Fans have been excited about the return of Dexter via the revival series Dexter: New Blood. After an eight-year wait since the universally panned original series finale, this continuation story finally premiered. And it revealed some interesting things about what Dexter Morgan had been up to since fans last saw him bearded, in a remote New York location far away from Miami.
The premiere episode revealed plenty about Dexter's life and introduced several new characters while also bringing back familiar ones in unique ways. There have been plenty of theories about what might happen in the revival, and while plenty of questions remain, some answers were revealed in the first hour.
10 Years Have ed
Timelines were never clear in of how long it would be since Dexter last lived in Miami, but he notes in the first episode that it has been a decade since he moved away, running from his past. That means he had been living in the small remote town in New York for more than 10 years, having presumably successfully pulled off faking his own death in a hurricane.
The timeline is interesting and sets things up for another reveal that fans were sure would be a part of the revival series.
Harrison Is Back
As fans suspected, Harrison, Dexter's biological son with Rita, is back. Since a decade has ed, he is now a teenager desperate to find his real dad. Not much is said about Hannah and his life with her, nor where she might be. Though, fans might not care that much, because one of the things fans would change about the final season of Dexter would be to make Hannah's storyline less prominent. Nonetheless, her whereabouts are likely to be addressed in the second or subsequent episodes.
While some theorize that Harrison might be a serial killer like his father, with the same dark enger, his introduction points to Dexter wanting to keep his son far away from any of his extra-curricular activities. How much Harrison knows about his father is another question that remains unanswered.
Dexter Was Reformed
Dexter had apparently not killed anyone, or even anything, including animals, for the entire time he had been away. That means he had been "clean" for at least a decade. In the opening sequence, Dexter is seen hunting down a deer only to stop before pulling the trigger.
This was a representation of Dexter having changed. Killing a deer symbolized the start of Dexter's dark enger, as fans know that his first kill as a teenager was that of an animal. Killing the deer would have given him a slight sense of satisfaction that he knew he would have to satiate with something bigger.
His Girlfriend Is The Police Chief
As was revealed ahead of the first episode, Dexter's girlfriend Angela just so happens to be the police chief of the small town. With crimes that typically involve stolen pies and ruined flowerbeds, she hasn't seen murder, death, and destruction to the lengths of what Dexter did back in Miami.
Since Dexter has been reformed, mastered the art of living like a "normal" person, and faked his emotions, he has managed to convince her that he is just a fun-loving guy living a simple life.
Debra Is His New Conscience
Fans knew that Debra, who had one of the most shocking deaths on Dexter, would be back in the revival as Dexter's new conscience, taking the place of Harry. But fans didn't quite understand the dynamic of the relationship until the first episode premiered.
Debra seems to be far more present than Harry was, living with Dexter day in and day out, popping up in his bed while he sleeps, at the table while he eats, and any time he is faced with a potentially dangerous decision or temptation. She is far more emotional than Harry, focused on stopping Dexter from killing versus trying to direct his impulses. She is trying to push Dexter to become a better person, like the angel on his shoulder.
Routine Kept Him From Killing
Dexter replaced his routine for killing with a new routine of sticking to a mundane daily life in order to suppress his murderous urges. He gets up every morning to tend to his animals and property, heads to work at a local shop (where he, ironically, tends to customers buying gear like knives and guns), brings his boss pastries (just as he used to bring the Miami Metro team donuts), heads to his favorite restaurant for a tuna sandwich on lunch, then sees his girlfriend.
His routine has become cookie-cutter, but, in his eyes, it is what has kept Dexter from killing.
The Dark enger Survived
While it might be unbelievable that a serial killer would be able to stop killing for so long, it has happened in real life. Serial killers have sometimes disappeared when they started families only to emerge decades later.
What wouldn't be believable is that the dark enger was completely gone, and it wasn't. Dexter has just done a better job of pushing it down. In one scene, however, he awakens from a terrifying nightmare that sees the dark enger pulling a screaming and terrified Debra underwater, making clear that it hasn't been easy.
Dexter Has Assumed The Name Of The Book Author
The name Dexter Morgan would, of course, no longer work since Dexter was supposed to be dead and he wanted to start his life anew. The name he assumed was James Lindsay, but everyone who knew him called him Jim.
Die-hard fans will recognize that the surname is in homage to the author of the book series, Jeff Lindsay. Much of the first season was based on the first book in the series, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. While the direction diverted from there, Lindsay's writings and main character remain an inspiration for the overall story even though there are many differences between Dexter and the books.
Dexter Kills Again
There was a build-up through the episode that led to Dexter's first kill in more than 10 years. And, as fans suspect, he has officially opened Pandora's Box and Debra will be no match for the power of the dark enger.
Dexter appeared to want to fight it nonetheless, shrugging the one murder off as just that: a slip-up. A big reason why he let Harrison live with him was also in hopes that the boy's presence would prevent him from doing bad things. Nonetheless, the kill room returned for the first time and definitely not the last.
The Code Still Matters
Dexter Morgan, the smartest character on Dexter, purposely moved to a small community where crime isn't as rampant to ensure he would not be tempted to kill. Despite everything he had been through, including breaking the code himself a few times, Dexter still wanted to live by the code his father Harry devised for him.
This is why as soon as Dexter heard that Matt might actually be more than just an annoying rich kid and was possibly responsible for the deaths of five people due to reckless behavior, he felt compelled to stop the officer from mentioning any more details. Placing Matt within his code would put Dexter in a precarious position because it would mean that Matt fit the code and thus could be killed.