Warning: This article contains spoilers for the finale of Dexter: New Blood.
The Dexter revival will most definitely never be forgotten by fans for the way it brought an end to Michael C Hall’s titular character. His return saw him try and escape his true identity in Iron Lake, which was hampered by the arrival of his son, Harrison, and a number of killings that followed.
With the series truly done by now, it’s worth looking into the kills that took place in New Blood. Fans know that these are an essential part of the show’s experience and are usually done in such a way that they tie into the plot or a character’s arc, so a deeper analysis of the deaths should be taken.
Logan
Logan was one of the characters and the purpose of his role was to show a genuinely good person in the series. His death was quick, as Dexter snapped his neck to escape with the keys to his cell, which confirmed that Dexter really wasn’t a vigilante and only looked out for himself.
The show wanted Logan’s death to be unsatisfying because it didn’t fit Dexter’s code and was crude like the killers that Dexter had targeted all his life. It definitely did its job to usher in the climax, but there wasn’t anything else memorable about Logan’s demise.
Jasper Hodge
Dexter targeted Hodge due to his role in Harrison's near-overdose, with the original intention of completing a ritual kill. However, time constraints meant he had to free Hodge and finish off with an overdose of his own to make it look like he accidentally killed himself.
It was a different kill than most because of how Dexter improvised, although the scene lacked a hard-hitting quality since there wasn’t a sense of scale behind it. It also led to Angela’s questions against Dexter by the finale when she realized he was the one who had killed Hodge.
Runaway Killer Shootings
The revival brought the M.O. that every main villain has carried, as Kurt Caldwell was revealed to be the Runaway Killer who trapped women, freed them, and then shot them as they escaped. There wasn’t any edge to these killings, however, as Kurt wanted to preserve them in his cellar.
There was a level of intrigue when the series began, with the mystery behind why Kurt eliminated his victims this way enabling these deaths to carry a sense of purpose. Later on, they became rather mechanical as Kurt turned out to be delusional, thinking he was saving his victims by killing them.
Dexter Morgan
There aren’t many characters like Dexter Morgan, and fans will likely not be happy that their favorite character was killed off. Still, his death scene was the culmination of the 15-years arc that viewers followed, as Dexter paid for his crimes by being killed by his own son.
The kill wouldn’t have been a big deal had Dexter not played out a final monologue, claiming he was dying by feeling true love for the first time. The shot of Debra leaving him was symbolic as it represented Dexter finally losing his dark enger, but there’s no doubt that Dexter’s demise will sting a lot of fans.
Matt Caldwell
No one would have felt bad for Matt Caldwell in his final moments since he was a total jerk from start to finish who had once killed five people and made it look like an accident. It was also the first time in nearly a decade that fans got to see Dexter return to his kill ritual.
It had all of the trademarks of a Dexter kill, including his collection of a blood slide, recapping everything that Matt had done to deserve his fate, and the moment of catharsis after Dexter completed his kill. The room itself was put together haphazardly but it was still worth seeing Dexter return to form.
Kurt Caldwell
After learning about Kurt’s killing of innocent women for over 25 years and his attempt on Harrison’s life, viewers would have been cheering for when he got his just desserts. It was the one time that Dexter put together a perfect kill room, with the added factor of Harrison’s inclusion.
Kurt’s confession scene was done just right, containing his feeble attempts to talk his way out, along with Dexter’s reasoning why he deserved to be put down. It might just have been the most brutal kill in the series overall, which had never outright shown the process of Dexter getting rid of the body before, but Kurt’s fiendish persona meant his death deserved to be as gory as it was.
Elric Kane
Kane certainly doesn’t land in the most Dexter: New Blood, having only turned up to try and kill the titular character. He got very close to doing so, with Dexter having to escape into the woods and lure Kane into a shack to ambush him.
It made his kill all the more satisfying since viewers got to root for Dexter to survive what appeared to be a situation where seemed done for. Kane’s turn from being gleeful about eliminating Dexter to realizing he was dealing with a man more dangerous than he could comprehend was the icing on the cake before Dexter put an end to his life with a knife stab.
Wiggles The Clown
A throwback to classic Dexter days, this was a flashback to his time in Miami when he was uninhibited and regularly on the prowl for victims. It depicted Dexter’s capture of a killer clown whose victims were children he targeted and then painted their bodies with clown makeup like his own.
It was refreshing to hark back to Dexter’s peak when he didn’t have any external baggage and gave a killer what was coming to him. The scene was creatively filmed, as Dexter from the present imagine Debra in the flashback, contemplating if he should reveal Wiggles’ full kill to Harrison, and the scene slowly peeled back the layers to showcase how Dexter ended his victim.