This article contains spoilers for Dexter: Resurrection - ‘A Beating Heart’
Summary
From the moment audiences learned aboutDexter: Resurrectionas a concept, fans have wondered how the iconic serial killer would be brought back, seemingly from the dead, due to his last appearance. However, Dexter Morgan is once again living and breathing and proving to be a threat to anyone who chooses to cross him.
The first episode ofDexter: Resurrectionhas set the tone for this version of the franchise, with ‘A Beating Heart’ explaining how Dexter is back and what fans can expect from this series moving forward.
Dexter Returns From His Coma With A Nightmare
Several Familiar Faces Visit Dexter Morgan
Dexter: Resurrectionimmediately starts whereDexter: New Bloodended, showing him post-gunshot in the hospital. Ten weeks later, he remains in a coma, and the series wastes no time in catching people’s attention by delivering a trio of memorable cameos as ghosts from Dexter Morgan’s life make themselves known.
John Lithgow returns as the Trinity Killer to recap how his son has become a father killer, just like he was. He is then followed byJimmy Smits as Miguel Pradoas they recall their brief friendship, as Prado pointed out that Dexter ended up hurting others when he tried to be normal, with the likes of Debra and Rita Morgan’s graves being shown. Harry Morgan also returns as the importance of fatherhood continues to be driven, a theme set to be important to the entire show. However, the biggest surprise was saved until last, as James Doakes returns in a cameo that is sure to entertain fans. The most shocking aspect of this is that Doakes admits that he thinks there is some good in Dexter, urging him to go and find his son, kickstarting the plot of the entire season.
This scene delivered some amazing callbacks to the past while also explaining some critical key details to any new fans of the show. Some of the explanations are very obvious, but there’s no doubt that old-school fans will appreciate these scenes, and they provide some important backstory.
Harrison’s Dark Passenger Is Revealed
He Ends Up Channeling His Father In A Brutal Scene
While Dexter is busy dealing with demons from his past, audiences get to learn what his son, Harrison, has been doing with his life since he shot his father. It turns out he’s taken a page out of his mother’s life by working at the Empire Hotel, specifically. Harrison is getting on with life, making friends, and thriving at work, although he is homeless and living in empty rooms. However, as a trusted staff member, he’s shown helping Ryan Foster, a flamboyant and flashy hotel guest who troubles Harrison with fixing his watch, although later on he provides him with a much bigger task.
When Harrison bumps into Ryan later on, it is a much darker setting as he has a drugged female guest on his arm who he pretends is his wife, which Harrison knows to be untrue. The slimy nature of Ryan’s intentions are immediately apparent, and once Harrison hears a shriek, he acts upon it. This kickstarts a gritty scene between the two men, which spills out into the bathroom as they brawl to Ryan’s death.Harrison has the opportunity to stop until Ryan tells him, “There’s plenty more where she came from,” which leads to Harrison bludgeoning him to death with the basin of the toilet.In typicalDexterfashion, there’s violence and death, and it takes just 20 minutes into the new show for that to happen, only this time it’s his son delivering the final blow.
While Harrison might have decided he didn’t want to be like his father, he did learn some key lessons as he perfectly cleans the crime scene before dismembering Ryan’s body in the same way that his father would, in what is a grotesque scene that brings the darkness the spinoff shows are notorious for. However, Harrison leaves a speck of blood behind on the ceiling, a rookie error Dexter wouldn’t have made. He throws the body into trash bags, which get collected and dumped, which is where Ryan’s death is ultimately reported.
The Game Of Cat And Mouse Begins
Angel Batista Returns With An Important Set Of Questions
Another returning original character makes their presence known in the form of Angel Batista, but this time, it isn’t a hallucination. After believing Dexter to be dead after the original series, he had some explaining to do for his actions, from taking Debra out of the hospital to faking his own death. While he attempted to do that,Batista dropped the bombshell that Angela had hinted Dexter was the Bay Harbor Butcher, only for her to backtrack. He also recalls that Maria LaGuerta told him in confidence she thought it was Dexter, while remembering thatDoakes also questioned him, which is when Dexter pretends to need more rest. Batista put plenty of pressure on, and he also revealed that he sorted it out so that Dexter can use his name again, likely because he can’t convict a dead man.
However, it isn’t just Dexter being chased down for his crimes as the New York Police Department goes through the evidence of the body bags as Ryan’s remains are found, and begins the hunt for his killer. It doesn’t take long for police to appear in the Empire Hotel, which is when Ryan returns as a figment of Harrison’s imagination, with his conscience playing tricks on him.
These aren’t the only moments of hunting taking place throughout this episode as Dexter learns of Ryan’s death and how he dismembered the body, instantly deciding to head to New York in a bid to find him.Rather than waiting to see Batista, Dexter pretends to be in the show and escapes, so the cat-and-mouse game begins for everyone involved.
Dexter Morgan Is Back With A Bang
Dexter: Resurrection Has Started Off With An Impressive Episode
Bringing back theDexterfranchiseafter a seemingly perfect ending to his character was always going to be a challenge. The explanation behind how and why fans should care about him returning was always going to be crucial, but it was handled perfectly. This is all about writing his wrongs and stepping up as a father, while also trying to avoid paying the consequences for his actions as a serial killer.The walls are already closing in on him, though, while Harrison also finds himself in a tricky situation after what was a tense fight scene. Even though his murder was done to protect someone, the parallels between him and his father continue.
Uma Thurman is also introduced to the world ofDexter: Resurrection, where she breaks into someone’s apartment, leaving a stack of money and a mystery invitation in a hidden space where different ‘trophies’ have been kept, showing some driving licenses with a bloody cross on them. It teases future storylines, making it clear that the show will also be pushing a brand new narrative alongside aspects of the past.
The episode had a lot of fun cameosand call backs to the original series that fans are sure to love seeing, while the fast pace allowed things to flow perfectly between characters. There were some unique camera shots, great use of lighting, and the decision to feature a lot of well-known music also brought some energy that made the episode feel different from previous moments within this franchise. However, it all still feels familiar in a positive way, andDexter: Resurrectionhas started well, with the serial killer world making an emphatic return.
