The Character Who Should Take Dexter Down in Resurrection Isn’t Who You Think

With Dexter: Resurrection almost here, fans are excitedly theorizing about what will happen and who will take the vigilante serial killer down, once and for all. Of course, with the creator and Michael C. Hall indicating in numerous interviews that they have no intention of the sequel series being a “one and done,” hoping that it continues for many more seasons to come, Dexter will be killing for some time. But his story has to end somehow. And not by faking his own death, growing a beard, and hiding out as a lumberjack, as the original series suggested would be his conclusion.

The question then arises as to who should take Dexter down? There’s only one character from the main series who should have the honors. And fans are hoping this person will come back to the sequel show to (eventually) do it.

First, Who Shouldn’t Take Dexter Down

Fans were surprised when, in the limited series sequel Dexter: New Blood, Dexter’s girlfriend, who also happened to be the chief of police of their small town, put the pieces together so quickly to deduce who Dexter might be. It seemed too quick, too cheated for Dexter to have skirted justice so many times only to be taken down by a completely new character.

When she contacted Detective Angel Batista back in Miami to confirm Dexter’s real identity, this is when everything about her theory started to fall into place. While Angel was completely shocked that his old friend and co-worker was still alive, he still wasn’t convinced that Dexter was the Bay Harbor Butcher.

In the trailer for Dexter: Resurrection, Angel returns and visits Dexter in the hospital, where he is recovering, and he greets him with a hug, suggesting that Angel isn’t ready to take him in. However, he’s also seen telling Dexter that Angela believes he’s the Bay Harbor Butcher. What happens next is unclear since Dexter escapes from the hospital. Angel chases him all the way to New York City. If nothing else, he has questions.

It would be a lovely sense of poetic justice for Angel to bring Dexter in, but he’s not the right guy. He always viewed Dexter as a friend, even a best friend, as suggested in both Dexter and the prequel series Dexter: Original Sin. Angel never once suspected there was anything off about Dexter, even when Sergeant James Doakes insisted that Dexter was hiding something and was not “normal.”

Other theories point to characters like Harrison, who almost had the honor of killing his father in Dexter: New Blood, to be the one to do it. Considering how fan reception played out after that moment, he’s not right either. There’s also Astor and Cody, Dexter’s stepkids, from whom he became estranged once his wife Rita died. Having them reunite with Dexter would be interesting, but not as the ones bringing him to justice.

The only person still alive who knows without a shadow of a doubt who Dexter is, is Lumen, who appeared in season five of the series. But her history with him is too brief, and she feels indebted to him, so it wouldn’t make sense that she’d betray him. He saved her from a man who ran a vicious crime ring, harming women, and helped her harness her own darkness. In the end, Lumen decided she no longer needed to kill and tearfully left Dexter to start fresh.

A Handful of People Suspected Dexter in the Original Series

Fans of the original might recall that, through its run, a few people figured out who Dexter truly was. The first was Doakes, who ended up being named the Bay Harbor Butcher instead and dying at the hands of Dexter’s girlfriend Lila. Paul Bennett, Rita’s ex-husband, was next. While he didn’t link Dexter to the serial killings, he did suspect there was something off when he woke up with a bruise on his head and drugs planted nearby. As his memory returned, he recalled Dexter having hit him over the head, dragging him away, and setting him up to break parole. Though Paul told Rita as much, she brushed it off, and Paul was killed in prison before he could pursue things further.

Another is Agent Frank Lundy, who never explicitly voiced his suspicions about Dexter, but in re-watching the series, they were clear. He often found reasons to hang out with Dexter on cases, commented on how meticulous the killer was as he watched Dexter being equally meticulous with his blood spatter kit. He asked Dexter how he would do things, even once questioning a botched case that he suspected Dexter, who had a brilliant track record otherwise, fumbled on purpose.

It was arguably Agent Lundy’s relationship with Deb that stopped him from pursuing Dexter. Once Doakes was charged as the Bay Harbor Butcher, then when he died, Lundy knew it would be an uphill battle to try and prove Doakes’ innocence, given how much evidence there was against him. He even admitted to Detective Maria LaGuerta that he didn’t believe Doakes was guilty either, but they’d never be able to convince a judge or jury of that.

Further, Lundy may have appreciated the work Dexter was doing anyway. As someone who hunted serial killers his entire career, he might have been able to live with Dexter delivering justice when the law failed, knowing first-hand what the people Dexter was killing were capable of doing. Lundy was tragically shot and killed, however, so his true beliefs were never expressed.

Miguel Prado knew as well, but he met his end when he betrayed Dexter and proved too dangerous to keep around. Maria LaGuerta figured it out, but was killed by Debra, who also knew, but died by the end, too.

But there’s one more person who was hot on Dexter’s tail for a time, and is still very much alive.

One Person Is Still Alive in Law Enforcement Who Knows

The only other person who suspected Dexter and is still alive is Detective Joey Quinn. Based on an e-mail shown on Angel’s computer during his cameo in Dexter: New Blood, Quinn is not only still alive but still working on the force. The email header shows interactions between Angel and Joey, as well as a question about attending Vince Masuka’s wedding.

After Doakes and Lundy, Quinn, one of the best Dexter characters, was the first person at the station to start suspecting that there was more to Dexter than meets the eye. It first happens in season four when, just after beginning a sexual relationship with Debra, Quinn sees the sketch of a man named Kyle Butler, who was known to be associated with The Trinity Killer. He notices that the image bears a striking resemblance to Dexter. His curiosity piques further when he learns that a man named Kyle Butler was murdered right before Rita was.

Quinn follows Arthur Mitchell’s family and tries to question his son Jonah, showing him a photo of Dexter to ask if that man is Kyle. But before Jonah can answer, the FBI swoops in and busts Quinn for breaching witness protection protocol. Quinn is like a dog with a bone by this point, and he is desperate to find out the truth. He hires Stan Liddy, an old detective friend from narcotics, to investigate Dexter. The man initially finds nothing but a squeaky clean history. However, that raises suspicions because his record appears too clean, and thus itis probably fake.

Liddy eventually does find photos and videos that support the theory about Dexter. But by then, Quinn has fallen madly in love with Debra, and he wishes to no longer pursue things. The more he gets to know Dexter, the more he recognizes that he’s at least a good guy. But most importantly, he means the world to Debra. To pursue this investigation would break her, and he simply can’t do it.

Things get hairy when Liddy tries to pursue Dexter anyway and ends up being killed by him. With all the communications between Liddy and Quinn, Quinn becomes the suspect in Liddy’s murder. Despite knowing all too well that Dexter did it, Quinn refuses to admit why he was in contact with Liddy since he doesn’t want to hurt Debra. Dexter helps exonerate Quinn by hiding blood evidence, and because of this and his feelings for Debra, Quinn lets things go.

Today, however, more than a decade later and long after Deb’s death, once Quinn learns that Dexter is still alive and that there’s a theory that he was the Bay Harbor Butcher, it only makes sense that he will want to confront him. Even if Quinn never expressly admitted it, fans know that Quinn believed Dexter to be a vicious killer. He just didn’t do anything about it. Now, the story needs to come full circle.

One of the things that we need to see in Dexter: Resurrection is Quinn. For Deb’s sake, Quinn has to be the one who, when the time comes, puts those handcuffs around Dexter’s wrists and takes him in. Hopefully, however, that won’t be for a very, very long time.