Liam Hoofe reviews the ninth episode of Dexter: New Blood…
There was a lot to process in the penultimate episode of Dexter: New Blood. The episode really put its foot to the floor, setting up what promises to be a brilliant finale. The episode picked up where last week’s left off, with Dexter sharing his dark passenger with Harrison.
The opening passage took us back to Dexter’s glory days as he hunted down a serial killer called Mr. Wiggles. It was an excellent sequence that served as a reminder of how good Dexter used to be. The little nods to the camera and the dark humour were very much welcomed and watching Dexter justify his actions to Harrison despite Deb’s best pleas made for a compelling watch.
Things quickly picked up as a newly brainwashed Harrison teamed up with his dad to take on Kurt. Firstly though, there was the small matter of spending Christmas day with Aubrey and Angela, the latter of which is now well and truly on Dexter’s trail. The Christmas sequence brought back memories of the Trinity family meal, with Kurt turning up to taunt Dexter and also potentially leave behind something that leads to his demise, but more on that later.
The show also gave us a literal Chekov’s gun in the early scenes, with Dexter presenting Harrison with his own very own rifle. The sequence with Harrison shooting the cans and Dexter letting his son know how much of a natural he is felt like it could be foreshadowing the end for either, if not both, of the characters.
That leads us all to Kurt. The villain met his demise in this episode, but that wasn’t before we got to find out everything he has been up to. Dexter and Harrison found his secret lair where he had been persevering the bodies of his victims. The reveal of Molly’s death played out nicely, even though the decision to kill a major character off-screen may not go down too well with everyone.
The ensuing kill scene was one of the best in the show’s history. All three actors involved were perfect here. Seeing Kurt call Dexter out for being no different to him was fantastic. We’ve seen victims do this before but what made this one so good was this it resonated. Kurt exposed Dexter in front of his son, and all Dex could do was stuff his mouth and kill him. Clancy Brown has been an inspired piece of casting and has earned his place as one of Dexter’s best antagonists.
Watching Dexter chop him up in front of Harrison was one of the show’s most horrifying moments. The glee in Dexter’s eyes as he did it, and the casual way in which he just dismembered someone in front of his son shone a totally different light on the character. As an audience, we have never seen Dexter do this before and it worked effectively in changing our perspective.
Jack Alcott also deserves a lot of credit. The actor’s reaction to the whole thing was as ambiguous as it needed to be and it leaves a lot of questions for the final episode. Is he going to follow in his father’s footsteps? Has he been so horrified that he could try and take his own life, just as his grandad did when he realized what a monster Dexter was? Might he even break the code and kill to defend his father? All of these situations would leave Dexter with difficult decisions to make and could make for interesting directions.
There is still the possibility of Angela catching Dexter. The episode ended with her opening a letter, presumably off Kurt, containing a titanium screw and a note letting her know Dexter killed Matthew. This is no probably no coincidence giving that Dexter’s house has just been burned down and there is a titanium screw in there that will no doubt be found in the wreckage.
Another article could be written theorizing where the show goes in the next episode, with the possibilities of cameos and old characters returning. While most fans want another season, Dexter: New Blood will hopefully sign off next week, having finally given the character, and the show, the ending they deserve.
Those who have had their doubts about resurrecting Dexter for this mini-series need to sit down and watch this episode. The show delivered its finest episode since Season 4 and it has set itself up nicely for what should be a thrilling finale. Let’s just hope there’s no beard or lumberyards in sight this time.
Liam Hoofe
