Sean Parker
It’s been about a week since Showtime decided to drop their full official trailer for Dexter: New Blood. The video has already racked up over six million views on a reboot that will hopefully save the original series from its mundane non-ending and infuriating last season. Seriously, every episode of Dexter Season 8 made me angrier as the final episode approached.
Knowing it was the final season, it felt like the stakes should be higher, and though the talented Charlotte Rampling gave a fantastic performance in that season, even she could not save a lackluster finale. As each episode continued to disappoint, I was hoping the series was going to pit Dexter in a slasher-bloodbath situation where he let his contentious blood-lusting dark passenger run rampant through the Miami police department before his co-workers closed in on him. You have to admit, that would have been bonkers to see. Instead, we got a tortured soul ending, leaving Dexter’s sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) dead. Dexter then races a boat and Deb’s body into the eye of a hurricane before returning for a final moment revealing a bearded Michael C. Hall isolated in a snowy cabin before the credits rolled like the start of a Dexter Hallmark Christmas movie. The end.
I was furious. I think many fans were. Writing it down now, I realize I may still be furious. Thank God for this reprieve.
Eight years have passed since that final season soured me in 2013, especially after having stuck up for the show for three years prior. People said that the show went downhill after season four and the Trinty (John Lithgow) murders. Maybe they were right, but I still enjoyed some of the suspense, murder, and chaos along the way, I guess. With all of this negativity about season eight, you’re probably asking yourself why I’m so excited then for the show to return. It’s easy: I want an ending, and the story isn’t finished yet.
A month ago, Showtime showed off a sneak peek of their trailer, spilling a little look at the new town serial killer Dexter Morgan has found himself. The images were brief, focusing mostly on blades from axes to knives and razors as Dexter, now going by the name Jim Lindsay, tries to keep his “dark passenger” under control. The new trailer still contains many images from the earlier trailers, like the teenagers and townsfolk saying hello to the closeted killer, warning us like Robert Stack on Unsolved Mysteries that we never know who our neighbors truly are.
This new trailer goes a little deeper, however. Setting us up with the police officer stopping “Jim Lindsay” and setting up the tension before twisting the scene into showing us Dexter’s new beau. Of course, Dexter would embed himself with the police, that’s kind of his thing, plus he can use it to his advantage if he hears over a radio if he’s about to be caught. The use of Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger” is a perfect touch. So much so that you barely notice it at first, it’s just walking around town music, playing in the background until it warps and mashes up with the series’ theme song, bringing us to the plot for the new season, which implies that a truck driver may be murdering hitchhikers. Previous trailers also suggest this person may also be Clancy Brown.
The thing I’m most proud to announce is Deb is now playing the part of Dexter’s conscience. When Dexter: New Blood was first announced, I mentioned this as a theory and was immediately laughed at for even thinking it. Well, who’s laughing now! It only makes sense when you think about it, though. The extreme mental state that Dexter left Miami ten years ago (in the series) means that he would need a more extreme figure to keep him disciplined. Where Harry (James Remar) was always so focused on raising Dexter to control his urges, Deb would be the decisive voice she’s always been and, because of her death, would be using it as the reason to make Dexter stop.
Perhaps the most exciting part of this trailer is the appearance of Harrison (The Good Lord Bird’s Jack Alcott) at the very end. The last time we saw him, he was barely out of diapers. Now, he’s a teenager. A teenager who once bathed in blood as a baby, just like his dad, after watching his birth mother, Rita (Julie Benz), die at the hands of the Trinity killer. A teenager who his serial killer father abandoned. The same teenager left with serial killer Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski) to raise him. Maybe he’s fine, a normal kid who had a normal childhood and won’t turn out to be a hitchhiker killer who kills truck drivers on his way to see his dad. Maybe it won’t parallel the Ice Truck Killer in any way, shape, or form when Dexter killed his brother (Christian Camargo). Or maybe Dexter will have to teach his son how to control his urges the way Harry taught him. Regardless, it’s time to get out the plastic sheets and sharpen the knives. Dexter: New Blood looks like a bloody good time, though the jury’s still out on whether it will make up for season eight.
Dexter: New Blood premieres on Showtime on November 7.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9H1uSS_zkk
So what do you think of the trailer for Dexter: New Blood? Do you agree with Sean that it looks like the reprieve fans have been waiting for? What are your thoughts on season eight? Let us know in the comments! And if you’re looking for horror trailers, we’ve got you covered!
