In the upcoming Dexter: New Blood, season 9 of the popular Showtime serial killer drama, Dexter's ever-present Dark Passenger will now be his sister Deb, and things are going to be different. While fans were largely disappointed by the Dexter's series finale in 2013, the new season will aim to set the show back on track. Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter will be returning as Dexter and Deb, joined by John Lithgow as the infamous Trinity Killer and Jack Alcott as Dexter's son Harrison, now grown up.
The plot detail that has taken most viewers by surprise is the removal of Dexter's Dark Passenger Harry (James Remar), Dexter's father and the personification of his moral compass for all eight seasons of the original run. This week, it was revealed on Showtime's Dexter press tour that Deb would indeed be replacing Harry. This has led to much speculation on how the switch might represent the state of Dexter's psyche at the beginning of the new season, and showrunner Clyde Phillips (who has returned after helming the first four seasons) has decided to throw in some tantalizing new details.
Speaking with Variety, Phillips explained how Deb's guidance of Dexter is going to occupy much more of a grey area. She's going to honestly assess how Harry's behavior toward Dexter was abusive, and ask him to face the consequences of his actions. Essentially, she is going to be closer to an actual conscience than Harry was ever capable of being. Whether or not Dexter will listen to her remains to be seen. Read the full quote here:
Deb’s character says later in a later episode, basically what Harry did could be considered child abuse. To take your son who you’ve rescued from being born in blood and who’s out killing dogs in the neighborhood and then channeling him to use his force for good and go out and kill bad people is not the healthiest psychiatric situation to be in. And I think Deb…represents a corner of Dexter’s mind that we all have in our own heads that says, "Well, wait a minute. If you do this, then here are the consequences and then you decide whether or not to do it whether or not to pursue it."
Jennifer Carpenter is excited to rejoin Dexter in this new capacity, exploring how the Dark Passenger is not just an angel on his shoulder but an active character who can "manipulate" and "navigate him." Seeing Deb as Dexter's Dark Passenger may be a shock to some longtime viewers, but this new season has certainly found an interesting angle to walk back her much-maligned series finale death without violating continuity. Plus, giving Dexter a more reasonable inner voice will change the texture of the show greatly, making any violent acts he may or may not perpetrate seem even more harrowing in contrast.
It certainly seems like this season, Dexter: New Blood, is gearing up to put Dexter in greater conflict with his dark urges. This new presence influencing him will certainly make the season infinitely more complicated, whichever way it shakes out. Season 9, which will only be 10 episodes and cover a time span of about two weeks of Dexter's life, certainly seems like it is going to be a tense reevaluation of a complicated character.
Dexter: New Blood will debut on Showtime on Sunday, Nov. 7th at 9 p.m. ET.
Source: Variety