Dexter: New Blood season 1, episode 1 recap: Can TV's favorite serial killer make a fresh start?

Ten years after faking his death and starting life anew as an Oregonian lumberjack, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) literally hits the ground running in Showtime's limited series. Breathing heavily and hightailing it through the woods, he's on the hunt. The reformed vigilante serial killer isn't tracking a human, though, but a beautiful white buck. He raises his rifle, aligns the animal in his sights, and... can't bring himself to pull the trigger.

Now known as friendly neighbor "Jim Lindsay," he returns to his new home, a remote cabin in the small, snow-covered town of Iron Lake, N.Y. After tending to some mundane outdoorsman duties — chopping wood, feeding livestock, ice fishing — he heads inside to chat with his dead sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter). Yes, Deb met a tragic end during the series' "finale," but she's back to help/haunt her brother much the way his adoptive dad did in the show's original run.

She makes sure he marks his calendar to, presumably, check off another kill-free day and playfully reminds him he chose the bitterly cold location he now calls home. Deb disappears, Dex sharpens a meat cleaver, and a frosty, bloody title card pops.

Dexter heads out in his every-man pick-up truck but is pulled over by the police. It's all good, though, as it's just his girlfriend, Chief Angela Bishop (Julia Jones), who has sex with him in her cruiser. Their quickie's cut short, so Dexter resumes his trip into town. What follows is a scene right out of a Hallmark holiday movie. Strolling down a quaint, cozy Main Street — adorably decked out for Christmas — Dexter/Jim chats up the locals, shops for baked goods, and even displays a bit of team spirit for some high school athletes.

Things turn darker when, armed with that aforementioned cleaver, he approaches a man from behind. But again, all good. Dex was just doing the local butcher a solid. The man happily accepts the tool with a smile: "You're a life-saver, Jimmy!"

Another amicable local asks him how things are going with his girlfriend, but their exchange is interrupted by a chopper flying overhead. "Rich a--hole season begins," jokes the man. It's not long before we get his point. While working his very normal job as a sales associate at Fred's Fish & Game, Dexter waits on an overly obnoxious jackass, a Wall Street hotshot in town with his "posse" to hunt. He's shopping for a big knife and a bigger gun. He playfully waves the former in front of Dexter, who flinches and responds, "I kinda have a thing about blood."

Dex recommends a hunting rifle, but the jerk's set on an automatic hand cannon. He gets upset when his background check is flagged, putting a 24-hour hold on his "big-ass gun." He chides Dexter, calling him an "Eagle Scout," then leaves with his bro to go drinking.

With the well-established a-hole in the wind, Dexter heads to the station to see Angela. The local Barney Fifes gossip about Dexter's run-in with the a-hole, referencing a boating accident he was involved in that killed five people. One of the deputies vouches for him though, saying he wasn't driving the vessel. Dexter also talks to Angela, who's hanging posters of missing women. There's apparently been a string of disappearances, but no bodies have been found.

Later that night, the couple meet for line dancing at the local tavern. Dexter places a very "predictable" order with the friendly barkeep and is told his tab's covered by Matt Caldwell, the a-hole from earlier. Matt's behaving like a frat boy and, of course, buying the whole bar a round. Dexter declines.

While Dexter line dances to Blondie's "Heart of Glass," a quick shot outside reveals a hitchhiker arriving in town. Back in the bar, Dexter's enjoying an IPA by the fire when Matt approaches. Drunk and on-brand obnoxious, he invites Dexter to a party and tries to persuade him to sell him the gun that night. But the by-the-book "Eagle Scout" isn't budging. Meanwhile, Angela's at the bar buying a meal for a "lost kid" who can't afford dinner because she's saving for bus fare to leave town. The couple's date is cut short, and Dex heads outside, where it seems someone is watching him from afar.

The next morning, we get a Groundhog Day-like moment. Dex is again running through the woods with his rifle, hunting his prized deer. But this time, a rustling sound interrupts his concentration, and he catches a fleeting glimpse of someone running away. Back at his cabin, he cooks a ham steak — with lots of blood-evoking hot sauce — and tells his spectral sister he's being watched. "You're letting this Matt prick get to you," she says before urging him to stick to his "routine."

The next day he does just that. Armed with a box of baked goods, he heads to work, sells some bait, and goes to the tavern for a tuna sandwich. But his go-to lunch spot is closed. An oil mogul — a.k.a. the rich "a--hole" in the chopper — is using the bar to hold a board meeting. Outside, angry protesters, including Angela's daughter Audrey, chant, "Drilling is killing." The petrol billionaire comes outside with a peace offering, a tray of hot cocoa. Audrey locks eyes with him before dumping her beverage in the snow. Still mad about missing his tuna sandwich, Dexter catches another glimpse of someone following him.

Back at work, Dexter's tasked with delivering Matt's gun — his background check has cleared. Unsurprisingly, there's some hard-partying happening at the Caldwell residence. Dexter's got the gun and paperwork, but it seems the dude-bro's busy, well, getting busy. His friend Bill, sporting a facial scar and bag of white powder, entertains Dexter. Bill snorts some drugs before having a bit of a breakdown. He's mad at Matt for various reasons, not the least being the circumstances surrounding the boat accident. He goes on a tirade, saying he covered for his friend, even lying at the trial. It seems Matt was not only driving the boat but intentionally collided with the other vessel in a vengeance-fueled game of chicken.

Bill comes to his senses and asks Dexter to keep his info dump between them. Dexter delivers the weapon to Caldwell, who playfully points it at him. Dexter grabs the gun and cracks its stock across Caldwell's face. At least that's what he imagines; in reality, he stifles the urge and walks away with a sarcastic, "Thanks for shopping at Fred's Fish & Game."

He arrives home to find an intruder rifling through his things. It appears to be the hitchhiker, as well as the person who's been following him. It's also his son, Harrison, last seen 10 years younger, leaving the country with Dexter's then-girlfriend Hannah McKay. Harrison reveals his identity, and Dexter approaches him. But Debra suddenly butts in, reminding her brother everyone he loves winds up dead. She hits the point home by plucking a bloody bullet from her stomach. Dexter reluctantly heeds her advice, "Sorry, I'm not the guy you're looking for." Harrison angrily leaves as Dexter discovers an old photo of them among the items the teenager was going through.

The following day, he reels in his ice fishing line. Deb, in a hospital gown, is attached to it, but a grotesque, dark presence pulls her back under. He wakes from this nightmare to find Deb by his side. "You're a changed man... almost 10 years without a kill. And I love you for it," she says. The encounter sends Dexter back into the woods, hunting his deer. He gets it in his sights again but again can't do the deed. Instead, he approaches the majestic beast, extending his hand to its muzzle.

As the animal cautiously sniffs his palm, a shot rings out. The deer goes down, and Caldwell emerges from the woods, absolutely thrilled about bagging the buck with his automatic rifle. Dexter hits him... for real this time. He spits on Caldwell's unconscious body — "It's been a long time" — then uses Matt's knife to slice the deer's throat and form a trail of blood back to his victim. As he does so, he recites the first rule of "the code" — "Don't get caught."

Back at his cabin, he gathers some household items to fashion a makeshift kill room. He even breaks an old lantern and uses its glass shards to form a blood slide. Caldwell wakes up naked and duct-taped to a table. Dexter's enraged about the deer, but his justification for embracing his old self lies in Caldwell's confession about the boat accident. Dexter gets him to spill the beans, but Caldwell begs for his life, blaming his actions on his upbringing. Dexter knows a thing or two about bad childhoods, so he's not buying Matt's excuse. Caldwell's desperation turns to anger. He berates his executioner, assuring him his powerful dad will destroy him.

Dexter echoes one of Matt's earlier bro-isms, "Life is short, dude," before ritualistically plunging a knife into his heart. Dexter catches his reflection in a mirror, and his inner-monologue kicks in: "Tonight's the night. Hello, Dexter Morgan." The moment's interrupted by a phone call. He's missed a date with Angela. "Fox got in the hen house," he says calmly. "It's kind of a mess here." He begins disposing of the body, as well as the blood slide. "I might be a monster, but I'm an evolving monster."

Outside, Deb's not happy. "What the f--- are you doing?" she yells. "Not listening to you," he says, then drives off with several chunks of fresh corpse in his truck. He goes down Main Street, Christmas music playing in the background: "My life has always been truth adjacent, but starting now, there will be one less lie." With that, he meets Harrison at the bus stop, admits he's his father and invites him home.

As the episode comes to a close, the pair walks into his cabin, and Dexter's inner voice delivers the final line: "My father protected me, taught me, and kept me alive. And that's exactly what I'm going to do for my son." But there's one more tiny detail: A slow, subtle camera pan reveals a trail of blood next to the house, suggesting the once-meticulous serial killer may be out of practice.

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