Top 10 Moments From Dexter Resurrection

#10: Dexter Resurrects

“A Beating Heart…”

“New Blood” ends with Dexter accepting his fate as he’s shot by his own son. But “Original Sin” reveals that fate has different plans. As Dexter emerges from a 10-week coma at the start of “Resurrection,” he interacts with some key ghosts from his past. Arthur Mitchell and Miguel Prado assert that for all the good intentions of the Bay Harbor Butcher, his vigilantism puts decent people in danger. Then Harry Morgan and James Doakes come to represent the two very different forms of justice that drive Dexter. This paranormal hospital reunion effectively recaps the antihero’s complex internal conflict, while bringing back some of the fan-favorite characters who defined it. How better to set up the next chapter in Dexter’s comeback?

#9: Dexter Gives Batista a Ride

“Course Correction”

Dexter and Harrison come home to find Angel Batista, apparently excited to catch up with an old friend. Really, he wants Dexter to drive him to his hotel so they can discuss the Bay Harbor Butcher. This conversation has been 19 years coming, and it’s anything but friendly. After deflecting Batista’s accusations, Dexter eerily remarks, [“If I really am who you think I am, this can’t possibly end well for you.”] A day of taking out killers and hanging out with Harrison ends with hints at the lengths this sociopath may go to protect himself. Dexter angrily drops Batista off early, unaware that the passenger planted AirPods to track the killer’s car. Batista is himself unaware that this indeed won’t end well for him.

#8: No Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

“Murder Horny”

Dexter believes he’s found a true kindred spirit in Mia LaPierre, dubbed “Lady Vengeance” for killing sexual predators. But when he learns she also targets innocent men, he concludes she must be dealt with in a manner that wouldn’t raise suspicion in Prater’s club. So when Mia seduces her next victim, Dexter slyly calls in an anonymous tip, and the police bust in just in time. Lady Vengeance’s sick methods and judicious downfall hearkens back to the craftier suspense that made classic “Dexter” so classic. Dex also frames Mia by planting in her collection the watch of the predator Harrison murdered. He kills two birds with one stone, without actually killing anyone. Of course, Prater proves equally crafty in ensuring Lady Vengeance’s silence.

#7: Blessing’s Burden

“Cats and Mouse”

Dexter has just killed in his apartment when the newly orphaned Blessing visits in a fragile state. After cleaning up the mess, Dexter patiently listens to his friend’s story. Blessing reveals he was a child soldier in Sierra Leone, making the death of the mother who saved him even more devastating. This confession brings depth to a man initially presented as totally pure. And his asking Dexter to imagine the trauma in taking a life brings some dark humor. Dexter runs off Blessing before he discovers the corpse in the bathtub, but seems struck with a rare moment of empathy. Enhanced by incredible acting from Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, this revelation epitomizes Blessing’s importance as a figure of decency and redemption.

#6: Provoking the (Other) Gemini Killer

“Course Correction”

Gareth Pike’s death reveals a detail that no-one knew about the Gemini Killer: there is another. A twin brother and partner, also named Gareth, sneaks onto a trip to Prater’s country mansion. There, Dexter claims that nosy fandom led to him discovering the truth about Gemini. But as he and Gareth 2 privately discuss murder as a family affair, Dexter confesses to killing Gareth 1. A brutal fight ensues, so that Dexter can quickly end it by stabbing his opponent in the neck. He then tells the witnesses that he was just defending himself and them. This creatively intense slaying not only affirms Dexter’s resourcefulness. The Gemini Killers chillingly suggest what he would have been like with peer pressure from his brother Brian Moser.

#5: Harrison’s Dark Passenger

“A Beating Heart…”

Just when he thought he escaped his father's twisted nature, Harrison follows his suspicions about a shady guest at The Empire Hotel. He manages to overpower Ryan Foster as he attempts to sexually assault a woman he drugged. When Ryan callously says he'll just find another victim, the furious Harrison beats him to death with the top of a toilet tank. The impulsive vigilante then rushes to clean up his first murder. It's a shocking, even heartbreaking twist in Harrison’s journey to control his urges. Fantasizing about stabbing a sleazy landlord in the eye further displays how difficult this will be. But Harrison’s guilt over putting down a monster sows hope that it's not too late to turn his life around.

#4: Prater Opens Up

“Course Correction”

During the country getaway, the man believed to be Red Schmidt is at least honest with the killers about their shared struggles with secrecy. Prater is so moved by this speech that he privately explains his tragic past to Dexter. After the billionaire venture capitalist lost his parents in a car crash, he visited the other driver in prison and discovered he was secretly a serial killer. The two formed a bond that sparked Prater’s obsession with murder. He then shares his first serial killer trophy: a letter from that unlikely friend. This compromising moment of vulnerability exposes the powerful Prater as a deeply burdened, still-disturbed man. Dexter relates to his trauma, but there’s something uniquely dark about Prater.

#3: Dexter Discovered

“Touched by an Ángel”

Batista’s obsessive pursuit of Dexter inevitably leads him to Leon Prater. Thus, the Dark Passenger is revealed to be the Bay Harbor Butcher. Dexter is then at Prater’s home with an ultimatum: kill Batista on the table, or be killed by Charley with him. The vigilante instead frees his old friend, who proceeds to attack the wrong guy in a rage. The villains escape, but not before Prater at last becomes a murderer himself. The bullet-riddled Batista dies cursing Dexter. And with this reminder that it was his hubris that cost the lives of so many dedicated colleagues and loved ones, Dexter’s anguished cry perfectly sends a good man out on a painful yet poignant note.

#2: Dinner with Killers

“Call Me Red”

Going through Red Schmidt’s stuff after the kill, Dexter discovers an invitation to a club for “like-minded individuals.” And so, he poses as the Dark Passenger to infiltrate a secret society run by billionaire serial killer connoisseur Leon Prater. Lady Vengeance, the Tattoo Collector, Rapunzel and the Gemini Killer all bring unique quirks to a lavish dinner party. They also bring gory stories that remind the vigilante of the dangers and opportunities he's walked into. It's the first time in a long time that the “Dexter” franchise has really explored the mind of a new killer, never mind four. As chilling as anything to Dexter is how much he connects with these monsters as he proceeds to hunt them with caution.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Uninviting the Canton Clubber, “Camera Shy”

Charley Reveals Her Ruthlessness When an Inquisitive Killer Threatens to Go to the Police

Wallace at Work, “Backseat Driver”

There’s a Lot of Lively Irony to the Stoic Detective Checking a Crime Scene to the Bee Gees

Dexter and Harrison Reconcile, “Murder Horny”

A Father Vows to Always Protect His Son, Especially from Becoming Like Him

Dexter Gives a Eulogy, “Cats and Mouse”

A Sociopath’s Awkward, Somewhat Poignant Tribute to Blessing’s Mother Prudence

The One He Lets Get Away, “The Kill Room Where It Happens”

With Batista Closing In, Dexter Lets a Cruel Landlord Off with a Terrifying Warning

#1: Prater's Legacy

“And Justice for All…”

While New York’s first responders enjoy a fundraiser beneath Prater’s penthouse, the Morgans turn the tables on their pursuer, who wakes up on Dexter's table. This cowardly murder enthusiast isn't so smooth anymore as he realizes the irony in inviting a vigilante to a serial killer club. Dexter is finally able to reconcile his bloodlust with his sense of justice as he observes Prater’s monument to monsters. The supposed philanthropist is slain knowing that this is what he'll be remembered for. To not even be commemorated in Dexter’s blood slide box seals the poetry in Prater’s downfall. Well, Dexter does take enough of his victim's stuff to make a getaway, knowing how eagerly we anticipate his meeting with Prater’s old friends.

Which moments in “Resurrection” and the whole franchise stuck with you? Fess up in the comments.