Getty Actor Michael C. Hall arrives at the Showtime Celebrates 8 Seasons Of "Dexter" at Milk Studios on June 15, 2013 in Hollywood, California.
Dexter’s story came to a shocking conclusion on the “New Blood” Season 1 finale, following an ending to the original show that left fans unsatisfied after the years they spent watching the fictional serial killer kill serial killers.
The finale airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, January 9, 2021, and it became available for streaming at 12:01 a.m. the same day.
Warning: Spoilers are ahead for the Dexter: New Blood finale. Stop reading now if you haven’t seen it and don’t want to know what happened.
While the original series finale left with Dexter swept into a hurricane, the Dexter: New Blood finale, “Sins of the Father,” took a reflective look on Dexter’s character arc and his relationship with his son, Harrison, and it all ended with a bang.
Here’s what you need to know:
‘Dexter Is Dead:’ Said Showrunner Clyde Phillips
Michael C. Hall breaks down ‘Dexter’s’ finale do-over: ‘Be careful what you wish for’
Dexter is actually dead this time, Phillips told Deadline in an exclusive interview. After Dexter was arrested for murder in the show’s finale, he killed Logan (Alano Miller) to escape in a stolen police vehicle and reach Harrison. His son is perplexed when he realizes that his father killed a good person, breaking his own code, and Dexter realizes, too, that he has become like the people he has killed.
Harrison, holding a locked gun, points it at his father.
“I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to you. You deserve better, a better life, a better father,” Dexter tells Harrison. “You have to take the safety off, just like I showed you. This is the only way out.”
Harrison adds, “For both of us,” and pulls the trigger.
Phillips Said He Knew the Show Had to End This Way & Was Grateful for the Opportunity to Have a Second Finale
literally me running to twitter after e10 #DexterNewBlood
Phillips told Deadline in an exclusive interview that he knew Dexter’s story had to end with facing the consequences of his actions, and that he knew Dexter had to die.
Phillips told Deadline:
Yes. We knew this had to happen, and I think it had to happen for the audience as much as for the character. To see him get caught time and time again and get out of it at a time and time again is a disservice to the audience. And I think there’s a certain truth in this storytelling, in authenticity in the storytelling.
So early on when I went to go and speak with Michael, it was about two and a half years ago in early July 2019, I told him my ideas. We met after I received a call from Showtime president Gary Levine who told me they were interested in revisiting this. Michael gave me a big hug and told me, ‘I’m in.’ He knew how this would end.
Phillips told Deadline he was glad they had another chance to conclude Dexter’s story in a way the fans would prefer.
“How often does a show get to do a second finale? I think the answer is never,” Phillips told Deadline. “With the bad taste that the original finale left in everybody’s mouth, we had this rare opportunity to redeem the show and to give the audience the respect it deserves, the authenticity it deserves, and the gratitude for sticking with us. The numbers have been exploding for Showtime, I think we’re their No. 1 asset. I’m so humbled by that.”