Revival series Dexter: New Blood sees the title character living a fairly normal life - which is augmented by repeating one of the original series’ best gags. The original Dexter saw serial killer Dexter Morgan desperately trying to blend in and make himself appear normal to those around him, a difficult feat for a sociopath needing to cover up his murderous secret identity. While starting a family with Rita and Harrison, keeping a close relationship with his sister Deb and working for the police were helpful covers, there was only one “normal” activity, which became a recurring gag, that Dexter genuinely enjoyed.
Aside from serial killing, Dexter’s life in New Blood episode 1 is similar to the original series. He has a girlfriend, a job, is popular around town and goes line dancing at the local tavern - it’s almost like he never had a Dark Passenger to begin with. While the surface of Dexter’s New Blood routine is quaint and normal, Deb’s Dark Passenger and Harrison returning make his old self flood back, reminding himself that he’s Dexter Morgan, not Jim Lindsay. Living such a quiet life is almost a betrayal of Dexter’s widely hated original series ending, which is part of why Harrison is so angry when he finally finds his father.
While he's a self-professed “evolved” man in Dexter: New Blood, one thing hasn’t changed - he’s still an amazing bowler. Dexter: New Blood repeats one of the best gags from the original series in that he was a highly skilled bowler, serving as an asset to Miami Dade PD’s winning team. Bowling was one of the only ways that Dexter knew how to connect with people and enjoy a normal activity outside of work or killing, so it’s not surprising he used it to connect with Iron Lake's characters. Not only is Dexter playing on Fred’s Fish & Game team, but he’s also still wearing the tacky bowling shirts, trading in Miami's blue color for Iron Lake's green.
Interestingly enough, Dexter’s talent for bowling is what led Harrison to find him. Harrison reveals in Dexter: New Blood episode 2 that for years he had no leads on “Jim Lindsay,” having tracked down his Oregon lumber yard only to discover he left with no new information. Later on, Harrison was looking up Jim Lindsay on Instagram and saw he was tagged in a picture from Fred celebrating “Jim’s” bowling accomplishments. So not only did Dexter: New Blood repeat the original series best gag with his bowling habit, it also made it a plot point as it was this activity that exposed his identity online.
Dexter isn't keeping trophies for his kills anymore, but memorializing his other pastimes is just as dangerous. The picture posted was Fred bragging about Dexter rolling an impressive 300, which isn’t the type of low profile Dexter needs to be keeping. Being a bowling aficionado is quite the accomplishment, but he needs to downplay his skills unless he wants more people seeing Dexter’s face in New Blood’s Iron Lake. It also wouldn’t be surprising if Harrison ended up adopting Dexter’s skills for the sport considering Dexter discovered his biological father was an avid bowler - it may just be in their blood.