Dexter: Resurrection Episode 3 features Dexter Morgan’s first modern day kill in over three years and it has an interesting callback. In the first ever episode of Dexter, we are introduced to the titular serial killer in a very dark opening. He drives through the Miami streets on the prowl for his next target, only illuminated by neon street signs and the moonlight. His narration indicates a sense of inevitability for something dark. He pulls up on a choir concert and stalks the choir director, Mike Donovan, before attacking him from the backseat of the director’s car. Using a garotte, Dexter puts pressure on his neck and instructs him to drive to a secluded location.
From there, Dexter confronts him about the young boys that Donovan had killed. He forced him to look and confront the reality of the situation he’s created for himself, more or less making Donovan accept his death as a punishment for his dark deeds. It’s a dark way to open a show, but it also quickly allows people to understand Dexter’s mission. He’s taking out the scum of the Earth, including pedophiles who kill children. Whether you agree with Dexter’s ways or not, it’s at least something that shows the morals and righteousness that Dexter has for himself.
Dexter’s First Dexter: Resurrection Kill May Be One Big Metaphor for His Dark Passenger
With all of that said, the script got flipped in the new sequel series. In Dexter: Resurrection Episode 3, titled “Backseat Driver”, Dexter learns of a serial killer known as The Dark Passenger who is killing rideshare drivers. Dexter gets irritated at the idea of using his own name, so he takes it upon himself to track this guy down and kill him. Dexter becomes a rideshare driver to lure the guy out and eventually succeeds, resulting in the killer using a wire-y saw against Dexter from the backseat. The killer wraps it around Dexter’s neck and instructs him to drive somewhere more private where he can finish his job. However, Dexter anticipated this and is able to get the upper hand over The Dark Passenger and knocks him out.
Of course, this leads to Dexter’s first kill of the new series. It draws a lot of parallels to his first kill, but also Dexter himself. Of course, there’s the name, the general scenario, but also The Dark Passenger looks a bit like Dexter. They have a similar build and facial features, prompting some other characters to joke about how Dexter could be a dead ringer for this guy.
This may be a huge, gargantuan reach, but it’s possible this kill is a giant metaphor for Dexter. Following his coma at the start of Dexter: Resurrection, Dexter has been bestowed with a new lease on life. He has a lightness to him that wasn’t there before, a reason to live, and a new outlook on life. Harry even calls out that Dexter seems to be more proactively saving people, something Dexter has done before, but it feels far more intentional and built into his overall mission now. We’ll see how much he actually grows and evolves throughout Resurrection, but it certainly seems to be building a more reformed Dexter Morgan.
With that said, maybe his kill on The Dark Passenger was him metaphorically killing his past self while also literally cleaning the streets of a literal killer. By killing this almost mirror image of himself, he’s letting go of his more darker half and moving forward with something more heroic and less sinister. It feels pretty on the nose and seems like Dexter is somewhat killing at least a part of his actual Dark Passenger. Of course, Dexter is still a serial killer and will likely continue to be, so there will always be a darkness to him, but he is moving forth with a renewed sense of purpose and nobility.
Dexter: Resurrection is planned for multiple seasons, so we will see just how Dexter changes. Perhaps he is destined to create trouble and chaos around him forever. Maybe he can finally have a happy ending. Only time will tell!
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