SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from Showtime’s Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 finale.
Showtime’s Dexter: Resurrection has set up the future of the franchise, and it’s looking mighty fine.
Tonight, the show closed its final chapter on Season 1, and there was no doubt where all the roads were leading. So, we had to say goodbye to a few old friends, but we also got to say “Oops, you did it again” to a reunion that Philadelphia itself blessed.
But we can get into that in just a moment. In last week’s episode, “Touched By An Ángel,” fans of the series said goodbye to one of the last remaining OGs from the original series, Ángel Batista (David Zayas), who Leon Prater murdered. It’s hard to believe Leon, the billionaire with a penchant for serial killers, had never offed anyone himself, but he took Batista down with multiple bullets.
There would be no proper funeral for the retired Miami Metro detective; instead, he lay dead in Prater’s vault, where Dexter(Michael C. Hall), who witnessed Batista’s slaying first-hand, was also trapped.
Prater and his bodyguard, Charley (Uma Thurman), plan to starve, dehydrate, and suffocate Dexter in a total of three days. Unfortunately for Prater, who, in another part of his house, was throwing a lavish fundraiser full of politicos, notables, and law enforcement, didn’t count on Dexter making himself at home with his secret files, which contained intel on VIPs and those in his circle, like Charley. What he found in hers was shocking, like the images that linked her to Mia’s (Krysten Ritter’s) jail “suicide.”
Prater also didn’t count on Harrison (Jack Alcott) having his dad’s back. As Charley tells Harrison during a brief confrontation, while Dexter is his father, he is practically a stranger to him. It appears that many underestimated their bond and how it has grown since their reconnection in Dexter: New Blood. It’s worth noting that Harrison had his own kill early in Resurrection, but has chosen to be mindful of making the right decisions before offing someone again.
Dexter, in the original series, always said he wouldn’t ever work with a partner. However, collaborating with Harrison has become second nature at this point, and it proves that Dexter just hadn’t found a living person with whom he could be his true self.
In a pivotal moment in tonight’s episode, Dexter has a reunion of sorts with his serial killer brother, Brian Moser, a.k.a. The Ice Truck Killer (Christian Camargo). Of course, he is just another figment of Dexter’s imagination, like Harry (James Remar). Harry is kind of like the little good devil on one shoulder, and Brian is the dark devil on the other. His appearance was very brief, but it was certainly impactful.
Prater becomes aware that something is happening in his house that feels dangerous and out of his control. When Prater confirms Dexter is loose, he rushes to get him in line by holding his son hostage. Already a bad idea, Dexter does what he has to for Harrison’s safety. At the same time, Prater offers him money that most would never live long enough to spend, but Dexter doesn’t bite. He isn’t charmed by cash, though it is tempting to create generational wealth for Harrison. But darn it, there’s that pesky code again.
With an assist from Harrison, Prater goes down with a mild setative. Dexter rushes Harrison out of the Prater compound and proceeds to prep Prater for his slaying. Following all of Dexter’s declines for money, Prater can’t help but laugh at a serial killer who has a conscience. This code is odd, but hey, Prater keeps trying to find something to bait Prater with, while he is strapped down and moments away from his death.
Back at the gala, the millions raised are announced, sparking a desperate search for Prater. Little do they know that he is, at almost the exact moment, being stabbed to death by his favorite serial killer.
If you will allow me a slight tangent, can we discuss how gorgeous Detective Claudette Wallace (Kadia Saraf) looked at the soiree? I mean, her partner, Detective Melvin Oliva (Dominic Fumusa), looked at her as if he was realizing for the first time that she was a breathtaking woman. Things are looking mighty promising on that front for Season 2, so let’s see where this goes.
Wallace was on her way out to get home when “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees started playing. She rushes in looking concerned, before she begins disco dancing, shocking Oliva, who only after he picks his jaw up from the floor when he realizes she wants to boogie.
In all the partying, nobody caught on that Dexter, who was cutting up Prater, as he does, before making a break for the exit. He said his final words of goodbye to Batista, a good man who didn’t deserve to die, before Dexter set off an alarm that brought our dancing potential lovebirds back to reality. They make their way through to Prater’s vault and realize he wasn’t the person most believed him to be, which was confirmed by Batista’s dead body and his killer’s fingerprints on the gun.
While everyone tries to make sense of what transpired, Dexter is free to drive off into the sunset, leaving Prater behind to take the blame. Meanwhile, Dexter has taken ownership of one of Prater’s luxury yachts, which he drives through the Upper New York Bay. Even Lady Liberty is there to greet him and all.
Hey, it’s not the Slice of Life, but it’s something infinitely better.
Back in the city, Charley packs up her mom as they rush out of dodge. She will no longer have Prater’s support for her mom’s care, but hey, at least they’re alive. With the sound of music far in the back of their minds, Wallace and Oliva find one of Prater’s secret files labeled “Don Frampt, New York Ripper.” It has long been speculated that Blessing (Ntare Mwine) was the New York Ripper, and to clarify, the folder the detectives found is not conclusive evidence that it was whoever this Don Frampt person is. For clarity on that, we will have to wait until next season.
When the camera returns to Dexter, viewers are clued into the mind of a dangerous serial killer, albeit one with a Code. In one scene played behind the voiceover, he is shown opening up a duffel bag that holds various files he stole from Prater, not as a memento, but to serve as new leads of individuals he should meet with.
As the episode concludes, Dexter shares a glimpse into his most profound thoughts.
“Being back on a boat is a resurrection of sorts, but it’s different this time. Harry taught me the Code to keep me from getting caught, to control my urges, but my urges are evolving. When I came back from the dead, I thought I was fated to a solitary existence. But maybe I’m not built for solitude? I need people like Blessing and his family. As Al said, even people like me need to belong,” Dexter’s internal monologue revealed.
He continued, Harry always pushed me to lean on Deb, but she’s gone. I miss her. But now, I have Harrison. He can lean on me. And when my darker urges start to swell, I can lean on him to become more human, more connected. To remind me why I do what I do. I used to wish that I could be different, normal—a life without my Dark Passenger. But who am I kidding? This is who I am, what I am. I am Dexter Morgan. I am exactly who I need to be, exactly who you want me to be.”
Dexter ends the season riding off as the captain of his future, a free man, at least for now.
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