Dexter: Resurrection (Season 1)

Creator: Clyde Phillips
Starring: Michael C. Hall, Uma Thurman, Jack Alcott, David Zayas, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Kadia Saraf, Dominic Fumusa, Emilia Suárez, James Remar, Peter Dinklage, Eric Stonestreet, Steve Schirripa, John Lithgow, Erik King, Jimmy Smits, Marc Menchaca, C.S. Lee, Desmond Harrington, Neil Patrick Harris, Krysten Ritter, David Dastmalchian, Christian Camargo
Original Airdate: 2025

**The Following Review Contains Major Plot Spoilers**

★★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Having last seen former Miami Metro forensics expert and vigilante killer Dexter Morgan lying lifeless in the snow after being shot by his own son, the anti-hero got about as conclusive a finish as we've seen since Walter White's demise in Breaking Bad. But in one of the more shocking TV developments in recent years, Dexter returns with its best iteration yet after seemingly concluding for good after 2022's underappreciated New Blood finale. 

For those still upset how the original series signed off in 2013, that ending should have been their antidote, as Dexter's crimes weren't only exposed, but he accepted his fate, willingly facing consequences at the hands of the person he hurt most. Instead, fans proved they're still tough to please, even when given what they've claimed to want all along. But no matter how anyone feels about creator and showrunner Clyde Phillips' creative decisions, the announcement of three new impending Dexter shows (including the now cancelled prequel Original Sin) prompted justifiable skepticism.  

The idea of picking up where New Blood left off may have caused jaws to drop, but whatever ideas remained from its hypothetical second season now morphs into the brilliant Dexter: Resurrection, which isn't just a huge departure from the formula, but sets a new bar for the franchise as a whole. Armed with a fresh setting, top notch writing and acting, a dream cast and possibly its most potent villain yet, these ten thrilling episodes find a physically and psychologically spent Dexter at the end of his rope. Reckoning with his past while facing the reality he's brought more harm than good to those closest to him, he'll try not to squander a second chance at being the father he couldn't before. 

This is a different, more determined Dexter, intent on controlling his dark side to protect the only person who still matters. But after finding a safe space where his worst impulses are accepted and encouraged, he finds dangerous strings attached, just as a familiar face from his past reemerges to take him down. Full of mind blowing developments, this season finds the show firing on all cylinders, finally giving fans something they can unanimously agree on. 

Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) has awakened from a ten week coma after suffering a near-fatal gunshot wound at the hands of his son Harrison (Jack Alcott), who's since fled Iron Lake for New York City. Still believing his father died, he works as a bellhop at the Empire Hotel while Dexter continues to recover. But when Harrison snaps, killing a sexual predator to prevent the rape of a hotel guest, the crime immediately grabs the attention of meticulously wired NYPD homicide detective Claudette Wallace (Kadia Saraf) and her skeptical partner Oliva (Dominic Fumusa). 

Upon hearing of the killer's familiar body disposal method, Dexter heads to NYC to help Harrison. Unfortunately, former Miami Metro police captain, colleague and friend Angel Batista (David Zayas) trails behind, more determined than ever to prove Dexter's guilt. But as deceased adoptive father Harry (James Remar) reappearing as his inner consciousness, Dexter watches Harrison from afar, forging a friendship with kindly rideshare driver and new landlord Blessing (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine). 

It's only when serial killer Ron "Red" Schmidt (Marc Menchaca) is branded with Dexter's own "Dark Passenger" moniker for murdering the city's drivers that his vengeful yearnings take hold, leading him to a secret society of serial killers funded by billionaire philanthropist Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage). But as Batista closes in on Dexter, an impressed Prater takes a real liking to his newest recruit, despite suspicions from icy, loyal head of security Charley (Uma Thurman). Now Dexter not only needs to protect his cover, but also Harrison, who he's on the cusp of reconnecting with. 

You'd figure it would be impossible to explain away Dexter surviving that apparently fatal gunshot wound at the end of New Blood, but the writers cleverly manage to do this logically. And while there are still minor plot holes, it's surprising just how cleverly they account for him not being booked on murder charges, clearing the table for a next crucial chapter. 

As Dexter fights for his life, some of the show's most pivotal figures reappear to him in a vision, offering valuable insight into his past and potential future. It plays as kind of a series highlight reel, with John Lithgow's Trinity Killer, Jimmy Smits' Miguel Prado and even Erik King's Sgt. Doakes returning to remind him that Harrison needs his best. Of course, the most important voice occupying Dexter's mind is his Dark Passenger, conveyed through the hallucinatory presence of late father Harry. 

Remar's role as Harry only gains greater significance after seeing how Christian Slater's take on the elder Morgan in Original Sin shed additional light on the impetus of he and Dexter's complicated bond. And it's also why this season functions as a closer companion to the prequel than original series, with the two trading barbs back-and-forth throughout. Ghost Harry may be hilariously sarcastic and disapproving, but Dexter gives it right back as he expresses serious hesitancy at the notion of reentering Harrison's life.

Moonlighting as a rideshare driver shortly after arriving in NYC, an emotionally paralyzed Dexter knows Harrison needs help but has no idea how to approach a son who still thinks he killed him. And while Jack Alcott impressed in New Blood, many didn't count on him getting the chance to reprise this role again, much less add so many new wrinkles to a character who's endured a lot. 

Though Dexter and Harry are both responsible for the deaths of their son's mothers, Harrison isn't necessarily destined to follow in their flawed footsteps despite also being "born in blood." Like Dexter, Harrison has the ability to fit in anywhere, finding a job and a place to temporarily crash, even managing to easily make friends without the social awkwardness that defines his dad. Where he differs is in feeling remorse for a crime committed not out of an uncontrollable urge, but a desire to help someone. It's his very fear of becoming Dexter that stands as the most conclusive proof he isn't.  

Harrison just goes too far in the moment, recognizing this in a self reflective way Dexter never could when his reckless behavior harmed those he loved most, like Rita and Deb. It's a moral distinction that more closely aligns Harrison with his late mom than a dad who continues to view himself as a "Dark Avenger." In actuality, he'd be better off taking lessons on being a superhero from his own son. 

Much of Harrison's story revolves around Dexter realizing he can't be the father Harry was for him since the youngest Morgan lacks that Dark Passenger gene. The kid just needs his dad, which doesn't mean Harrison isn't still shaped by Dexter's past, whether he's being drawn to rescuing co-worker and single mom Elsa (Emilia Suárez) or potentially pursuing a career in law enforcement. 

True to his character, Harrison's also a bad liar who finds himself in the crosshairs of neurodivergent, Bee Gee's loving homicide detective Wallace. Fittingly played by Law and Order alum Saraf as the smartest, most observant cop either Morgan could encounter, she quickly puts the pieces together, zeroing in on the nervous bellhop as her prime suspect. Watching Harrison clumsily try to cover his tracks before stammering under the pressure of Wallace's questioning, we're reminded of young Dexter's mistakes in Original Sin, minus the eager enthusiasm. 

Harrison hates himself for pulling the trigger, but also despises his dad for asking him to, even as Dexter rightly accepts the blame. It won't be until he saves his son from a growing mountain of circumstantial evidence that the ice between them starts thawing. But while everyone's new favorite UrCar driver shows promising signs of selflessness in his conversations with Harrison and bond with Blessing and his family, the darkness persists. Having already eliminated Dark Passenger knock-off Red, Dexter can't pass on joining an exclusive serial killers club, regardless of whether he was officially invited. And though his best lies always contain an abundance of truth, he's really playing with fire this time. 

Surreal as it is to see Uma Thurman in the Dexter universe, her introductory scene goes quite a distance in establishing the badass Charley as a cold, calculated fixer who doesn't suffer fools. Clad in tactical gear, she slyly maneuvers herself into Red's apartment, leaving the gift and dinner invitation Dexter claims as his own, making it that much easier to speculate just how dangerous her boss is. 

While Dinklage's Leon Prater is a serious threat, he's not your usual Dexter adversary, giving the newest member of his secret society an enthusiastically warm welcome. But with each word, expression and mannerism, Dinklage subtly hints at a god complex bubbling beneath, suggesting much more to this wealthy collector with a mysterious past. 

Dexter may be Prater's latest prize, but he's hardly the first, as confirmed by a trophy room filled with personally obtained effects and evidence from infamous serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, Jeffrey Dahmer and the fictitious "New York Ripper" Detective Wallace has devoted her career to catching. 

Of course, that elaborate display that wouldn't be complete without souvenirs from Trinity, Dexter's Ice Truck Killer brother Brian Moser (Christian Camargo) and the legendary Bay Harbor Butcher, who Prater has now unknowingly let into his inner sanctum.

The reveal of this vault might be the season's creepiest scene but what stands out more is Dexter's reaction to seeing his infamous blood slides or the gurney on which he ended Brian's life. And any lie he tells as Red reveals more than a bit of truth about himself, his mask dropping at many points, much to the delight of a giddy, starstruck Prater. 

Joining Dinklage and Thurman is a stacked supporting ensemble comprising of Krysten Ritter, David Dastmalchian, Neil Patrick Harris and Eric Stonestreet as the various killers, each of whom have their own twisted methodology. Ritter's "Lady Vengeance" and Dastmalchian's "Gemini" leave the largest impressions, not just due to their chilling performances, but how their characters are written and played to reflect different aspects of Dexter, who adheres to a code neither could possibly understand or abide by. 

All of these members have a loose, preconceived sets of rules, but they're really no different than Dexter's many other cold blooded victims, regardless of how closely their past traumas resemble his. With Ritter's Mia, it's a dysfunctional family history while Dastmalchian's Gareth dredges up Dexter's unresolved baggage with his own brother. 

Despite her penchant for offing sexual predators, Mia isn't the heroic vigilante the media or Dexter assumed, even if she still proves valuable in his quest to protect Harrison. Unsure whether to befriend or murder these killers, Dexter treads carefully at first, calculating the risk of everyone disappearing immediately after he's joined the group. 

Impressed and deliriously pleased by his newest recruit, we get the impression serial killer fanboy Prater might be ecstatic after uncovering Dexter's true identity, especially since most everything else Dexter reveals about his tortured soul is true. And the more we learn about Prater's Bruce Wayne-like backstory, the clearer it becomes why he's so intrigued by his favorite pupil's unusual "share" with the group. 

But whatever childhood commonalities he may share with Dexter, Prater thrives on manipulation and control, getting his kicks from others needing him to survive. Expertly conveying both sides of this meglomaniac, an Emmy-worthy Dinklage inhabits a greedy monster who wields superficial generosity as a weapon, his wealth merely a means to own people for personal amusement. 

While Prater exhibits uncontainable excitement at the members' various kills and methods, Charley acts as his loyal soldier, particularly suspicious of Dexter from day one. But even her allegiance to the boss extends only so far as we gradually learn the true nature of their arrangement, leading to some intense, vulnerable work from Thurman in the home stretch. 

With Batista continuing to close in on a united Dexter and Harrison, it's only a matter of time before it all lands on Prater's lap. If Dexter fails again in keeping Harrison safe, much of that can be traced to his own past haunting him in the form of Batista. Now that the co-worker and friend he bonded with for over twenty years knows he's the  Bay Harbor Butcher, every Batista memory is tainted by the totality of Dexter's crimes. Most especially the deaths of ex-wife Maria and Sgt. Doakes.

All of this provides David Zayas with the chance to play an obsessive, unhinged version of his beloved character who'll stop at nothing for justice, despite being recently retired. The problem lies in him having only vaguely circumstantial evidence of Dexter's guilt,along with the fact he's impersonating an active law enforcement officer. 

While we know Batista's right about everything, it's understandable why he'd start looking like a crazed madman to Wallace or just about anyone else, including promoted former colleague and friend Lieutenant Quinn (a returning Desmond Harrington).  

Though Batista's attempt to catch the Butcher in action backfires spectacularly and destroys his case, Dexter's respect for him doesn't waver. His warnings to back off aren't threats, but pleas, knowing it always ends badly for those who choose this path. And that's exactly what happens to Batista once he meets Prater, who's predictably wowed to be in the same room as the notorious Bay Harbor Butcher. Only we know Dexter could never bring himself to kill Batista, or at least not for the sole purpose of indulging Prater's sick thrills. 

It's ultimately Batista's hatred and sense of justice that consumes him, angrily sacrificing his own life to destroy Dexter, who underestimated just how much pain and damage he caused. Even without literally killing Deb, Maria, Doakes or Rita, he remains unquestionably responsible for their deaths, causing any apologies to ring hollow. 

Dexter probably knew Batista aligning with him was a long shot, and unlike in his earlier fallout with Blessing, doesn't receive the forgiveness he genuinely seeks. So hurt and rattled by Batista's dying words, all he can do now is let out an anguished, primal scream.

Dexter's relationship with Harrison is the one he ends up salvaging, simply by being somewhat transparent and accepting that his son isn't him. Prater's machinations seal his own fate once Charley realizes she's also had enough, paving the way for Dexter to deny him a dignity even his most depraved victims receive. Categorizing Prater as irrelevant and unmemorable, Dexter uses the puppet master's own words against him, spitefully foregoing the minimal attention a blood slide could provide.  

Where this resembles the original series is in a lack of cliffhangers or loose ends, with the book closing until a new season, whether that's in NYC or possibly somewhere else. Just about the only lingering thread is the question of Batista's body being found in the vault, which glaringly links Dexter and Prater. It'll be interesting to see if this raises any red flags, assuming the writers choose to go there. 

The closing image of Dexter on a yacht as he disposes of Prater is the scene we didn't know we needed, calling back to his days in Miami. And with unfortunate cancellation of Original Sin, it might be the closest we'll get, at least for now. With Dexter wrestling with the reality of who he is, this season was all about Harrison helping him learn how to better control and accept it. And while we all know Michael C. Hall's versatile enough to tackle any other project right now, this showcased exactly why he shouldn't. Much like the actor who plays him, Dexter's back where he belongs, even if it'll be an excruciating wait to see what comes next.                                                                                                                          

Dexter: Original Sin (Season 1)

Creator: Clyde Phillips
Starring: Patrick Gibson, Christian Slater, Molly Brown, Christina Milian, James Martinez, Alex Shimizu, Reno Wilson, Patrick Dempsey, Michael C. Hall, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Brittany Allen, Raquel Justice, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sarah Kinsey, Jasper Lewis, Aaron Jennings, Roberto Sanchez, Randy Gonzalez, Isaac Gonzalez Rossi, Amanda Brooks, Roby Attal, Joe Pantoliano
Original Airdate: 2025

★★★ (out of ★★★★)    

For those still keeping track, Showtime's Dexter ended its eight season run in 2013 with a much maligned finale before returning nine years later for its continuation, New Blood, which fans still rejected despite getting the ending they supposedly clamored for. But when plans for subsequent seasons were scrapped after Michael C. Hall's title character seemingly met his demise, it appeared we were done. That is until creator and showrunner Clyde Phillips realized the best way to ward off complaints was to ensure the series never ends again, resulting in this prequel, Dexter: Original Sin.

Taking place fifteen years prior to the start of its first season, the new series opens with the shocking revelation that our favorite serial killer/blood spatter analyst Dexter Morgan may have survived the shooting in New Blood. And now with Hall back to narrate the character's past from his death bed, there's still a direct sequel ahead with Dexter: Resurrection, as well as the proposed Trinity Killer prequel spin-off focusing on John Lithgow's murderous psychopath. 

Returning us to the show's comfortably familiar Miami surroundings for a period piece that delves deeper into how this complicated anti-hero came to embrace his "Dark Passenger," Original Sin has promise. And while the central mystery is its weakest aspect, casting and performances pick up the slack, especially one from a lead who expertly channels Dexter in all the ways you'd want from an actor playing Hall's younger counterpart. Filled with easter eggs, wonky creative choices and even some occasional retconning, it's not perfect, but builds a solid enough foundation that viewers will want to stick around.

It's 1991 and eccentric, socially awkward 20-year-old Dexter Morgan (Patrick Gibson) is hired as the newest forensic intern at the Miami Metro Police Department, where his adoptive father Harry (Christian Slater) works as a homicide detective. Keeping an eye on Dexter in hopes of curbing his increasingly dark and violent impulses, Harry also has his hands full with angry, rebellious daughter Deb (Molly Brown), who's still coping with the recent death of her mom and Harry's wife, Doris (Jasper Lewis).

Learning the ropes from unshakeable forensics chief Tanya Martin (Sarah Michelle Gellar), wise cracking analyst Vince Masuka (Alex Shimizu), fedora wearing detective Angel Batista (James Martinez) and his dad's partner Bobby Watt (Reno Wilson), Dexter joins a squad rocked by a series of child kidnappings. As Captain Aaron Spencer (Patrick Dempsey) explores a possible cartel link, he assigns Harry to keep an eye on the first female Miami PD homicide detective, María LaGuerta (Christina Milian), who's investigating a string of murders she suspects is the work of a serial killer. 

Meanwhile, Dexter's applying Harry's "code" to satiate his worst urges, targeting only society's worst criminals as he builds confidence with each new kill. But his youthful hubris and inexperience also leads to some major rookie mistakes that could get him caught, or worse. Haunted by past trauma and guilt, Harry fears losing control of his adopted son, continuing to shield Dexter from the grisliest details of a childhood he's subconsciously blocked out.

With the exception of New Blood, the original series always followed a certain formula that usually ended with the big bad on Dexter's table by season's end. And in showing how this all started, these ten episodes don't necessarily stray from that template.While remaining emotionally detached from Morgan family problems, Dexter sloppily navigates his way around as a killer, still searching for a system that works as he implements the tactics he'll later hone. 

Whether it's how Dexter chooses his victims, the first use of an Etorphine injection, the origination of his kill room, or solving the body disposal problem, this is him still figuring everything out. A few missteps alarm an already stressed Harry, who harbors major secrets of his own about Dexter's upbringing. And the childhood backstory we only heard about or saw brief glimpses of now gets a full fleshing out with '70's set flashbacks of Harry's affair with his cartel drug mole Laura Moser (Brittany Allen), mother of Dexter and older brother Brian. 

While we know how Dexter witnessing his mom's murder in that shipping container shaped him and future "Ice Truck Killer" Brian, the entire unfiltered experience is laid bare here. But the biggest revelations concern Harry, who's presented as being far more responsible for Laura's death and the brothers' evolution than we previously suspected. He's also heavily flawed and careless as a detective, developing a savior complex as his attempts to protect Laura go awry, putting her in harms way and nearly destroying his own marriage.

Since James Remar's version of Harry only appeared in brief flashbacks and as an apparition during the classic series, it's unfair to compare his take to Slater's since both serve entirely different purposes. But Slater's tremendous, making few attempts at directly imitating what Remar did as a father and cop torn apart by the guilt of failing his family. Though the writers have Harry make unbelievably incompetent mistakes, Slater's has it covered, shedding light on why he's so protective of Dexter and obsessed with shielding him from the truth about his past. In this sense, Harry's "code" to curb Dexter's darkest urges is also an effort to shield his own shortcomings, rationalizing that if he couldn't save Laura, there's still hope for her son. Or at least one of them.

Learning what not to do as Harry breathes down his neck, Dexter fumbles his way through the killings of a murderous nurse (Tanya Clarke), loan shark (Roberto Sanchez) and mob hitman (Joe Pantoliano), all of whom have left innocent victims in their wake. As Dexter, Patrick Gibson's brilliant, adapting portions of Hall's detached approach while simultaneously providing a blueprint for what we know will follow. 

With Dexter still lacking a full understanding of himself or his capabilities, it's all about not screwing up as a skeptical Harry hovers over him. But Gibson's even better at depicting Dexter's awkwardness in social situations, displaying some great comedic timing as he navigates a relationship with Deb's best friend Sofia (Raquel Justice) or clumsily attempts to endear himself to co-workers.

Because Jennifer Carpenter was so physically distinctive as Deb, they were never going to fill that part with her doppelganger, leaving Molly Brown to turn the volume up in incorporating the character's various personality quirks. Reeling from her mom's death, the anger and swearing is off the charts as she seethes at all the attention Harry gives Dexter. And with the two now suddenly working together, she's never felt more invisible, causing her to rebel by dating the older Gio (Isaac Gonzalez Rossi), who talks a smooth game, but might be trouble.

Unfortunately, Deb's subplot with Gio amounts to less than expected, sort of fading away without any concrete resolution. Despite that, Brown brings sass to the part, excelling most in the moments she vulnerably displays concern and affection for her "weirdo brother." It's through this, her strained bond with Harry and a series of personal roadblocks, that the seeds are planted for a future career in Miami homicide. 

The rest of the cast is uniformly strong, as Shimizu and Martinez are dead ringers for younger incarnations of Masuka and Batista, while Christina Milian gives the season's most underrated turn as the no-nonsense LaGuerta, eerily capturing previous actress Lauren Vélez's demeanor and inflection. Her feud with Dempsey's Captain Spencer is an ongoing thread, with him thoroughly insulted someone so publicly critical of the department would be brought in to undermine him. Besides helping to explain how LaGuerta became the hardheaded boss we know, it also sheds some light on her noticeably different treatment of the Morgan siblings.

Whenever any character pops up in a prequel who wasn't in the original there's wild speculation about why they weren't. And the more recognizable the star, the crazier these theories get. So as much as the writers try to distract us from it, it's impossible to ignore the presence of billed guest star Sarah Michelle Gellar as Tanya Martin, or stop wondering what her overall purpose is. 

Unfortunately, they do so little with Gellar it's almost as if whatever plans were in place for her character got completely scrapped. As a result, we're left wondering what could have been, especially since she steals every scene she's in as a dry, sarcastic forensics expert who actually shares a lot in common with Dexter. The possibilities seemed endless, so while Tanya's influence is still felt in some choice scenes, it's a missed opportunity they won't get back since Gellar's now attached to a Buffy reboot.    

It's somewhat ironic that everything involving Dexter perfecting Harry's code and finding his sea legs as a vigilante is more engaging than the season's big arc involving the murdered and kidnapped kids. Once the perpetrator is revealed, you'll start counting down the minutes until Dexter closes in, but not before the writers jump through hoops to avoid explaining too many details of the killer's convoluted plan.

When it's all over, there are lingering questions you're forced to kind of just let slide, mainly because Harry and LaGuerta's side hunt for the NIH killer so quickly overtakes the main case in interest. More directly tied to what Dexter was and who he'll eventually be, it also provides a further glimpse into Harry's motivations with a surprising twist that skillfully sets the stage for forthcoming seasons. 

Despite some messiness getting there, this does finish on a strong note, with the added benefit of an early 90's milieu and soundtrack that really captures the period's specificity. Narratively and stylistically faithful to its predecessor, it also updates the show's iconic opening title sequence by cleverly incorporating the supporting players into Dexter's superficially tedious, but sinister morning routine.

The advantage of Dexter's origin story being this heavily expanded upon can be a handicap when loyal viewers pick apart every detail, carefully hunting for inconsistencies. But with so many clever callbacks, it's a real trip seeing the his formative years depicted in such detail, prompting us to rethink popular theories. And if this is any indication, the Dexter franchise shows no signs of slowing down, evolving into a full blown multiverse with a shelf life as long as the character himself.            

Dexter: New Blood

Creator: Clyde Phillips
Starring: Michael C. Hall, Jack Alcott, Julia Jones, Johnny Sequoyah, Alano Miller, Jennifer Carpenter, Clancy Brown, Jamie Chung, David Magidoff, Katy Sullivan, Michael Cyril Creighton, Gizel Jiménez, Steven M. Robertson, Oscar Wahlberg
Original Airdate: 2021

**The following review reveals major spoilers from 'Dexter: New Blood'**

★★★★ (out of ★★★★)

It's not a stretch to claim that the definition of what constitutes a successful TV series finale has changed considerably in recent years. With all the reboots, revivals, sequels and continuations coming down the pipeline, the question of whether a show's actually had its last episode is as open-ended as ever. That wasn't the case in 2013, when after eight seasons, Showtime's Dexter signed off with "Remember the Monsters?," a finale met with outrage from fans angered the title character's crimes would not only go undiscovered, but he'd face no legal consequences, escaping to live under an assumed identity as an lumberjack in Oregon.

While Dexter's abandonment of son Harrison and Deb's shocking death seemed to be the exact karmic punishment fans would clamor for, those decisions were widely criticized for reasons that made little sense then, and even less now. In retrospect, you can quibble with aspects of the execution, but it's really those reactions that haven't aged well considering what we've since learned about season finales. Wrestling with creative issues any drama would that far into its run, the last episode delivered exactly what was needed at the time, effectively closing the door while leaving it slightly ajar for a possible continuation down the road. 

Even those heavily anticipating what was in store for Dexter: New Blood framed it as some kind of a make-up or apology for the finale they felt so personally insulted by. Instead, it's actually further proof that all the right decisions were made in 2013 since we wouldn't have gotten this limited series return without it. A spectacular comeback and easily the best season since its fourth, this is a textbook study on to how to effectively resurrect a series, with original returning showrunner Clyde Phillips taking a fresh setting and a new cast to raise the stakes and deliver a completely different show. But wherever your opinion lands of that polarizing last episode today, it's no longer the finale, replaced by something leagues better, giving Dexter the definitive, satisfying closer it wasn't quite ready to deliver nine years earlier.

It's been ten years since Miami PD blood spatter analyst and serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) dropped his sister Deb's (Jennifer Carpenter) body in the sea before driving his boat into the eye of Hurricane Laura. Presumed dead and leaving baby Harrison behind with girlfriend Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski), he's eventually settled into the small town of Iron Lake in upstate New York under the identity of Jim Lindsay (a nice nod to Dexter novelist Jeff Lindsay), salesman at a local sporting gear store. 

Having been able to suppress his killing urges for the past decade, Dexter's dating town police chief Angela Bishop (Julia Jones), settling into a comfortable routine while being well liked by the locals. Living alone, Dexter speaks to an imaginary version of Deb, taking the place of his adoptive father Harry (James Remar) as the dissenting voice inside his head. But when a now teenage Harrison (Jack Alcott) arrives in Iron Lake after discovering his father's alive, Dexter must scramble to protect his cover while attempting to forge some kind of relationship with him.

Problems really start when Dexter slips back into his old habits, murdering Matt Caldwell (Steven M. Robertson), the entitled rich son of truck stop diner owner and town bigwig Kurt Caldwell (Clancy Brown), prompting a missing persons search. As Angela's suspicions of "Jim" grow and her adopted teen daughter Audrey (Johnny Sequoyah) forms an increasingly close bond with Harrison, a decades-long string of missing and possibly murdered local girls loom. With the Caldwell case bringing true crime podcaster Molly Park (Jamie Chung) to town, Dexter's concerns about being revealed as the notorious Bay Harbor Butcher increase, just as Harrison begins to rebel away from him and act out, showing signs his father's Dark Passenger may have been passed on. 

It wasn't obvious until watching this revival just how tired the Miami setting and other aspects had become for the character and series as a whole. A different opening title sequence, a twist on Rolfe Kent's original music theme and a total change of scenery is welcome, making everything feel entirely new. Dexter is transported into a colder, more isolated environment where he initially seems to relish and thrive in a small town atmosphere where he's simply as known as "Jim." Right off the bat the writers do an excellent job establishing Iron Lake as his home, seamlessly introducing these new faces and making it clear his plan to put the past behind him has mostly worked up to this point. 

Conversations with imaginary Debra take on a more argumentative tone when Dexter senses his Dark Passenger emerging from hibernation. While the trigger, in more ways than one, is Matt Caldwell, we're left with the impression that if it wasn't him, it would have just been someone or something else.

Ten years was just too big an ask for Dexter to curb his violent impulses, making it an inevitability he'd once again take out the syringes and plastic to prepare his infamous kill room. But he's a little rusty at at covering his tracks, which carries more urgency than usual considering his girlfriend's the police chief. 

Dexter's longstanding belief that he somehow saved Harrison from his sins is blown up when the teen shows up at his cabin doorstep demanding answers. Reeling from Hannah's death from cancer and having already gone through numerous foster homes, he's arrived plenty damaged and it takes only a few episodes to see just how much. Of course, Dexter deprives Harrison of the entire truth, which could provide the boy some reassurance about his own impulses, or in the very least confirm he isn't just  psychotic.

In a season all about fathers and sons, both Dexter and Harrison were "born in blood" having each been permanently scarred by witnessing the murder of their parent as children. Dex did have Harry, who showed him "the code" as a way of channeling his urges, and if it temporarily prevented something worse, he still careened out of control, hurting innocent people in the process. Harrison, on the other hand, has nothing other than the memory of the Trinity Killer, Arthur Mitchell (John Lithgow, briefly reappearing in flashback) murdering his mom, Rita (Julie Benz). 

At first glance, Harrison seems more normal, sociable, and well adjusted than his father, but he's bringing a lot of internal baggage to Iron Lake, through little fault of his own. The more Dexter lies and watches his son's every move, afraid and fully aware of what's coming, the worse their relationship gets. 

Jack Alcott's subtly brilliant performance throughout as Harrison has a lot of layers and much is asked of him, as he's constantly shifting between sociable, well adjusted teen and burgeoning menace, all while playing a character entirely uncomfortable as either. Alone in the world since birth due to Dexter's actions, he needs and wants a dad, but keeps getting signals that his father just isn't capable of it.

The only person who views Harrison without judgment and shows him understanding is Audrey, who actress Johnny Sequoyah imbues as the most practical, morally centered character of the season, right next to her mom, Angela. Unfortunately, the latter doesn't have the option of viewing boyfriend Dexter (or "Jim" as she knows him) in the same light since her radar's always up, every lead and tiniest suspicion soon pointing his way. And with Dexter flustered and sloppier than before, much of the season consists of us nervously anticipating when or if he'll finally be cornered.

Despite holding up relatively well for an eight season drama that constantly found ways around a serial killer protagonist being caught, bumbling, incompetent police became more prevalent toward the end of its run, with certain members of the Miami PD coming off as buffoons for not seeing what was under their noses for years. Here, with a more limited number of episodes, the pieces have to be put together fairly quickly and Angela Bishop makes for probably the strongest written female character the show's had, law enforcement or otherwise. 

Played with strength and determination by Julia Jones in a performance that only gets even better as the season's interlocking stories progress, Angela's a lot more than another Dexter girlfriend who has the wool pulled over her eyes. While the writers tidily establish their relationship in a short time, it's immediately on shaky ground, mostly because of her dedication to getting at the truth, wherever it may lead her. And she knows that something's up.

Torn between serving this small, close-knit community that isn't what it seems and her own Seneca heritage, the Matt Caldwell case reignites the guilt and trauma Angela experienced in the decades since her childhood best friend went missing. The desire to find her and other girls gone and presumed dead has her turning to unexpected sources for help, including a familiar returning face from series past, and Molly Park, whose memorably titled podcast could mean more trouble for Dexter. It's one thing to uncover that Jim Lindsay is Dexter Morgan, but another entirely to directly link him to the Bay Harbor Butcher case. We already know how many have failed or died in attempting to do this, but from the beginning of the season we're immediately rooting for Angela to be the one who finally gets there.

One of Dexter's biggest threats doesn't even come from police, but Kurt Caldwell, the father of his latest victim, who's harboring even darker secrets himself. Caldwell's concern for his son's whereabouts shifts to from angered panic to gratitude to constant meddling before the realization kicks in that the more everyone searches for Matt, the closer they get to his crimes. And he has a lot to hide, nearly as much as Dexter, which makes him easily the show's most formidable villain since Lithgow's Trinity. Loosely based on serial killer Robert Hansen, actor Clancy Brown terrifyingly depicts the character's double life as a outwardly benevolent pillar of the community whose good deeds are a front for kidnapping and brutally killing runaway girls. 

How Kurt operates (especially his nightmarish tactical hunting gear) is beyond unsettling and probably the closest the series has come to pure true crime-based horror yet. Pathologically warped by some daddy issues of his own having been raised by a rapist father and passing those issues on to a miserable son in Matt, Dexter is given a glimpse into his present and  Harrison's potential future if the cycle isn't broken. And like Dexter, Kurt also views his own killings as heroic, delusionally justifying that he's somehow saving these girls from men like his father. 

Whether or not Kurt knows what Dexter's done to Matt becomes a major question, as he squirms his way into Harrison's life, taking full advantage of an angry kid looking for the kind of father Dexter's failed to be since reentering his life. It's in the quieter moments where Brown's performance hits hardest, coming across as the town's trusted every man, manipulating and gaining trust by fabricating stories to that endear him to those most vulnerable. 

Arrogant and in control, Kurt's had few worries he'll be caught given what he's managed to get away with this long. Whether it's an extremely uncomfortable batting cage scene or his chilling underground trophy room of embalmed victims, he's the character that leaves the most disturbing impression,  a worthy foe for the faltering, weakened Dexter, who would do anything to get him on his kill table. That is if this monster doesn't get to Harrison first.

Michael C. Hall brings a different kind of desperation to the character now, escalated to levels where it really appears as if Dexter's run out of plays and there's no way out, especially in the final episode, "The Sins of the Father." Few shows ever get a second chance at a series finale so it comes as a relief that Phillips and director Marcos Siega don't squander theirs, putting the focus exactly where it belongs with a poetic send-off sure to cause more arguments and debate. 

It was practically predetermined that Harrison would eventually be sharing that kill room with his father and get to watch him in action, fully aware of the truth. Only Dexter's version of the truth of himself has evolved into a lie he's been leaning on for too long, far from from the "Dark Defender" superhero narrative he feeds Harrison. 

Dexter's desire to curb his son's emerging urges is genuine, but in trumpeting all the lives he's hypothetically saved, he overlooked the innocent people who suffered or have even been killed as a result of his actions. Whether it's Rita, LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez) or his sister Deb, it's almost like he doesn't process those at all anymore, as if they were merely collateral damage. 

That Harrison can't physically and emotionally stomach Dexter getting Kurt on the table is a sign there may still be hope yet for him, while also serving as foreshadowing for the big finish. Dexter may have compartmentalized all his murders as heroic, but whatever small amount of nobility originally existed in his intentions is long gone. 

It's almost surreal when Angela cracks the case, having done the unthinkable in getting Dexter behind bars and officially uncovering him as the Butcher with solid, prosecutorial evidence. That the returning Angel Batista (David Zayas) is on his way and Dexter could be extradited back to Florida to potentially face the death penalty doesn't just feel like talk, but the only time in the series' history where he truly seems done for. 

Dexter's forced to falls back on the only escape hatch he knows to survive: more killing. It's one too many for Harrison, realizing his father's murder of coach and friend Sergeant Logan (Alano Miller), who was just doing his job, reveals all he needs to know. In telling Dexter the painful truth he's needed to hear and has basically ignored from Deb the whole season, Harrison rightfully identifies the Dark Passenger as now being in the driver's seat, the "code" permanently shattered. 

Knowing it's become about feeding Dexter's impulses and nothing more, Harrison can't go with his father or let him escape knowing everything he's done, leaving only one option. And in a rare moment of self actualization for Dexter we've been waiting eight years for, he knows what has to be done and guides his son in completing it.

When Harrison puts that bullet in his father,  tearfully driving away from Iron Lake and leaving Audrey and his newly established life behind, there's a sense he's given himself some kind of fighting chance at a future, however painful it was. Whether the cycle has really been broken is now up to him rather than his bloodline, while for Dexter, it's his first, only and last selfless act as a parent.

If it seems that Angela didn't complete her takedown of Dexter, she actually did, discovering the truth while coming to the realization that Harrison is as much a victim of his father as anyone. She's had enough, throwing out the rule book to stop the vicious circle of violence that's infiltrated this town for generations, informing her decision to help Harrison escape and take the hit for Dexter's death. As he grabs Deb's hand drawing his last breath, it's the perfect ending, offering the only redemption possible for a character whose seemingly irredeemable actions helped usher in an entire era of TV anti-heroes. 

With rumblings that Showtime could already be planning a spin-off or continuation of New Blood without Hall, it's still hard to view this entire arc as anything but an end. All the time off did the series a world of good, making it even more difficult to imagine lightning striking twice, especially without the benefit of this terrific cast and setting. And hopefully all involved tune out the noise out this time, realizing fans again unhappy with how it played out will probably never be pleased, rejecting the very same end for Dexter they originally begged for in 2013. Doubling down on its intriguing central concept to bring the story full circle, it's emotionally concluded its character's dark journey, while hitting creative heights the series has rarely reached before.

Dexter (Seasons 6-8)

Creator: James Manos, Jr.
Starring: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Desmond Harrington, David Zayas, C.S. Lee, Aimee Garcia, Geoff Pierson, Lauren Velez, James Remar, Colin Hanks, Edward James Olmos, Josh Cooke, Mos Def, Jason Gedrick, Katia Winter, Ray Stevenson,Yvonne Strahovski, Charlotte Rampling, Sean Patrick Flanery, Bethany Joy Galeotti, Darri Ingolfsson
Original Airdate: 2011-2013

Season 6: ★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)
Season 7: ★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)
Season 8: ★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

                                    Spoiler Warning: Following Review Contains Major Spoilers for the Entire Series

It was with great apprehension I recently resumed my viewing of Showtime's Dexter after a nearly three-year hiatus, during which time the series reached its highly controversial, much malig conclusion. It was time well spent, discovering Breaking Bad and Mad Men, the former being its closest thematic competitor in terms of featuring an anti-hero engaging in criminal activity that destroy the lives of those closest to him. It's a comparison that would seem to do Dexter no favors, despite it actually premiering first in 2007, since settling into a satisfying, if slightly predictable routine for its next five seasons, its quality remaining relatively consistent throughout. But whatever surface similarities may exist, Breaking Bad is the pinnacle of television drama. Dexter is Dexter. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Dexter opening title card

Having now actually binged it, it's a pleasure to declare that the final three seasons are as good (if not better) than much of what came before and the inexplicably reviled finale is a more than worthy show closer, ranking amongst the more intriguing dramatic finales of recent years. It's as gutsy as it is tragic, capping of a spectacular run of episodes under new showrunner Scott Buck, who followed through on promises to take the series in a different direction and shake things up. The series digs as deep as it ever has into Dexter's past and the creation of his Dark Passenger. With the big secret finally exposed to his sister and the introduction of some pivotal new faces, the lid gets completely blown off the series, resulting in a bloodbath that alters (or in some cases ends) characters' lives. This is what fans wanted, so it only figures once they get it, the complaining starts.

What really scared me away was all the internet bellyaching about how the show took a creative nosedive in its final seasons, a claim proven to not only be false, but littered with spoilerish details (i.e. lies) reconfigured to fit that very argument. It was impossible to avoid them all, but I should have known better than to even listen. An incest storyline. The Miami Metro Police Department not catching Dexter. Deb dying. Dexter as a lumberjack. And let's not forget a series finale many have already proclaimed the "worst ever." It's a a phrase we heard before when Lost concluded and again this year when How I Met Your Mother wrapped. Hyperbolic statements like that immediately kick my skepticism into overdrive, and for good reason this time.

An entire year has passed for Miami Metro's blood spatter analyst/part-time serial killer of killers, Dexter Morgan (Hall) since the events of Season 5. He's looking into schools for infant son Harrison while sister Debra (Carpenter) is promoted to Lieutenant, which is due less to an endorsement of her abilities than the fact she's caught in the middle of a political tug-of-war between Captain Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) and superior Tom Matthews (Geoff Pearson). As her relationship with detective and former partner Quinn (Desmond Harrington) collapses and she deals with reluctantly accepting a promotion originally reserved for friend and mentor Batista (David Zayas), Dexter has a pair of new enemies to take care of.

"Doomsday Killers" Travis Marshall and Professor Gellar

Say what you will about Season 6 (a questionably scripted premiere sees Dexter taking inexplicable risks for mere shock value), but it is one of the more focused, thematically coherent seasons. That theme centers around religion and spirituality, with Dexter investigating a pair of ritualistic "Doomsday Killers" (guest stars Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks), whose murders are drenched in apocalyptic symbolism and cryptic tableaus, just as he starts examining his own spiritual convictions. With his Dark Passenger guided by the hallucination of late father Harry (James Remar) and a new confidante in murderer-turned-minister Brother Sam (Mos Def), Dexter attempts to curb his urge to kill, or at least tries to make sense of its origins. He isn't successful, but it sets the stage for the succeeding seasons.

No sixth season episode better illustrates this moral conflict brewing inside him than "Nebraska," which sees him driving cross country to investigate the mysterious deaths of the wife and daughter of the Trinity Killer. Guided not by the hallucination of Harry, but of his late brother, Brian Mosier AKA The Ice Truck Killer (Christian Carmago), it's a detour, but an important one as he continues to infuriate Deb with his secrets and wrestle with his past. While the sixth season doesn't stray far from the series' familiar format and is slightly hurt by a twist that could adversely affect its rewatch value, it's better than most give it credit for and features a genuinely creepy performance from Colin Hanks. But this season is mostly remembered for one moment that in hindsight divides the entire series into two parts: Pre-reveal and post-reveal.

How Deb would eventually uncover Dexter's secret life and what her reaction would be was already intensely speculated on by fans years before it happened. And the writers really couldn't have waited any longer before finally pulling the trigger since doing so freed them up to deviate from the show's format and start telling a different story. Would she turn him in and leave a son without his father? Help cover up his murders? How can she she go to work each day as a police Lieutenant knowing her brother's a serial killer?

Dexter's secret is finally uncovered by Deb

Of course, few could have guessed all these questions surrounding Deb walking in on a Dexter kill would have been preceded by the realization (prompted by her psychologist) that she had fallen in love with her own brother. Other than to hammer home Deb's sordid history of falling for damaged men like him, I'd agree with those unsure what the writers were trying to accomplish with this, but we can least give them credit for backpedaling fast and not following through with it. Occupying only two or three episodes and presented as a more of a psychological undercurrent, it's hardly the "incest storyline" it's been referred to as, almost immediately pushed aside in the wake of Deb's discovery.

Already having growing pains in her new position as Lieutenant, it's fair to say she doesn't take the news that her brother's a serial killer all that well, naively thinking she'll be able to rehabilitate him and help control his urges. Despite worries they wouldn't go through with it, the writers don't hedge their bets and go all the way, fully incorporating Deb into Dexter's dark universe. She knows everything, even as he tries to placate her with his explanation of Harry's Code and defenses that those plastic-wrapped victims who end up on his kill table deserve their what's coming, having evaded the law and prepared to kill again. The scariest part of the series has always been how true Dexter's defense is, but what it doesn't explain is why he enjoys killing so much, or even at all.

There's a lot going on Season 7 between the big reveal, Dexter tangling with the Ukranian mob and LaGuerta closing in on his crimes, as Deb still struggles to come to terms with it all herself. His ongoing feud with crime boss Isaak Serko (guest star Ray Stevenson) would feel like filler as we wait for the other shoe to drop with LaGuerta, if not for Stevenson's cool and cunning performance, but the entire story arc still brings back unfortunate memories of Miguel Prado from Season 3. But the  mob storyline does provide an excellent showcase for the continued downfall of Quinn, who must break some kind of record in terms of how much drinking, corruption, tampering and sleeping with witnesses one officer can engage in while not only keeping his job, but eventually being up for a major promotion. Whether he's taking payoffs from a strip club owner (Jason Gedrick), stealing evidence, or sleeping with a stripper (Katia Winter), you're aghast at how this guy is even still alive and not in rehab, much less following leads on big cases. He can thank Deb, Batista and eventually even Batista's sister (and Harrison's incredibly patient nanny), Jamie (Aimee Garcia) for keeping him on the straight and narrow.              

Yvonne Strahovski as spree killer Hannah McKay

With already enough plot for multiple seasons, it's the introduction of another killer, Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski) that ends up shaping the remainder of the series and Dexter's emotional development. Finding the perfect match in a like-minded psychopath, he appears to have found the one person who finally understands his urges and accepts him for who he is. Unlike Julia Stiles' Lumen from Season 5, this isn't the single season, "one and done" guest arc we've been accustomed to and those only familiar with Strahovski from Chuck will be surprised how chillingly she exudes a vacant, cold detachment in the role, while still keeping Hannah stable enough to remain a viable long-term candidate for Dexter's affections. The only question is whether he's willing to risk the safety of his sister and son to enter a serious relationship with someone as potentially dangerous as he is.

The bumbling ineptitude of the Miami Metro police department has always been the show's creative Achillies' heel, as it was always tough to buy that they wouldn't have figured it all out by now, especially considering Dexter's increased sloppiness in covering his tracks. And it's that carelessness that points a suspicious LaGuerta in his direction.The image of Dexter being brought into Miami Metro in handcuffs as the Bay Harbor Butcher with his dumbfounded colleagues looking on ranks up there with the shocking moment John Lithgow casually walked into police headquarters to pay someone a visit. Of course, it doesn't take long for Dexter to play the victim card, successfully painting LaGuerta as a raving lunatic trying to frame him. But she won't give up that easily. While the seventh season finale could easily double as a series finale with Deb literally forced to choose between her brother and the life she's built for herself. Of course, she'll always choose Dexter.

Having Deb kill off LaGuerta was one of the best creative decisions they made, eliminating a character who had outstayed her welcome while sending Deb down a self-destructive rabbit hole for which Dexter's responsible. Season 8 belongs to Jennifer Carpenter, with the actress giving the performance of her career as Deb's self-loathing and seething resentment toward Dexter pushes her off the deep end. Regardless of what's been said about the final season, there's no way around the fact Carpenter was robbed of an Emmy nomination, even amongst the stiffest of competition. She's asked to play an entirely different character than previous seasons, so stung by her own actions that she's descended into an abyss of drugs, murder and sex.

Deb and Elway on the job

This all occurs under the guise of her new career for Elway Investigations, run by former detective Jacob Elway (Sean Patrick Flanery), who at first seems to merely be a slick used car salesman type. It's a surprise when he turns out to actually be a cool guy and an extremely fair boss, but a bigger one when Deb's allegiance to Dexter starts getting in the way of business, both personal and professional.  Bounty hunting and skip tracing would seem to be quite the fall from being Lieutenant of Miami Metro, but it fits Deb, a tough, foul-mouthed cop who was always more comfortable with the grunt work of active duty than dealing with red tape and politics. But this is really to escape, from Dexter and her guilt over killing LaGuerta to protect him.

The writers' willingness to reveal exactly how Dexter came to be at the risk of demystifying him elevates the final season into its strongest since the fourth. And it makes sense that there's no better person to do this than a criminal psychologist. Played by Charlotte Rampling in one the series' most rewarding guest arcs, Dr. Evelyn Vogel is initially brought in to help Miami Metro catch the "Brain Surgeon," a new serial killer removing pieces of victims' brains and leaving them at her doorstep. But she's really there for Dexter, as his surrogate mother figure who had a hand in creating him and the infamous Code. Now she desperately needs his help and protection.

Dexter's complicated relationship with Vogel hinges on her frequent inability to see him as anything more than a lab rat or a Frankenstein's Monster she created as the "perfect psychopath," unable to control his urges, but fine tuned to channel them in a direction that would cause the least amount of collateral damage.Her insistence that he's incapable of empathy, love, remorse or any other feelings associated with a normal, functioning human being is tested with Hannah's return and the responsibility he must take for essentially destroying Deb's life. For the first time, the siblings are at each others throats, with Dexter seriously contemplating his future as he plays a cat-and-mouse game with the mysterious Brain Surgeon, who proves to be his most dangerous adversary since Trinity.

Dexter confronts Dr. Vogel

Coldly robotic and almost Terminator-like in his presence (while being deeply obsessed with Mama Cass' "Make Your Own Kind of Music"), the reveal of who the Surgeon actually is and his purpose proves to not only be an absorbing look into the mind of a stone cold killer, but a bona fide shocker that actually makes sense in the context of the narrative. Besides leaving a trail of deaths, who he eliminates is important and personal, calling Dexter into action for reasons beyond merely the thrill of the kill. This time it feels like his moral duty. We also get the opportunity to see Dexter as a mentor, attempting to take a troubled young man under his wing afflicted with the same dark demons as he. But that project is short-lived, in more ways than one.

With LaGuerta gone and Batista, Quinn and Matthews taking on more prominent roles, Miami Metro isn't portrayed as incompetently as before, with even resident laughing stock Masuka (C.S. Lee) being given a somewhat serious sub-plot that subverts and challenges the character's loony reputation as a perverted horndog. And the writers knew something we didn't, as a long-term term plan was apparently put in place for Quinn that only comes into full view when the series concludes, as he becomes a rock for Deb when she needs someone most. Aside from Carpenter, Harrington is the actor who's grown the most in the series, ending his run ten times the performer than when he started.

Too often, series finales are judged by what fans believe they want to see or think should happen based on their expectations, rather than what serves the characters and story. Perhaps in their ideal finale, Dexter would be fully exposed for his crimes, caught by the police and sentenced to death. That's the only explanation I can think of as to why so some were disappointed by "Remember The Monsters?," which not only serves as a fitting final chapter, but one those rare finales that deserve to be considered amongst the series' best episodes, closing the door, yet leaving it cracked open enough to contemplate future possibilities. Some finales tie a series up neatly in bow. Others shock and polarize. There's no question which category this falls into. Dexter technically "survives," but the spiritual death he suffers is far greater punishment than his actual demise would have been.

Dexter says goodbye to Deb

The bond he and Deb share has always been the glue that holds the show together and in the last episode it's permanently torn apart. Him being thrown in jail or even sent to the electric chair for his crimes would have been too easy. Having seemingly rid himself of his Dark Passenger and need for Harry's advice, he's prepared to start a new life with Hannah and Harrison, at least until the full magnitude of his actions finally catch up with him.

With a potential escape from Miami cleverly juxtaposed with the landfall of Hurricane Laura (Mosier?), Dexter's final scenes with Deb where he's forced to pull the plug on his sister are the most emotionally devastating of the series, only magnified by the fact few saw her death coming, especially given her state at the beginning of the episode. And it's all his fault. He knows this, which is why he has to protect Hannah and Harrison from this monster. His Dark Passenger. As long as that side of him exists, he knows they're not safe. Just as Debra wasn't.

Seeing Dexter Morgan as a bearded Lumberjack having faked his own death and living under an alias in an Oregon cabin, it's hard not to be reminded of the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, "Granite State," in which Walter White is hauled up in a New Hampshire cabin dying of cancer. But even he got to put things right to an extent. We leave Dexter trapped in his own personal hell, staring vacantly into the camera knowing he'll never see his son and sister again. Without them and Hannah, he's nothing.

Lumberjack Dexter in "Remember The Monsters?"

The ending is more poetic and ironic than it's gotten credit for and doesn't feel manufactured so Showtime can milk more from Dexter with a spin-off. For all we know they eventually might, but it sure doesn't feel like the motivating factor for a creative decision that more than holds up under logical scrutiny. And Michael C. Hall probably has enough offers on the table that the idea revisiting a character he's just played for the past eight years wouldn't be enticing. Could it happen? Absolutely, but it would take a lot of ingenuity to make it work.

That any continuation of the series is even being speculated is proof enough how compelling an end this was for the character and should silence dissenters claiming everything that came after Season 4 was worthless. One can only hope the cast and crew tuned it out, especially Hall and Carpenter, who for 8 years carried this show on their backs. Everyone can agree their work never wavered. But they couldn't have done it without an equally strong story driving them.              
              

TV on DVD: Dexter (The Complete Fifth Season)

Writer/Producer: James Manos, Jr. 
Starring: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Desmond Harrington, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, C.S. Lee, James Remar, Julia Stiles, Jonny Lee Miller, Shawn Hatosy, Peter Weller, Christina Robinson, Preston  Bailey
Original Air Date: 2010

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

How do you follow up one of the most exciting seasons of television to air in years? That's the challenge facing the writers of Dexter as they head into their fifth season. It would seem after the creative peak that was season 4, there's no where to go but down and while this is a step down it's not nearly as big of one as expected. Last season's cliffhanger ending was shocking as they made a gutsy but necessary decision in killing off a major character who definitely ran her course. While we're now just starting to see the results of that risky choice, it's still fair to say after viewing these 16 episodes that it was the right one. No one can argue John Lithgow's chilling guest turn as the Trinity Killer was the key to last season's success, but we know from previous guest starring arcs that his character's fate was predetermined, even as last season pushed the boundaries of that theory as far as possible. And when the performance is as brilliant as Lithgow's, a void is left that needs to be filled and the writers are faced with the unenviable task of topping themselves. Luckily, they knew the best thing to do in that situation was not worry about that and just focus on crafting an entirely different season that makes sense, while also advancing the show's overall mythology. The only season that didn't do that was the third, which was mildly entertaining, but essentially a complete throwaway. If forced to rank the all the seasons from best to worst, it would probably look something like this:

Season 4
Season 2
Season 1
Season 5
Season 3

That the order is this bizarre is only a testament to just how you really never know where things are going with this series. And of all of them, this is the most convoluted from a narrative standpoint and takes the longest to get going. But once it does, it doesn't stop and reaches a more than satisfying conclusion. When we last saw Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) he had discovered the lifeless body of his wife Rita (Julie Benz) in the bathtub as baby Harrison sat crying in a pool of her blood, painfully recalling Dexter's childhood experience of he and his brother witnessing their mother's death. Trinity's gone, but not without claiming one last victim and the person most important in Dexter's life. As expected, he doesn't handle it well, or really even at all at first. In a cringe-inducing early scene in the season, he insensitively breaks the news to step-children Astor (Christina Robinson) and Cody (Preston Bailey) before they're shipped off to live with their grandparents. To an extent, it makes sense someone who spends most of his spare time killing serial killers wouldn't be able to grasp how anyone else deals with death. 

Of course, the only way Dexter can manage his pain is by more killing so it isn't long before he's back at it and an encounter with a creepy pest control expert (Shawn Hatosy) leads him to runaway Lumen Pierce (Julia Stiles). The sole survivor of a series of rapes and murders, Dexter may have finally found his soulmate, and someone just as emotionally messed up as he is. The challenge is trust each other long enough to pick off the killers and get her justice, before Dex's sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) and his co-workers at the Miami Metro police department follow the blood trail to them.

Julia Stiles is an interesting choice of actress to be burdened with the responsibility of following Lithgow. Skeptics will probably read her character as some kind of a replacement for Rita but that's completely inaccurate since we're not exactly sure she's being set up as a love interest. One of the best things about her story arc is that it takes a very long time to be sure and it could reasonably go either way. The connection between the two is definitely more psychological than sexual and is as much about Dexter exorcising his own demons and coming to terms with Rita's death by helping her. This is far different than the Miguel Prado nonsense from season 3 that served little purpose other than to give Dexter a friend to hang with in the kill room and on the golf course. 

Watching Stiles is a reminder we've seen too little of her lately and it's an understatement to say this is the most complex role she's ever been afforded the opportunity to play, big screen or small. She's always been at best when inhabiting strong-willed characters and Lumen is definitely that, though the most compelling part of her story arc is how she starts the season as a fragile basketcase, but ends it as someone far different. As a rape victim, murderer, sidekick and runaway she gets put through the wringer in a challenging part, but Stiles nails it with an emotionally raw performance, more than earning her Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. Comparing to Lithgow are pointless especially since it's delightfully creepy Jonny Lee Miller as motivational speaker and suspected murder ring leader Jordan Chase who has the pressure of following in his footsteps as the season's antagonist.

As usual, anything concerning the sometimes laughably incompetent Miami Metro police, lead by Lt. Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) and her new husband Sgt. Angel Batista (David Zayas) holds the least amount of interest, specifically when it's unrelated to Dexter, who spends much of the season on leave from the department. The season's other less involving investigation exists solely for the purpose of creating a feud between potty-mouthed Deb and LaGuerta, who inexplicably still has a job after some of the wild, borderline illegal decisions she's made in command, none more over the top than in this season. Give the writers credit for finally giving us the permission to hate her we've been waiting for all along, but what's great about Velez's performance is that as bitchy as she makes the character she still finds a way to ground it in reality and make her crazy behavior seem at least somewhat believable for a woman in her position. More interesting is Deb's partner and new boyfriend Quinn's (Desmond Harrington) season-long obsession with implicating Dexter in Rita's murder and linking him to Trinity, even going so far as to hire a slimy, crooked cop (played by Peter Weller) to help him do it.

It seems that at the end of each season there's no way the writers will be able to close everything out and tie up all the loose ends, but somehow they're always able to pull through and make it come together. This season is no exception, and the more you think back, the more sense it makes, and while many could be disappointed by how Stiles' arc finishes, it's the only way to move forward. This season (its highest rated yet) has also given the great Michael C. Hall a chance to show a more somber, contemplative side to Dexter in the wake of Rita's death, continuing his struggle to exorcise his "Dark Passenger." 

We're at the point now where it's time to start thinking about how this will  end, as it's tough to imagine the series continuing at this pace for much longer than two seasons. At the emotional core of the series has always been the big question of how Dex's sister Deb would react to his dark secret and whether she'd still accept him for who he is. This season cleverly gives us our first tease of what that reaction could be. Even though there's this inescapable feeling the series peaked with season 4's finale, Dexter's writers have shown enough ingenuity to inspire confidence that more surprising developments are on tap before we reach the conclusion.