How Dexter Season 9 Will End: Every Theory

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Dexter: New Blood episode 8.

Showtime’s Dexter season 9 is soon drawing to a close, and there are plenty of plausible theories on how New Blood will end. Considering Dexter: New Blood was initially promoted as a redo as Dexter’s hated season 8 ending, audiences are expecting much from the Dexter season 9 finale. With Harrison’s Dark Passenger, Angela catching onto Dexter as the Bay Harbor Butcher, and Kurt trying to kill both Dexter and Harrison all contributing to the final few episodes of New Blood, Dexter season 9 could end in a variety of shocking outcomes.

Audiences’ trust was put back into Dexter: New Blood to redeem the season 8 ending upon the announcement that original showrunner Clyde Phillips would be returning to write and helm Dexter’s reboot series. Phillips wrote the first four seasons of Dexter’s original series, which are overwhelmingly regarded as the show’s best era. With both Phillips and Dexter actor Michael C. Hall claiming that their returns were partially due to the unsatisfactory ending of Dexter season 8, New Blood was crafted with the opportunity to excel in a closure for Dexter Morgan’s story. Additionally, Clyde Phillips explained that Dexter: New Blood’s ending was one of the best pieces of writing in this entire career, and the “shocking” and “inevitable” finale would “blow up the internet.”

The expectations for Dexter: New Blood’s finale are high, and many fans seem to think they’ve already cracked how Dexter season 9 will conclude. While most theories for Dexter: New Blood’s finale surround whether Dexter will survive, if Harrison will become a serial killer, and the possibility of Angela exposing Dexter as the Bay Harbor Butcher, viewers differ on which resolutions would make the most sense for the 15-year-long story. As Dexter season 9 nears its finale, here’s a breakdown of every theory on how Dexter: New Blood will end.

Dexter Sacrifices Himself To Save Harrison

Ever since Dexter: New Blood episode 1’s ending, Dexter has made it clear that he desperately wants to protect Harrison. Dexter wasn’t able to act as a father for the past decade, and his redemption in caring for his son will likely end in the ultimate sacrifice. It’s been long-theorized that Dexter will die in New Blood’s finale, and the manner for this to happen that makes the most sense is an act that protects Harrison. New Blood’s overarching theme has been fatherhood, and the finale episode’s title is even “Sins of the Father,” suggesting teenage Harrison Morgan will once again be subject to danger due to Dexter’s sins. Since Kurt is still running free at the end of New Blood episode 8, it’s possible that he will work to kill Harrison and Dexter for good, leaving Dexter with a fatal choice of sacrificing himself so that Harrison can live.

Harrison & Dexter Will Work Together To Kill Kurt

Dexter will want to protect Harrison and keep him from the dangerous (and immoral) life of a serial killer, but he also felt relief and reluctant joy when he and Harrison connected over having dark urges and being “born in blood.” Since Kurt already tried to kill Harrison and capture Dexter in episode 8, the Morgans will have to make a choice about how to proceed in taking down New Blood‘s Runaway Killer. Dexter had already resolved that needed to kill Kurt, and now that Harrison knows how vile he is, he’ll hardly have any reservations to put him on his table. In connecting over their dark urges, Harrison and Dexter may both work together to capture and kill Kurt in New Blood’s final episode as revenge. Dexter may typically stop Harrison from violent actions, but taking down the serial murderer who nearly killed him would be a reasonable exception. Additionally, Dexter enjoyed having this bond with his son, as dark and twisted as it may be, so they may join together as a father-son team to take down Kurt as Dexter passes down his knowledge to Harrison.

Dexter Will Teach Harrison The Code

Many have theorized that New Blood’s finale will show Dexter passing on his secret hobbies and teaching Harrison Dexter‘s Code of Harry, but this ending wouldn’t be shocking as Clyde Phillips has proclaimed the ending to be, as it has been hinted at all along. Additionally, it would go against Dexter’s vision to break the cycle and keep his son from becoming the murderous monster that Harry trained him to be. While Dexter is apt to explain to Harrison that he’s a serial killer and his father taught him the Code to channel his urges, it’s unlikely that he’ll train Harrison to be a killer in the same way considering Dexter himself admitted Harry’s Code was child abuse. Dexter was reluctantly happy at understanding that his son had a Dark Passenger as well, but this is mostly only because it gives them a bond and connection. It’s unlikely that Dexter would want to subject his son to the same dangerous lifestyle that he ran away from for the 10 years before Dexter: New Blood‘s timeline.

Dexter Is Arrested As The Bay Harbor Butcher

Ever since Angela found out that New Blood’s “Jim Lindsay” was actually Dexter Morgan, the series has been hinting that she would discover his more notorious identity as the Bay Harbor Butcher. Angela connected Dexter’s Bay Harbor Butcher drug from the original series to the Ketamine sedations in Iron Lake, revealing that she’s the closest to puzzling together Dexter’s serial killer past. The notion of Dexter being revealed as the Bay Harbor Butcher was also hinted at by true-crime podcaster Molly Park’s role in the series, as she has expert knowledge on the case as well as that of the Trinity Killer. Rather than ending New Blood with Dexter’s death, having him arrested as the Bay Harbor Butcher after nearly two decades of evading capture would be a fitting conclusion to the series. At the same time, his arrest would still leave the door open for his return, as Dexter’s story won’t truly be over until he’s dead.

Harrison Kills Angela Before She Can Expose Dexter

Dexter: New Blood episode 8 proved that Angela now only has to make one or two more connections to confirm that Dexter Morgan is the Bay Harbor Butcher, suggesting that she will try to expose his past by the finale. Considering Harrison’s darkness has been augmented by his father’s absence over the past decade and he has his own killing urges himself, many have theorized that Harrison will kill Angela because he doesn’t want to lose Dexter again. Angela’s death in Dexter: NewBlood‘s ending would likely be a cliffhanger if the series extended into a second season, as it would possibly set up Dexter and Harrison as a killing tag-team. On the other hand, Harrison killing Angela would be a wake-up call for Dexter because she doesn’t fit the code, it would just only keep Dexter from getting caught. While this Dexter season 9 ending would be shocking, as Clyde Phillips has proclaimed, it would go against Dexter’s vision to break the cycle and keep his son from becoming the murderous monster that Harry trained him to be.

New episodes of Dexter: New Blood air Sundays on Showtime

About The Author

Jordan Williams
(812 Articles Published)

See also  Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance - Where to Find Every Dwarven Mug

Jordan Williams is a Movie/TV Feature Senior Staff Writer for Screen Rant. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Media Studies.

Jordan is based in Seattle, Washington and enjoys exploring the natural beauty the PNW has to offer. She runs on coffee and classic movies, taking pride in having watched every film on AFI’s 100 Greatest Films list and every Best Picture Oscar winner.

More From Jordan Williams