DEXTER: NEW BLOOD Ending Explained With Comments From Michael C. Hall And Clyde Phillips - SPOILERS

DEXTER: NEW BLOOD Ending Explained With Comments From Michael C. Hall And Clyde Phillips - SPOILERS

The Dexter: New Blood finale has been generating a lot of discussion on social media, and we're now breaking down the show's ending and taking a closer look at what it might all be leading to next...

By HamiltonParker - Jan 10, 2022 11:01 AM EST
Filed Under: Showtime

Dexter: New Blood's finale aired on Showtime last night, but did Dexter Morgan's story wrap up in a way that finally did the character justice? This series was a do-over after season 8's underwhelming finale, but you've probably already seen a fresh round of backlash on Twitter this morning!

Not everyone was going to be happy, of course, but this ending definitely felt like a fitting one. 

Below, we break down the events of the finale, take a closer look at what might follow, and even share comments from showrunner Clyde Phillips and Dexter himself, Michael C. Hall.

It should go without saying that SPOILERS for Dexter: New Blood follow from this point on...
 

First, A Little Background... 

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Season 8 of Dexter ended with the serial killer sailing into a hurricane with his sister's body to seemingly end his own life. Moments later, however, we'd learn that he survived and had taken on a new identity as a lumberjack, leaving viewers to wonder whether Dex had left his old life behind for a self-imposed exile or if he planned to continue killing, albeit in colder climes. 

When Dexter: New Blood begins, Dexter Morgan has made a fresh start as "Jim Lindsay" in upstate New York, giving up his old, murderous ways. His sister's spectre haunts him, though, and it doesn't take long before he murders again. It's at this point Harrison, the son he left behind with his girlfriend/fellow serial killer Hannah in season 8, shows up looking for his father. 

They struggle to connect, but seemingly bond when Dexter reveals that he has the same Dark Passenger as his son. They kill local mass murderer Kurt Caldwell and look set to become a vigilante team in Los Angeles. However, Harrison clearly isn't fully on board, something that is evident from his reaction to seeing Dexter's pleasure at killing Kurt and watching on as his dad cut the body to pieces.

With that, we reach the finale...
 

A Shocking Conclusion

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A series of unfortunate coincidences lead to Dexter's girlfriend, Angela, connecting him to Matt Caldwell's death and Miami's Bay Harbor Butcher case. He's arrested for Matt's killing and Angela makes it clear she plans to bring his old friend Batista to town and have Dexter - who attempts to gaslight her on multiple occasions - taken back to Miami where he'll ultimately face the death penalty.

Now, Dexter is a cornered animal and kills local cop and Harrison's wrestling coach, Logan, to escape his jail cell. Meeting with Harrison in the woods, the truth about what Dexter has done comes out and the teenager realises his father kills because it's an addiction, not out of any sort of duty to help people. He then tells his dad to "Open your eyes and look at what you've done," a throwback to what Dexter said to the man he killed in the original show's first episode.

Dexter sees many of the innocent people caught in his crossfire over the years and realises that with Logan's death, he's become just like those he's murdered as part of "The Code."
 

Harrison's Dark Passenger

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Upon having this realisation, Dexter comes to terms with the fact that death is his only way out (he's not willing to answer for his crimes) and instructs Harrison exactly where he needs to shoot him.

The prolific serial killer is then gunned down and dies in the snow with the realisation that he finally feels love for the first time (for his son) as Angela arrives. She tells Harrison to leave and never return, and he drives away from the town; however, could the Dark Passenger send him down the same path? It's not outside the realm of possibility; he's shown traits that are quite a bit more sinister than your average messed up kid, and murdered the father he'd just met with relative ease.

That's where we end things, and it's apparent the world will soon learn the truth about Dexter Morgan, something we, unfortunately, don't get to see his old colleagues in Miami reacting to. 
 

Michael C. Hall And Clyde Phillips Comment

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Talking to Deadline, showrunner Clyde Phillips was asked if there's any chance Dexter might have survived that bullet to the chest. "I have three words for you: Dexter is dead," he responded. "I wouldn’t do that to the audience. It would be dishonest. Here, there is no question that this is the finale of Dexter. Dexter is dead."

As for the chances of a continuation that focuses on Harrison, Phillips isn't ruling it out. "It’s up to Showtime to make the call to me if they want more," the producer confirmed. "If they ask me if I’d like to make a continuation of this, I would say yes. I have a lot of things going on but I would drop everything for this and say yes in one second."

Dexter could be Harrison's Dark Passenger in that show, but we're not entirely sure a spinoff would have the same appeal without Michael C. Hall, who recently caught up with The Los Angeles Times and revealed how pleased he is with the finale. "The way the season concludes is one that resonates with me. It feels justifiable. As upsetting as it may be, I hope audiences will appreciate the resonance of Dexter dying this way at the hands of his son."

"People moaned about an ending that was admittedly open-ended and without any sense of closure," he added with a smile. "I guess you have to be careful what you wish for."
 

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ElricReturns
ElricReturns - 1/10/2022, 11:15 AM
Wtf, how did you manage to turn a simple article into a list? Josh, you've out done yourself.
Krav
Krav - 1/10/2022, 11:17 AM
They 'butchered' the finale so hard man , episode 1to9 were fantastic, but episode 10 was a rush to the finish line. i was hoping there was more to it, like kill his GF blame angel batista and run away with his son of what ever not this , this fell flat on its face, insane how wild they couldn't land yet another finale after a decade of thinking about it
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 1/10/2022, 11:41 AM
@Krav - Dexter is insane, he is not evil, killing his girlfriend and blame Batista is not something he would do.
One of the main problems with seasons 5-8 is how out of character he acts, for example, trying to kill Laguerta.
Remember, Dexter wasnt able to kill Doakes because he didnt fit the code.
TheLobster
TheLobster - 1/10/2022, 12:06 PM
@Krav - you’re wrong on so many levels… kill Angela and blame it on Bautista? Lmao

Dexter fans doing mental gymnastics to have Dexter survive in an alternate reality… Dex is dead and it was for the best narratively speaking. Was the finale perfect? Nope. Did I wish an extra 30 minutes was added? Absolutely - but they did executed his death at the hands of Harrison well.
TheLobster
TheLobster - 1/10/2022, 12:07 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - bingo!
RageDriver2401
RageDriver2401 - 1/10/2022, 11:19 AM
I understand that Dexter had to die, it was inevitable, but the way the whole prison break and subsequent death played out felt rushed and weak. The prison break felt very uncharacteristic to me.

Rest of the season was top tier tho.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 1/10/2022, 11:21 AM
I loved it. Way better than the shit finale from season 8.
Mrcool210
Mrcool210 - 1/10/2022, 11:23 AM
I'll say this, this episode in some ways is far worse than the previous attempt at an ending. Dexter acts completely out of character, it was rushed and insanely anti climactic, plus Angela apparently has access to the script cause the evidence she has against dexter is circumstancal at best. However the ending scene itself with Harrison and Dexter is done Way better and the idea is an interesting one. Just like last time.

Season 8s ending and this ending both have the same problem. A good idea executed badly. Season 8s ending didn't work because it's an ending that came out of left field although the idea that dexter after finally gaining the ability to care about people and want them in his life finally loses all of them and is truly alone in every way is a cool idea, but the episode around it and the season as a whole wasn't very good.

Here I like the angle they go a little better, Dexter always knew deep down that what he did hurt the people around him and it killed innocent people, the fact that mind Deb told him that proves that but it's good that he finally let's it come out into the open. And knows that there are no exceptions, everyone will be hurt including his son so in order to truly protect Harrison he has to die.

For most of the season we followed dexter business as usual, but we finally learn from Harrison's point if view how [frick]ed up it all really is and that was refreshing and a good way to show how this is the final season.Honestly if that were say the ending of season 5 or 6 when Harrison was young and it was a conclusion that was built up too properly with the writing skill of season 1 or 4 then I think this sort of idea of an ending would have been one fans liked.

Does this season have issues? Yes. Was it rushed? Yes. Could the stuff with Angela been handelled a hell of a lot better? Oh hell yes. But it did still have interesting ideas, Kurt is one of the best villains we've gotten in the show and the acting from everybody, MCH and the actor for Harrison especially was top notch. This season was not the best but it's certainly not the worst and acting like this ending is the worst thing ever all over again I don't think is entirely fair. Could we have gotten better? Sure. But we got a C+ ending id say. Wish we could have gotten better like the rest of ya but.....it could have been worse.
TheLobster
TheLobster - 1/10/2022, 12:08 PM
@Mrcool210 - I’ll never understand people who say the season 8 ending in 2013 was better.. I simply can’t comprehend it.
theFUZZ008
theFUZZ008 - 1/10/2022, 1:11 PM
@Mrcool210 - Good points. This ending sucked, though.
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 1/10/2022, 11:39 AM
I think the perfect ending was Debra killing him at the end of season 7, but well, this works too.
Not the biggest fan of this being more of an assisted suicide than an actual killing, but again, this works, Dexter always only had to possible outcomes; suicide or being killed by the police, him getting assisted by his son (only person he ever loved) to commit suicide...is ok.
About a spin-off about Harrison...no, a spin-off about Trinity Killer...yes.

Anway, this season acomplished its purpose, which was giving the series a good final...in my eyes, this is season 5.
nonserviam
nonserviam - 1/10/2022, 11:44 AM
JIM, it's J I M, Lindsay. At least try and read the stuff you plagerize.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 1/10/2022, 12:09 PM
Not as bad as the previous finale, but still disappointing that Dexter was taken out by whiny Harrison of all people.
Zer0squad
Zer0squad - 1/10/2022, 12:54 PM
The ending was so [frick]ing stupid. I could come around to understanding that Dexter had to die for his son to have any kind of a shot at life, it sucks but I could get there. Having Harrison resolve all his anger at being abandoned by his father... by killing his father... yup. perfectly logical. That wouldn't [frick] anyone up further. I swear it seems that writers just keep getting dumber and dumber. I dread any kind of reboot or long sitting sequel anymore. Hollywood just shits all over everything good anymore.
theFUZZ008
theFUZZ008 - 1/10/2022, 1:12 PM
Bad ending to an okay series.
NegativeNerd
NegativeNerd - 1/10/2022, 1:26 PM
I'm glad Dexter finally faced consequences for his actions over the last seasons. So at least that happened. I felt like the dude should've died in the previous "final season". But whatever, I surely do hope this is the actual final season. You can only stretch something like this for so long...
MuadDib
MuadDib - 1/10/2022, 1:36 PM
Actors who play a role for too long get a hard on to kill the character, seems to always happen.

See Ford’s Solo, or even Craig’s Bond.

Personally, I would have preferred Angela find Kurt’s museum and come to grips with Dex doing more good then bad.

Harrison’s story was trash, idc what anyone says.

Lastly, the show could have easily have gone on, even if it had Dexter on the run in LA. Isn’t the ultimate goal to bring in viewers? This had an established fan base. Killing him off wasn’t necessary, although it does give some closure. I feel like M.C. Hall had some input.

Good luck with the singing career 🤣 jk

RIP Dexter Morgan, a hero among monsters.
mgeoff88
mgeoff88 - 1/10/2022, 1:51 PM
I knew that it was inevitable for Dexter’s story to end with him either being killed off, or ending up in prison.

As sad as I am to see the character go, this felt like a fitting finale. The original finale was so rushed and felt like a huge cop out. I’m glad Clyde Phillips and Michael C. Hall were given the chance to do a proper finale for Dexter.

One of the things that did bug me, was Dexter killing Logan. That was just so out of character. I understand that was a catalyst for Harrison to turn against Dexter, but that didn’t sit well with me.

Also, it is kind of interesting that the end credits showed Harrison driving through the night. It’s almost like they were teasing that his story will go on.
hainesy
hainesy - 1/10/2022, 3:31 PM
Hated Dexter killing Coach and the episode went downhill from there. But I'm good with the ending. Lots of possibility to continue. Have it focused on Harrison and bring back Michel C. Hall as the ghost of Dexter giving him advice like Harry did in early seasons and Deb did this season.
Minghagz
Minghagz - 1/10/2022, 3:45 PM
It was Jim Lindsay not Jeff Lindsay. Jeff Lindsay is the name of the author who wrote the novels
Kadara
Kadara - 1/10/2022, 10:54 PM
That seems more fitting conclusion for Dexter: it was always about his dark passenger versus his family, seems apt they came head to head. Now the countdown begins for HBO to fix Game of Thrones lol!
bigdannymac
bigdannymac - 1/11/2022, 5:51 PM
@HamiltonParker Who is "Jeff Lindsay"? Proof reading is your friend.
Tufasrox
Tufasrox - 1/19/2022, 2:31 PM
Why did you guys remove the "see full list" button again??? Bring it back! It's annoying having to click next every time.
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