This post contains spoilers from Dexter: Resurrection season 1 episode 1 from this point forward.
It’s been four years since we last caught up with Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall). In the sequel series, Dexter: New Blood, we met him living in a small, secluded little town in upstate New York. He was going by the name Jim Lindsay, and he was living a quiet life. He owned a store. He kept up with his fitness. He had a girlfriend—the Chief of Police, no less—and he kept his urges in check.
All that came undone as his son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), found him. Dexter was forced to confront his past and to try and pass on something to his son. But it didn’t take long for things to go off the rails. His past surfaced. He faced new challenges. And as the show closed, Harrison took aim and shot his father.
But that wasn’t the end of Dexter’s story, nor our trip with him. In the latest continuation, Dexter: Resurrection, we pick up shortly after those events and we continue our journey with Dexter and Harrison Morgan. The series, which streams Fridays on Paramount+ and airs Sundays on Showtime, kicks off with a double premiere. The first episode, “A Beating Heart,” gets us ready for what’s to come. Let’s dive in.
Dexter’s journey
Dexter didn’t die from the gunshot wound. We pick up 10 weeks later with Dexter in a coma in Seneca Nation Clinic. While his conscious mind remains hidden from the world, it doesn’t keep him from seeing a few old friends. This turns out to be something of a greatest hits from the original series as each offers a comatose Dexter a bit of advice.
The first to visit is Trinity (John Lithgow), one of his toughest adversaries. He’s also the man that helped make Harrison and orphan. It’s a tense reunion. Next up is Dexter’s old pal Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits), who seemed like a kindred spirit at one point. He reminds Dexter of the high cost of some of his actions. But it isn’t all dark news.
Next up in the comatose world of Dexter Morgan is a reunion that will warm many viewers hearts. Dexter is back to Dexter, no longer Jim, so Harry (James Remar) has returned. He’s also returned to his role of providing advice—one that lasts beyond Dexter’s coma. Will that be a permanent feature of the return? We’ll have to see.
Finally, Dexter gets perhaps his most surprising visitor: Sgt. Doakes (Erik King). He was one of the first to see through Dexter, paying a high price. Dexter expects to get a chiding, but instead gets the push he needs to rise again. Doakes reminds him that while he carries a dark passenger, he has some good in him, too. It’s the good Harrison needs most.
When Dexter comes out of a coma, he learns that his situation has improved. While Angela (Julia Jones) has left town, she took blame for Dexter’s wound and cleared his name. It’s her parting gift to him. So, it seems he’s gotten away with it, again.
But before he can celebrate, an old friend reappears. Angel Batista (David Zayas) has some questions for Dexter. He deftly answers them, but it’s clear neither thinks it’s resolved. Seems Angel has seen to it that Dexter Morgan has officially been resurrected legally, which Dexter fears is a precursor to charges. But before they can square off in an official capacity, Dexter learns of a murder in New York City. It causes him to pick up and run.
Harrison’s new life
While Dexter is in a coma, Harrison has moved on. He’s living and working at the Empire Hotel in New York City. He’s making himself useful, making friends, and looking like he might have found a home. But his dark passenger—and memories of that icy day with Dexter—still haunt him, just below the surface. But they don’t stay below the surface.
One night a guest, Ryan (Bryan Lillis), is trying to bring an intoxicated woman upstairs. Harrison is asked to help and recognizes the woman as a guest, Shauna (McKaley Miller), who he met earlier. Harrison recognizes that Ryan is up to no good. He tries to ignore it, but when Shauna cries out, he confronts Ryan. Harrison does enough to subdue him to get Shauna out of there. But before he can, Ryan makes his pattern of sexual assault clear.
Harrison snaps, taking his life in a brutal act of violence. In a calmer moment, he gets Shauna to safety and begins a meticulous clean up. He follows the rules and formula his dad taught him but chooses to use to the public trash company to dispose of the body. Unfortunately, a bag breaks and a leg is discovered. It isn’t long before detectives find the rest of Ryan, and it becomes a national news story.
That was the story Dexter saw, and the story that made him flee to New York City. As we close, he’s spotted Harrison at The Empire Hotel. He’s come to save his son, but it remains to be seen whether either can escape, again.
It’s nice to have Dexter back, though he hasn’t really been gone long. We heard Hall as he narrated Dexter: Original Sin, the origin series that dropped in late 2024 and wrapped up earlier this year. Now, we’re getting some continuing stories. It’s nice to have Dexter back as Dexter, and it was fun to see some familiar faces. We also got an introduction to Uma Thurman, who appears to specialize in finding and trapping serial offenders. That isn’t great for Dexter and Harrison, as she’s in New York City. But more to come on that. It will be fun to see father and son reunited, in a big city no less!
New episodes of Dexter: Resurrection stream Fridays on Paramount+ and air Sundays on Showtime. We’ll be recapping the action here each Friday. Check back next week for more!
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