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SPOILER WARNING! This article will contain spoilers for ‘Cold Snap’ - the first episode of Dexter: New Blood. For a full episode recap, you can find Nick Henderson’s latest analysis here.
On Sunday, November 7th, Dexter finally returned to our screens, and along with it an abundance of excitement from fans worldwide who were gripped to their seats for the hour-long premiere. Amongst all the thrills, kills, and dancing goats there were a lot of clever easter eggs and callbacks to the original series sprinkled throughout ‘Cold Snap’, and as the new kid on the DexterDaily block, I’m here to break them down.
Jim Lindsay
The snow-covered, New York town of Iron Lake is certainly a striking contrast to warm and vibrant Miami, and with a new town comes a new alias for Dexter Morgan. This time the moniker he’s chosen is Jim Lindsay - a direct homage to author, Jeff Lindsay who penned the novel ‘Darkly Dreaming Dexter’ which inspired the series.
Butcher
During the early minutes of the episode we see a familiar sight - Dexter tending to his kill tools and one could easily assume that tonight’s the night. That is until friendly neighbourhood Jim Lindsey takes a drive into town and delivers the knives and hatchets to a local butcher. A nod to Miami’s infamous Bay Harbour Butcher.
Familiar Names - New Faces
On his way to work, the small-town nature of Iron Lake is established as Jim greets everybody on the street, including three high schoolers called Becca, Scott and Zack. Becca and Scott are an ode to the Trinity Killer - Becca being his daughters' name and Scott the name of a victim. Zack was the name of Dexter’s young protégée in season 8.
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Chair Spin
Some habits die hard and fans were happy to see Dex start idly spinning in his chair after he’d arrived at his workplace, Fred’s Fish and Game Store - much akin to how he’d spin in his chair while pondering over blood splatter reports and crime scene photos at Miami Metro.
Breakfast Delivery
One of the most beloved routines from the original early seasons was Dexter’s duty as the doughnut guy - supplying sweet treats to his Miami Metro coworkers every morning. It seems his affinity for this breakfast ritual was reaffirmed in ‘Cold Snap’ as he delivers a box of Strawberry doughnuts to his boss.
Speaking of his boss, Fred Junior, it turns out his partner is called Brian. A tribute to the first big bad of the series - the Ice Truck Killer, and Dexter’s departed brother, Brian Moser.
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‘I haven't killed any animals since I was a teenager.'
We’re first introduced to Matt Caldwell when he walks into Fred’s Fish and Game with the intention of buying a new hunting knife and gun. When a nine thousand dollar rifle catches his eye, Jim informs him it's more firepower than he’ll need to hunt anything around Iron Lake. Matt asks what Jim personally hunts and he’s met with the revolution that Jim hasn’t killed any animals since he was a teenager. Harking back to Dexter’s dark beginnings.
Caldwell’s Crime
When Dexter gets a hunch that Matt may be more sinister than he seems, it’s soon revealed that the wall street worker was directly responsible for the deaths of five people while drunkenly driving a boat. Very similar to Matt Chambers repeated drunk driving offences that lead to the deaths of multiple people, featured in season 1, episode 2 ‘Crocodile Tears.'
‘I’m Switzerland’
Throughout the original run, Dexter largely stayed away from internal conflicts between those around him, instead opting to deem himself as Switzerland - a neutral party stuck between two warring countries. Turns out he’s still Switzerland in New Blood.
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Ham and Hot Sauce
The classic Dexter opening credits sequence, where our favourite antihero gets ready for the day, was noticeably absent from the New Blood premiere. However, there is a scene halfway through the episode where, as Deb’s instructing him to stick to his routine and stay away from Matt Caldwell, Dex is cooking some ham for breakfast. A small callback to the original morning routine that made up the credits for the original eight seasons.
Going forward, showrunner, Clyde Phillips, has teased that, rather than having cohesive opening credits like the original show, each episode of New Blood will have a unique title sequence.
Tonight’s The Night
The other glaring omission for the majority of 'Cold Snap' was the lack of Dexter’s iconic voice over. Without his inner monologue, there was a distinct silence filling the episode with an eerie, unfamiliar presence. Something was missing.
Thankfully fans could breathe a collective sigh of relief and cheers of joy when Jim Lindsay finally gave into the Dark Passenger, and Dexter Morgan truly returned. After Caldwell shamelessly shoots the gorgeous Albino Deer Dexter had been tracking, he finally snaps, and the moment he decides to end Matt’s life is the moment the beloved voiceover finally cuts through the unbearable silence.
Dexter makes quick work of setting up a kill room. He wakes Matt and interrogates him, demanding an admission of his past crimes that have led to him lying on the bay harbour butcher’s table. Finally, he raises the knife and does the deed. With his Dark Passenger awake and in control, Dexter savours his first kill in 10 years, his inner voice declaring ‘Tonight’s the Night.’
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Hello, Dexter Morgan
The cherry on top of the electric kill scene is Dexter catching a post-kill glimpse of himself reflected in broken glass and saying ’Hello Dexter Morgan.’ The very words the Trinity Killer uttered when he discovered Dexter’s identity in season 4.
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‘Hey You'
Finally, we get one more callback to the early days when Dexter’s phone rings. It’s Angela calling so he picks up with the words ‘Hey you’ the same endearing way he’d answer Rita’s calls, once again paying homage to a beloved original character and the show's early seasons.
Overall, ‘Cold Snap’ gave viewers a lot to love and some great callbacks and easter eggs to find. If this premiere is an indication of what’s to come then New Blood is going to be a wild, bloody rollercoaster.