This article contains spoilers for the Dexter: Resurrection season 1 finale, titled “And Justice for All … “
Dexter: Resurrection resurrected yet another iconic villain from the original franchise.
The season 1 finale kicked off with Dexter (Michael C. Hall) hallucinating one of his most memorable victims, his older brother Brian Moser (Christian Camargo) a.k.a. the Ice Truck Killer from Dexter season 1, while trapped in billionaire Leon Prater’s (Peter Dinklage) vault with Angel Batista’s (David Zayas) dead body.
Zach Dilgard/Paramount+.
Just like his hallucinations in the season premiere, Brian taunted Dexter for trying to have a normal life while being a serial killer, pointing out how trying to be Angel’s friend only led to his death. But when a worried Quinn (Desmond Harrington) called Angel’s phone, Dexter was able to use it to aid in his escape.
First, Dexter called his son Harrison (Jack Alcott) for help, getting him to sneak into Prater’s mansion in disguise as a waiter for the police gala that night. Then, Dexter used Prater’s files in the vault to prove to Prater’s bodyguard Charley (Uma Thurman) that she was being used by the billionaire, since Prater had compromising photos taken of her linking her to crimes she committed under his orders.
Charley was furious at the serious breach of trust, so she angrily confronted Prater and quit. She went straight home to pack and get her mother, leaving New York for good.
After Dexter figured out the vault’s eight-digit code from Prater’s files, he was able to escape. But Prater caught Harrison trying to leave the mansion, so Dexter was forced to return. However, Harrison had previously been given a syringe of sedative by Dexter for “protection,” so he knocked out Prater. Dexter tied the billionaire down (on the Ice Truck Killer’s gurney, no less) and killed him, all while most of New York’s police force partied at the gala five floors below the vault.
Dexter chopped up Prater’s body and cleaned up all evidence of that kill, took all the photos and files about the Bay Harbor Butcher from the vault along with his blood slide collection, but left Batista’s body. He then intentionally tripped the alarm, luring the cops up to the vault to discover the dead body, the murder weapon with Prater’s prints on it, and the sick serial killer collection, exposing Prater’s true nature to the world and keeping his own connection secret. The detectives also found a file that reveals the New York Ripper to be … Don Framt.
Zach Dilgard/Paramount+.
Who?! No, it’s not Blessing (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) or even Prater himself, despite speculation all season about the killer’s identity. We’ve got no idea who Don is, but the cops seemed shocked by that revelation. Expect that storyline to continue next season.
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Ultimately, Dexter made his getaway on Prater’s luxury yacht — quite a nice step up from his former boat, the Slice of Life. Now armed with all of Prater’s files on serial killers that he plans to hunt down next, along with his newly repaired relationship with his son Harrison, Dexter had a very meta epiphany that he’s “exactly” who he needs to be and “exactly who you want me to be.”
Dexter: Resurrection was a very different kind of redemption arc for the fan-favorite killer, quite literally bringing him back to what the fans have been wanting (especially after the extremely divisive New Blood spinoff and lackluster Original Sin prequel). And now that Paramount killed the prequel series (despite previously announcing its season 2 renewal) in favor of developing a second season of Dexter: Resurrection, it’s clear that the criticism and fan response had a major impact on the future of the franchise.
The only thing to do now is wait for Dexter: Resurrection‘s official season 2 renewal to see Dexter live to kill again.
