Dexter: Original Sin Season 1 Episode 9 Review: Blood Drive

For a season that’s already been packed with well-timed reveals and intense sequences, the penultimate episode, Dexter: Original Sin Season 1 Episode 9, “Blood Drive,” still manages to pack a punch.

Whether Deb is exploring the precinct and, by extension, her potential career options, or Dexter is moving forward with his plan to make Captain Aaron Spencer his next victim, we find ourselves on the edge of our seats the whole time. Not to mention the added benefit that the typical flashback scenes, as well as current-day Brian making his own mark on Miami, add to the narrative.

We say this every episode, but it bears mentioning again: the attention to detail on the writers’ part shows fans just how much love and consideration went into this series.

Dexter vs. Brian

One of the top benefits of Dexter: Original Sin Season 1 Episode 9, “Blood Drive,” is how the writers make sure every moment of Dexter hunting down Captain Spencer is mirrored by an adult Brian stalking his next victim, Barb the social worker. It reminds us that these two boys were born from the same tragedy.

The flashback scenes really help to keep that at the forefront of our minds. Two boys both witness the brutal murder of their mother and multiple other people, only to end up separated from each other in the end.

For Dexter, he was young enough to easily forget everything he witnessed, but Brian was 7 years old and very aware of everything going on. In fact, he was already exhibiting signs of malicious behavior long before his mother’s murder.

Now that they are both adults, the two brothers exercise their trauma response in different ways. Dexter has been shaped and molded by Harry’s rules his whole life, which makes him a more calculated and cautious killer.

Meanwhile, Brian was abandoned, due to death, by his mother and then restricted from the only family he had left, Dexter. This led him down his current path, which is killing all the people he feels are connected to the tragedy in his life.

The craziest part is that Harry can see it all, yet he insists on keeping Dexter in the dark and lying to La Guerta about Brian Moser to maintain the status quo. Fans of Dexter know that Harry manages to hold off La Guerta from discovering Brian is the serial killer they are after because Dexter still doesn’t know of his existence by the time he’s dubbed the Ice Truck Killer.

Captain Aaron Spencer Is Spiralling

One of the big reveals from “Blood Drive” is that Captain Spencer’s motivation behind kidnapping Nicky is directly related to his divorce. Unfortunately, that still leaves a giant question mark regarding Jimmy Powell. 

Of course, paying attention to details, we know Jimmy Powell was kept in the room where Nicky now resides and fed the same food as him. However, the reasoning behind Captain Spencer taking this boy is extremely murky.

My thoughts on this are that Captain Spencer knew he needed a test case if he ever wanted his plan (whatever the end goal of that is) for Nicky to play out correctly. He knew he needed people to think someone other than himself or his ex-wife took the boy, so he hatched the plan with Jimmy. 

By making sure it was a high-profile kid, Captain Spencer figured the police, a.k.a. his team, would connect the two boys through something related to both a politician and a cop. Hence, the cartel and that whole mess during Dexter: Original Sin Season 1 Episode 8, “Business and Pleasure.”

It would be interesting if that is all the explanation needed for Jimmy Powell. Either way, whether the writers take that route or decide to make up some other elaborate explanation, we will love every second.

No matter what, the season finale is going to be exciting. Especially now that we know Captain Spencer is completely unhinged and out of control.

Debra Morgan, Future Badass Female at Miami Metro?

One thing we weren’t expecting during this episode is Debra’s little side quest at the Miami Metro Police Station. It comes unexpectedly when she offers to donate blood for her godfather.

Honestly, Dexter’s reaction is comedic gold, but at the end of the day, Deb’s adventure shapes her even more into the character we’ve known for some time now. She’s finally starting to shed her more impulsive, immature tendencies and looking toward the future.

We see it in the way her face lights up while she’s talking to Tanya about being an athlete. Then, we see it when she pauses to reflect when Tanya tells her the station needs more badass females like her.

Could this be the moment she changes her mind about joining the family business? It sure feels that way. Even more so, Deb’s interactions at the precinct show that La Guerta has always been kind of nasty to her. It’s not just a future Deb thing.

Stray Thoughts:

• It is heartwarming to see Dexter as the real deal for Sanders, so he isn’t outed unnecessarily. It proves that while Dexter might think he doesn’t know how to be a human, he does.
• The bond between Bobby and Harry runs deep. Once again, I ponder what happens to him because he’s not around 13 years later when the original series takes place. 
• Doris Morgan, the saint that you are. Your husband comes home with the children of the woman he had an affair with, and you simply declare those boys need a mom.

 

What did you think of this episode of Dexter: Original Sin? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Dexter: Original Sin Season 1 concludes Friday, February 14th on Paramount+ with Showtime and Sunday, February 16th at 10/9c on Showtime.

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