The deleted scene many fans already know about had a much larger story behind it.
In television and film, scrapped scenes are a very common thing. Writing teams constantly revise ideas, cutting moments that end up not serving the story the way they supposed to. What’s even more frustrating, and surprisingly common, is when a scene makes it all the way to production, actual time and money are spent filming it, and it still ends up being deleted because it disrupts the flow of an episode.
That’s exactly what happened during the first season of Dexter: Resurrection. And what makes this case especially exciting is that we now know exactly what one of those scrapped scenes involved. That kind of behind-the-scenes insight rarely comes out, and even more rarely does it connect so directly to footage we may already recognize from trailers and featurettes.
The revelation came from executive producer and director Marcos Siega, who is set to return and direct six episodes of Dexter: Resurrection Season 2. During a recent appearance on The Dark Passengers: A Dexter Podcast, Siega shared details about a major action sequence that was originally planned to take place in the heart of New York City, before...being scrapped for practical and logistical reasons.
According to Siega, the sequence was ambitious, and although fragments of it briefly appeared in promotional material, the full scene ultimately landed on the cutting room floor. It was definitely a tough call, especially because the scene worked beautifully on the page. But what was it really about?
Well, it revolved around Dexter’s car being stolen, and if that is not enough, one of his victims was actually hidden in the trunk!
The writers envisioned what Siega described as a full-scale car chase, with vehicles speeding down sidewalks, cutting through side streets, driving the wrong way, and narrowly avoiding oncoming trucks. It was meant to be intense, and of course cinematic, but...the main problem was none other than New York City itself. Certain streets couldn’t be closed, permits became a nightmare, and the reality of filming a sequence like that, actually meant it simply couldn’t live up to what had been written.
Beyond the spectacle, the scene was crucial for character development, particularly for Blessing Kamara. While Dexter was frantic about recovering the car, Blessing would have been navigating the chaos with calm. The chase was designed to show, not tell, that Blessing actually thrives even under big pressure. What is more interesting is that through his actions, hte audience would have learned about his past as a child soldier and the training he endured.
Eventually, it became clear that forcing the sequence would only result in a compromised version of the idea. So what happened is that showrunners Clyde Phillips and Scott Reynolds reworked the material into a different scene that still reached the same narrative endpoint without the car chase. In this revised, and ultimately deleted, version, the story jumps ahead to Dexter arriving just as a group of men are about to open the trunk of his stolen car and discover the body inside.
That moment was actually visible in one of the early behind-the-scenes featurettes released ahead of the Season 1 premiere. While the identity of that victim remains unknown, it really depends on which episode that scene was supposed to take place, something that Siega did not reveal.
What happens in the deleted scene has Blessing leaps out of the car and charges at the men wielding a sword, handling it with a high level of skill. The men panic and flee, while Dexter watches in stunned silence, clearly questioning where this side of Blessing came from. Even without the chase, it was still meant to be a major character beat, reinforcing how capable, and potentially dangerous, Blessing really is.
See a GIF of that scene, below:
When it comes to the reasons it was deleted, Siega admitted he was disappointed with how the sequence ultimately played out, not because of the performances or the concept, but because of the creative limitations imposed by real-world logistics. He initially included the scene in his cut, but as the team focused on tightening the pacing, it became something they felt comfortable removing entirely.
What matters the most is that in the end, the cut didn’t alter the story that much. The audience still gets a clear understanding of who Blessing is, thanks to the quieter and much more emotional basement scene between him and Dexter in Episode 6, “Cats & Mouse,” which takes place moments after Dexter kills Gareth #1. That exchange delivers the same character depth without actually resorting to heavy exposition, while also maintaining the tension surrounding the near-discovery of the body in the bathtub.
Ultimately, this story highlights just how much work goes into shaping an episode before it ever reaches viewers. In Blessing Kamara’s case, while a high-octane New York City car chase would have been awesome to watch, its absence doesn’t actually hurt the season. Also, it is important to add that Dexter: Resurrection proves that it doesn’t need massive and expensive action set pieces to make an impact, relying instead on other things to leave its mark.
What do you think? Would you have preferred to see the original version of that scene, or are you satisfied with what ultimately made it to screen?