In today’s world of television, no one really dies since there’s always the possibility of a reboot or even just a show simply coming back for more after a long break. After eight relatively well-received seasons on Showtime – and four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series – Dexter signed off with a meager finale that left almost no one satisfied. Michael C. Hall then returned as the protagonist in the sequel Dexter: New Blood while a younger version of the character was played by Patrick Gibson in Dexter: Original Sin. The third official continuation is something that’s closer to the original, at most times a pale imitation but with an interesting big swing that does, after all these years, offer something new.
Context of the original show and its sequel are critical here, with this newest iteration bringing back Dexter (Hall) and his son Harrison (Jack Alcott) in the wake of Harrison shooting Dexter and leaving him for dead. Harrison is working at a hotel in New York City where trouble quickly finds him, while Dexter has been tracked down by his former colleague Angel Batista (David Zayas), who is starting to think that the supposedly dead Dexter may in fact be the Bay Harbor Butcher after all. Dexter balances keeping an eye on the son who doesn’t know he’s alive, staying ahead of an old friend who does, and cleaning up a new city full of its own murderous elements.
The premise of this show leaves much to be desired, since Dexter was already reincarnated for the first sequel series without much explanation, and now there’s no reason whatsoever he wouldn’t have died from a close-range shot and the cold temperatures that should have sped up his demise. How we got here isn’t really the point, but the first three episodes of the season feel like an entirely unnecessary and unrequested – if still mildly involving – rehash of something that this show used to do so well. The style and flair, however, is gone, and Dexter acting in such isolation means that the dark humor that came from his police station interactions is sorely missed. Try as he may, Harrison just isn’t an intriguing or watchable character, and it’s hard to find him likeable.
Episode four – the last installment provided for review ahead of the show’s premiere – changes everything in a way that feels both invigorating and over-the-top. As revealed in the trailer for the show (though audiences eager to experience surprises should stop reading now), Dexter is invited to a dinner hosted by the enigmatic Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage), whose passion is bringing together serial killers whose work he admires. While Dexter has typically interacted with, and fixated on, another killer each season, being in the presence of so many of them is a startling change. Their desire to gather together and be so exposed feels like it couldn’t possibly be realistic, not that believability has ever been this show’s primary asset or aim.
Regardless of how well this particular experiment will pay off, the sheer talent introduced is undeniably impressive. Dinklage is a four-time Emmy winner who gets to display a mesmerizing energy here so well suited to him, and he’s joined by a terrific Uma Thurman as his top operative. Dexter’s peers are also formidable, taken mostly from comedy backgrounds – Neil Patrick Harris, Eric Stonestreet, and David Dastmalchian – and highlighted by the incomparable Krysten Ritter, capable of bending genres with her pitch-black sardonic attitude put to great use previously in Jessica Jones and the short-lived, underrated Gravity.
Finding excellent actors has never been a problem for the Dexter world, with John Lithgow, Jimmy Smits, and Julia Stiles earning Emmy nominations from among a tremendous cast of heroes and villains. The question here is whether exploring how Dexter does when he’s surrounded by those like him, who may or may not have a moral code and therefore be exempt from his list of targets, is a gimmick that will pay off or merely flounder. Hall continues to be great in the role, now expressing how he can’t move like he used to since he’s getting old, and focusing more on his evolution rather than Batista’s pursuit and Harrison’s missteps will benefit this show. It’s not the original, but getting to see this new side of Dexter may just be worthwhile after all.
Series Rating: 6/10
