Tonight’s the night. Dexter: Resurrection Episode 7 (written by Hilly Hicks Jr and directed by Monica Raymund) is now streaming on Paramount + and will air Sunday night on Showtime. This article contains spoilers, so if you haven’t seen “Course Correction” yet, proceed with caution.
Boogeymen
Dexter: Resurrection Episode 7 picked up where we left off last week, with Prater bringing his group of serial killers to his other mansion, where they could eat really expensive food and swap stories about killing innocent people. This week, it would be Dexter’s (Call me Red) turn to share. While the remaining Gemini twin wasn’t impressed with Dexter/Red’s performance at show and tell, he wouldn’t be alive much longer anyway.
Dexter gave a very animated speech about going back and forth between being Red and his serial killer alter ego, which was comically bad. Charley clearly wasn’t impressed, and she very much appears to be suspicious of Dexter. Prater however did seem to fall for the act, pulling Dexter/Red aside afterwards to share more of his own personal origin story. Prater, as it turns out, would visit the man who killed his parents in prison and struck up a kinship of sorts with him, which would lead to him befriending other killers over the years. Kinda weird and I don’t totally buy it, but it works for now.
Dexter did realize that with Lowell dead, Mia dead and one of the Gemini boys dead too, people would be getting suspicious soon, so he acted. He goaded the remaining Gemini Killer into attacking him and killed him in plain sight. Charley was instantly questioning this situation, but Prater didn’t. Dexter was able to blame Lowell’s death on Gemini and for now, seems to in the clear with Prater. Until he kills Al next week of course.
New Beginnings
Harrison made an interesting revelation this week, going to a college open house for criminal justice, where he told his father that he wanted to become a cop. Last week I wrote that best case scenario was for Harrison to fill the Deb void in the narrative, and that seems to be becoming a reality.
The open house was noteworthy for a few reasons. First, Claudette was giving a seminar about the New York Ripper, a serial killer that’s been alluded to all season long. We don’t have much narrative evidence surrounding the Ripper, other than it’s a man and, even though he quit killing, he to this day torments his victims’ family members. While I’m positive that the Ripper will become part of our story at some point, for now it just seems to be breadcrumbs for the future.
Additionally, it was a nice bonding scene for Dexter and Harrison. Dexter got to make his son feel special and Harrison got to feel normal. The show has done a good job this year of building up Harrison as a character and acknowledging his troubled past, but with a path for a brighter future. It’s been great to watch Harrison become the heart of the story.
Showdown
Angel’s pursuit of Dexter is another running thread in this episode. We see Angel briefly at the police station, where Claudette and her partner try to dismiss him, but Angel is persistent. As it appears, Mia’s fingerprints were on all of the trophies, except Ryan Foster’s watch. This admission gave Angel enough leverage to request DMV records, which took him to Blessing Kamara’s home.
Angel felt less like himself while talking to Blessing. His killer instinct was present. He’s very much at the end of his Joseph Campbell type hero’s journey tale. He’s tired, less hospitable and ready to apprehend Dexter. But he was able to turn the charm on to get into Blessing’s home and teach him to salsa for long enough to wait for Dexter to return home. Their reunion was clearly less than pleasant. Angel’s patience have never been lower.
Dexter takes Angel home, where long periods of silence were implied before Dexter finally demanded that Angel leave him and Harrison alone. Angel taunted Dexter and let him know that he wasn’t afraid. The line in the sand was drawn and neither man flinched in their proverbial standoff. When Dexter kicked Angel out of his car, Angel left his AirPods so he could track Dexter’s car moving forward.
For so many years, Dexter has been associated with salsa music and swinging Miami jazz sounds. Starting with New Blood, Clyde Phillips and team have begun incorporating more classic rock and contemporary pop, and let me tell you, it makes a difference. The closing scene of Dexter: Resurrection Episode 7 felt much more impactful because of the music of Electric Light Orchestra. Angel Batista standing on the Brooklyn Bridge. Dexter driving away, furious. “Showdown” playing as the anti hero we’ve known and loved for almost two decades now knows that a good cop will stop at nothing to bring him to justice. The good cop that we’ve rooted for now for almost two decades, standing defiantly looking like a 1940s silver screen detective. The fight is on.
Part of the reason why the music made this scene more meaningful is that this killer (Dexter) and this cop (Angel) are both running out of sand in their respective hour glasses. Time is ticking and the end of the road is in sight. Hearing this older, recognizable song reminds us of that. It reminds us of the history between these characters. It reminds us of the gravity of the situation. Dexter vs Angel is kill or be killed. We shouldn’t expect a situation where Dexter escapes the law and Angel’s pursuit of Dexter extends to another season. One of their stories is ending and clearly, it’s Angel’s. But what does that fallout look like?
Final Thoughts
With just three episodes left, the story is likely going to accelerate quickly. Al feels destined to become reduced to a blood slide next and as sad as it might be, Angel too. Can’t shake this feeling that the season will end with Dexter in danger by the hands of Charley and Prater, who may or may not be connected to this mysterious New York Ripper. Until next week….