Dexter: New Blood review: Better off dead

After eight seasons of continuous broadcasting, it was over. Dexter’s most prominent victim was unquestionably Dexter. The series, which was parodied of itself, was almost a waste of time. Season after season, people got very close to Dexter Morgan, only to end up dying themselves. Dexter was then able to once more wonder if he had done good things or was just a poor person living a fairytale life. What is most bizarre about this story, though, is that, eight years later and still wanting more, people would believe that everyone would.

This premiered at the weekend New Blood: DexterIt isn’t a complete re-imagining or radical departure of Showtime’s drama. It is, surprisingly, a continuation of the original series that pretends it’s still in the heady good old days of yore, albeit with a change of scenery and a new supporting cast that gives the series room to repeat those familiar beats without the ridiculous baggage that comes with the same cast of characters being duped over and over, year after year — let alone the equally dangerous baggage of having to face any of those characters again. It takes a fresh look at the old question. Why is Dexter Morgan killing? Why is it killing the thing? DexterIs it the best?

However, many of these people are still The Newest BloodIt is a mere gimmick. It’s a competently paced thriller that, were it not for the callbacks — Dexter’s son Harrison, now a teenager after his toddling last appearance; the ghost of Dexter’s sister Deborah, who died in the series finale — would function well as a standalone miniseries. Dexter Morgan (a former serial killer) has made a vow not to harm living things and spent approximately a decade in prison. Dexter The Newest BloodJim Lindsay, a local celebrity in Iron Lake, Upstate New York.

Dexter gets tempted when an unwelcome visitor arrives in town, bringing bad vibes with him. Dexter soon feels the urge to murder again. It’s at that moment that The Newest Blood becomes fascinating, not because it’s particularly excellent television (at its best, it’s merely fine) but because, like in the original series, the show comes to life in its portrayal of Dexter’s kill ritual.

Dexter’s kill room scenes are the sort of thing TV shows hope to spin into Emmy gold. They’re essentially tiny one-act plays, where Michael C. Hall gets to stretch his theater chops and Dexter’s writers get to probe the morality play at the heart of the show a bit more. In these moments, Dexter Morgan comes alive, showing his victims his true self after he’s exposed theirs — often literally, as they are almost always naked and plastic-wrapped to a table. Dexter Morgan uses this opportunity to justify his crime, to convince a captive audience that the code he follows ensures that his victims are innocent of any harm to them or that they do not commit other evils that would be better eradicated from the earth.

The kind of entertainment that the show was known for is still very popular today. DexterThe moment at hand was typically in flux. It was wildly swinging between two poles. On the one, DexterIt was a character drama that explored the philosophical issues of nature and nurture, as well as morality. The other was a thriller between two killers, one with all the scruples and the other with very little. Show at its finest, it embraced the latter philosophy. The show’s kill room scenes revealed Dexter’s true self and his thoughts. The kill room scenes in pulpier mode were far worse. Dexter was the nice guy, while his victim was the one who deserved it.

Photo: Seacia Pavao/SHOWTIME

It is to its credit that The Newest BloodInterest in more intimate murder. The 2021 revival pointedly uses Dexter’s ever-present monologue to ask whether his life is starting to take a downturn because he slipped up and killed, or if it’s going to shit because he abstained for so long in denial of who he — and the now-grown son he abandoned in the Dexter finale — really is.

This prism allows you to see the world through it. DexterNew and old become a study in masculinity and intimate relationships. Dexter Morgan is cold and lifeless in daily life. He tries to find a normal life where he can have a job and a family and friends. Dexter Morgan rejects intimacy over and over. He prefers the killroom, which gives him power and allows him to prove that he is correct and his victim wrong. This is also where he feels most comfortable being intimate. If Dexter Morgan is redeemable, he must escape the kill room he can’t stop returning to.

There’s a comparison to the Incredible Hulk here. If done well, Bruce Banner is fuelled by an ironic paradox: The repressed scientist Bruce Banner would do whatever it takes to prevent himself from turning into his monstrous alter ego. However, what does the audience want? There’s nothing they’d like to see more. The first four episodes are the best. The Newest Blood At the very least, seems mildly curious about this tension and carefully preparing for the woodsy neighborhood that would likely be destroyed if Jim Lindsay became Dexter Morgan. But we’ve already seen this happen, only then it was eight straight years in Miami. Dexter’s problems aren’t solved by a change of scenery, but they might be with a change of perspective — one that The Newest BloodSeems fundamentally indifferent to.

Dexter Morgan doesn’t turn into a computer-generated rage monster, but he is trying to keep a monstrous part of himself in check; the thrill of Dexter is in witnessing his attempts to channel that monster — dubbed his “Dark Passenger” — and the consequences that emerge from the fact that there’s no real way to channel murder into positive character growth. You will hear the same beats as in the last series. New Blood: DexterAlso, it demonstrates the same inertia DexterDexter Morgan has a severe case of. This is the same as before. Some monsters can be quite simple. Maybe it’s foolish that we ever thought they were at all.

New Blood: Dexter Showtime, Showtime Anytime will air the latest episodes Sunday evenings.