The following article contains spoilers for Dexter: New BloodDexter finds himself in his most personal episode yet in New Blood as he is taken hostage by one of Kurt Caldwell's men. Meanwhile, Kurt continues his fatherly bond with Harrison, and Angela investigates further into Dexter's actions involving the opioid dealers back in episode five.
This episode is reminiscent of William Friedkin's underrated 2003 action thriller, The Hunted, in which Benicio Del Toro portrayed a soldier turned renegade killer who is being hunted by his mentor (Tommy Lee Jones) and the FBI. Like Friedkin's film, this episode has Dexter in a rare situation in which he is the hunted instead of the hunter. There are moments in which Kurt's man chases Dexter in the snow-covered woods with a sniper rifle, and Dex tries to outsmart the accomplice by tracking his own movements.
Dexter Finds Himself In A Cat-And-Mouse Game
The title of this episode is titled "Unfair Game," which is appropriate since Dexter is slightly outmatched against Kurt's man, who (like Kurt) has a sniper rifle in his possession as he tries to chase Dexter after escaping captivity. While Dexter takes a shot on the thigh and has none of his weapons on hand, he still manages to display his survival skills by tracking his own footsteps and leaving traces of blood from his gunshot wound in order to confuse his enemy.
Dexter could have easily been shot and killed and is also not used to battling enemies in a cold environment compared to the warm and sunny Miami in the original series, but Dex is shown at his best in certain moments where he improvises to take down those who try to hunt him down. Along with Friedkin's The Hunted, there are elements of the Rambo films (particularly First Blood) because Dexter has to rely more on knives and small mischievous traps to lure his opponent and trap him (since Dex says that Kurt's man may "have all day," but he always "owns the night").
Kurt Grabs Harrison's Attention
Kurt Caldwell continues to be a mischievous character because, while he mostly appears to kidnap and kill young female strangers, he has his sights set on Harrison. Kurt appears to be a nice, caring, and friendly father figure to Harrison, especially when sharing memories of his son Matt and how athletic he was in school. However, Kurt displays signs of anger by pushing Harrison too hard during batting practice, or when Kurt uncomfortably talks about his own father killing a young woman years ago. Kurt's time with Harrison shows that he desperately misses Matt, and wants to bond with Harrison and treat him as if he were one of his own children.
Despite the pleasantries, Kurt's goal is to get revenge for Matt's death by luring Harrison in order to kill him in front of Dexter so that Dex can feel the same pain as him when it comes to losing a child. As Kurt tells Harrison, it's the sins of the father that impact the child's physical and mental state. The problem with Kurt's plan is that he treats Dexter and Harrison as if they are simple prey (like his female victims). However, Kurt completely underestimates Dexter's ability to survive and overcome dangerous obstacles (which Dex has done in the past when taking down killers even without all his tools and weapons).
Angela Is Close To Uncovering Dexter's Secret
While this episode is mostly about the three male characters, and Molly Park is noticeably absent here, Chief Bishop continues to question Dexter's identity and past life, as well as his suspicious actions involving the takedown of two opioid dealers (whose drugs were responsible for Harrison's overdose three episodes ago). Angela figures out Dexter's ability to drug people by sticking a needle in their necks and notices that Dexter uses the same drug as the Bay Harbor Butcher, perhaps signifying that Angela firmly believes Dexter is a serial killer.
There is an interesting scene in which Angela doesn't say a word, but has perplexed facial expressions when she researches the Bay Harbor Butcher and the drug Dexter uses to inject people. This shows that Angela may be fearful of her findings because she realizes that Dexter's secret is unsettling, most likely impacting their relationship. However, the performance of Julia Jones (from the hit Star Wars series The Mandalorian) is clever here as Angela because, while the police chief is persistent as a detective in her findings on Dexter's actions and true identity, her actual intentions are difficult to read. Does Angela intend to arrest Dexter for being a killer, or does she primarily want to understand Dexter's identity more than take him down?
With only two more episodes left (at least this season), the battle lines have been drawn, with Kurt becoming a primary enemy. Thanks to Kurt's flawed plan, Dexter and Harrison have, for the first time, finally started getting through to each other emotionally because Harrison sees that Dexter is a father who truly cares about his well-being, and is willing to go through any obstacle to save him. Harrison also realizes how wrong he was about Kurt and his true intentions. The biggest questions now are how much will Dexter reveal to Harrison (and possibly to Angela) about his secret identity, and how will Kurt be brought down?
New episodes of Dexter: New Blood air Sundays on Showtime.