Showtime has given us some great series, but they’re also notorious for dragging their shows on for way too long. Shameless, Weeds, and perhaps most infamously, Dexter. With its eighth and “final” season being universally panned, it was eventually revived. Dexter: New Blood fumbled some key components, but served as a far more definitive ending… or so it seemed. Against all odds and logic, the series has been resuscitated a second time with the fittingly titled Dexter: Resurrection. Despite everyone’s collective hesitations on this seemingly unnecessary revival, Resurrection might be the best season of Dexter since it peaked in season 4.
Now, I’m not saying this is a flawless return to form. It may have a fancy new subtitle, but this is still technically the tenth season of a series that ran itself into the ground a long time ago. The first episode is amusing but laughably rough, as it clunkily sets the stage and shifts its setting to The Big Apple. The bumpy start is quickly forgiven, though, because after the graceless, logic-less, exposition dump of a premier, the show locks into gear. This season feels the way Dexter should - Thrilling, dark and funny with just the right amount of camp. Sure, there are some questionable plot holes and plenty of all-too convenient exposition, but this season is so much fun those small issues are easy to look past.
Absurd as it may be, the premise of a serial killer club is the perfect fit for this show. Most importantly, it gives Dexter a delectable buffet of targets to take out. With so many sick and twisted killers all in one city, it’s a blast watching Dexter do his thing, as he plans to taken them out one by one. The season keeps busy with multiple subplots, including a tense game of cat and mouse between Dexter and Angel, who is back with a personal vendetta to take down the Bay Harbour Butcher once and for all. We also further explore Dexter’s relationship with Harrison, as the two attempt to reconcile and navigate their turbulent father/son dynamic.
Dexter as a character feels reinvigorated, with a renewed sense of energy and passion for the hunt. Nobody does inner monologues quite like Michael C Hall, and you can truly sense his love for this role he’s been in for nearly twenty years. Jack Alcott reprises his role as Harrison, and while the show still struggles with how to include him, the complex bond with his father feels much more organic and central to the core plot line. Angel’s return was all too brief in New Blood, but having David Zayas as a series regular this time around was a great choice. He and Michael C Hall have years of chemistry, and although they’re playing enemies now, they light up the screen whenever they do share a scene. This is a ridiculously star studded season, with plenty of great guest stars and cameos. Peter Dinklage and Uma Thurman make excellent additions to the core cast.
Resurrection is a welcome return to form for Dexter, complete with an ending (maybe?) that unlike the last two finales, should satisfy fans. It still shows the foundational cracks of a show in its tenth season, but for the first time in a long time, Dexter is exactly what it needs to be.
4/5
Review by: Benjamin Garrett