DEXTER-ity: Dexter: New Blood

Well, well, well, of all the things coming back I never thought I'd see the day our beloved red-headed human hacker Dexter Morgan would make his return. In many ways, I suppose the producers got what they wanted in the god-awful Season 8 which was supposed to be the series's final season, in which they wanted Dexter to live in hopes of a possible return. Well, welcome to possible and Dexter is back. Going into this limited series I feel trepidation because considering how badly the series was handled after 4 and 5 I can't I'm not worried that some old habits will arise, and we'll get to some of those in a bit. But now that this series has concluded and I've had a few days to digest what I just witnessed how did the series go? Well, welcome one and all to my finale Dexterity, a "Dexter" review, and analysis done by yours truly.

So let's get everybody up to speed, when we last left Dexter his son Harrison was left in the care of his beloved fugitive from justice and MASSIVE drain on the plot girlfriend Hannah McKay, wisking him off to Argentina (where there is no extradition), Dexter himself, after throwing Deb into the sea after inadvertently causing her death, set sail into a hurricane only to survive and become a logger in some other part of the U.S. away from Hannah and Harrison. That's where we left things. We pick things up 10 years later and we find that Dexter is living in a small town called Iron Lake, somewhere in New York. While in his 10-year exile Dexter has been a good boy and hasn't killed anyone or anything and oddly enough has animals in his care (when previously animals could see Dexter for who he is). What's more interesting is that Dexter is now going by the name James "Jim" Lindsay, a nod to the writer of the Dexter novels Jeff Lindsay.

This exile makes sense because as I've mentioned in my review of Season 5, Dexter is mentally a child and his reaction to getting caught is to run, he attempted to do so after Trinity killed Rita and he has successfully done so now, for 10 years. Despite what Dexter says about being the danger to Harrison and so on, his natural instinct is self-preservation and that'll come into play later but we'll get there when we get there. Considering we've been away from Miami for 10 years we have some new players on the board but the most important characters are Chief Angela Bishop, Dexter's new girlfriend, Kurt Caldwell, the new villain of the season played by Clancy Brown because he's always the bad guy and a returning Harrison. Speaking of returning we have Debra now replacing Harry as Dexter's guide. I think this is fitting, considering every voice that Dexter saw was someone who knows who he is (Brian, Harry and Debra, hence why Dexter never saw either of his moms or anyone else) and they all had different functions, Brian only appeared when Dexter cut loose and decided to go nuts for a bit, Harry functions as a guide to Dexter's addiction, Debra functions as a guide to recovery, and considering Dexter hasn't killed anyone, it makes sense that Harry wouldn't appear. By the way, I love Ghost Debra, she's the perfect foil to Dexter's demeanor and she's able to call him on his bullshit in a way the real Debra couldn't. But let's get back on track.

Really amazing visual

Harrison returns and this sets up a whole big mess for Dexter considering he left him behind and now that Harrison is high school age and free from Hannah (she died off-screen due to cancer, YAY! And I hope it hurt...not sorry) he wants some answers. Now here comes the monkey wrench, Harrison appears to Dexter the night after his first kill in 10 years and this is where the plot gets interesting. Matt Caldwell, son of the lead villain, is a spoiled rich kid and an asshole and yes, he caused a major boat accident that killed people, and while YES, that's murder (since he was driving intoxicated), Dexter never went after a drunk driver before, so this was just Matt Caldwell pushing his buttons to the point where Dexter snapped. This makes sense because again Dexter is a child and without a reason to kill anyone Dexter can actually chill out, he's managed to do it for 10 years by following a routine and basically becoming a drone, following orders...like a child. So when a chaotic element like Matt Caldwell shakes up Dexter's world, Dexter resets back to factory settings and the factory setting is murder.

Considering Dexter hadn't done it in 10 years he was indeed VERY rusty as this was an impromptu kill and because of such, he had no way to get rid of Matt or have the kill room ready. And this once again shows Dexter being a child, impulsiveness. He had no real reason to kill Matt Caldwell but since that was his only form of conflict resolution at the time and Matt slightly fit the code, Dexter justified it in his mind to off Matt and this is the chain reaction that sets off the series. Before I go on, let's talk about the Harrison front, there is a subplot involving a true-crime podcaster named Molly Park that is slightly involved with this story but I'll get to Molly when I get to her. But Harrison has been acting out and has shown a violent streak when he slashes a kid with a straight razor to stop a school shooting and becomes a hometown hero, however, Harrison staged the whole thing and actually was the first to draw blood. This little bit of acting out in a violent manner is slightly similar to Dexter's feeling in the first season, wishing one day that people will celebrate Dexter's removal of human garbage rather than revile him, Harrison actually gets to live that. But in living that Harrison finds himself at a party and after consuming drugs (is that all that teenagers at parties do now? Take drugs?) Harrison lets it slip that Jim Lindsay's name isn't real, leading Chief Bishop, the mother of the girl Harrison's dating to dig a little bit.

Chief Bishop finding out that Jim Lindsay is Dexter Morgan has to be the most satisfying reveal ever, HOWEVER! The shock of all shocks, Dexter actually lied very well, and despite Angela not being cool with being lied to, she still called Dexter in order to get a 3rd party crime-scene analysis on her long-dead friend Iris, partially putting him back in her good graces. I previously stated that Dexter was NEVER good at lying and was simply good at being vague or being found in situations in which a character assumed an alibi, like in Season 2 where Rita and Doakes assumed Dexter was a drug addict merely from circumstantial evidence, Dexter never actually had to craft a narrative behind his actions, because as a child his first instinct is to run but when cornered Dexter isn't clever enough to think himself out of a situation, here he actually does and the lie is actually pretty sound. However, being unable to hold a lie, Dexter manages to save Molly Park from the clutches of Kurt Caldwell by recording their conversation and tailing Kurt to his offsite cabin. Molly, of course, finds it odd that Dexter showed up at just the right time.

Not to digress but Dexter had an out in this scenario as well. Dexter could have seen Kurt and Molly talking, wanted to talk to Kurt but didn't wanna interrupt, saw them leave together, and then followed Kurt just to have a word with him. Why would Dexter wanna talk to Kurt? Because Kurt had given Harrison an application to work at his diner and Dexter wanted to discuss that with him. The fatherly thing to do. Furthermore, Dexter appears at the diner with Kurt when Angela comes to arrest him and Angela found it weird that Dexter was there, however, Dexter has an out, he was there to support his son on his first day of work, a very fatherly thing to do. Likewise, it was Kurt who sat down, not Dexter, Dexter was already there and had a perfectly good reason to be there. Hence why I'm saying Dexter is not a good liar. But credit where credit is due, Dexter does manage to spin a good narrative to Angela in regards to her finding Matt's leg screws in Dexter's home.

Kurt manages to burn down Dexter's house and then plants Matt's screws him Angela Bishop's mailbox with a note indicating Dexter killed his son. All of this could have been explained away had it not been for Molly's podcast on the Bay Harbor Butcher and Angela discovering Dexter's real name. Dexter getting arrested was the most surreal moment I've ever witnessed in a TV show because at this point Dexter was officially caught, not exactly red-handed but caught. All it took to bring Dexter down is for someone to snitch, that's all it took. Had Boyd Fowler snitched on Dexter back in Season 5, Dexter would've been screwed, granted Boyd may have brought an investigation on himself but he can easily get rid of any evidence before the police arrive. Besides, why would the police investigate a guy who was stabbed with a needle and drugged by a stranger? Boyd could have walked easy and Dexter would've been completely screwed and finally, Kurt did it. Arthur Mitchell couldn't have because the police have his DNA (the ash and his saliva) so he had lots more to lose but Boyd was nobody. Kurt realized he could torpedo Dexter easily and God bless him, he did it.

The man who could've brought down Dexter 4 Seasons ago...a road kill specialist...

Getting off of Kurt and moving back to Molly, let's talk about Molly and her podcast. She did a podcast on The Trinity Killer, now I'm no fan of true crime podcasts or true crime in general but isn't there an amount of research that needs to be done? What I'm getting at is that Molly would know that Trinity's last kill was in Miami and the victim's name was Rita Morgan and Harrison Morgan, a baby was left in the bathroom? Not only that, but maybe a MAJOR piece of information is that the victim was married to a Miami Metro Investigator. So you have a member of Miami Metro P.D.'s wife being murdered by a notorious serial killer and that's not what you open with? What I'm saying is Molly Park could've just as easily been a journalist chasing a story and not someone with a wealth of information at her disposal and didn't use it at all. Her involvement in the story doesn't add much, it actually takes away given how little she knows about the cases she covers. Even The Bay Harbor Butcher, the case about Doakes not being in the country when some of the murders took place was decent information but Trinity...she had no solid information?

People describe her work as "crazy thorough"...but...basic research is beyond her apparently...

But I digress. So the finale sees Dexter meet his end at the hands of Harrison and as such, I think, all things considered, it was a decent enough end to the character. I liked the call back to the first season with Harrison saying "Open your eyes and look at what you did!" that was good, but like many, I did feel the ending was rushed. Batista's cameo was nice but having him be the clutch player last minute could've been paid off a lot better than simply having him prepare his files. Not that I'm saying he should've been there for Dexter's last stand, but he should've at least been in town and on the hunt for Dexter. I know there are people who wanted a manhunt season but I don't think you can get more than a few episodes out of that because again, Dexter isn't very clever. Look back at the previous seasons and you'll see Dexter only managed to escape things because of plot convenience and not out of any real ingenuity on his part. So while a manhunt would be interesting, it'd only be interesting in concept, not in execution. Let's be honest, Dexter was never meant to go down in a blaze of glory or a hail of gunfire. Dexter's not that kinda person, Dexter is a child and like a child he takes the easy way out. Dexter doesn't get an epic end or anything like that, he's not an epic character. He doesn't wanna face the consequences of his actions (legally anyway) and instead decides to get killed by Harrison to avoid the humiliation of having to endure a trial and execution, like a child who runs and hides to avoid punishment. Let's also remember that in the end to distract Chief Bishop, Dexter reveals the truth about Kurt. This is also a childish tactic, Dexter's been bad but Kurt's been worse.

But Kurt did...

Let's talk about characters this season and lemme start with Kurt Caldwell since he's our main villain and I haven't addressed him much. Kurt is a scary bastard and played by Clancy Brown who has a history of playing scary bastards. Kurt has a fetish for runaways and his M.O. is locking them in a lush room, pamper them for a bit and then once they realize their situation, torment them, release them and then snipe them in the middle of running away. This fetish is routine for Kurt and any deviation makes him incredibly angry. It should also be noted that this fetish is entirely focused on single female runaways, there are no men in his collection of bodies. This isn't to say that Kurt hasn't killed any men, but we can see that if he did, he probably didn't preserve them as well as he did his female victims. We also know that Kurt isn't opposed to killing men as he did attempt to kill both Harrison and Dexter and sure you can stay that was revenge and not exactly pleasure, however, he did still have his kill outfit on when he was preparing to kill Dexter and Harrison, so I take that to mean that regardless of gender the fetish to see them running would still be present.

We can assume that Kurt's first kill was Iris and this drove him to wanna kill other runaways, not sure how or why or even if the story he told about his father was true, but the point is Kurt is a psychopath. Upon learning that Dexter killed Matt (and it's not entirely clear how Kurt figured that out, but I'm guessing from the direction Dexter was driving and where that furnace is, maybe Kurt put 2 and 2 together) he almost seems delighted to know Dexter is a killer and we don't see Kurt mourn or even saddened by the death of his son. His revenge even seems more like going through the motions rather than any driven sense of fatherly love. This is in stark contrast to Dexter, who despite not knowing how to be a father and failing miserably, he is at the very least worried about Harrison constantly throughout the show, worried enough to attempt to murder a drug dealer and kill another one on impulse alone. It's these impulses that cause Dexter to get caught because the dealer that Dexter attempted to kill survived and snitched on him giving Chief Bishop the smoking gun (the wheel mark) that'd implicate Dexter.

The old Dexter would have built a semi-rapport with the drug dealer before offing him, snatching him in the cover of night rather than broad daylight outside an open bar. But again Dexter is acting on impulse, not any rational side of him, he's reacting like a child, and him attempting to kill the drug dealer is akin to a fit or a tantrum. Speaking of Chief Bishop, Angela Bishop is essentially the good cop that the series has lacked for so long, tenacious, intelligent, driven and most of all cautious (all the things Debra wasn't). Angela never suspected Dexter when there was nothing to suspect but once Harrison entered the picture, cracks began to show in the facade that was Jim Lindsay until Angela couldn't ignore them. Being a police officer, her natural investigative skills allowed her to gain insight into situations most characters in previous seasons glossed over. Now, this wouldn't have happened without Harrison playing a foil to Dexter early in the series.

Harrison was the catalyst that informed Angela Jim Lindsay wasn't his real name, Batista was the catalyst that connected Harrison and Dexter together, and Molly was the catalyst that connected Dexter to The Bay Harbor Butcher, following the trail like this, it's easy to assume that Chief Bishop got REALLY lucky but again it's ultimately her job to follow up on things like that and in the end, it was Kurt snitching on Dexter that sealed his fate but all of these other factors aided in slowly revealing to her who Dexter was, without any of those factors she wouldn't have known. Through Harrison, she may have discovered that Jim Lindsay is Dexter but that'd be about it, as we already establish that Molly Park doesn't do any research into at the very least knowing the names of the victims of the serial killers she covers.

Since we're talking about Harrison, he was something of a mixed bag this season, not exactly a whiny teenager but at the same time not entirely sure how to channel his anger towards being abandoned, however, it seems like Harrison had a pretty decent life in Argentina, all things considered. Yes, I do understand Harrison was put into the foster care system but I'm tired of that being used as a scapegoat for bad things. That being said I have no clue what the foster care system is like in Argentina. Harrison's relationship with violence is interesting because much like Dexter he can recall when he was very young and has a vague memory of Rita's murder at the hands of Trinity and this makes him...well...angry. However, I gotta call B.S. on this because Harrison was old enough to talk by the time Hannah came into the picture and he was fine, he didn't seem distant or different like Dexter or Brian, so why now is it that Harrison is manifesting a lax attitude towards violence? I can see Harrison being okay with lashing out at someone, breaking someone's arm when attacked (that kid did headbutt him) and the straight-razor thing...maybe? But being okay with murder? That seemed a bit much.

Harrison is fine as a character but I wish he was more solidified as a person, and by that I mean I wish his attitude towards violence was more defined. Like when Harrison choked that bully, that was an interesting bit and it showed that like Dexter, Harrison has a sense of justice and a dark side that can aid him in doing so. There were times where he seemed just to exist and wanted more out of him, I wanted to hear what he had been through and what motivated him to attack the fake school shooter because that seemed to come outta left field. 

Although this, not gonna lie, this is some bone-chilling sh*t right here, I see something like this, who knows, I might be okay with letting the person who did it "accidentally" find themselves on the wrong end of a knife 3 or 5 times, ya dig?

Dexter himself is different this season, he's rusty, he's neutered and he's still a child. Like I said earlier, he's a drone now, a person with a routine with no real will of his own exactly. This isn't to say Dexter's existence in Iron Lake is miserable, not at all, I'm sure he's genuinely happy there but on the inside, Dexter is still lonely because he's ultimately a facade and is unable to be himself and at this point in the story is no longer himself even by name and he only has the ghost of Debra to actually keep him company as The Voice Of Recovery. Having not killed anyone in 10 years, Dexter is again, very rusty and very manic and because of this repression, Dexter is killing impulsively and not logically and worst of all, personally. Dexter could have waited to kill Matt Caldwell, and the old Dexter would have, Hell, Dexter didn't even have a place to dump the body, so Dexter was willing to jump at any excuse to break his recovery and did it on flimsy evidence at best. So Dexter has a childish understanding of himself and the consequences. He's unwilling to face the death penalty but willing to get shot by Harrison...both result in his death but one avoids the humiliation of him having to face the consequences of what he's done publically. 

As I've stated before the only people Dexter is ever really honest with are his victims and in his moments on the table with Kurt, Kurt acknowledges that Dexter really does understand Kurt and it's true. Dexter is a serial killer and by nature simply wants to kill. Just like Kurt, Dexter loves the control he has over his victims, and just like Kurt, Dexter preserves them...er...a drop of them anyway...the point is even after Dexter finishes with Kurt, his instinct is to once again, run away to somewhere else where he and Harrison can kill again. But as we know, Harrison isn't like him. Dexter said it himself that every killer out there is simply unchecked versions of himself, and while this may make Dexter easier to digest, he's still in the grand scheme of things a murderer. Furthermore, the world may never know the scum-bag Dexter killed because he kills them without revealing their true natures, so Dexter's "heroism" largely goes unnoticed. And yes, Season Two did acknowledge that the swath of Dexter's victims were all violent criminals but the really big fish go unnoticed and unrecognized.

They could've done a whole season on this bastard...

In the end, this Season wrapped up what needed to be wrapped up and while yes, including Batista should've been paid off but what was really gonna happen? Was Batista going to see Dexter and then slap cuffs on him for killing LaGuerta? Was he going to give him a warm greeting? Granted, they could've had Batista reading about The Bay Harbor Butcher case being closed and panned over to him and Masuka with beer bottles in their hand, silently questioning their stupidity over the years but let's be honest, Batista wouldn't have added much aside from maybe yelling at Dexter BUT again with Dexter's character, he'd wanna avoid all that, so this is the most fitting end for this character. There are a few themes of this season, one of them in Fatherhood. Dexter is a father, Kurt is a father and while both are not quality fathers, Dexter seems to at the very least want to be a father to his son BUT given how Dexter is, he can't do that in any real capacity. Kurt on the other hand, while not explicitly stated, seemed to be more or less an ATM machine for Matt. Kurt was a good father on the outside, little league, hunting trips, and all that but it seems like Kurt and Matt lacked a genuine connection, which is why you hardly see Kurt mourn when he realizes Matt's been killed, making it even more clear Kurt is a psychopath.

Just two psychopaths shootin' the breeze and killin' time...

The other theme is impulse. Kurt, Dexter, and Harrison all act on impulse and those impulses get them into trouble throughout the season, Kurt's impulsiveness lead him to call off the search towards the caves, he could've easily volunteered to go there himself with a buddy of his choosing (his hunter friend) and returned with no news, instead, he impulsively lies (like a child) and sets the entire series of events in motion. Dexter acts impulsively killing Matt, attempting to kill the drug dealer, and failing to prepare as much as he used to back in the day thus making him vulnerable. Harrison acted impulsively slashing the fake shooter, breaking the kid's arm, and letting it slip about Dexter's identity. Had all of the characters thought about their actions (and again, they won't because they're mentally children) there were easy outs for all of them. And that's the name of the game, the easy out.

I can see why people don't care for this ending but if they really think about it, this is the most fitting ending this character would have. Dexter was never going to stand trial and he'd never attempt to justify himself on a stand. Maybe Dexter could have died knowing he saved people as The Bay Harbor Butcher, sure, but that's not who Dexter is. In the end, Dexter is a monster and his being a monster reared its head when he impulsively killed Logan. Despite everything, Dexter has never killed law enforcement and this was the last line that he hadn't crossed. He killed innocent people in the past (on accident and a few on purpose) but never law enforcement, and while his actions lead to the death of law enforcement agents (Doakes & LaGuerta) he himself had never been responsible. Dexter claims he was doing it so he could see Harrison, but he had gone 10 years without seeing him and while seeing him was a motive, Dexter wanted to run...and sure enough, that was his plan, to run.

Had Harrison not come with him, Dexter probably still would have left, self-preservation is all he had left, but finally coming to something of his senses, he finally realizes that he IS the problem and has been all along and decides the best way for him to go is if his own son kills him...way to just wanna be normal, Harrison...Angela decides to let Harrison go...for some reason...but ultimately, Harrison doesn't matter, what matters is Dexter has finally realized that he should have been dead a long time ago and dies but not before validating Angela's beliefs and giving her closure on her cold cases. Angela Bishop is the winner of this season because she gets to close 2 major cases with massive body counts BY HERSELF!

Quit crying, you're gonna get a medal, a Pulitzer Prize, and an Oscar all at once!

Ultimately, Dexter was always going to end with his death, but it was never going to be a spectacle or anything epic. Dexter had lived his life avoiding attention and always stayed under the radar so his death would be just that, nothing special. Anyway, those are my thoughts, lemme know what you think and I'll catch you guys again, later!