On a hill far away
Stood an old rugged cross
The emblem
Of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross
[Bill] Hey, psycho!
[muffled] Where the dearest and best
For a world
Of lost sinners was slain
And I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Cross
Till my trophies
At last I lay down...
[groaning]
What you got now, ass wipe?
[groaning]
[both groan]
[groaning]
What the fuck?!
Psycho. [yelling]
Fuck. [groans]
[young men yelling]
Oh. Oh.
[Bill] Holy shit, man!
You fucking killed him!
Ah! No!
[yelling]
[laughs]
[panting]
[door opens]
And I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Old rugged cross
Till my trophies
At last I lay down
Yes, I will cling
To the old rugged cross
And exchange it
Some day for a crown...
[instrumental interlude plays of "The Old Rugged Cross"]
[Dexter] Who the hell is this guy?
[grunts]
[phone ringing]
Afternoon, Mr. Caldwell.
Hey, Elric, could you turn the fucking
hillbilly music down a little?
Yeah. Sor-Sorry.
The old ru...
[turns music off]
Everything okay?
Yeah, everything's fine.
Just checking in. How's your job coming?
[Elric] Oh, I got your fish-and-game guy.
Oh, easy as pie. You handling his son?
[Dexter] My son?
[Kurt] I'm handling everything.
I'll see you soon.
slow, suspenseful music
[Dexter grunts]
[muffled groaning]
[both groaning]
[tires squealing]
[groaning]
[muffled grunting]
[tires squealing]
[Dexter grunts]
[grunting]
[panting]
[spits]
[panting]
[groans]
[panting]
[sniffles]
up-tempo, dramatic music
Fuck.
Ah.
[Dexter panting]
-[gunshot] -[groans]
[groaning]
Fuck!
[bird singing]
[instrumental of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" playing]
-[hand bell jingling] -[distant chatter]
[both laughing]
It almost fell, oh, my God.
[phone buzzing]
Hello?
Hey, Harrison, I'm headed to the Truck Stop. Are you there?
I thought you were in jail.
Oh, no, no, no.
That... We got that cleared up.
That was just a misunderstanding.
Cool. Cool.
Y-Yeah, actually, I, um...
I-I'm not at the Truck Stop
right now. I had to leave a little early, uh,
'cause my dad came by, we had a huge fight.
What do you mean, a huge fight? You okay?
Yeah, I'm okay.
Yeah, well, it doesn't sound like it.
Your dad just doesn't let up, does he?
Is he with you now?
N-No, I, um... I don't know where he is.
Mm.
Uh, well, did he call you to check to see if you're okay?
No.
Okay. Well, I'm sure he's just, uh, tied up with something.
Hey, listen, buddy, uh, where are you?
Um, I'm a-across the street from the-the Christmas tree lot.
Okay, you stay right there, all right?
I'm gonna come and pick you up.
I got a surprise for you.
slow, ominous music
[panting]
[groaning, panting]
[Dexter] I got to lose this guy,
get back to his truck and find my son.
[groaning, panting]
[knocking]
Hey. What's up?
It's Christmas Eve is what's up.
-Go home. -[chuckles softly]
Yeah. I'm... I'm headed out soon.
-You good? -I will be.
Well, you know, if you ever, uh,
want to grab a drink or anything...
...I'm sure that Jim would love to hear from you.
Did you hear that we-we had drinks the other night?
-I didn't. -You know, he acts
all easy breezy, but underneath, he's...
He cares a lot
about you and Harrison. I mean, look at how
upset he got after his kid almost OD'd.
Nearly killed that drug dealer.
What are you talking about?
Uh, that's right. You were, um...
You were in New York. Well, we went to Crystal Bar
to arrest the drug dealer, Miles O'Flynn.
Jim had already found the guy
and was, uh, beating the shit out of him.
-How did you not tell me this? -Oh, I meant to. I just...
Okay, look, I didn't want it to look like
I was talking shit about your boyfriend.
Uh, his anger got the best of him.
If-if it was my kid, I probably would have reacted the same way.
[sighs] I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I-I-I wasn't trying to, you know,
make you upset or anything. I--
Oh, it's okay. It's okay.
It's... it's been a tough week.
eerie, dramatic music
[panting]
[groaning]
[sucks in sharply through teeth]
[panting]
[groans loudly]
[Dexter] I really hate it when I'm the one who's bleeding.
slow, suspenseful music
[Deb] Your son's blood.
It's all on your hands.
Goddamn save him.
I'm working on it.
[rock music plays quietly]
That's it. I guarantee it'll make you feel dyno-mite.
-Shit. No, I wasn't doing shit! -Hey! Hey, hey!
You've got some time to talk.
Fucking bullshit! I was just
-drinking a beer, man. -Relax, Miles.
I'm not gonna hurt you or bust you.
I'm here to ask you about your encounter with Jim Lindsay.
Who?
He was the guy who did that to your face.
Oh. That guy. Fucking lunatic.
Yeah. I'm still thinking about pressing charges.
Do you want to tell me what went down?
This isn't like a trick or something, right?
Like, you're not trying to entrap me?
Okay? 'Cause I'm not fucking stupid.
No? Well, you help me out, I'll return the favor.
Okay. All right.
So, I was at the bar, having a drink,
when that, uh, Jim dude, or whatever his name is,
comes over to me, all friendly and shit.
-Friendly? -Yeah. He asks me
if I could... do him a favor.
Heard you might know where to get some blues.
Follow me outside.
He asked you for drugs?
Your words, not mine.
Anyway, so he gets me outside over by the dumpsters.
So I could...
So you could do him that favor?
Right. Except out of nowhere, he fucking jumped me.
He just started attacking you with no provocation?
Yeah, just started swinging at me.
And look, okay, this is gonna sound crazy,
but before he started pounding on me,
he poked me in the neck, with, like, a needle or some shit.
-A needle? -Yeah, and so, I was like,
"What the fuck?" And I look up, and I see the police rolling up,
and I'm like, what the actual fuck?
And that's when he started throwing fists, man.
[grunting]
-Wait. Wait. -He's got fast hands, yo.
He starts punching you after the cops show up?
Yeah, man. Yeah, just right as they rolled up.
And the thing he poked you with, you're sure it was a needle?
Well, I-I didn't really get a good look at it, okay?
It all happened so fast, but, like, I mean, look.
I still got the fucking mark. Check it.
[rock music playing]
[groaning]
[panting]
[water rushing]
Kurt said I had to bring you in alive.
You know what?
-[gunshot] -[gasps, groans]
He'll just have to understand.
[panting]
-[gunshot] -[gasps, groans]
[Kurt mumbles] Right?
[chuckling] I mean, you know, shit.
[chuckles]
[Kurt sighs]
I think the school's closed for, you know, Christmas break.
Yeah, well, they haven't changed the locks
since I was Matt's wrestling coach, so... [chuckles]
What about security cameras?
Oh, you mean for our precious children?
No, those are reserved for tracking white deer
because that's what's important, right?
Sometimes it feels good to be bad.
Don't you think? [chuckles]
Yeah.
Besides, what are they gonna do-- arrest me? Again?
[both chuckle]
[groaning]
[panting]
[shudders]
[Dexter] Fucking snow.
Even a three-year-old could track me.
Come on, big man, head on down that creek
so I can get back to my son.
First perfect game
-in school history. -That's Matt?
Yeah. He was about your age.
Ah, I used to go to every one of his games.
That's what I loved most about being a dad.
Whoa. He lettered in three sports?
[Kurt] Yeah. He was...
he was special.
Well, how's he doing? Have you talked to him lately?
Actually... I haven't, you know.
Uh, we never really communicated very well.
Not like you and me. [chuckles]
Oh.
Does that mean he's not coming home for Christmas?
Uh... you know, with all the search party,
I think he's afraid to show his face around here.
That's too bad.
People are pretty forgiving.
Especially during the holidays.
Not everyone.
Hey, let's go have some fun, huh? Come on.
Oldest trick in the goddamn book.
You want to play games?
I can do this all fucking day.
[Dexter] You might have all day, but I don't.
-Shit. This is great. -[laughs] Yeah. Right?
Small towns love them some sport, huh?
[chuckles]
I mean, what else we gonna do, right?
Okay.
Uh, let's see...
That one...
All right.
[machine humming]
-Put that ball right in here. -All right.
All right, wait for me to get down there.
Okay.
All right, anytime.
[chuckles]
Whoa!
Wow. Matt's got nothing on you, huh?
Yeah, well, I led the Mountain League
in batting my senior year.
Taught him everything...
he knows. All right, that's enough.
Let's turn this thing off before I hurt myself showing off.
[laughs]
You ever play?
-What, Jim never taught you? -No.
All right. Let's see what you got.
[panting]
[Dexter] Summer camp.
Perfect place for a serial killer
to make his stand.
All right. Batter up!
Sorry.
It's okay, you don't have to apologize.
Okay. Here you go.
It's all right.
You just weren't taught right.
Y-You're swinging with your wrists, all right?
Good instincts, but you've got to use
your whole body, right?
You've got to step with your legs.
Swing. Whole body.
There you go. Good. One more time.
Step. Whole body.
All right, now, this time, step, whole body,
snap your wrists. Ready?
Step, whole body, snap!
There you go. There.
You're not afraid, are you?
-No. -Good.
[sniffs]
Now...
Ready?
Okay. Just... relax.
Keep your head down. Eye on the ball, all right?
- gentle music -Ready?
Hey, attaboy! Attaboy. All right.
Good, good, good. Now, step into it.
Oh!
There we go. [laughs]
-Whew! Good God! -[laughing]
This is getting too easy for you.
You know what? Let's try a curve ball.
See how you handle that.
All right. Here we go.
[grunts]
You okay?
Yeah.
Yeah. I'm-I'm good.
All right.
Okay.
[machine powering down]
Turn it back on.
[grunts]
Sorry. I'm not the guy you're looking for.
Put another one in.
And my own dad thinks I'm what?
A liar? An animal?
Again.
[grunts]
Again.
-[cheering] -[cries out]
Again!
[machine powers down]
You are one tough fucking kid.
So, you ever had venison?
No, I-- No, I've never had it.
Really? You mean the whole time you've been here in Iron Lake,
Jim hasn't cooked you up some venison?
Nope.
Oh. I don't know what the hell he's waiting for.
Come on, we're gonna rectify that situation right now.
All right. Let's go.
[grunts] I also see some
quality Scotch in your future.
ominous music
[grunts]
[breathing sharply]
[Harrison] I thought we were headed to your place.
We are. I have a cabin out this way.
Oh, cool.
Yeah. I do all my hunting out here.
It's where I keep my venison.
It's nice, you know. To have a place you can go
to get away, be yourself.
Yeah.
dramatic music
[grunts]
[Dexter] Hope he's as drawn to blood as I am.
[panting]
You said you had all day.
Well, I've got news for you.
The night is mine.
[sighs]
[Logan] What's going on? Everything okay?
Yeah. It's just...
You know what? You were right.
I pushed everything aside to deal with Iris.
I want to close out all our files.
-Now? -Yeah, I keep thinking about
that story you told me about the opioid bust.
You mind bringing me up to speed on that case?
Okay, um, once we arrested Miles,
I got him to snitch on his supplier.
Piece of shit named Jasper Hodge.
I coordinated with the Staties to make the arrest,
-but we got there too late. -It was too late?
Yeah. When we went to make the arrest,
he was already dead.
Accidentally OD'd on his own product
while he was pressing pills.
How long had he been dead when you found him?
About an hour before we got there.
So... maybe Miles tipped Jasper off
that the police were coming?
Maybe he OD'd because he didn't want to spend
-all those years in prison? -I don't think so.
I mean, when I brought Miles and Jim into the station,
Miles gave up Jasper quick.
But we held Miles for 24 hours,
and Jasper was dead in ten.
How long did you keep Jim in custody?
No more than an hour. I mean, I wasn't trying to punish him.
I just wanted to make sure he cooled off.
ominous music
[door bangs]
Stupid motherfucker took a knife to a gun fight.
[panting]
All right.
Yeah. Okay.
intense music
[groans]
Christ! Who the hell are you?
Where does Kurt have my son?
Fuck you! [yelps] Okay. Okay. Okay.
I think Kurt's got him up in his cabin on Stern road.
That's where I was to bring you.
That's all I know.
I was just doing my job.
No-Nothing personal.
[grunts, gurgling]
We're talking about my son.
There's nothing more personal than that.
[phone buzzing]
[panting]
[Angela] Do you see this often?
Fentanyl overdose? Are you kidding?
-By the guy making the pills. -Eh, it happens.
He had, um, ketamine in his system, too.
That could explain it.
-Was it lethal drug interaction? -No.
A party drug.
Probably took it to mellow out.
-Made him sloppy. -So, there's nothing to suggest
that Jasper's death was anything other
than an accidental overdose?
Well, not unless someone put a gun to his head
and made him snort a line.
Just want to check one more thing.
-Fucking faster, Dex! -I'm going as fast as I can.
-Text him. Warn him. -It's risky.
-You have to let him know. -I don't want to tip off Kurt.
This is the good stuff.
This is what they call single malt Scotch whisky.
Best there is. Only kind I drink.
-Thank you. -Go ahead. Give it a shot.
[grunts]
-Hmm? -[coughing]
[laughs]
Ooh. That kind of tastes like a Band-Aid.
[chuckling]
You want to put some ice on that?
No, I'm good.
Mm.
[sighs]
Got to stop doing that to yourself, kid.
I mean, look, I get it.
I-I used to do stuff like that when I was your age.
But the sooner you stop punishing yourself
for whatever you think is wrong with you...
Look, all I'm trying to say is that
you are who you are.
Find what gives you joy, and you do that thing.
No apologies.
Whatever it is that brings you pleasure in this world.
[sighs] How do you...
H-How do you do that?
You just... take the leap.
[chuckles softly]
Well, I have worked up quite an appetite.
How about you?
Starving.
[truck horn honks]
Whoo! This is gonna be tasty.
[chuckles]
[phone buzzes]
Uh, hey, I'm-I'm getting a little cold.
Where's the firewood for the stove?
Um, it's around the side of the house. I'll get it.
Oh, no, no, no. I got it.
Come on, Harrison. Come on. Come on.
You good?
Yeah.
You know, if it's getting late and you need to be home,
I'm happy to give you a ride.
No. No way.
I wouldn't want to miss out on all the venison.
[Kurt laughs]
Yeah, it's smelling pretty tasty in there.
I'm glad we're doing this, kid.
Me, too.
All right. Hurry up.
Shit.
[laughing] So I'm trying to make weight.
And I-- you know. I start wearing a-a garbage bag, right?
-Mm-hmm. -And then go for a run.
I'm drenched in sweat, I got terrible BO,
and I'm wearing a frigging Hefty bag.
-Mm. -I run around the corner,
and there she is,
-walking her dog. -Oh, man.
[laughs] I had been gearing up
to ask her to the Spring Dance all week,
but, you know, at school, there's always people around,
and I... I don't know. I just kept pussying out.
-I get it. -So, this time,
I say, "Okay, forget about it."
I'm-I'm gonna take my shot.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask her. Right there, right then.
What'd she say?
Well, she looked me up and down,
like I had just escaped from a mental ward, and said,
"Do I look like I date white trash?"
[both laugh]
Just laid me out.
But you probably don't have that problem.
You're going out with the police chief's daughter, right?
Uh, I don't know. After that last wrestling match,
I-I think she looks at me like I just escaped a mental ward.
Well, you know, I guess some people are just never
gonna understand guys like you and me.
[chuckles]
You know what I say?
Fuck 'em.
-Yeah. -[laughs]
-Fuck 'em! -Fuck 'em!
[laughs] Attaboy.
Ah.
So... so-so what happened with you going to jail?
W-What was that about?
Well, it was...
just a little mix-up with some DNA.
Well, it turns out that my dad
murdered a teenage girl in Iron Lake 25 years ago.
-Oh, shit. -Yeah.
He was a really messed up guy.
Wasn't easy growing up being his son, I can tell you that.
And I guess, you know, since I spent the night
in jail because of him, it still isn't easy.
[chuckles]
Eh, you know.
Sometimes a kid just ends up suffering
for the... choices of his father.
So, hey, why did the dad that
abandoned you for ten years
end up getting in a fight with you at my truck stop?
Oh, I-I don't even know if it was a fight
as much it was just me
being pissed at him
-all the time. -Ah.
I just feel like I keep wanting something from him that...
[sighs]
What? What do you want, kid?
I don't know. I...
When I came here, I wanted answers.
A-And now, as much as I...
fucking hate to say it...
I-I think I was also
looking for, you know...
Connection. Real connection with your dad. Hmm?
Yeah.
[chuckles]
But I-I think he knew.
Even when I was five,
I think, I think he knew
how different we were.
Yo, this is Harrison. Leave a message and I'll hit you back.
Well, w-we don't get each other on, like,
a-a normal, father-son level.
I-I feel like he's always holding something back from me,
or... I don't know.
Whatever blood-bond most fathers have with their kids,
[chuckles] it's-it's not there.
Listen to me. You cannot blame yourself for that.
That is on him.
Yeah.
Maybe it's his childhood abandonment shit.
Maybe it's mine.
E-Either way, I got my answer.
[sighs]
If you were my son,
I would never have walked out on you.
Ever.
-Tha-Thank you for saying that. -I mean it.
-Ah, damn. -What's up?
Uh... [exhales sharply]
Just something I have to take care of.
Okay. I'll be right back.
[door creaks open, closes]
intense music
[coughing]
W-What are you doing?
Wish it could've worked out differently.
But I don't have a choice, son.
Sins of the father.
It's a fucked-up world out there.
-I-I don't... -Get up.
Get out.
[stammering] What-what-what, did I say something wrong?
Did I do something? I-I didn't mean to do anything.
J-Just tell me what I did and I'll make it right.
I'm-I'm-I'm sorry. I don't know what I did.
Please, Kurt. Please don't hurt me.
I'm sorry.
Run.
Run!
[horn honking]
Come on! Get him out of the car!
-I want him to see this. -[horn continues honking]
Come on!
[horn blaring]
dramatic music
Oh, shit.
[gunshot]
[panting]
[grunting]
[grunting, panting]
Harrison!
gentle music
[breathing heavily]
-Are you okay? -I'm-I'm not hurt.
dramatic music
Where'd he go?
Come on. Let's get out of here.
contemplative music
[keyboard clicking]
Ketamine...
How did you know we were there?
D-Did you know Kurt was...
What's-what's going on?
There's so much I need to tell you.
I should've way before it got to this.
You need to know.
gentle music
What?
Before anything else, you need to know
that you never have to feel alone with your dark...
thoughts again.
You were probably drawn to Kurt because
he seemed to understand you, but I...
...I was born in blood, just like you.
I had the same violent urges when I was your age.
Like you, I didn't know how to deal with them.
But my dad taught me a code.
A way to channel those urges.
I'm gonna tell you everything.
[Dexter] This is all I had to do.
This is all he ever wanted.
Maybe, if I'm being honest...
maybe this is all I ever wanted, too.
mysterious music