Despite the obvious resurgence of Dexter’ popularity in the wake of New Blood and Original Sin (RIP), it is Resurrection that has done the most to reinvigorate the franchise in the eyes of longtime fans.
While the first season has sported an impressive run of strong episodes, I believe it is the penultimate episode - titled ’Touched by an Ángel’ - that has tipped the scales so that Dexter can officially reclaim its status as one of the best TV dramas of all time. It’s a tightly wound and earth-shattering episode that pulls no punches; Strongly reminiscent of the beloved (and gut wrenching) season four finale. Read on for my full review and analysis.
EPISODE RECAP
Before we jump into the analysis, let’s take a look at the most important story developments in the episode:
- Dexter has a private chat with Leon Prater and warns him to stay away from Harrison if he wishes to continue their relationship. After the confrontation, Dexter and Harrison flee the restaurant out the back door as he explains everything about Prater’s “club.”
- As Dexter is talking to Prater outside the restaurant, Batista photographs them together from across the street. He continues to tail Dexter and Harrison when they leave the restaurant but eventually loses track of him.
- Charley traps Harrison by requesting room service at the hotel and then interrogates him about his history and relationship with “Red.” Harrison does an admirable job of navigating the situation but inadvertently gives Charley additional clues that could lead her to Dexter’s true identity.
- Upon finding out about Charley’s overreach, Dexter ambushes her from the backseat of her car. He uses Red’s Gigli Saw and threats against her mother to demonstrate how serious he is about staying away from Harrison. She reveals that everything she does is on Prater’s orders and she is powerless against him because he is paying for in-home care for her dying mother.
- Batista is reprimanded for his deception by Detectives Wallace and Oliva. He makes one last plea to them about Dexter but is told to leave town and turn over his shield.
- Prater is enamored by Charley’s close call with Red and then demonstrates the ruthless hold he has over her and the utter disregard he has for her safety by making plans to meet with “Red” alone to clear the air.
- Batista notices a promotionaal poster for Prater’s Gala, recognizes him from the photos he took with Dexter, and thinks he is in danger. Angel pays a visit to Leon’s residence and tries to warn him by exposing Dexter as the Bay Harbor Butcher to Leon and Charley.
- When Dexter arrives to take out Prater, he is led to the vault where Prater springs his trap. Prater is thrilled to find out Dexter’s real identity and offers to become his beneficiary; Providing Dexter with a steady supply of Serial Killers as long as he can be a spectator to his kills. The price of admission… Dexter must kill Batista who has been captured and subdued on a kill table inside the vault.
- After Dexter frees him from the kill table, Batista turns on Dexter and attacks; letting his rage and frustration get the better of him. At the last moment, Batista is shot multiple times by Prater.
- After Prater flees and locks the vault, Dexter tries his best offer closure to Batista as he lies dying on the floor. Despite his admissions, Batista reminds Dexter that regardless of whether or not he killed Doakes and LaGuerta, they are still dead because of him. His last words offer no forgiveness or redemption; prompting Dexter let out a primal scream of rage.
"You’re part of my world now."
Episode nine opens with Dexter once again realizing the inevitability of his reality; That no matter how hard he tries, his secret life will always be at risk of boiling over into his family life. It’s a lesson he has been forced to learn the hard way numerous times but throughout this season, he has traveled a slightly different road and found more success than ever before. Despite that, Leon and Charley have finally uncovered his most coveted secret and Dexter is forced into action once again to protect those he holds most dear.
The irony of the situation is that despite his resources and determination, Prater still doesn’t understand the extent of Dexter’s deception at this point. On top of that, he still values Red’s friendship enough to dismiss the apparent betrayal (lie by omission) as long as he can re-assert his dominance in the relationship. As the episode unfurls, it becomes clear that underneath the likeable facade and apparent interest in philanthropy, Prater thrives on power over others and that makes him just as dangerous as any killer on Dexter’s table.
If you ask me, the complexity and uncertainty that surrounds Prater is the brilliant underpinning of this entire season. The fact that it has been quite difficult to truly classify him as a villain despite the obvious clues (billionaire, creepy obsession, etc) only serves to make him a more compelling adversary. As the events leading into the finale unfold, the blurred lines truly start to come into focus for Dexter and for the audience simultaneously. The transformation is subtle, brilliantly executed, and it absolutely wrecked me by the time the dust had settled.
"I’m not going soft on Charley."
Much like Prater, a lot of mystery has swirled around the character of Charley throughout the season. She’s tenacious, incredibly effective in her job, and deadly when she needs to be. At the same time, it has been hard to suss out her true nature. While she clearly has a complicated relationship to Prater and his “club,” her willingness to go along with it has made her just as complex as Prater himself.
Episode nine finally puts Charley on a collision course with Dexter and ultimately sets the record straight. Following on the heels of the revelations at the restaurant, Charley orchestrates a meeting with Harrison so she can interrogate him about his relationship to Red. Despite his best efforts, Harrison ultimately lets a few details slip and brings Charley even closer to uncovering his true identity. Unfortunately for her, the not-so-subtle threat of violence toward Harrison puts Dexter on a warpath against Charley.
The showdown that ensues will easily be remembered as one of the best moments of the season. Dexter digs into his old bag of tricks and ambushes her from the backseat of her car with Red’s Gigli Saw. It’s an intense confrontation that renders Charley helpless for the first time but ultimately helps to reveal her true motivations and the true nature of her relationship to Prater. As it turns out, she has been ruthlessly manipulated by Prater who continues to fund her ailing mother’s healthcare as long as she continues to do his bidding and keep his confidence.
The beauty of this moment is that through the language of violence, Dexter and Charley ultimately learn a lot about each other; possibly even setting the stage for shifting loyalties and maybe even an alliance further down the road. Understanding her plight and the obligation she feels towards Prater despite his sick proclivities leads Dexter to ultimately let her off with a harsh warning. At the same time, Charley sees hints of Dexter’s unique moral code shining through when he explains that he wouldn’t hurt her mother. Like most of the season, this scene felt carefully constructed to lead these two characters towards something important.
"This is what Dexter does."
Despite Wallace’s obvious strengths as a Detective, her weakness lies in her inability to look beyond physical evidence in a case. Unfortunately for Angel, his case against Dexter is rooted in circumstantial evidence and hearsay. As a result, Angel is ordered to hand over his shield and leave town or risk arrest. It’s another tragic reminder of Dexter’s injustices because Angel has always been the human blueprint that Dexter aspired to. In a lot of ways, he was one of the strongest links Dexter ever had to his true humanity. However, considering the injustices that Batista now holds Dexter responsible for, it’s no surprise that he refuses to leave town empty handed.
After snapping photos of Dexter with Prater together and subsequently seeing Prater in a photo for the upcoming NYPD gala, Batista moves to intercept. He stops by Prater’s residence on the way out of town to issue a warning and hopefully expose Dexter to someone who will listen. The revelation brings a smile to Prater’s face and ultimately ends Dexter’s charade just as he is preparing to make his final move. Of course, this brilliant maneuver by Batista, rooted in the desire to do what is right, ultimately transforms him into yet another piece of collateral damage in Dexter’s wake.
"Red’s last visit"
As Dexter arrives at Prater’s house under the guise of accepting his invitation for a private chat, Prater springs a trap and reveals that he finally understands what has been happening. Dexter’s identity as the Bay Harbor Butcher is finally out in the open and despite the obvious deceit, Prater’s response is nothing short of jubilation; the ecstatic reaction of a passionate collector who has stumbled upon the crown jewel of his collection. To make matters worse, Prater leads him into his vault where he reveals a twisted (but tempting) proposal with a shocking price tag.
Throughout this season, Dexter’s life has been noticeably smoother since his brush with death. As a killer, he has been operating at peak efficiency and as a father, he has found a way to step up and have a positive impact on Harrison against all odds. In all honesty, this season has been riddled with fun scenarios but when it comes to true conflict or danger, it is clear that the writers have opted to play the slow-game. As Dexter steps into the vault at gunpoint, that illusion of security evaporates in an instant when he sees that Batista has been captured and laid out on a kill table; an intended sacrifice that is meant to seal the proposed partnership between Dexter and Prater.
"There’s no coming back from this."
Batista’s predicament is a shocking reveal that felt almost as devastating as seeing Rita’s lifeless body in season four. Dexter is now faced with a horrific choice: Kill Batista and sell any remnant of a soul that he has or free him in the hopes that his heroic act will be enough to win Batista’s loyalty (if they survive the ensuing chaos). Given what we know about Dexter and his keen survival instinct, the question immediately becomes whether Dexter can resist temptation and risk his freedom in the name of proving to his son (and the audience) that he’s a character worth rooting for.
When the moment of truth finally arrives, Dexter follows through with his newfound determination; he risks everything and frees Batista from the restraints. Fueled by rage, frustration, and probably an overwhelming sense of inevitability, Batista turns on Dexter and ceases his final opportunity to take him down; probably knowing that he won’t make it out of that room alive. In those final moments before the gunshots ring out, Dexter almost seems content to meet his end at the hands of Batista. As difficult as it is to watch or accept, the sense of closure that I felt when the dust had settled reminded me of what was missing from the New Blood finale.
Of course, Prater’s intervention brings Angel to a tragic end and leaves Dexter to once again face the consequences of his actions. Prater flees and locks Dexter in the vault with Batista as he bleeds out on the floor. With only moments left, Dexter makes sure that Batista dies knowing that he was right about him. In a way, it almost feels honorable until he tries to deny any accountability for the deaths of Doakes and LaGuerta. An ignorant claim that prompts Batista to leave Dexter with one final lesson: that even if he didn’t do the deed, their blood (as well as his own) is still on his hands. Angel takes his final breath and the episode ends as Dexter lets out a gut wrenching scream (a chilling callback to my favorite moment from the original series in season 5, episode 1).
If you ask me, “Touched by an Ángel” is destined to be remembered as one of the greatest episodes of Dexter (or maybe TV in general) ever. It is packed full of incredible performances and shocking twists that ultimately set the stage for a momentous send-off for one of the series’ most beloved characters. If there was any question before as to whether Dexter: Resurrection was pulling any punches, that notion should cease to exist now. With only one episode remaining and with Dexter’s rage pointed squarely at Prater, the finale seems poised cement this debut season as one of the greatest in Dexter history.
Score: 10 out of 10