Dexter: Original Sin Episode 9 Blood Drive Review/Cut Down.

 

Dexter: Original Sin E09/Blood Drive is quite possibly the best episode of this season. We thought that it could not be topped because of Episode 08 “Business and Pleasure” with the official unveiling of Roby Attal‘s 25 year-old Brian Moser who appears in one of the many Harbor Light Mental Hospital’s files that Harry (Christian Slater) combs through as one of Paul Petri’s (RIP via fire poker) patients.

 

 

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW

 

CHURCH BINGO WITH BRIAN MOSER. / 1991.

Have you ever wanted to play bingo in a church with Brian? Well, now you can!

Roby Attal is charismatic as Brian Moser, mirroring Christian Camargo’s original wolfish grin and subtle politeness to a T. Attal lights up the screen when he needs to, and stares nefariously when his character’s cheery mask slips away from prying eyes.

The casting on this show has been absolutely bananas and the costume department has been just as attentive to detail within the character’s wardrobe. Right down to the digital watch, black curls, rolled up sleeves and freckles, it’s no wonder that fans picked up on his sudden appearance in EP 02. “Kid in a Candy Store.” Whether the character has the upper-arm tattoo of the Celtic knot this early in the game or in the later years, is anyone’s guess.

“I’m Barb.” She offers her hand in a shake. “Brian.” he replies.

As soon as he says his name, the music shifts. We know this is not a good thing for him to be here. But what has poor Barbara (Kathleen Rose Perkins) done?

 

We are introduced to a woman named Barb (she’ll be important later) who is about to become his fifth target as the N.H.I (No Human Involved) killer. Years later, The Ice Truck Killer.

 

Barb has a unique purple discoloring to one side of her face (which the actor does not) and blonde hair. Brian is helping her play bingo.

Eagle-eyed viewers can spot that he has set up the bingo dauber stamps like Laura Moser’s (Brittany Allen) rainbow nails, showing that he truly has never out grown his seven year-old self.

BINGO!

When Barb gets up to leave, she exclaims.“You are my lucky charm tonight! Don’t go anywhere!” to which Brian replies with a cheery smile and a point of one of the paint stamps. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Barb.” Now the viewer starts to see the facade peeling away which may be setting up a grim outcome for the entire situation.

 

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE HOSPITAL.

 

Miami Metro is waiting with bated breath for their comrade Bobby (Reno Wilson) to recover after Aaron Spencer’s (Patrick Dempsey) botched cover-up shootout with the actually innocent (in this situation, anyway.) Los Tigres cartel.

 

While Angel Batista (played by the comedic and uncanny James Martinez), explains that Bobby was shot in the neck and is in critical condition, Maria LaGuerta (played with professional ball-busting finesse by Christina Milian) takes Harry aside to confront him about stealing one of Dr. Paul Petri’s files from Tampa.

 

WHO THE HELL IS BRIAN MOSER?

 

LaGuerta of course, has always been an excellent detective. She was even the first one to arrest Dexter on being The Bay Harbor Butcher, despite others having their own suspicions and James Doakes (Erik King) being framed for it.

Unfortunately, because of the corruption in Miami Metro (and her own political games.) she is always shot down and played off as the token Cuban woman with an obsession for power. Most notably tangling with Detective Thomas Matthews (Geoff Pierson), who often played political racist and sexist mind twists with Maria.

 

FLASHBACK: 1973. COMING CLEAN ABOUT THE C.I.

Harry admits that he had an affair with the C.I., Laura Moser and that he was honestly just looking to see how the ‘sweet kid’ Brian was doing. This proves tactful, as LaGuerta presses the subject and wanders downstairs to records later asking for the same information.

FINDING THE BOYS IN THE CONTAINER.

 

By this time, we can assume that Thomas Matthews was replaced by Spencer for some unknown reason, as he is the one whom Harry confides in of Laura’s disappearance and how her part in the Estrada infiltration operation is already compromised because of him.

Spencer closes the door as he is informed of the affair and reluctantly takes Harry’s word and badge posting him as a uniform (uni) on the search for Laura’s boys and nothing more.

 

THREE DAY SEARCH: CHINNY, CHIN, CHIN.

 

They comb through hundreds of shipping containers with stethoscopes and knocking with knight sticks and fists. This proves to be an exhausting three day mission (Harry being impulsive with one doubtful colleague), with people eventually doubting proof of life. Finally, a female officer hears a young Brian (Xander Mateo) reciting “The Three Little Pigs” (Chinny, Chin, Chin) to Dexter (played with the curiosity and shell shock by Eli Sherman) Reminiscent of the original show, Harry is the first to open the container. Both he and a younger Bobby are horrified to see that blood has spilled out and dismembered body parts float at a distance.

 

 

The female officer even runs to be sick, while Harry fearlessly swoops Dexter up, reluctantly breaking the three year-old’s grip from his seven-year-old brother’s hand. Harry walks away with Dexter in his arms, and the child looks back to his brother. Bobby grabs onto Brian’s hand as Brian is led out and looks sadly at Laura’s dismembered body. This is chilling and graphic as her eyes are wide open and it is truly a gory sight.

 

WHY IS HE DOING THIS ANYWAY? NICKY’S CELL.

“Dad, dad, I know it’s you. Please let me out of here. What did I do? Why did you do this?” – Nicky Spencer to his father.

Nicky Spencer awakens in his cell and immediately confesses to his father that he knows it’s him. He holds out his hand from the slot of the cell door and asks what he did wrong and why he cut his finger off, showing him the wound. Thatcher knocks this out of the park with just enough worry in his voice without needing to be an emotional wreck. Nicky is clearly conflicted with the knowledge he now has, and it’s conveyed truthfully and honestly through London’s portrayal.

 

Aaron then unveils himself under his mask and then closes the latch to leave the poor boy in the dark.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. This will all be over soon.”

DEXTER MONOLOGUES ABOUT SPENCER’S DARK PASSENGER.

 

As Spencer puts on the crocodile tears in order to find his son, Dexter lament not only is he his first child killer, but only he is the one to see past Spencer’s facade. Just biding his time until he lands on Dexter’s table.

 

IS THIS THE RIGHT APARTMENT?

 

At night, Dexter breaks into Spencer’s apartment and is amazed to see that it looks nothing like how he pictured it. The irony is that Spencer was also on a bowling team, as seen in a picture frame. Unfortunately, Harry has come home with a self-described ‘bleary-eyed’ Spencer and Dexter must make his quick escape. Out of the window he goes. And in true Dexter fashion, he walks home nonchalantly in the darkness after that.

 

THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME MY FATHER EVER LIED TO MY FACE.

 

The next morning, Dexter discusses bringing Deb home from the hell that was Bibini, The Slice of Pie, Bobby and the new N.H.I serial killer at breakfast with his father. The music dips and there are flashbacks of Brian’s kills from throughout the season.

 

Harry answers hat their suspect (Petri) turned up dead. Dexter presses, asking if the cases are connected, in which Harry lies with a straight face. He has become too good at this, except with Dexter.

And right then and there, Dexter laments that that was the first time his father had ever lied in front of him.

ENTER THE MILK BANDIT

 

Ever the messy teenager, Deb swoops in and literally swipes the milk carton from her brother’s hand, takes a chug of it and slaps it down on the table. “Hey, that was mine!” Deb claims that she dumped Gio and it’s ‘finito’ and that her father can ground her for a month because she deserves it.

In a rare show of emotion, Harry admits he is just glad she’s safe and the two embrace. He warns her not to date anymore older guys, but Deb states with brutal honesty…

“The heart wants what it wants.”

Sorry, dad. No promises. Deb was always the most honest character in this series, up until she finds out her brother is the B.H.B later on. Because Deb was suspended from school and kicked off of the team, she is left to wander the house. Harry lets her know that her god-father was shot but because of him being unconscious, visiting access is restricted. She wants to do something, so Dexter is forced to take his sister into work for the blood drive.

You can tell she’s absolutely intrigued by the place, but is disappointed when she is left to her over devices when Dexter abandons her continue to vet Spencer and his evidence.

 

Dexter is still going through the evidence of Spencer’s crimes, especially paying careful diligence to the Tropimart yellow plastic bag which had Nicky’s basket ball jersey inside. Last week’s episode “Business and Pleasure”, Dexter caught a drug addict giving it to Spencer in his car in order to frame the cartel for his own crimes.

 

THAT WASN’T AN ASK. THAT WAS AN ORDER. BUT PHRASED NICELY.

 

As if Dexter’s life couldn’t get any worse, Tanya (with the utmost callback to Buffy Summers‘ dialogue style) orders that he is the one who takes the blood because he is premed.

“Go forth, draw much blood.” – Tanya handing the clipboard to Dexter.

A reluctant Dexter does just that.

 

Back to our 1973 LaGuerta problem.

 

Luckily, Camilla Figg (played with a young maternal quirkiness and zest by Sarah Kinsey) was warned ahead of time by Harry and being true to the original show, there is nothing in the paper work indicating Laura had a second son. Only Brian, age 7, is listed.

As LaGuerta is satisfied and leaves. Camilla calls Harry to confirm his suspicions. Unfortunately, the two have been trying to locate Brian’s youth and medical files in order to find a forwarding address or a destination, but the legal system has it sealed shut. It’s clear that as soon as Brian left foster care with the Morgans, he was shucked to the institute where he stayed for the rest of his childhood, up until the age of 21.

Harry begins to go through Brian’s Tampa file and flashes back to the past.

 

1973. HARRY AND DORIS FOSTER BRIAN AND DEXTER.

 

Barbara from the bingo game as it turns out, is the Florida social services employee that has come to see if the Morgans would foster both Brian and Dexter. The state would prefer not to separate the siblings and she inquiring if Doris and Harry could foster them as a pair. She states how Brian has been remarkably resilient and Dexter hasn’t said a word since the massacre.

CONFIRMED: JOE DRISCOLL IS THE FATHER OF BRIAN AND DEXTER MOSER.

 

Doris asks to talk it over with her husband once she realizes who the mother is and that their jailed father (Joe Driscoll) wants nothing to do with his sons. Doris walks over to the boys and squats down, asking if Brian likes firetrucks to which he nods. Doris as usual, picks up Dexter and states with determination

“These boys need a mother.” – Doris.

 

THERE COULD BE BLUE IN YOUR BLOOD, DEB.

 

Deb is absolutely fascinated with the precinct and immediately gets on LaGuerta’s bad side right in front of her desk (as we all know), until Tanya sweeps her up under her wing. The two bond over being into sports, and Tanya tries to nudge her in the direction of the family business. Deb is conflicted, but there’s a spark in her eye.

 

DEB’S MULTI-FACETED SHIFTS.

 

As earlier mentioned, we see Harry actually embrace his daughter. It’s a beautiful moment and explains why she is so different as an adult than as a seventeen-year-old. What a lot of viewers don’t understand, is that Debra became hard as an adult. She has suffered so much grief, loss and abandonment as a child that she forced herself to hide from the world behind false bravado and a determined outlook.

DEB IS BRUTALLY HONEST EVEN AS A KID.

 

Deb even as a child, has always been both resilient and headstrong, but for those that question the difference between young Deb and young twenty-something Deb, that is your answer. Deb has always been the most brutally honest person on this show, which is refreshing compared to this web of lies around her.

 

PRODDING SPENCER.

Person by person, Dexter draws their blood and gives them cookies. When Spencer appears, Dexter is purposely careless and rough with the needle while interrogating Spencer now in his chair. Despite being a psychopath himself, Dexter is surprised to feel the steadiness of Spencer’s heart against his palm. The two seem to catch onto each other, but only for a flicker of a second.

Dexter questions why the cartel is targeting children, while subtly indicating that the other is the killer to which Spencer replies…

 

“They’re fucking evil animals.” Aaron Spencer.

Those words will bite him in the ass. As Dexter roughly finishes up his blood draw, Spence snidely remarks that he hopes he’s better at his job with the cold cases than taking blood.

While Dexter is taking the finger prints off of Nicky’s evidence bag, big hearted Clark Sanders (Aaron Jennings) approaches him with the request to make it look like he gave blood to keep up his appearances because his partner was recently HIV positive. Dexter draws his own blood, helping his friend and even offers him a cookie.

I love Clark, we need more scenes of him, Aaron kills it every time.

 

Sadly, since Dexter has already given a pint in Clark’s place, a clueless Vince Masuka (perfectly hehehe’d by Alex Shimizu) orders him to give another as an intern even after Dexter feigns that he is afraid of needles. This ends up with Dexter snacking on chocolate bars all throughout the climax of the episode from lack of blood, albeit, taken from the opposite arm.

HELLO, YOU.

Now we’re coming to the meat and potatoes of our tale. As Harry goes through all of Brian’s files and the current N.H.I cases, he spots that he has been stalking Dexter in all of their crime scenes in an orange baseball cap. (Shout out to YOU (Netflix)

In fact, if you rewatch episode 02, “Kid In A Candy Store” you can peer into the crowd and see good ole’ Brian watching his brother from afar. Is it really stalking? If you go back to “Born Free” in the original Dexter, Brian states that he told Laura he would always look out for him. Harry as usual, is just being ridiculous.

 

“THIS FUCKER IS STALKING MY SON.” Harry Morgan while inspecting various N.H.I. photos.

1973: ONE HAPPY FAMILY. OH, NO. BABY DEBBIE.

 

Mateo’s perfectly obsessive and glaring Brian demands that Doris make Dexter a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. While she obliges, she puts Baby Debbie down. As she makes the plate, Brian gets annoyed with the constant crying. “Shut up.” he states coldly. But it keeps going and going.

With that being his only warning, he picks up a pillow and promptly tries to smother the baby. There is an eerie outline of his shadow on the wall.

Doris sees this, drops the plate with a SMASH, shoves Brian off and throws the pillow and immediately puts him in timeout on the couch.

Despite his unstable behavior (remember cutting the tails off of the lizards and grinning over the grave?) he takes the direction and sits there until Harry comes home.

 

Finally, Harry sits down beside him on the couch and tries to explain to him that he can’t do that to the baby. Doris looks on in horror, while Dexter blankly tries to follow the scene.

Brian flies into a rage yelling how Harry is not his dad (not knowing his dad disowned the Moser siblings). Harry calmly replies that he knows. But then, the seven year-old starts screaming that he hates everyone, he wants his mom and he shoves Harry.

Brian thrusts his hand through the glass of the front door, and promptly uses the glass inside his palm as a weapon and slashes him across the face leaving bloody marks. The couple has no choice but to call Barb back and send him away to the state.

 

IT WAS DORIS, NOT HARRY.

 

In the end, it was Doris’s decision, not Harry’s to give up Brian. Good job, Harry. This round. He has the patience of a saint, and honestly, as awful as Brian was—he still showed that he could a; take direction and b; at least the ‘shut up’ was a warning. With possible PTSD therapy, he might have been at least mildly decent.

 

It is revealed that after he left the Morgan’s, he went straight to Harbor Light and was never put up for adoption.

 

“Where’s Biney going?” Dexter sadly asks. Brian sits in the back of the car, looking miserable and reaches his hand out to his brother as the car drives away.

 

SHOULD WE TURN HIM IN?

 

Harry visits Bobby in the hospital, pleading with his friend if he should turn Brian in with the knowledge he knows and risk Dexter’s PTSD, or leave it alone. Bobby wakes up saying to words weakly. “Save. Dexter.” Elated, Harry kisses him on the forehead and quickly alerts the medical staff that his friend is finally awake.

 

PARTING WITH SPENCER’S FINGER IS SUCH SWEET SORROW.

 

Now we know THAT problem.

 

Meanwhile, Dexter has set up a kill room in the closed arcade that Nicky said he had a high score in.

 

He lures Spencer there and the two fight until he’s knocked out with the needle going through his hand and into his shoulder, and taped to the table. Unfortunately, Spencer can’t stop lying. In an expert adaption of Hall’s Dexter, Patrick laughs in his role and states ‘Still with the innocent act!’

Finally, Spencer comes clean and admits that he is doing it all because of his wife and her affair. Shocked, Dexter thinks this is the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard and even asks him how many kids were there before these two. Honestly, even as a viewer—I can’t actually take that he did it because of his wife seriously. There has to be an ulterior motive. Dexter makes sure to throw his ‘evil fucking animals’ saying right back in his face.

Dexter explains how he gave two pints of blood that day and indicates giving one more would probably kill him. With zero hesitation, he cuts Spencer’s finger off after it’s clear he can’t kill him yet without Nicky’s location. Leaving him in utter pain and cutting just a bit of his tape, Dexter flees and waits in his car, following Spencer once he leaves.

 

“YOU PROMISED ME, YOU WOULDN’T SEPARATE ME AND DEXTER. SO, NOW. I’M GONNA SEPARATE YOU.”

Poor Barb is tied up in the middle of nowhere. Brian is cold and distant as he admits that it’s her fault he was separated from her brother. She apologizes stating that she thought she did what was best for both him and his brother but also agrees that she should have gotten him help instead.

 

Begging for her life, Brian leaves her with the words above and chainsaws her to death. Attal gives a chilling performance as blood splatters his face.

 

END EPISODE.

Biney, what’s up with those white socks and loafers? Unless these are bowling shoes? Don’t recall that in 1991 except at an actual alley. Why are you on a roof in bowling sneakers?

So, what did we learn?

 

• Dexter and Brian were fostered by Harry and Doris and he was not abandoned after all.
• Harry tried to be patient with him, even after Brian tried to smother baby Deb with a pillow.
• Adult Brian has clearly never grown up and he is onto his 5th kill now.
• Brian has been stalking Dexter in all of his crime scenes wearing an orange cap.
• LaGuerta knew about his file but Camilla and Harry foiled her search.
• Tanya is possibly the reason Deb joins Miami Metro.
• Masuka can’t mind his own goddamn business.
• We love Nicky.
• Brian seeks revenge on Barb who worked as the adoption worker.
• Spencer clearly has no rhyme or reason for doing what he did.
• Dexter can run a blood drive and not completely lose his shit.
• If Dexter takes your blood, don’t be Spencer.
• Deb still has a chance with her scholarship.
• Harry gave Deb a hug, HOLY SHIT.
• Bobby is the one who said not to go after Brian.
• Spencer’s finger was chopped off.
• Spencer escaped because of the unknown location of Nicky to the police.
• Brian loves a good chainsaw in the middle of nowhere.

 

YOU CAN CATCH THE FINALE OF DEXTER: ORIGINAL SIN NEXT FRIDAY ON PARAMOUNT+/SHOWTIME AND EPISODE 9 TOMORROW.

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About the author: Katie Harden is a professionally repped New York-based/bi-coastal musical theater, entertainment journalist, and indie film actress. She is proudly part of the Actor’s Equity Association/SAG-FTRA Eligible and frequently interviews colleagues, friends, and celebrities, along with reviewing television and movies. Find her at the bottom of a can of Arizona sweet tea or in the ocean!

Work: AMC, Tribeca, Showtime, HBO, The Emmy’s, The Walking Dead magazine, MGM, Universal, Sony Screen Gems, 492 Elm, Bloody Disgusting, and more.

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