Harrison must be the one to kill his father in Dexter: New Blood, which would create a satisfying conclusion to the returning series. Showtime is reviving Dexter for a 9th season after the original finale was plagued by poor critical reception. Dexter: New Blood is a shot at redemption for the award-winning antihero series, as well as a direct storyline continuation set to pick up 10 years after Dexter's escape from Miami.
Many familiar characters return in various capacities for the Dexter reboot, including Dexter's sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) as his new Dark Passenger and his teenage son Harrison played by newcomer Jack Alcott. Harrison was first introduced as an infant, his burgeoning personality growing across the show's original eight seasons to display similar pathological traits to Dexter. Harrison will arrive in New Blood as a 17-year-old looking to reconcile with his father after a decade away from the former blood-spatter analyst.
For Dexter: New Blood to avoid the pitfalls of its previous finale, Harrison must be the one to kill Dexter. The new series name foreshadows a satisfying conclusion to the long-running Dexter saga, with Harrison finally providing the showrunners with a realistic option to best the protagonist and take over his father's mantle. Harrison killing Dexter would also open up the possibility of a spin-off series where Dexter has endured to become Harrison's Dark Passenger.
The title of Dexter season 9, New Blood, is a nod to Harrison's lineage as much as it is a signifier of further violence in the show. While details are scarce on concrete plot points for season 9, what is clear is that Harrison finds his father a decade after being abandoned in Miami. Harrison's evolution as a killer was foreshadowed in the original Dexter series, with Harrison found lying in a pool of his mother's blood, mirroring the key event that formed the cornerstone of Dexter's psyche as a baby. Harrison is also shown harming children he plays with in later seasons, pointing to his already violent tendencies. The assumption, then, is that Harrison needs his father to teach him his place in the world, just as Harry did for Dexter prior to the reboot.
Harrison killing his father at the end of New Blood would provide the satisfying conclusion to Dexter's arc that the character deserves. Dexter fleeing Miami in the series finale was not a believable end to the story, given his overriding compulsion to kill. The tragic ending scene of brooding serial killer Dexter alone in a log cabin implied there would be more character development off-screen, which fans of the show would be loathed to miss. Harrison returning to kill his father adds a finality to the end of New Blood and completes Dexter's self-fulfilling prophecy of his failure to shield Harrison from his own pathology. This ending would also set up a new Harrison narrative in which Dexter is his son's Dark Passenger. Having Dexter embody Harrison's murderous urges and be his Dark Passenger would make for incredibly compelling TV. While there will be many hoping Dexter can deftly slip the noose once again in the reboot, the most satisfying end to Dexter: New Blood would see Harrison prophetically stepping into his father's shoes to conclude the show.
Dexter: New Blood will debut on Showtime on Sunday, Nov. 7th at 9 p.m. ET.