Dexter: Resurrection Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Dexter Is His Own Worst Enemy

Dexter wakes up to a call from Batista, which is odd considering we all watched him kill Batista last season. Looks like Batista might be his new Harry. Except Batista isn’t trying to stop him. Instead, he gives Dexter the location of his next victim. But as Dexter drives the knife in, the victim turns into Batista, repeating his final words: “Fuck you, Dexter.”

Harry is back, too, and tells Dexter that he misses Batista. Dexter counters that Batista betrayed him. Dexter is still driving his rideshare, although one rude passenger tests his patience enough to almost make him abandon the code. Following Prater’s downfall, his serial-killer friends scattered. Dexter had files on two of them and tracked them both down. Unfortunately for Dex, the crematorium he has been using is being turned into a Whole Foods. Something is off with Dexter, from reading the address wrong on a map and his increased appetite for blood.

Dexter and Harrison meet at a diner, where Harrison explains that he has found a place and needs a little help. Dexter offers to help by paying his first month and giving him a little money. Dexter suggests sharing their locations because of Harrison’s unpredictable hours. Of course, we all know he also wants to make sure his son is nowhere near the scene of his next murder.

The detectives question Don Framp, an elderly man with a disability whom they suspect is the Ripper. They don’t have enough evidence to hold him, so they have to let him go. He does, however, leave behind a cup containing his saliva so they can test his DNA again.

Bokeem Woodbine joins the cast as Captain Mixon. Framp wants Mixon to get the detectives off his back. Mixon tells them he knows Framp did it, but knowing and proving it are two different things.

Meanwhile, Blessing has a surprise for Dexter: an improved entrance with just one door. He also notices that Dexter’s apartment has no character. It is simple and plain, which prompts Dexter to imagine decorating it with blood. Blessing suggests that he needs a hobby. Dexter thinks back to his murders and assures him that he has no problem killing time.

We also meet this season’s potential threat, the Five Borough Killer. He calls the police to announce that he plans to kill someone at a baseball game the following day. That is their warning. The call reaches our detectives, who now have to figure out which game he is targeting.

Dexter, meanwhile, is having trouble with his eyesight. Welcome to aging, Dex. It happens.

A news report about another victim of Rapunzel’s sends Dexter back on the hunt for the killer who escaped him last season. Harry reminds him that Harrison’s police academy graduation conflicts with his plans, but Dexter insists he can do both.

While moving into his new place, Harrison notices that Dexter is in Pennsylvania. Dexter is honest about why he is there: he is looking for Rapunzel. Harrison points out that his father has been awake all night and is now planning to confront a serial killer in the middle of nowhere. He is taking unnecessary risks. Harrison stops just short of adding “for someone your age,” but the point is there.

Dexter tracks Al down at a campground and convinces him to meet at an old body shop. Now he has to wait and see whether Al will actually show up. His urgency to kill is increasing, and his judgment is slipping.

Sure enough, Dexter misses Harrison’s graduation.

That is disappointing, especially after watching them begin to build a stronger relationship. Harrison is surrounded by graduates celebrating with their families while he stands alone. Dexter is all he has, and his father has chosen another murder over showing up for him.

Harry warns Dexter that children hold on to things like this, but Dexter clings to the thumbs-up Harrison sent him. That little emoji is doing a lot of work and Dexter doesn’t understand the sarcasm in it. Harrison later goes out with his fellow officers, who encourage him to approach someone. He tries, only to be quickly shot down.

Al eventually shows up at the body shop and gives Dexter a run for his money. The kill does not go according to plan, but Dexter gets his souvenir and leaves Al’s body hanging. On the drive home, he struggles to stay awake. Harry warns him that he has been pushing himself too hard lately.

At the baseball game, the Five Borough Killer searches the parking lot for a victim and shoots an innocent woman. The department assigned 12 officers to the game, but where were they? If they were all inside the park, the parking lot was a glaring blind spot.

The police are at the scene the following morning. Later, Quinn arrives at the station, no doubt looking for Batista. Now let’s see whether he lives through the season. Meanwhile, the killer sends a video of the murder to people nearby at the park.

The episode closes with Harry telling Dexter that he is having a midlife crisis. His appetite is more voracious, he is getting sloppier, and now Quinn is in town and on the case.

Overall, this episode gives the season a decent start, although season one’s premiere was much stronger. Dexter having a midlife crisis could be interesting, especially if his growing appetite pushes him toward becoming the monster he claims to be ridding the world of. Dexter is already a monster; he just rationalizes it as vigilantism. What happens when he can no longer hide behind his code?

The episode is a little slow and scattered, and so far, the Five Borough Killer feels like a weak villain compared with previous antagonists. Still, I am tuned in to see how it all comes together. My rating of the episode is a 6.5 out of 10.