WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Dexter: Resurrection season 1, episodes 1 & 2!Michael C. Hall is back as Dexter Morgan inDexter: Resurrection, and his return comes with somebig changes to the obstacles he previously faced. Although it seemed that he died after being shot by Harrison inDexter: New Blood’s ending,ResurrectionrevealsDexter Morgan survivedand went into a coma. Almost immediately after waking up 10 weeks later, Dexter is on the run again, working to outmaneuver several threats.
After tracking down Harrison in New York City, Dexter discovers his son has killed again, so he isn’t just protecting his own crimes inDexter’s new series. In episode 2, he witnesses the NYPD launching an investigation into Harrison’s murder of Ryan – and they aren’t missing any details. While Dexter evaded Miami Metro with more ease,the NYPD’s highly-skilled Detective Wallace is a much more dangerous step up.
Dexter: Resurrection Finally Has A Competent Police Department To Outmaneuver
The NYPD Will Be More Difficult To Evade Than Miami Metro & Iron Lake PD
Among the biggest complaints aboutDextersince the beginning of the original show wasMiami Metro’s incompetency. Of course,Dexter used that to his advantage in order to get away with his crimes, but it often lowered the stakes knowing how unlikely it was for his Miami Metro team to truly catch onto or expose him.
There were some exceptions along the way, such asfan-favorite character James Doakes, who suspected Dexter from the start and came close to exposing him in season 2. However, Lila took care of that threat when she killed Doakes, leading Dexter’s plan to frame Doakes as the Bay Harbor Butcher to succeed. Similarly, when Captain Maria LaGuerta finally caught Dexter and nearly exposed him, she was killed by Deb.
Dexter: Resurrection
NYPD
Ultimately,it took Miami Metro nearly 30 years to finally start a real investigation into Dexteras the Bay Harbor Butcher. Toward the end ofNew Blood, Iron Lake Chief of Police Angela Bishop contacted Miami Metro Captain Angel Batista with her concerns about Dexter being the Bay Harbor Butcher, validating LaGuerta’s concerns a decade beforehand.
However, it wasn’t Angel snooping around that allowed Miami Metro to finally embark on a more intense investigation into Dexter – it was the work of Angela Bishop. And, even when Angel confrontsDexter: Resurrection’s titular characterin the premiere, Dexter manages to evade him. Not to mention, Iron Lake PD itself was a struggling outfit, which made Dexter hiding his crimes in town comparable to outmaneuvering Miami Metro.
Throughout his killing career so far, Dexter’s biggest threats haven’t been the major teams in police departments, but rather a more savvy individual – an exception to the generally inadequate actions of Miami Metro or Iron Lake. That isn’t the case inDexter: Resurrection, asJames Remar’s Harry Morganquicklyreminds him that the NYPD is a different, more skilled beast.
Not only is Dexter now facing the strength of the NYPD, but they have a particularly skillful lead detective on Harrison’s case who will more easily catch any mistake that the Morgans make. Both Dexter and Harrison have to be more careful this time around than they were in Iron Lake after getting away withkillingNew Blood’s Kurt Caldwell.
Unlike in the original show andNew Blood,there won’t be complaints inDexter: Resurrectionthat the police department he’s up against is incompetent. As such, the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been for Dexter Morgan.
The NYPD Looks Like Dexter’s Biggest Police Obstacle Since Frank Lundy
Frank Lundy Was The Most Skilled Cop That Dexter Faced In The OG Show
While Dexter had learned the best ways to outsmart Miami Metro throughout his time working there inDexter: Original Sin’s timelineand throughout the original series, they did call in some outside help every once in a while. That included FBI AgentFrank Lundy inDexterseasons 2 and 4, who had particular strengths in finding serial killers.
There were severalclues that Frank Lundy knew Dexter was the Bay Harbor Butcherbefore his death, but never disclosed it. Lundy had fallen in love with Dexter’s sister, Deb, and might have even felt on some level that Dexter was helping his cause by taking out worse serial killers who slipped through the cracks.
The NYPD’s Detective Wallace has some similar eccentric qualities to Lundy.
Still,Dexter had to be far more careful than before once Lundy came on the scene, and it seems he’ll have to do the same with the NYPD inDexter: Resurrection. Not to mention, the NYPD’s Detective Wallace has some similar eccentric qualities to Lundy, so their game of cat and mouse inResurrectionmay end up being reminiscent of the story beats fromDexterseason 2.
Dexter Going Up Against The NYPD Makes His Goal To Protect Harrison More Difficult
Dexter Has To Cover Up Someone Else’s Crimes In Addition To His Own
Another big difference betweenResurrectionand the past threeDexterTV shows is that the titular serial killer isn’t just covering up his own crimes. InNew Blood, Harrison’s darkness emerged more and he finally started to kill, but they were working together. InResurrectionseason 1, episode 2,Dexter is helping hide Harrison’s crime without his son even knowing.
It’s difficult to know whether Dexter would have been able to properly evade Frank Lundy if simultaneously covering up his own crimes and those of someone he loves. However, going up against Detective Wallace inDexter: Resurrectionwill give an idea of how that may have played out. Plus, withAngel Batista and Miami Metroalso still trailing him, protecting himself and Harrison will be his most difficult task yet.
