Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead for Dexter: New Blood's season finale.

The twist ending of Dexter: New Blood was certainly shocking, but also inevitable once Dexter uncharacteristically killed Logan. After being arrested for the murder of Matt Caldwell while being under suspicion as the mysterious Bay Harbor Butcher, Dexter Morgan was backed deep into a corner he had yet to experience, as augmented by Harrison’s involvement. Before being locked in the holding cell, Dexter sends Angela out to find Kurt’s burial ground as the Runaway Killer, leaving him alone with Logan. When asking Logan for a bottle of water, Dexter smashes his head against the bars, chokes him, and snaps his neck. After killing Logan in cold blood, Dexter unlocks his cell, takes Logan’s car keys, and goes to meet with Harrison as a last-ditch effort to escape Iron Lake together.

While Dexter: New Blood’s finale may have benefitted from another episode to keep from rushing its content, Dexter being killed by Harrison for his actions makes logical sense for the story's conclusion. Harrison had planned to escape with his father until the moment he realized the blood on his shirt was Logan’s, and that Dexter had called him from Logan’s phone. Considering Harrison could hardly stomach the actual killing of Kurt Caldwell as the Runaway Killer, there was no way he could stand by his father murdering an innocent man (and his wrestling coach). Killing Dexter, his own father, was the hardest decision Harrison had to make, but the famed serial killer finally realized he needed to be put down, guiding his son through pulling the trigger.

Related: Dexter New Blood Season 2: Everything We Know

While Dexter has caused or been responsible for the deaths of many innocent people like Maria LaGuerta, Rita Morgan, James Doakes, and even his sister Deb Morgan, he hadn’t taken the life of a truly innocent person close to him until Logan in New Blood. Dexter has taken the lives of innocents without remorse when in a bad situation or in a particularly irate state, but these are strangers—not that that fact makes the killings any better. Logan’s death was too close to home and marked a profound change in not only who Dexter has become, but who Dexter has always been. Dexter needing to kill Logan was uncharacteristic for his Code and grown morality, but was unsurprising in context and sealed his fate to be killed by Harrison in Dexter: New Blood’s twist ending.

Dexter Has Betrayed Harry’s Code Throughout New Blood

Right off the bat, Dexter: New Blood episode 1 reminds audiences that Dexter has not killed for a decade, so he’s extremely rusty. His first kill after 10 years is Matt Caldwell in a heat-of-the-moment attack; he hardly did his research to confirm the story that Matt caused the deaths of five people, he attacked Matt in the open woods where thermal characters could detect him, and he burned Matt’s body while leaving behind a titanium screw from his leg. While Matt still fit the Code, Dexter immediately betrayed it by not taking the time to avoid being caught. Then, Dexter attacked Miles and killed Jasper with the Bay Harbor Butcher's Ketamine drug, both of which were because he was emotionally involved after their fentanyl drug dealing caused Harrison to overdose. Another significant rule of the code is to not get emotionally involved, as it is a much more direct link back to Dexter and the passion of the kill can lead to mistakes. Early on in Dexter: New Blood, Deb (as Dexter’s conscience) admitted that Harry teaching Dexter the Code was child abuse, revealing that he may not completely believe in the Code anyway. As Harrison deduces, Dexter’s killing has never been about vigilanteism or following the Code, it’s a convenient justification for him enjoying killing. Harry’s Code guided him and taught him to not get caught, but it was never going to be what actually stopped Dexter from killing whoever got in his way.

As paralleled back in season 2 of Dexter when Rita Bennett made him go to NA because she thought he was using drugs, Dexter Morgan is an addict. Some are addicted to drugs, alcohol, sex, or cigarettes; Dexter Morgan is addicted to killing. This is seen time and again when he plunges his knife into the heart of his victims; his release and gratification from killing are physically apparent, almost looking sexually orgasmic when his victim draws their last breath. Dexter was an addict who stopped his vice cold-turkey for a decade, so when he returned to killing, there was bound to be too much, too fast, with dire consequences. Addicts who return to their vice after too long lose their tolerance, which is what is responsible for a significant amount of drug overdoses, as they indulge in the strength of their old habit and it becomes far too powerful for their system all at once. Dexter feeling the flooding effects of his killing after such a long gap overpowered him in Dexter: New Blood's reboot to the point where the Code could no longer control him, and he ended up overdosing. He even tried to convince Harrison to become his serial killing accomplice, which directly opposed the reason why he left in Dexter’s original series finale. The drug had entered Dexter’s body at too high of a volume too quickly, leaving the man at the end of Dexter: New Blood’s series to hardly resemble Dexter Morgan.

Why Dexter Killed Logan

Dexter Kills Logan In New Blood's Finale

After straying so far from the Code of Harry throughout Dexter: New Blood, it’s not completely surprising that Dexter would commit the most grievous error of murdering an innocent. Even though the evidence against Dexter for killing Matt and being the Bay Harbor Butcher was convenient at best, Dexter felt backed into a corner as he sat in the holding cell of Iron Lake’s police station. Time was running out as Angel Batista made his way to Iron Lake, Angela could have connected Harrison to Kurt’s death, and his actions for the past 30 years were catching up to him—so he panicked. While Dexter has been in tougher situations that he’s miraculously gotten out of, New Blood is a new Dexter. In previous seasons, Dexter also didn’t have to worry about Harrison suffering from his sins because he was just a child. In Dexter: New Blood, Dexter’s choices were either to be caught as Miami's Bay Harbor Butcher, or kill Logan, grab Harrison, and run. Harrison’s return increased Dexter’s levels of impulsivity, thus losing part of what previously kept him from making rash decisions and carefully avoiding capture. To top it off, Dexter banished Deb from his mind right before he killed Logan, which was New Blood’s way of saying that Dexter’s morality and conscience were completely gone at that moment.

Related: New Blood: Harrison Twist Redeems Dexter's Worst Villain

Dexter had also been acting uncharacteristically impulsive and sloppy throughout the reboot series, so of course, Dexter would stray the farthest from the Code and his typical guidelines by killing an innocent. Logan was collateral, but he was one of the worst possible people that Dexter could have chosen to kill. He was simply coming to bring Dexter a bottle of water, was desperately hoping Dexter was innocent for Harrison’s sake and was one of Harrison’s greatest mentors as his wrestling coach in New Blood's Iron Lake. It would have been easier for Dexter to just choke Logan into unconsciousness, take the keys to the cell, and run, but Dexter made the decision to kill him. At that moment, the Code was the least of Dexter’s worries, so he killed Logan to back himself out of a corner. But, this would end up being the action that sealed his fate in New Blood's finale.

How Killing Logan Set Up Dexter’s New Blood Death

Dexter Lets Harrison Kill Him In New Blood's Finale

Whether Dexter killing Logan feels uncharacteristically contrived or not, this moment indicated that Dexter would have to die, as Dexter himself now fit the Code of Harry. New Blood episode 9 followed Dexter teaching Harrison the Code, and how its importance would save the lives of thousands by killing a few deserving individuals. While Harrison thought of Dexter as a “Dark Defender” superhero by the end of episode 9, New Blood’s finale saw this all change when Dexter killed an innocent man who also happened to look out for Harrison in town. Harrison came to terms with the fact that he was never going to be like his father, that Dexter wasn’t a vigilante, he enjoyed killing people, and it cost the lives of so many innocents. Dexter taught Harrison the Code well, and by killing Logan and attempting to escape justice for his crimes, Dexter would have to be killed. No more innocent lives would be taken or destroyed on behalf of Dexter and his mistakes, and Logan would be the last hit of Dexter's addiction that went too far. When considering Dexter’s entire guidelines for killing, there was no alternative fate for him in Dexter: New Blood’s finale once he murdered Logan.

Next: Dexter: New Blood Confirms A Fan Theory

Dexter: New Blood is now streaming in its entirety on SHOWTIME.