Dexter: Resurrection is the fourth installment of the Dexter television series, following (in order) the original series titled just Dexter, Dexter: New Blood, and Dexter: Original Sin. The titular character, Dexter Morgan, is a serial killer who targets other killers following a code bestowed to him by his foster father, Harry Morgan. This review is intended for those who already watched the original series, as you should before the continuations, but it won’t spoil Resurrection.
The ending of the original series wildly fell flat of expectations, and the ending of “New Blood” was somewhat inconclusive with the now retconned death of Dexter. As such, “Resurrection” was a bit of a breath of fresh air, as an attempt at giving Dexter a second chance. Unfortunately, I think the first season ultimately failed at that once again due to predictable writing.
The season felt cringe at times, partially due to how you can’t really make Dexter’s character feel realistic, because he isn’t. With that, not only do I find myself not worrying about his safety–his plot armor has always been insane, even for a main character–but I also end up not caring about the decisions he makes, because I know the showrunners will always try and spin it to make him agreeable. It feels like they wrote his character off of a cliche and then refused to develop it.
Credit: IMDb, James Remar and Michael C. Hall in Dexter: Resurrection (2025)
This leads to my biggest issue with this season; it simply leaves very little room for nuance with his character. We have a serial killer written into the ultimate yes man to moral obligation, even though his very existence in society is categorically unjust. It feels like a rejection of possible character depth and a betrayal of his potential. This season was just more of the same, and if they really wanted to make Dexter “redeem himself” you would think he would work out his life’s biggest issue, his urge to kill.
Instead of an attempt at a real change in his character, he kills unbothered, and makes a few obvious lukewarm good natured decisions. It feels like more of a celebration that Dexter is free once again than a redemption arc, which if that’s your cup of tea I don’t blame you, but it’s not rewarding to me since the writers seem to be trying to not tie up his story after so long.
Harrison is well casted as we saw previously and plays his part well. I like how they made him grapple with his struggles from “New Blood.” However, his character feels like wasted potential for Dexter’s redemption. It feels like they wrote all of the characters in the season one dimensionally, and didn’t consider how they could or should influence each other beyond what’s already obvious. There isn’t a character I can think of who breaks out of the expectation I had for them initially.
The two main antagonists Leon Prater and Angel Batista are okay, but not very challenging for Dexter. While they have interesting motivations, they struggle to live up to Dexter’s preceding villains, and don’t challenge or change his character in any significant way. Dexter has beat the odds of way more precarious villains, making them feel unrewarding and ineffective.
The season wasn’t great, and I would personally recommend stopping Dexter itself at some point during the main series. I give this season a 6/10, maybe more for nostalgia. However, “Dexter: Resurrection” was not worth the wait, and I can only recommend it to dedicated fans of the series. Keep in mind, it was recently greenlit for another season, so if you’re just here for the ride, here’s hoping things turn around.
