Michael C. Hall returns as 'Dexter' after eight years. Image Source: Collider
'Dexter,' an American crime drama that aired on Showtime from October 1, 2006, to September 22, 2013, was one of the most popular shows. The series is set in Miami and revolves around Michael C. Hall's character, Dexter Morgan. Dexter is a forensic technician for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department who also works as a vigilante serial killer, tracking out murderers who have not been appropriately punished by the court system due to corruption or legal difficulties.
According to the network, Dexter Morgan will return with a 10-episode limited series titled "Dexter: New Blood" in October 2020. Michael C. Hall returns as the lead character, "Dexter", while Clyde Phillips returns as showrunner, a position he held for the first four seasons of the original series. Recently, during an interview with First Post, Michael C. Hall shared his experience of reprising his role along with the conflicts he is struggling with within his life and how the finale shaped the revival.
Starting with the return, Michael shared that ‘Dexter: New Blood" would not have been possible in 2015-2016 because, although the character is familiar to everyone, there is something significantly different this time. Michael C. Hall added, "The show leaves a lot of decided blanks that the audience is expected to fill in. Those blanks are a little more substantial now than they would've been had we gone in earlier, which is a good thing. I don't think we'd have believed he'd have arrived in this newly crafted persona. He's living under an alias and making an earnest and legitimate attempt at living like a normal person. So the time was required to give him space, psychologically and spiritually, to become the person he is. It's allowed him to create an imaginable landscape that's sort of more flexible".
When Michael C. Hall, was asked about Clyde Phillips’ return as the showrunner, the actor said that he has such an appreciation for the fundamental DNA of the show and that even though the storylines have changed, the character has been reframed in so many ways, the show needed some connectivity between the new show and the show the audience remembers, and there was no one better than Clyde Phillips for the role.
During the interview, describing how he tapped into the fatherly side of the character, Michael said, "It's Dexter's indulgence in his impulse to have the cake and eat it too, or have the cake and kill it too, or have a normal life and relationships while keeping killing people. That gets him in trouble, and causes collateral damage to all these people he cares about, as much as he's capable of". The actor further added, "I think his ultimate decision at the end of the series to forsake that relationship and distance himself is maybe a way of a cop-out, but it's also a penance he feels he necessarily has to pay. Because he thinks his presence in his son Harrison's life will do him in like it did his wife and sister. One of the manic elements of the new show is that you can't turn your back on your past and that you'll have to face the consequences of your life in one way or another. His relationship with his son is what reveals his darkest and lightest sides. When he looks at Harrison, he's like, "God, please don't let him be like me," and simultaneously, "Oh god, please let him be like me!"
Speaking about the underwhelming response, the last season’s finale received from the audience, Michael C. Hall shared that it was one of the reasons why the revival was taking place because if the series finale was satisfying for people, the makers would have not thought about the revival. He added, "This revival is a silver lining to the gray cloud of that mystifying, confounding, if not infuriating, ending." There have been comparisons between Dexter and Breaking Bad, for which Michael C. Hall said that if Dexter Morgan had ended like Walter White, he wouldn’t be sitting here talking about the revival. He quoted, "I think despite it being so open-ended, confusing, and dissatisfying the way we ended, it did open a door to tell a story that couldn't have been told back then." He also mentioned that he is thankful for the show and that he is glad that he has returned as Dexter after eight years.
The next question, which was asked by Michael C. Hall, was, "It has been widely debated whether Dexter is a superhero since he borrows the traits of punishing bad people and possessing a secret identity. Do you think this observation is too farfetched? To which he answered that it’s all a matter of perspective. The actor added that he believes it is fair to claim that he is a superhero only based on the reading that Dexter shares certain characteristics with superheroes, but he is not aware of what superpower he holds but mentions that Dexter holds logistical superpowers. He finally added, "But I don't think of him as a superhero when I play him, or that he thinks of himself as a superhero.".
The last question Michael C. Hall was asked was whether he thinks that Dexter Morgan, who has been positioned as a ‘good serial killer, could come with a lot of pressure, to which the actor replied that it’s hard to know whether he ultimately fancies himself as good because he kills bad people. Michael C. Hall ended by stating that the challenge is to allow opposite facts to coexist. According to the actor, Dexter lives and operates from a pretty gray space, even though he's able to do very decisive things. It is hard to say whether what he does is good or bad, or whether light is emerging from his fundamental darkness or he's a less savory soul. The most challenging thing is to find someone who thinks Dexter Morgan is plausibly acting decisively without ignoring the gray murkiness he's emerging from.
Information Source: First Post
