‘Dexter: New Blood’ cleans up a messy finale
“Dexter” is the latest franchise to receive the revival treatment, a tired trend where the entertainment industry brings back popular movies, television shows and video games for an easy profit.
Although many people roll their eyes at revivals, fans of Dexter reacted positively to the announcement of “Dexter: New Blood.” They welcomed the new series with open arms, knowing it would give them the one thing they wanted after the original finale: closure.
When “Dexter” wrapped in 2013, it ended in a way that left fans asking, “That’s it?” For eight seasons, fans followed the story of Dexter Morgan, a blood-spatter analyst working for the Miami Metro Police Department who doubles as a serial killer vigilante. Given Dexter’s double life, fans anticipated the series would end with either Dexter’s capture or escape. Neither happened, resulting in the final episode being ranked as the fourth-worst finale on IMDB, right behind “Game of Thrones”, “Two and a Half Men” and “House of Cards.”
Thankfully, “Dexter: New Blood” gives fans the closure they have been craving for eight years. Within the first few minutes, viewers discover Dexter is now going by the name Jim Lindsay and has moved to a remote community in the town of Iron Lake, N.Y. He works at a gun store, is dating the police chief and is friendly with everyone in the community.
The setting is a complete 180 from the original series, which was set in the sunny bayous of Florida. We no longer see beaches, palm trees or suntanning. Iron Lake is cold, covered in snow and swimsuits are replaced with parkas. It’s a signal to the audience that Dexter wants to get as far away from his old life as possible.
Although the setting is different, Michael C. Hall keeps things familiar in the leading role. Hall slips into the role of Dexter with ease, still showing the same mannerisms, awkwardness and melancholy as he did eight years ago. This time around, Dexter no longer kills and is struggling to control his urges. Hall executes this perfectly and dons the physical appearance and demeanor of a tortured individual who could snap at any moment.
As excited as I was for “Dexter: New Blood,” there were admittedly a few things in the first episode that made me stop and verbally ask, “What?” to my television set. For instance, the opening scene shows Dexter running through the woods like a madman, eventually running up on a deer that stands there and stares at him.
Anyone who has ever been in the woods knows running is going to scare off everything within a three-mile radius, especially deer. It took me out of the show for a moment because of how unbelievable it was. Then again, this is a show about a serial killer vigilante who gets away with murder on a regular basis, so suspension of belief is somewhat of a requirement.
Aside from a few predictable and unbelievable moments in the pilot episode, “Dexter: New Blood” is an exciting, fresh and welcome return to the character. Having a revival of “Dexter” is like scratching an itch that’s been bothering you for eight years. We finally get to see what happened and hopefully reach a satisfying conclusion this time around.
Every story needs a beginning, middle and end. Fans of “Dexter” never received a true ending to the original series and “New Blood” gives them that. Although it isn’t perfect, it’s good to have America’s favorite serial killer back to see how his story ends.
Image source Showtime
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