The first day of Comic Con 2013 came to an end yesterday by fittingly calling an end to one of television’s most popular shows, Dexter. The cast and crew were all on hand, noting that the final episode of the blood-spattering series starring Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter is scheduled to air on September 22 in a bittersweet send off, the emotion of which resonated throughout Comic Con with the loud, standing ovation for the cast.

For those who haven’t seen the show, here’s a quick rundown of what’s up. By day, antihero Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter expert for the Miami Metro Police. By night, he’s a vigilante serial killer who systematically takes out those he feels have violated a certain moral code. Using his forensic expertise, he’s able to evade authorities… For a time being, perhaps.

Watch the Dexter cast say farewell at Comic Con:

Hall noted that while he’s mentally aware that the show is over, “our bodies, five months from now, will start knocking at the door wondering why we’re not doing Dexter again… There’s some unconscious part of us that hasn’t accepted or recognized it yet. Five or six months from now, there will be some wave of something we’ll all experience.”

The growth of Dexter as a popular series directly correlated with the explosive success of Comic Con over the last eight years, both contributing to the other’s enormous success critically and financially. Clyde Phillips, who ran the show’s production in its early seasons “The first time we were in this little room. Now, we’re in the room that Iron Man gets.”

The season 8 Blu-ray/DVD set will be consumer available on November 5th, shorty after the series finale. The complete series from start to finish will hit the shelves on the same day and it will be bundled in a boxed set that looks like Dexter’s trophy case. It will include bonus material as well as an art book. Another special Blu-ray set exclusive to Amazon features the discs coming out of the top of an anonymous victim’s head, if that’s your kind of thing.