Dexter S1-8: Our favourite scenes

Dexter: New Blood, set 10 years after the events from the finale of Season 8, is now streaming on Showmax. But before you start, recap with our 6 must-watch moments from Seasons 1 to 8.

Say cheese (Season 1, episode 4)

Dexter (Michael C Hall) is usually the master of the straight face and he’s studied how to fake emotions. You wouldn’t know if he’s happy or sad or furious because he always has a deadpan look on his face. So this episode is especially important because it shows a side of Dexter that he buries deep, deep, deep down for the duration of the show – his own self.

In the episode, a flashback shows his ailing father asking Dexter to take a photo of the two of them together outside the hospital. While Dexter has zero interest, he realises that his dad is dying and he may not actually get another photo opportunity with the man, so he cracks a smile that viewers know is fake but his dad simply adores.

Emotional rampage (Season 1, episode 10)

Dexter has gone undetected as a vigilante serial killer for years because of one thing: he’s careful. He doesn’t leave evidence, he doesn’t kill impulsively, he does everything for a reason. So it’s out of character when he hits abusive Paul (Mark Pellegrino) so hard with a frying pan that the drug addict is knocked out cold, because Dexter doesn’t like the way that Paul treats his wife Rita (Julie Benz).

It shows Dexter’s human side and that despite the vile and vicious things he does, Dexter does in fact have a heart and a soft spot for his friend Rita.

He’s human after all (Season 1, episode 10)

This season is a hit for two reasons: Dexter saving Rita, and Dexter showing that, despite years on the job, he’s still human inside. While working on a crime scene involving the Ice Truck Killer (Christian Camargo), Dexter has visions of a baby tied up in the middle of the room that is now floor-to-ceiling red thanks to the sheer volume of blood that’s been spilled by the killer.

It’s so bad that Dexter has to walk out of the room to get a breather and a colleague notices, remarking, “It’s nice to see that you’re human after all.”

Wedding bliss (Season 3, episode 12)

Dexter might be a blood spatter technician by day and a serial killer by night, but he still has a heart. And who better to make him eternally happy than the woman who sees him for who he wants to be: a nice guy next door? Dexter and Rita tie the knot in this episode and it’s increasingly sweet to see the secret vigilante finding happiness in life … if only for a minute.

But it adds to Dexter’s humanity – he’s not just a man anymore; he’s now a husband and an adoptive dad to Rita’s brood. Also, Rita is the only person Dexter trusts to give him what he wants most in life: a biological son.

Feed the hunger (Season 4, episode 9)

Dexter comes face-to-face with The Trinity Killer (played by the mesmerisingly cool John Lithgow, who we will meet again in New Blood) over the Thanksgiving table. Having hunted the killer for months, Dexter confronts The Trinity Killer, aka Arthur Mitchell, after analysing the man and the façade that he’s built carefully over the past 30 years, telling him coldly, “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.”

It’s not often that Dexter has such a cordial discussion with his targets, let alone one as charming as Arthur. How it plays out… well let’s just say that the gentlemen are about to get slicey…

The truth reveals itself (Season 6, episode 12)

Dexter has kept his secret long enough and this episode sees him confide in the person he’s closest to in the world: his adoptive sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter). It’s a shock for Deb, who is also a cop – she dreams of hunting criminals and bringing them to justice, which she also expected of her brother. So she’s almost repulsed when he breaks down and confesses that he is the serial killer terrorising the criminals of Miami.

Despite Deb trying to understand, Dexter’s confession only drives the pair apart. Now if only Deb had it in her to turn Dexter in…

Watch Dexter: New Blood now!