Andrew Grevas
Tonight’s the night. Dexter: Resurrection Episode 4 is now streaming on Paramount + and will air Sunday evening on Showtime. This article will contain heavy spoilers, so if you haven’t seen it yet, proceed with caution. Dexter: Resurrection Episode 4 was directed by Monica Raymund and written by Alexandra Franklin & Marc Muszynski.
Making History
Dexter: Resurrection Episode 4 comes in at 66 minutes long, making it the longest episode of any Dexter episode ever. Every television show has at least one episode that doesn’t feel like the rest. An episode where the familiar structure is changed. An episode where the audience feels off kilter because subliminally we know that the show’s writers are breaking their own rules to create a unique and oftentimes profound experience for us. For Dexter fans, “Call Me Red” is that episode.
The bulk of this episode takes place at Leon Prater’s (played by the masterful Peter Dinklage) dinner party for serial killers. Prater’s assistant Charley (played by Uma Thurman) picks up Dexter and drives him to a decadent mansion, owned by venture capitalist and NYC royalty, Leon Prater. Heavily secured, the mansion has hidden rooms filled with memorabilia and “trophies” from serial killers both real and fictional. Dahmer’s fridge sits next to Gacy’s clown suit, which sit next to trophies of the killers we’re about to meet and some that we already have. Prater shows Dexter, still going by the name Red, the Trinity Killer’s hammer and the Bay Harbor Butcher’s blood slides. Prater had no clue who he was actually standing next to, of course.
The other dinner party guests were a lineup of top notch guest stars: Neil Patrick Harris played Lowell, a serial killer who cuts off his victims tattoos. Eric Stonestreet was a scene stealer as Al, a husband and father who felt like he was straight out of a commercial about annoying parents—only Al likes to take business trips to kill a bunch of people. David Dastmalchian played the comically brooding Gemini Killer, and perhaps most importantly, Krysten Ritter played Mia, also known as Lady Vengeance.
The premise was simple: Prater is a voyeur, obsessed with serial killers like most true crime addicted people in America today, who pays these killers a lot of money for their company and evenings where he can live vicariously through them. They tell stories, brag and leave Prater trophies for him to add to the world’s most morbid museum. Most of the guests seem eager to please, enjoying the fancy dinner and hefty amount of cash, in addition to their egos being fed.
I found myself wondering if this gathering of the killers was to set up plot lines (and people to kill) for this season, or if Clyde Phillips and team were casting a net for other shows involving these serial killers. I left Dexter: Resurrection Episode 4 with a feeling that spinoffs likely aren’t in these characters futures, but I very much could see some of these killers being involved in more than just this season. (Please give us all the David Dastmalchian as the Gemini Killer. The possibilities are endless).
Lady Vengeance took a liking to Dexter and they met for a jog the next day in Central Park. Mia revealed part of her story to Dexter and tempted him back to her apartment, where she made advances. I’m not sure if it was out of actual chemistry or if she was sizing him up (she specializes in killing sexual predators) but Dexter would avoid temptation and leave before things went too far.
Dexter left in part because of Harry’s insistence that he was there to kill these serial killers, not bond with them. Dexter knew that Lowell had his sights set on a victim and Harry’s code demanded that he stop Lowell and put an end to him. Neil Patrick Harris was brilliant on the kill table, calm because in his words, “he’s been on the other side of this to know when you can’t stop it.” Dexter revealed to him his true identity before killing him, in what was perhaps the first time he called himself the Bay Harbor Butcher. With this, Dexter has broken Prater’s rule to not go against the group, which means Dexter could now have multiple threats coming after him.
The Ghost of Harry
Harry’s presence in this episode was again heavy-handed advice to his adult son. Dexter is clearly getting more resentful, even if part of him knows that he should listen. At one point Dexter snapped at his ghost dad, telling him that he was tired of being careful. This seems to be a major narrative beat so far across these four episodes: Dexter is closer to the edge than he’s been before. Much like a man going through a midlife crisis, Dexter is tired of being responsible. Only instead of buying an expensive car, he wants to kill with reckless abandon.
But Harry’s words do carry weight with Dexter. Much like last week, we had scenes where Dexter watched his son from a distance and made excuses as to why he didn’t go see him. Part of Dexter wants to swoop in and be a dad, like his (ghost) dad is telling him to do. But at the same time, he has a strong impulse to let it all go and indulge.
Harrison is clearly more in crisis as time goes on. He’s calm and collected on the outside, but two visits from Angel had him rattled. Angel at first played dumb, saying that he didn’t know Dexter was dead, after Harrison gave him that story. Angel went to see Claudette, who was still listening to The Bee Gees on her over sized headphones. The two of them appear to be working together moving forward, which isn’t good news for the Morgan family.
Angel’s second visit to Harrison was much more cutting. He blamed Rita and Deb’s deaths on Dexter and warned Harrison not to go down his father’s path. Angel is clearly locked in on Dexter and that confrontation is inevitable. His visit rattled Harrison, who left with his head spinning. He began heading to the police station when Dexter came up behind him, put his hand on his shoulder and said “Harrison, no.” Harrison responded “Dad?” as the episode ended.
I’m glad Dexter and Harrison’s reunification happened earlier instead of later. A lot of narrative possibilities open up here, as new pieces arrive on the chess board. Angel is clearly going to be a problem for the Morgans. Claudette too. Now Prater, Charley and Lady Vengeance are players who can complicate the situation too. Tension fills the New York air, after Dexter: Resurrection Episode 4 becomes an episode no fan will soon forget.
