Dexter is one of my all-time favourite TV shows, and it still has a very large and loyal following after 2 decades.
The 2021 sequel, New Blood, wasn't great ( I blame the setting - some small ulu town in the dead of winter ) but luckily, the production team decided to take another chance.
The gamble appears to have paid off abundantly, judging from the rapturous response from fans and critics.
On IMDb, it has a rating of 9.2/10 from 68,000 viewers.
It's also currently #1 on the site's list of most popular TV shows.
After yet another near death experience, Dexter Morgan returns and ends up in New York City, mainly to find his son and protect him from the NYPD who are eyeing him as a suspect in an unsolved murder.
Numerous twists and turns abound, with Dexter landing within the inner circle of billionaire Leon Prater ( a devilish Peter Dinklage ), whose philanthropic endeavours hide his true passion - the collection of serial killers.
A tense cat-and-mouse game ensues, as Dexter's moral code drives him to pick off the killers one by one, while Leon and his right-hand woman, Charley ( Uma Thurman ), dig deeper into his background, eventually discovering his real identity and the existence of his son.
Additional stress is contributed by 2 NYPD detectives, as well as the original series' Angel Batista - the latter convinced that Dexter is the real Bay Harbour Butcher.
To be clear, there are quite a few gaps in the plot which I won't discuss in detail since they're essentially spoilers.
But one thing that really needs to be said is that in this age of advanced technology and CCTVs everywhere, it's illogical for Dexter and Harrison to escape detection multiple times.
However, the writers make up for such lapses through a few pretty ingenious storylines, one of which involves the Gemini Killer.
It's another spoiler so I won't ruin the fun. But it became a global sensation and I saw countless posts on my social media feed for a few weeks.
Performances-wise, most are excellent, with standouts from Jack Alcott ( Harrison ) and Dinklage.
I was already impressed by Alcott in New Blood, but he has a much stronger story arc in Resurrection, with more screen time, and truly shines.
Due to his youthful boyish looks, he appears 10 years younger than his actual age of 29.
But since he's almost 30, there's a definite maturity in his acting which adds to his chemistry with Michael C. Hall and Harrison's character development.
The final episode, which features a nail-biting confrontation between Dexter, Harrison and Leon, drew a beautifully nuanced turn from Alcott.
Dinklage is another pleasant surprise.
It would've been easy to go OTT with the Prater role, but he kept things nicely under control, becoming unhinged only in the finale.
But as always, MCH is the MVP of this series.
He was born to play Dexter, and seems to get more intense with each new season.
This reaches new heights in Resurrection during each kill, as he vents his rage and hatred upon the villains before extinguishing their lives.
It's both terrifying and immensely satisfying. :)
This season is also especially significant because I've met both MCH and Dinklage in person.
The former was a stage door meet-and-greet after his Broadway play, The Realistic Joneses, in 2014.
In short, I was extremely flustered, my mum ended up telling him how much I love Dexter, he smiled appreciatively, signed my playbill then posed for a lovely wefie. :)
For Dinklage, it was at an X-Men: Days of Future Past promo event in Singapore, also in 2014.
It was very fleeting, as he walked down the line of fans outside Shaw House.
I held out a magazine with a photograph of him in the film. He briefly glanced at it, signed and moved on without saying a word.
But I was still very thrilled haha. Tyrion Lannister, man! :)
My overall rating for Resurrection is 8/10, dampened only by the plot holes ( which I can't ignore ), and one particularly irritating character - Detective Claudette Wallace, played by Kadia Saraf.
She's written as some type of savant, but I can't stand her speech pattern ( she opens her mouth minimally and over-articulates ) and mannerisms ( abnormally serious and dour ).
But it's a full 10/10 for MCH, Dinklage and Alcott.
So glad this came out during my milestone birthday year. Thank you! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment