Dexter: Cold Snap

"You're looking at the guy where secrets go to die."

It's ten years later, and Dexter Morgan has a clean, snow-covered life. Except that he's marking off days on a calendar. You don't do that when you're happy.

Outwardly, Dexter has become the person he always pretended to be. He lives in the opposite of Miami – a picture-postcard small town in New York where everyone knows and likes him because he brings them donuts. He exercises by running through the woods with a rifle where he always spots and doesn't kill a gorgeous white buck. He keeps a variety of farm animals at his remote cabin that literally eat out of his hand.

And he works at Fred's Fish and Game, the local sporting goods store. For me, that said it all. Dexter the serial killer works all day with guns and knives, much like an alcoholic who gives up the booze but continues to work as a bartender. Dexter hasn't recovered or changed. He's just fighting his need to kill.

Dexter's choice of girlfriend is interesting. Angela Bishop is the local sheriff, not that surprising since Dexter is comfortable with cops and has never lacked for nerve. But Angela isn't a blonde victim like Rita, Lumen, Laura Moser. She's very like Deb – a sassy cop with long, dark hair who actively helps others. I was somewhat surprised that Angela didn't have an epic foul mouth to go with it, but that would have been too on the nose.

Speaking of Deb, isn't there something super creepy about her? The ghost of Harry was Dexter's conscience, a clever plot device that allowed Dexter to work out his internal issues in dialogue with another excellent actor. But the ghost of Deb is the personification of Dexter's guilt; she is literally nightmare-inducing. I've always loved Deb. I'm not sure how I feel about her now.

And so far, Harrison is a complete mystery. How did he find Dexter hiding in Iron Lake? What was Harrison's childhood in Argentina like? Did Hannah raise him, and what happened to her? I hope that Harrison isn't a killer, but I suspect he is, because this is a series about a serial killer and plotting is like that. Jack Alcott looks nothing like the previous small Harrisons, but he does look like Michael C. Hall. Points for that.

We all knew Dexter would lose his cool, so to speak, and kill someone, just like we knew that gorgeous white deer would die bloody. Matt Caldwell had "Dexter victim" written all over him, especially after the revelation that he killed five people in a rager boat crash. He was such a jerk, too, throwing his weight around in Fred's Fish and Game by insisting on buying the biggest, most expensive weapon in the store, scaring his buddy Bill with a knife, calling Dexter a saint and an Eagle Scout. As always with this show, it's fun to be in on the joke about the quiet and courteous clerk at the counter.

The voiceover returned as soon as Dexter killed Matt, along with "Tonight's the night," the first line in the series. But things have changed. No slides, no trophies, no convenient ocean dumping ground. And Dexter left bloodstains on the clean white snow.

After a ten year hiatus, has Dexter lost his edge, pun intended? I guess I could ask the same about Dexter the show. I hope he hasn't. The cop shop is dealing with lost sheep and stolen pecan pies, so someone has to solve the case of all those missing women.

Bits:

— Unsurprisingly, Michael C. Hall fell back into the part as if he never left. Yes, he looks a little older, but don't we all? His James Lindsay driver's license gave his year of birth as 1974.

— The calendar Dexter marked gave the date as December 8, 2021. Did they maybe move up the premiere?

— It's "rich asshole season." I grew up in a tourist town and can relate.

— Speaking of which, no Clancy Brown yet. His character's name is Kurt Caldwell, which means that he's Matt Caldwell's father. Of course.

— The old Dexter didn't do Christmas often. Well, maybe once. There were many tasteful Christmas trappings in Iron Lake: evergreens, white lights.

— Loved the line dancing. Particularly that it included Esther from the cop shop (Katy Sullivan), a double amputee, with no mention. Doctor Who did the same thing last week. Are we finally getting to a better place with this stuff?

— Title musings: "Cold Snap" is wonderful pun. It was cold, and Dexter snapped.

— FYI, if you weren't following Doux Reviews years ago, I reviewed every episode of the original Dexter when it aired. I just rewatched the entire series, so hopefully I won't miss all the easter eggs.

Quotes:

Logan: "Keeping Iron Lake safe, one pie at a time."

Harrison: "If you don't want me, fucking say it."
Deb: "Doakes. LaGuerta. Rita. (Pulls a bullet out of her own abdomen.) Me. Everyone."

Dexter: (to Matt) "You're blaming this on bad parenting?"
Not mentioned but we all remember how Dexter lost his mother.

I was worried this reboot wouldn't be good, but it is undeniably Dexter and I enjoyed it. There was a ton of intriguing set-up. I don't know where they're going, but I'm happy to go along for the ride.

Three out of four donuts,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

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