Dexter Resurrection Review: Old Ghosts And New Nightmares, The Heart Still Beats
Dexter Resurrection Review: The first two episodes of the debut on Paramount+, Dexter Resurrection, the sequel series that restarts the engines of Dexter Morgan’s life story – and murders. A real restart, immediately after the finale (at this point it is better to define it as a cliffhanger) of New Blood, with the heart beating again and the carousel turning back on. In the cast – and how could it be otherwise – inevitable reconfirmations (with Michael C. Hall, David Zayas and James Remar above all) and new top-notch surprises (Uma Thurman, for example. But also, the already announced Peter Dinklage, Neil Patrick Harris, Krysten Ritter, Eric Stonestreet and David Dastmalchian) for an ambitious bet. But let’s go in order and start with the plot. Two years after the end of Dexter: New Blood, Michael C. Hall reprises his role as the American serial killer, ready to act once again poised between justice and revenge. With Dexter Resurrection, Paramount+ takes up the elements that were elaborated in the previous sequel of the series and in the 10 episodes promises that go to dig even further into the protagonist’s father-son relationship, but also to reconnect in a much more coherent way with the first season.
When a character dies permanently, especially at the hands of their child, it would seem that there is nothing left to say. And yet, Dexter Resurrection, he manages, against all odds, to bring Dexter Morgan back to life without even seeking a too plausible a justification. How it’s not important, Clyde Phillips seems to tell us: what matters is that the killer of killers is among us again, ready to bestow ruthless justice with his unmistakable empty gaze. The resurrection, both physical and symbolic, takes place in a completely new context: New York City, a cold and crowded metropolis that replaces the sunny scenery of Miami and the leaden colors of Iron Lake. The result? A revival that renounces verisimilitude to embrace the taste for play, for excess, for hyperbole. It is a return that presents itself almost defiantly, aware of the criticisms of the past, but equally certain of Dexter’s mythological strength as a pop character. At that point, the producers of the franchise, noticing that the success had not weakened at all, wanted to investigate the origins of the protagonist, but following the formula and characters (such as his estranged brother) from the mother series too much. Now comes a further spin-off/sequel, set a few months after the events of New Blood and symbolically titled Resurrection. But maybe it would have been better to stop.
Dexter Resurrection Review: The Story Plot
The series restarts ten weeks after the last seconds of New Blood: Harrison, Dexter’s son, who shot his father in the chest, is in New York and works in a hotel. Dexter is alive, his heart is beating again, and he has woken up from a coma. He’s recovering, but here’s the first surprise: Detective Angel Batista arrives (warned by Angela, former Iron Lake police chief and Dexter’s ex), determined to discover the truth about the ‘old friend’. The second, however, I avoid on purpose, so as not to spoil too much. But the result is: we start again. New city – a big city, New York – new (and old) problems. We had left Dexter in the midst of the most classic of cliffhangers: killed by a gunshot used by his son, Harrison, who, after a long journey in his father’s workshop, had decided to rebel, seeing only the dark side of the serial killer. The blow, deadly to anyone, does not definitively knock out our protagonist, as it should be, but leads him to a state of coma that lasts about 10 weeks, a period during which resurrection’s narrative follows two different tracks: on the one hand a path of self-analysis initiated by the subconscious of Dexter himself, ready to receive a visit from the ghosts of the past during the coma and of the present when awakened, on the other Harrison’s escape to New York, with the hope of finding a new identity, separate from that of his father. And if, while the boy shuns his father’s inclinations, Dexter holds firm to his conversations with his deceased father, the protagonist of most of the interactions on his living condition.
Harrison’s return is certainly one of the aspects that fans will like most: the bond that unites him to Dexter will certainly be the fulcrum of the entire Resurrection story, from the moment in which escape could also become a need for reconciliation. The actions that the boy will perform in the first two episodes, on the other hand, make it clear that the nature that his father passed on to him, at first unconsciously and later as teaching, is an attitude from which it is not easy to escape. The choice to place this two-person game in New York then creates yet another – but welcome – break with what was the past: from the sunny and always bright Miami and the snowy and cold expanses of the previous series, you arrive at a sentient metropolis, never stopped, always in a hurry, which however at night reveals its dirtiest side, a stage to also find a competitor of Dexter.
Dexter Resurrection Review and Analysis
And so, we start again. The first two episodes of Resurrection I’m online. The first is a journey among ghosts – the joke about the rule of three – of Dexter’s past is spicy, and the son’s attempt to escape (literal and also metaphorical) from his father. The second is entry into a new world. Miami is behind us, as is Iron Lake. Two preparatory episodes –even if rich, just look at the subplot of the ‘new’ Dark Passenger – which, however, define the tone of the series well. A turning point (lightning joke between Dexter and his father’s hallucination-driving-sidekick: “Now do you care about others?” “Now yes”) of Dexter and for Dexter? Save or punish? Feed the passenger or create a new life? A question of writing, in practice, the script for these two episodes holds up well, alternating double track and past-future duality. Also worth highlighting are the recitations –also Uma Thurman, yes –, the choice to leave from a hotel that seems designed by the late and never forgotten David Lynch, and the management of the splatter moments. The use of musical inserts is valuable –mark the parallel between Harrison and detective Claudette Wallace, the photography is opposed to that of the Miami and Iron Lake times, and the introduction of the character of Blessing Kamara. Some doubts – small, for now – about Uma’s.
Unlike the dark melancholy of New Blood, Resurrection is an avowed pulp exercise, tinged with a very black irony that constantly flirts with the grotesque. There are no more moral doubts to explore, no more torments to fathom: Dexter is back, and with him also the cynical narrative voice, the macabre double meanings, the subdued lines that make the series a dark comedy disguised as a crime drama. The change of tone is evident from the first scenes: Dexter no longer hides in an isolated hut, but reinvents himself as a driver for a car-sharing app, sarcastically commenting on the absurdities of urban life and interacting with bizarre characters, such as his colleague Blessing, or his new and unlikely enemies. It’s as if the series has decided not to take itself seriously anymore, and for this very reason, it manages to have more creative freedom.
Moving the action to New York is a bold move that brings renewed energy to the series. The city becomes a labyrinth of possibilities, populated by new investigators, new monsters, and new secrets to hide. The photograph returns a dirtier, more nervous, chaotic atmosphere, which contrasts effectively with Dexter’s surgical composure. The law enforcement system also regenerates: hunting (perhaps) Dexter is no longer the tired Miami team, but new faces like detective Claudette Wallace (Kadia Saraf) and a finally central, suspicious Angel Batista, motivated by genuine pain. Their presence restores tension and pathos to a plot that, otherwise, would risk giving in too much to the bizarre. One of the most convincing elements of the series is the way Harrison’s character is handled. Far from being a mere clone of the father, the boy represents a contemporary interpretation of the “monster”: impulsive, idealistic, more vulnerable. Harrison wants to do justice, but he has not yet learned to live with the shadow of the code, nor the weight of blood.
Dexter watches him from afar, protective but also guilty, aware that he has passed on an untenable legacy. The series thus stages an unusual father-son dynamic, based on absence, surveillance, and the mutual need for redemption. This is where Resurrection finds its true heart: not in ritual violence, but in the unresolved emotional tension between two generations of “vigilantes”. The most surreal aspect – but also the most successful, if you accept the over-the-top tone – is the insertion of a real “secret society” of murderers, led by a charismatic billionaire played by Peter Dinklage. Between elegant dinners, bizarre codes, and ritual murders, Dexter Resurrection transforms its protagonist into an ironic spectator of a world even crazier than his. Every member of this crime elite is built with caricatured, yet relatable traits: glacial avenger Mia (Krysten Ritter), tattoo fetishist Lowell (Neil Patrick Harris), stay-at-home killer Rapunzel (Eric Stonestreet). It is a pulp gallery that evokes the spirit of the best villains of the first seasons, but with a greater awareness of their absurdity.
While the series manages to reinvent itself thanks to the new characters, it remains too anchored to the past. The return of Harry’s visions, the voice of his father’s conscience, now appears a tired cliché. Even nostalgic appearances – from Doakes to Trinity – risk breaking the narrative rhythm rather than strengthening it. There is also no shortage of the usual structural defects: too comfortable moments, forced twists, internal monologues that taste like déjà-vu. Michael C. Hall, while remaining impeccable, struggles to find new nuances for a character who seems to have stopped on time. The series embraces this staticity with affection, but those seeking evolution or depth risk being disappointed. High-sounding name among the new entries of Dexter Resurrection it’s that of Uma Thurman, which from the first shots seems to have come out of a Tarantino film with his Charley. Together with her, the Leon Prater of an equally charismatic Peter Dinklage and above all the two over-the-top detectives played by Kadia Saraf and Dominic Fumusa. For the first time, a profiler appears in the franchise, making it even more crime drama and less psychological thriller. Other names involved for small screen lovers include Neil Patrick Harris, Krysten Ritter, Eric Stonestreet, and David Dastmalchian.
As we were saying, there is no shortage of fil rouge with the “old guard”. First of all, the return of David Zayas in the role of detective (now captain) Batista, already named in the previous ending, and James Remar as Dex’s adoptive father, Harry, as well as his “spiritual guide”. Harry’s code comes back preponderant in these new episodes to try to transform into Dexter’s code and Harrison’s. The dynamics are therefore cyclical. Honestly, we wonder how they can tell something new that isn’t the protagonist’s usual luck and ability to escape justice and get away with it. Not even the father-son relationship and the sins of the fathers now seem like something new. Furthermore, the series is concentrated among the spin-off hypothesized later, New Blood, focused on Harrison’s life, and the presence of his most beloved character, that of Hall, without whom perhaps the production would have risked too much.
What changes is the location chosen for the Paramount+ series. From the sunny and sultry Miami of Dexter’s original, we had moved on to the cold and snow-filled, in perfect contrast to the red of the blood, in which Dexter and Harrison were born and trained – in Dexter: New Blood. Now we remain in cold but not glacial tones – from buildings to photography – more based on the grayness of smog to represent the chaos full of possibilities of the metropolis, moving us to New York. The city that never sleeps is also the one that is full of serial killers. The direction becomes more dynamic, moving through the alleys and corridors of the hotel where Harrison works, thanks to the room of Monica Raymund and Marcos Siega. The music, instead it is invasive with a continuously winking and almost omnipresent soundtrack compared to the past. However, we ask ourselves the meaning of such an operation, if not to continue squeezing an endless profitable franchise.
Resurrection does not fail to include, beyond the character of Charley, also other supporting characters that could become important in the Dexter ecosystem. Among all, Blessing Kamara, played by Ntare Mwine, is ready to lend a hand to the serial killer to fit into the new city agglomeration of New York in the best possible way. Perhaps fans would have liked to witness some sort of escape from Morgan, especially now that his secret identity is starting to falter, but the asphalt road from the first two episodes seems to want to take us in another direction and lead us into a more introspective context, made up of vulnerabilities and questions about one’s actions. Dexter doesn’t seem to want to break his beliefs, despite the many external tickles, but it’s quite clear that the showrunners intend to push the serial killer to ask himself many questions about the father-son relationship: on the other hand, while Harrison runs away from him, Dexter continues to question his father on several occasions.
Dexter Resurrection Review: The Last Words
Dexter Resurrection is an unlikely and over-the-top new chapter, but constructed with intelligence and a good dose of irony. While ignoring all narrative logic and pushing on the accelerator of the absurd, it manages to amuse thanks to a brilliant cast, a dynamic setting, and writing aware of its limits. It is not a series that seeks the approval of those who left the franchise years ago: it is a gift to those who have remained, despite everything. And in this, it works. Dexter Resurrection maintains the style of the original series even more than New Blood and Original Sin, but, living as a sequel to the sequel, acquires little artistic and narrative value, at least from the first episodes seen, which do not bode well for the continuation. Big returns from the old guard, high-sounding names among the new entries and a new suggestive location are not enough to truly pique the curiosity, and above all, maintain the perseverance of us spectators.
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jack Alcott, David Zayas, Krysten Ritter, Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman, Neil Patrick Harris, Kadia Saraf
Creator: Clyde Phillips
Streaming Platform: Paramount+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and a half stars)
