truck Killer commits his first act of violence against a human being. We just keep seeing these subtle strands woven into this prequel, and we can’t help but feel giddy when we see them and anticipate what we know is coming next.
Dexter: Original Sin streams Fridays on Paramount+ with Showtime and airs Sunday nights onShowtime at 10 p.m. ET.