Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 Recap & Ending Explained | Must Watch Before Season 2

Dexter Morgan somehow survived being shot by his own son. Now, after a ten-week coma, he's back. And so is his dark passenger. But Dexter: Resurrection throws him into a deadly game involving serial killers, secret societies, and one particularly persistent ghost from the past. Let's recap Harrison's trouble. Dexter survives being shot in Dexter: New Blood. The cold slows his body's functioning, preventing him from bleeding out. He wakes from coma, during which he sees visions of people from his past urging him to keep living. Meanwhile, Harrison has escaped to New York City and is working as a bellhop at the Empire Hotel. There, he gives in to his own dark urges when he murders Ryan Foster, a sexual predator attempting to rape a drugged hotel guest. Iron Lake cop Teddy Reed and Angel Batista visit Dexter in the hospital and reveal that his ex, chief of police Angela Bishop, has left town. She recanted her allegation that Dexter was the Bay Harbor Butcher. Angela's parting note explains that this was her way of repaying Dexter for solving the murder of her friend Iris. But Batista isn't buying it. He still suspects Dexter is a serial killer and has him legally declared alive. Then Dexter hears familiar details about Foster's body being cut into nine pieces. That's the technique he taught Harrison. And suddenly, Dexter knows exactly what happened. Despite his weakened condition, he escapes the hospital and heads to New York to find his son. Blood on the trail, Dexter investigates the hotel crime scene and cleans up the blood spatter evidence Harrison missed. His dark passenger, appearing as his deceased adoptive father Harry, urges him to guide his son. Dexter, however, is reluctant to upend Harrison's life. He would rather protect him from a distance. Reclaiming his real identity, Dexter starts his new life. He then meets Blessing, a Uber rideshare driver who becomes his friend. During one conversation, Dexter learns about a serial killer known as the Dark Passenger, who is targeting rideshare drivers. Naturally, Dexter identifies his next target, Ronald Red Schmidt. But something has changed. Instead of immediately following his code, Dexter chooses to save Red's next victim and becomes a Uber driver himself to lure Red in eventually. Meanwhile, Angel learns Dexter's location and announces his sudden retirement from the Miami Metro Police Department. The Killer Encounter Dexter's new career as a driver gets off to a rough start, but Blessing helps him fix things. He even takes Dexter in as a tenant and introduces him to his family. Dexter bonds with them in his own very Dexter way. He even undergoes acupuncture from Blessing's daughter, Joy, which helps restore his physical strength. And once his body starts recovering, he gets himself some new kill tools from the internet. Harrison, meanwhile, grows closer to his co-worker Elsa and her little son. Then the walls begin closing in. Harrison was the last person to see Foster and wasn't seen leaving the hotel that night, making him the prime suspect. Harrison reluctantly reveals that he has been squatting in vacant hotel rooms with Elsa's help, giving himself an alibi. Dexter is making moves of his own. He sets a trap for Red by making himself the dark passenger's next potential victim. Red's rage actually comes from his father, a cab driver who lost his job and eventually died by suicide after rideshare apps drove him out of business. Before Dexter kills him, Red drops a bombshell — he was invited to a dinner party for serial killers. So Dexter takes his place. A twisted secret society, posing as Red, Dexter meets Leon Praetor, a billionaire venture capitalist who secretly runs a society of serial killers. He is always accompanied by his head of security and enforcer, Charlie Brown, and Praetor has quite the collection. His trophy room celebrates infamous killers — real-life monsters such as Jeffrey Dahmer, the Zodiac Killer, Charles Manson, and Jack the Ripper — alongside killers from the Dexter universe like Arthur Mitchell and Brian Moser. And unknowingly, Dexter himself. The group also includes Al Walker, known as Rapunzel, because he targets women with ponytails, Lowell Sloan, the tattoo collector, the Gemini Killer, who commits double murders, and Mia LaPierre, aka Lady Vengeance. Dexter particularly bonds with Mia. Why? She claims to have a code, too. Mia targets sexual predators who have escaped justice after her younger sister was raped, but Dexter is quietly disgusted by the entire circle and their macabre exhibitionism. They practically bask in their crimes, like genius artists. So Dexter decides to go after them one by one. He kills Lowell and resumes his old habit of collecting bloodslide trophies. Then Angel arrives in New York. He unsuccessfully tries to convince Harrison to tell him what he knows about Dexter's activities. He also offers to team up with the NYPD to solve Foster's murder. Angel wonders if Harrison used Dexter's methods to cover up his crime. Meanwhile, Harrison's guilt continues eating away at him. He tries to find comfort in Elsa, but she turns him away. Harrison nearly turns himself in. Then Dexter stops him at the last moment. Harrison's dilemma. Harrison is shocked to discover that his father is alive. The two share an emotional reunion. Dexter absolves Harrison while Harrison catches him up on Batista's hunt for him. But Harrison isn't ready to rebuild their relationship, so Dexter distracts himself by spending more time with Mia and begins considering whether he should reveal his true identity to her. Then Mia suggests they collaborate on a kill. Dexter is confused. And then it hits him. Mia doesn't have a code. She kills whenever the urge strikes. The media simply hyped up her supposed modus operandi. Now Dexter has a problem. He can't kill Mia without drawing attention to himself, so he takes another route. He has Mia arrested just as she is about to kill her next victim and frames her for Foster's murder by planting his watch. Praetor orders Charlie to deal with Mia. Charlie promises Mia that her prison stay will be comfortable. And short. At the same time, Dexter reassures Harrison that his problem is gone and promises to be better. He won't try to mold his son in his own image anymore. The New York Ripper Dexter and Harrison continue growing closer and attend Blessing's mother Prudence's wake together. Blessing later confides in Dexter about his painful past as a child soldier for the Revolutionary United Front. That's why he struggles to let his daughter move away with her partner. Harrison starts considering NYU, but his darkness hasn't disappeared. While babysitting for Elsa, he becomes deeply disturbed by a fantasy in which he kills her neglectful landlord. Meanwhile, Angel tells NYPD detectives Claudette Wallace and Melvin Oliva about his suspicions concerning Dexter and Harrison. Before they can question Mia, however, Charlie bribes a guard to kill her and make her death look like a suicide. Dexter then sets his sights on Gareth. Unfortunately, Gareth is hunting him, too. Gareth follows Dexter back to his apartment, but Dexter is always thinking ahead. He offers Gareth a drink laced with M-99 before killing him. Then Prater sends another invitation to the group. Dexter is paranoid. Members of the Circle have been disappearing at an alarming rate ever since he joined. Did Prater connect the dots? Still, he goes. And boards the helicopter. Then comes the twist. Gareth joins in. Yeah, the Gemini killer is actually identical twin brothers. The chase. Prater takes his killers to a castle for a retreat. Still posing as Red, Dexter uses the opportunity to cryptically discuss his true self and desires. Prater responds by revealing his own morbid backstory. He became fascinated by the serial killer who murdered his parents and eventually developed a friendship with him. Even Dexter needs a moment to process that one, but he has a task ahead. Dexter provokes the remaining Gemini Killer brother by revealing that he killed his twin. The brother attacks, and Dexter kills him in what looks like self-defense. He then pins Lowell's death on the dead man, too. Back in New York, Dexter accompanies Harrison on a college visit. Because of Harrison's interest in law enforcement, They attend a lecture by Detective Wallace about the New York Ripper. The killer remains unidentified, but Dexter recognizes the Ripper's murder weapon in Prater's collection and offers Wallace advice about the case. Shortly afterward, Angel arrives at Blessing's house to meet Dexter. The tension is immediate. Dexter offers him a ride and warns him to stay away from both him and Harrison. Angel refuses. He wants revenge for the deaths of his friends. Dexter forces him out of the car, but Angel has one last trick. Before leaving, he secretly places his AirPods in the passenger door so he can use them as a GPS tracker. The game turns deadly. Charlie voices her doubts about Dexter, but Prater calms her down. Meanwhile, Dexter prepares to kill Al, but Al decides to return to his Wisconsin home early. Dexter focuses his energy on getting back in good health. During a session with Joy, he badly slips up. While trying to console her over her father's seemingly controlling behavior, he mentions blessings past. Joy feels betrayed and heartbroken. Harrison applies for college and spends the night with his new friend Gigi. But he opens up to Dexter about Elsa's poor housing conditions. Naturally, Dexter abducts the landlord, Vinny. He takes him to the wig shop kill room he had originally prepared for Al and threatens him into treating his tenants better before releasing him. Vinny never fit Dexter's code. Angel doesn't know that. He tracks Dexter, discovers the kill room, and forces Dexter to escape. Dexter eventually finds the AirPods and destroys them. Without evidence to support his accusations and after breaking laws while pursuing Dexter, Angel's credibility is damaged. Wallace calls his colleague, Joey Quinn, in Miami, only to discover that Angel isn't even a cop anymore. Then Dexter's two worlds collide. Prater approaches Dexter and Harrison in a restaurant. And now Prater knows his son. Angel's final confrontation? Dexter evades Prater's questions but gives Harrison answers about how exactly he knows the powerful billionaire. Later, Charlie corners Harrison to get information about his father. This makes Dexter furious. He shocks Charlie with a stranglehold in her car but lets her live when she reveals her story. Working for Prater is the only way she can afford her mother's cancer treatments. Meanwhile, Angel starts losing his mind as the NYPD blocks his access. Desperate, he approaches Prater to warn him about Dexter's true identity after spotting them together. Things get scary, and very interesting. Prater summons Dexter to his vault and offers to become his new benefactor. All Prater wants is to watch the Bay Harbor Butcher in action. The sacrifice? Angel. Dexter says no and cuts his friend free. But Angel immediately charges at Dexter in a mad rage. Then Prater shoots Angel, locks the men inside, and leaves. Dexter tries to give Angel some peace by confessing his crimes but insists that he did not kill James Doakes or Maria LaGuerta. Sadly, Angel dies cursing Dexter's name. Dexter chooses darkness. Devastated and trapped inside the vault, Dexter hallucinates Brian Moser taunting him. Then Quinn calls Angel. This is Dexter's chance. He finds the phone and contacts Harrison for help. Downstairs, Prater is hosting his annual gala to support the NYPD. Harrison takes a job as a waiter and sneaks inside. But Charlie catches him. Upstairs, Dexter searches for clues to the vault code and discovers Prater's files on serial killers, along with a dossier on Charlie. It contains the perfect blackmail material, all the dirty work she has ever done. Dexter tells her he'll send it to the cops. Furious that Prater violated her trust, Charlie quits and leaves New York with her mother. Soon after, Dexter figures out that the vault code is the inmate number of the man who killed Prater's parents. Harrison enters it. Dexter is free, but he hangs back to grab the most important souvenirs — Prater's files and his blood slides. However, Prater captures Harrison as he attempts to escape. He tries to kill both father and son. Fortunately, Dexter had previously given Harrison M-99 for protection. Harrison uses it to knock Prater unconscious. Then Dexter returns to his ritual. He stabs Prater, recovers his blood slides, and triggers the vault's alarm before escaping. When the NYPD arrives, they find Batista's body, the murder weapon with Prater's fingerprints, in the New York Ripper's file. The name is finally revealed, Don Frampt. Meanwhile, Dexter dumps Prater's body into New York Harbor. Armed with Prater's files containing his potential targets, Dexter sails away on his yacht, fully resurrected. Now, like and subscribe to First Curiosity for more recaps.