Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | August 15, 2025
Spoilers
If there’s one thing disappointing about the crackling energy of nu-Dexter, it’s that our old friend doesn’t take his time anymore. This season feels like it has multiple final bosses, culminating—presumably—in a showdown with either Peter Dinklage’s Leon Prater or Uma Thurman’s Charley, so there’s not a lot of meticulous planning involved. Even Dexter’s orchestration of Mia’s arrest and framing her for Ryan Foster’s death came together in short order.
Last week’s death of one-half of the Gemini Killer mostly fell into Dexter’s lap after Gareth-A followed him home and confronted him, giving Dexter a golden opportunity. But with Lowell “missing” and Mia dead — after Charley had her taken out in prison — Dexter couldn’t exactly kill another member of Prater’s serial killer circle without raising suspicion. So, he chose a more direct approach: dispatching Gareth-B in broad daylight.
This week, Dexter, Gareth, and Al meet for appetizers and a show-and-tell at one of Prater’s sprawling estates. Al shares a helmet-mounted GoPro video (“safety first”) of himself killing a woman out on a jog and cutting off her ponytail. Dexter, in turn, opts for truth in his own presentation — well, at least a version of it.
He gives an insightful speech about the Dark Passenger being his true self, while “Red” is the mask he wears before and after kills — an identity that helps him blend into society. Of course, this is coming from Dexter, a sociopath who only pretends to care about others.
The speech wins over Prater, who pulls Dexter aside to reveal the origins of his own obsession with serial killers. It began when a man intentionally crashed his parents’ car, leaving young Prater in the backseat to watch them die. When Prater later confronted his parents’ killer in prison, the man expressed no regret — only the thrill of having been in control. That struck a chord, and Prater realized he felt more kinship with the killer than with his own parents.
Emboldened by the success of his “honesty” with Prater, Dexter decides to do the same with Gareth-B. He reveals that he knows Gareth’s secret — that he’s a twin — and confesses to killing his brother. Enraged, Gareth-B attacks him on the lawn of Prater’s estate, and Dexter shoves a broken glass into his neck in apparent “self-defense” in front of Prater, Al, and Charley. Dexter quickly spins it as an unprovoked attack by a lunatic. And really, who’s going to question him? They’re all serial killers.
Meanwhile, Detective Wallace is cooling slightly on Batista’s theories about Dexter and almost seems ready to chalk Ryan’s death up to Lady Vengeance, but she’s still not convinced, as Mia’s fingerprints weren’t on Ryan’s watch. Batista won’t let go and finally does something he should’ve done weeks ago: he contacts the DMV to find Dexter’s New York address. There, he waits for Dexter at Blessing’s apartment.
Dexter, however, is busy meeting with Harrison, who’s decided to live like a normal teenager and attend college. Dexter tags along on the campus tour, where Harrison hits it off with the tour guide — a sophomore with a mysterious arm injury that will almost certainly resurface. During the tour, they attend a lecture on the New York Ripper given by Detective Wallace. Afterward, Harrison tells her he’s interested in becoming a cop, which delights Dexter.
Dexter also uses the moment to plant seeds with Wallace about Batista, suggesting that he hasn’t been the same since learning his old partner Doakes was the Bay Harbor Butcher and that his wife, Maria, died in the line of duty. The implication: Batista’s judgment is impaired.
When Dexter finally returns home, Batista is waiting upstairs. Dexter offers him a ride, during which Batista confronts him again about being the Bay Harbor Butcher. Dexter warns that if he were, things wouldn’t end well for Batista. Batista says he’ll take his chances. Dexter drops him off on a bridge, but not before Batista leaves his AirPods in Dexter’s car, their GPS tracking still active.
With three episodes left, plenty of loose threads remain. It’s hard to see this ending without either Batista or Dexter dying, and given the show’s title, the odds don’t favor Batista. But first, Dexter has to deal with Al. Let’s hope he takes the time to plan that one properly.
