SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “A Beating Heart…,” the series premiere of “Dexter: Resurrection,” now streaming on Paramount+.
When “Dexter: Resurrection” was announced during last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, we sat down with Michael C. Hall to ask one main question: How?
During “Dexter: New Blood” in 2022, the finale saw the serial killer bleeding out in the freezing cold after being shot by his son. At that time, showrunner Clyde Phillips confirmed that “Dexter is dead.” But apparently, he was just kidding!
“It’s really cold out there,” Hall told Variety at the time, hinting at how Dexter could have some how survived that gunshot wound. It turns out that’s exactly how Dexter survived. The series premiere of “Resurrection” begins (after a brief run-through of what happened in “New Blood”) with the titular character in the hospital after suffering “catastrophic blood loss.” Doctors have revived him and his voiceover is heard: “Ah, a beating heart. I’ll take it.”
The show then flashes forward to 10 weeks later, where he remains unresponsive in the hospital. At first, Dexter flashes to a white heaven-like vision where Arthur Mitchell (John Lithgow), the famed serial killer who died in the Season 4 finale of “Dexter,” appears. After Dexter asks if he’s dead, Arthur responds, “Not yet, but almost being killed by someone you’re fond of has its own particular sting, eh, Dexter?” The two continue to argue, and it’s clear that Arthur still very much haunts Dexter, even in the in-between.
“Let me give you a little advice, serial killer to serial killer. Where you went wrong is thinking you could have it all — a family and your dark passenger,” says Arthur. “Like our savior, sometimes you have to go through hell to achieve resurrection. Not that we’re anything like the good Lord.”
Before waking up, Dexter also sees other ghosts from his past: Miguel (Jimmy Smits), who he killed in the Season 3 finale of the original series; his father, Harry (James Remar); and finally, Sergeant Doakes (Erik King), who he killed in the Season 2 finale.
Then, Dexter finally wakes up. He’s informed that he’s been in a coma for 10 weeks and was “touch and go” for some time, but got lucky due to the climate: “Lucky for you, you got shot in 0-degree weather. The cold and snow slowed your heart rate, lessened the blood loss. If it were summer, you’d be deader than my last marriage.”
And with that, Dexter is back.
