Dexter: Resurrection and the Conspiracy Comfort Fantasy — First Impressions

Dexter: Resurrection and the Conspiracy Comfort Fantasy — First Impressions

Now, if you’re reading this and you haven’t finished New Blood—what are you doing? Go watch it. Don’t get mad at me for spoilers, you’ve been warned.

Before we jump into Dexter: Resurrection, let’s do a quick recap of New Blood. After faking his death, Dexter reappears in small-town Iron Lake, New York, living under a new identity and trying to be normal. Spoiler: it doesn’t work. Old habits die hard (pun intended), and Dexter eventually goes back to his old ways—this time while reconnecting with his teenage son, Harrison. Things spiral fast, and it all leads to a brutal ending where Harrison kills Dexter in what’s supposed to be a tragic but redemptive finale.

…or so we thought.

I went into Dexter: Resurrection curious about how the show would justify bringing Dexter back (again). Two episodes in, I’m noticing something unsettling beneath the glossy murder montages: this reboot leans heavily on the idea of secret vigilantes saving the world, a narrative eerily close to the same fantasies that fuel real-world conspiracy theories like QAnon.

In this newest installment, Dexter doesn’t just kill for his “code”—he’s drawn into a network of killers, each with their own “righteous” targets. It’s not just a lone antihero anymore. We’ve got a hidden collective taking down “the worst of the worst.” And if that sounds familiar, it should. This is QAnon logic dressed up in prestige TV: hidden heroes fighting systemic evil because the world’s institutions have failed.

 Why It’s Worth Noticing

 

QAnon thrives on this exact fantasy—anonymous heroes waging a hidden war on behalf of children and the morally pure, while the corrupt world stays ignorant. Shows like Dexter: Resurrection aren’t responsible for the rise of conspiracy thinking, but they can unintentionally validate these dangerous narratives by making secret violence look justified, even cathartic.

Where I’m At So Far

So far, Resurrection is walking a fine line. Is it critiquing the brokenness of systems, or is it slipping into savior-complex wish fulfillment? Is it going to interrogate the ethics of this vigilante group, or glorify them?

I’m hoping the show pivots. I’m hoping it leans into moral complexity rather than glorified secret justice. Because if it doesn’t, it risks becoming just another pop culture product that feels good in the worst way—by reinforcing the idea that the only good justice is hidden, bloody, and without accountability.

I’ll be watching closely.

 

If you find yourself fascinated by these themes—vigilante justice, systemic failure, and the dangerous comfort of conspiracy—I dive even deeper into those ideas in my supernatural novel Valley of Wolves. It’s a story about survival, identity, and confronting the corrupt systems that prey on vulnerable people… without falling into the trap of glorifying violence.

I’m sure I’ll be posting more as I watch the rest of Resurrection, so follow along if you’re curious where this messy vigilante ride is headed.

You can also check out more of my media breakdowns and cultural critiques where I unpack everything from horror movies to the real-world impact of storytelling.

Read Valley of Wolves or explore more essays here → More of my Blog!