I was a big fan of Dexter when it aired on Showtime. But it was apparent after a while, it was running on empty. And like many fans, I felt Miami-area serial killer Dexter Morgan still need to atone for his sins and die. Instead he ended up looking like a lumberjack somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.
My guess this was because Michael C. Hall needed a safety net just in case. And after Six Feet Under and Dexter, he was looking to spread his legs in the film industry but hasn’t had too much luck. I haven’t seen Dexter: New Blood, but there’s really no need to as the gist is covering in the first episode of Dexter: Resurrection. I mean, it’s about a man who kills other serial killers and vicious people.
But Dexter: Original Sin was hard to sit through with that annoying performance by Molly Brown as Debra Morgan. Thankfully, it was canceled. The main problem with that series and this one is that it’s too long. Ten episodes per season is too long especially since most of the episodes seem repetitive. At least Resurrection takes it down a new route.
Dexter spends most of the time in New York City after recovering from a near-fatal gunshot wound at the end of New Blood. Well, actually, he more or less goes to New York City to check on his son, Harrison (Jack Alcott) and to escape Angel Batista (David Zayas), who is surprised to find that Dexter is still alive. But Angel soon suspects that Dexter may have been the Bay Harbor Butcher all along.
The season also introduces two new villains for Dexter. The first is billionaire Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage) who is not only a collector of things owned by serial killers, he actually hosts them at his mansions. This might have been a great idea if Dinklage was allowed to play it with some more fun. But it just comes off as another evil billionaire. The second villain is Prater’s hired hand Charley played impressive by Uma Thurman in a role I originally didn’t recognize her.
There’s also an unnecessary subplot involving Dexter becoming friendly with a rideshare driver, Blessing Darling (Ntare Gumbo Mbaho Mwine) and his family. Dexter ends up moving into the basement apartment of the Darling family. While the original series and its spinoffs have always tried to show the humane side of Dexter, I feel it’s mainly done as filler. I get it that Dexter is trying to reconnect with Harrison and Blessing is going through the same family issues of trying to make a connection. It just doesn’t really move the series along as well as it should.
There’s also the same plot devices where Dexter comes close to killing someone or has a second thought it’s not the right place nor time. But here it can be forgiven because the serial killers Dexter is hunting are very interesting to watch. The sad part is Dinklage is only allowed to have fun in the final two episodes briefly. I did like the performance of Kadia Saraf as Det. Claudette Wallace who is investigating the murders. Saraf manages to command every scene she’s in and during a surprising scene in the 10th and final episodes shows she’s not all stoic and focused on business.
I didn’t really find the relationship between Dexter and Harrison to be as great as it could be but I felt it kind of showed the strained relationship between the two. I’m glad James Remar is back as the spirit of Dexter’s late father, Harry Morgan. I’m a fan of Christian Slater but I never did feel he was right for the role as the younger version.
A second season of Resurrection has been confirmed as some subplots indicate Dexter has some unfinished business. But I would recommended the feeling of less is more. Instead of 10 episodes, go for eight or even six. Netflix’s wonderful Adolescence did it in just four episodes.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 