In the interest of honesty, Dexter (2006-2013), is one of my favourite TV shows of all time. Perhaps, that is why it pains me so much to write this review of the ten episode limited run reboot, Dexter: New Blood.
For some perspective, Dexter’s original series finale in 2013 was met with mass vitriol, with many lambasting the writers choice to leave an ambiguous conclusion, rather than ending with an exciting conflict. This was viewed by fans and critics alike as lazy, and an unbelievably unsatisfying way to end one of the most popular characters, and shows of its era. It was therefore, the intention of the creators of Dexter: New Blood to rectify this mistake and leave the long suffering fanbase with a satisfying conclusion to the story of everyone’s favourite vigilante serial killer, Dexter Morgan.
Did they succeed? Well …
The first episode shows that Dexter, a decade after faking his death in hurricane Laura, is now going by the alias Jim Lindsay (I presume an homage to the nom de plume of the author of the Dexter series of books, Jeff Lindsay) and living in a wood cabin in the upstate New York town of Iron Lake. This setting is certainly a far cry from his Miami origins, but it suits the character and seems like an appropriate location for him to start a new life free of the temptation to exercise his dark passenger.
The first half of the first episode is monotonously dedicated to the introduction of this series’ cast of characters; I might point out that almost every new addition has a better, more entertaining/ believable carbon copy counterpart in the original (e.g. Chief Bishop is Deb, Kurt Caldwell is Arthur Mitchell, and Sergeant Logan is Angel Batista). That being said, there are a number of character tropes from the original Dexter that unfortunately were not reprised as new additions; the inclusion of which may have gone some way in juxtaposing the seemingly constant serious atmosphere, as was often done in the original series.
Dexter, now working as a sales associate at Fred’s Fish & Game, has not killed anything in a decade, and sticks to a regimented schedule to suppress the urge to do so. He seems well-known and liked in the local community, and is in a relationship with head of the Iron Lake police department, Chief Angela Bishop. This is not a terrible premise and it is appropriate to Dexter’s personality as he was almost always liked in the original series. I do question, however, how he could have held back his murderous vice for so long, despite most likely hearing of good candidates for his form of justice through his close ties with local police? After all, that was explained as part of his motivation for working with Miami metro in the original.
A welcomed consistency between the original and reboot demonstrated in episode one is Dexter’s hallucinations; in the reboot, it is no longer his adopted father Harry, but his sister Deb. Moreover, the incorporation of these hallucinations is one of the best factors of the mini series; Deb’s character ranges from sympathetic to antagonistic and is much more physical than any previous incarnation of his visions.
The main plot conflict, begins early in the first episode, when Matt Caldwell, a Morgan Stanley stockbroker enters Fred’s looking to buy hunting equipment. Matt is depicted as entitled and as having little regard for the safety, or emotions of others. It later transpires during a conversation with a friend of Matt’s, that he is responsible for the deaths of five in a boat crash, initially implied to be accidental, but later revealed to be intentional. Matt himself was seriously injured in the crash and had to have a titanium screw implanted in his leg.
This attitude, the murders, and the shooting of a majestic white deer in episode two leads Dexter to end his ten year hiatus from murder and kill Matt in his trademark fashion. Whilst the process of watching Dexter assemble an impromptu kill room was deeply nostalgic and well thought-out; the murder itself, and the process of getting Matt to the kill room was full of highly uncharacteristic mistakes. Most overtly incongruent with the meticulous character of old, was the bright red blood trail leading directly to Dexter’s door. Perhaps he is just rusty, or perhaps this was lazy writing to shoehorn in tension.
Immediately following the murder and dissection of Matt, Dexter, enters his cabin to find a hooded intruder searching through paperwork. It is quickly revealed that this mysterious home invader is Dexter’s son, Harrison. Harrison, for those of you unfamiliar with the original series, is Dexter’s biological son, mothered by Rita in season four of the original run. Harrison confronts Dexter, who, still going by Jim refutes the allegation and sends Harrison away before ultimately confessing his true identity and bringing him home.
Following the death of Matt, the townsfolk under the direction of the local police department, headed by Angela, descend upon Dexter’s cabin and property to set up a basecamp in order to search for Matt in the surrounding woodland. Angela, Dexter’s series long love interest is oblivious to the fact he has a son and upon entrance to the cabin is shocked and reasonably annoyed by the revelation and dishonesty. This theme of Angela uncovering Dexter’s (Jim’s) dishonesty is a constant throughout the series.
The main antagonist of this series is Matt’s father Kurt; Kurt Caldwell is a former trucker turned local entrepreneur with significant influence in the local community. He, like Arthur Mitchell in season four of the show, puts on the façade of a magnanimous citizen, however, is in reality a depraved ritualistic serial killer. Kurt is responsible for a multi decade long series of missing women, predominantly of native American heritage; this fact is not apparent to the audience until mid-way through the series, and is not definitively known to the characters of the show until the final two episodes. If fans of the series had not been gifted John Lithgow’s performance as Arthur Mitchell, Kurt would likely have been the best Dexter Antagonist, however, the obvious parallels between the two overshadow any of Kurt’s unique traits, resulting in the sensation of lazy, unimaginative writing once again.
Finally, the ending. Did they give Dexter the send off he deserves? No, absolutely not. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I preferred the original boring no conflict ending. The series ending (which I wont spoil), is so removed from Dexter’s personality, and completely neglects to consider the series long personality arc of several characters. The end retroactively ruined the series, which whilst not perfect, certainly deserved better than this.
So, how do you end a show like Dexter? My answer, I don’t know, but not like that.
Whilst this review may seem almost unanimously negative, there are two huge positive aspects that were greatly enjoyable to fans of the original, that have yet to been mentioned.
The acting is for the most part excellent. Dexter actor Michael C. Hall has always been a bright spot in show, even in the worst seasons of the original run; moreover, Jennifer Carpenter (Deb), Clancy Brown (Kurt), Jack Alcott (Harrison), and a vast majority of the cast give incredible performances considering what they were working with.
The cinematography and editing is impressive; perhaps not ground breaking, but it is certainly the most visually interesting and impressive series of the Dexter franchise.