The “Dexter” franchise hooked the world with its premise of a forensic blood analyst who was also a serial killer living a double life. Now, the saga continues with "Dexter: New Blood," raising chilling questions about whether darkness is inherited. This article explores the disturbing parallels between Harrison and Dexter, Dexter's potential parenting failures, and how a new copycat killer distracts from the core issue: Harrison's burgeoning dark side.

Harrison's Echoes of Dexter

The series subtly, yet disturbingly, showcases Harrison's potential descent into a life mirroring his father's. Several instances highlight this worrying trend.

  • Violent Tendencies: In a disturbing act of violence, Harrison uses his fingers to cut another boy's cheek, mirroring the precise location where Dexter sliced his victims to collect blood slides. This act suggests a potential inheritance of Dexter's violent tendencies.
  • Cold Stare: Harrison directs a chillingly cold stare at Dexter, reminiscent of Dexter's own detached gaze when targeting his victims. This implies a developing emotional detachment, a hallmark of Dexter's personality.
  • Behavioral Similarities: Harrison's unsettling behavior, such as decapitating a doll and repeatedly chanting "die die," echoes Dexter's suppressed dark impulses, raising serious concerns about his future actions.
  • Exposure to Violence: Dexter's interactions with Harrison, including instances where he held him while covered in blood, may have inadvertently exposed Harrison to violent situations, potentially influencing his developing psyche.

These instances paint a disturbing picture. Is Harrison just a warm, conflicted teenager or will he, like his father’s father’s father, continue the cycle of violence? Now Dexter’s deepest fear is that Harrison will turn out to be just like him—walking down a murdery path. This fear, heavily implied in the "Dexter: New Blood" finale, suggests that Harrison's behavior may be more than just teenage angst. It could be a reflection of Dexter's own dark legacy.

Dexter's Questionable Parenting

Throughout the series, we see flashbacks to Dexter’s past that show his attempts to bond with Harrison emotionally. Dexter’s own childhood was emotionally barren. That, in addition to his double life, unsurprisingly caused him to have the emotional capacity to provide Harrison with a safe and loving home.

Dexter's parenting style, or lack thereof, played a significant role in Harrison's development. There could be no normal childhood while living in the shadow of a serial killer patriarch. Dexter's attempts to shield Harrison from the truth, while simultaneously exposing him to violence, created a confusing and potentially damaging environment.

Dexter’s was an extraordinary upbringing. From Harry, he absorbed the “code” that came to guide his life. Though originally created to help redirect Dexter’s murderous tendencies, this code became another layer of manipulation. Dexter’s own traumatic childhood had rendered him unfit to be a parent. Now, he can barely figure out how to raise a child, especially one who will likely continue his legacy of darkness.

The Copycat Killer: A Deadly Distraction

The emergence of a new "Dark Passenger killer" in "Dexter: New Blood" serves as a compelling plot device, but a potential distraction from the more pressing issue of Harrison's inner turmoil. As Dexter confronts the source of this new threat, he puts himself in danger of missing the warning signs from his own son.

The phrase “Dark Passenger” originates from the first series of “Dexter.” It represents Dexter Morgan’s moral conflicts, and it feeds his dark passenger and makes him want to kill. It’s both the literal and figurative manifestation of his sociopathic tendencies, the side of him that yearns for mayhem. Now a copycat killer has hit the scene, inspired by Dexter’s killer ways. This unexpected new threat challenges Dexter to face his past and the future legacy he may or may not leave.

As the series progresses, Dexter reveals an internal battle. He fights against his nature, struggling against the pull of what the character himself calls “the dark passenger.” While still pursuing a normal life. He was always on a razor’s edge between his deviant impulses and his efforts to fit into the broader world. The copycat killer breaks that tenuous equilibrium. It’s time for Dexter to better face the consequences of his actions and come to terms with how others can be swayed by his sinister role model. Dexter becomes overly focused on the external threat of the copycat killer. Yet this obsession completely blinds him to the very real danger his son is becoming. He is so focused on stopping someone else from becoming a monster that he fails to see the monster potentially growing in his own home.