After the giant bombshell no one () saw coming, we might think episode 8 would be more chill. Nope! Business and Pleasure begins with Nicky Spencer, drugged and groggy, recognizing his dad. There’s a psychological basis for him not recognizing the masked man while he was in fight-or-flight mode, but totally seeing him when he was less alert.
Will Nicky recognizing his dad as the kidnapper mean that Spencer will have to kill him to keep him quiet? Would he really go that far just to get back at his wife? Is he that much of a narcissist? Aaron is written as a typical toxic male incapable of self-reflection who blames everyone else when things don’t go his way. I hope he wouldn’t kill his own son—but he did cut off his finger, scare the hell out of him, and punch his ex in the face. Anything is possible.
Deb and Gio’s saga ended in several different ways this week:
- He turned out to be a drug dealer.
- Harry finally clued in to the fact that Gio is an adult with an apartment.
- There’s a fiancé.
- Deb acted like her typical self and went snooping.
- Gio seemed close to violence when he stranded Deb in Bimini.
- Gio stranded Deb in Bimini. Worth mentioning twice.
Harry and Maria are still investigating the “NHI” killings, and I wish they’d stop using that term now that everyone at the precinct (who isn’t Spencer) agrees that it sucks. Sadly, there are still cops who use it today. We get a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene with a young Miguel Prado. Mmmmm.
Good news! Laura has finally risked her life enough that they have the information they need to arrest a drug dealer. Hooray! Harry makes the astonishingly stupid decision to meet Laura in a public park, which is how they get spotted by the bad guys. Obviously, that makes Harry even more to blame than he was before. It’s surprising that Brian didn’t try to kill Harry as an adult—especially now that we know Harry was still alive long after Brian was discharged from the mental ward. The oldest Moser son had much more beef with Harry than with Debra, who he did go after.
While no one is surprised when the cartel guys haul the Moser family away, it’s still horrifying and sad. Brian fights the hardest. Plus it’s very cute to see him painting his mom’s nails. That, of course, is the basis for his fascination with painting women’s nails different colors. Honestly, I think Laura and Brian alone could have fought their way out of there. But Dexter being threatened at gunpoint made Laura and her oldest stop fighting.
Sophia somehow becomes even more awful this week as she tries to make Dexter jealous by making out with some rando in front of him. She then says Deb “pulled back” from her when in fact, Sophia is the one who betrayed Deb. As someone with brothers, I can say that it’s almost unheard of for a sister to take the side of some short-term girlfriend over a brother she knows is decent.
The scene where Harry discusses Deb’s waywardness with Maria is infuriating. She gives great advice and we learn new things about her, so that’s awesome. But Harry having the nerve to say “I just don’t know how to help her?” Ridiculous. She tells you exactly what she wants. She wants her only remaining parent to spend time with her, take an interest in her life, be available, listen. He doesn’t do any of that, unless he’s got a minute in between Dexter and work.
Camilla and Gene’s boat is called “A Slice of Pie,” which is wonderful for several reasons. Camilla loves key lime pie. ‘Slice of pie’ is also a term of affection or attraction in the American south. And of course, it’s the inspiration for the name of Dexter’s boat: “Slice of Life.” Is it possible that Dexter actually buys his boat from Gene and Camilla because they’re always getting sunburned?
After the performative display Spencer puts on during the raid, I would rather see him publicly shamed and imprisoned rather than killed by Dexter. He deserves to be exposed for what he really is. After he takes his son’s shirt and has an addict plant it in a drug house, he leads a raid that becomes a violent mess. Watch him scream at unarmed, half-dressed women about a boy he knows full well is locked up with his remaining fingers on the other side of town. And because Aaron escalated the violence far more than would have been necessary even if the raid was valid—Bobby Watt ended up shot. Even more than seeing Aaron consequenced, I really want Bobby and Nicky to live.
Anybody else wondering whether the gifted bracelet was stolen of if it belonged to Gio’s fiancé? Either is likely. I was saying out loud the whole time, don’t do anything dumb with that, Deb. You can pawn it. Alas, she throws a diamond bracelet into the water like Rose from Titanic. Dramatically though, it’s a win. We get to hear Dexter realize that “Once it’s in the ocean, it’s gone forever.”
Also gone forever, Deb’s best friend. Her boyfriend. Her scholarship, and thus, her chance to go to Florida State. Wasn’t that her Godfather who got shot? In high school, all of that would feel like the end of the world. We wanna say Deb will get through it and thrive except that we know she doesn’t. Dexter was never a drama where people live happily ever after. It’s always showed us a bunch of messed up people, then explained how they got that way.
We end the episode with Laura and the boys locked in the shipping container with a few other terrified people. Actually seeing them begin the chain sawing was horrific. Finding out they had every intention of killing the boys too is grotesque. But exactly the kind of grand guignol Dexter fans watch for. “Close your eyes, Dexter” with that echo? *chef kiss* Perfection!
With two eps remaining, we know we’re gonna be faced with the ghastly murder of Laura. We’ll also find out why the boys got to live and why it took Harry days to find them. We may see the exchange that eventually leads to Brian learning that it was Doris who didn’t want to take him in. Will Bobby Watt live? Will Sanders get outed despite Dexter’s silence? Will Debra and Sophia ever speak again? Will Harry ever figure out that Dexter is right about Spencer? Will Nicky get out alive. We’ll all know everything in just a few weeks!