The series is set following the events of Dexter: New Blood, and it follows Dexter Morgan, who has recovered from his near-fatal gunshot wound. After realizing that his son Harrison is now working as a hotel bellhop in New York City, he sets out to find him. During this, his old friend Angel Batista returns to talk with Dexter over unfinished business.
The series premiere received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, tone and intrigue, with many deeming it as a promising debut for the series.
After being shot by his son Harrison,[a]Dexter Morgan is taken to the Seneca Nation Clinic in Iron Lake, where his life is saved but he falls into a coma. Dexter imagines conversations with Arthur Mitchell, Miguel Prado, Harry Morgan, and James Doakes. When he awakens after ten weeks, he is told that he survived due to the cold temperature slowing his bleeding, and that Harrison has not been seen in weeks.
Harrison is in New York City working as a bellhop at The Empire Hotel. He's made friends with his colleagues, and apparently lives at the hotel, staying nights in various rooms. One day he sees two guests he knows did not arrive together, the woman (Shauna) without her faculties and the man referring to her as his wife. Noticing her wondering "what was in that drink" Harrison questions the male guest, Ryan Foster, but helps him bring Shauna to Ryan's room. Hearing her say "no" through the door, Harrison barges back in, and after initially struggling, gains the upper hand and brutally murders Ryan with the ceramic lid of the toilet tank.
After taking Shauna to her room, Harrison thoroughly cleans the crime scene and takes Ryan's body to the kitchen where he cuts it into nine pieces, placing the severed body parts into trash bags, as Dexter taught him (though he misses some blood spatter on the ceiling).[b] Harrison watches nervously as the bags containing the severed body parts are loaded into a garbage truck. The next morning, one of the bags breaks while being unloaded, revealing pieces of Ryan's dismembered corpse. Detectives Melvin Oliva and Claudette Wallace arrive at the dump and locate the rest of the body, quickly identifying both the hotel and the room. At the hotel, they take notice of Harrison nervously lurking nearby.
While recovering in physical therapy, Dexter is visited by Teddy Reed and believes he is about to be arrested. However, Teddy explains that he is now the acting Sheriff, Angela and Audrey left Iron Lake after the shooting, Angela took the blame for shooting Dexter, pinned Matt Caldwell's murder on Kurt, and dropped charges against Dexter for Logan's death, calling it self-defense after finding the bullet hole in Dexter's cell. Tedy apologetically seeks that Dexter not press charges against the Sheriff's Department for Angela supposedly shooting him. Meanwhile, Dexter examines an envelope Teddy brought—it is from Angela, and inside is a photo of her and Iris, with a note on the back saying "we're even".[c]
Dexter is visited by a suspicious Angel Batista who questions him about faking his death, remaining hidden, Angela's accusation that he is the Bay Harbor Butcher, her subsequent recanting of the accusation, and María LaGuerta's confidence in the same. An equally suspicious Dexter lies about everything, including that he took Debra's body into the hurricane, although he actually deposited her into calm waters before driving into the storm alone [d]. Dexter feigns fatigue to get Angel to leave, but before he does he tells Dexter that he rescinded his death certificate. Dexter suspects that Batista's motive was to enable him to be charged and prosecuted.
The next morning, Dexter hears about the discovered body parts, immediately suspecting Harrison. He investigates Ryan's background, finds he was previously acquitted of sexual assault, furthering his suspicion. He orchestrates an escape to avoid Batista (who is back to interrogate him again), steals a car, drives to New York City, and spots Harrison at the entrance of the hotel.
A woman, Charley (Uma Thurman), stalks a man. When the man leaves his house, she picks his lock and thoroughly searches his house, eventually discovering blood-marked IDs of multiple people (trophies) and a large amount of cash. She leaves after rearranging everything, calling someone to say, "Invitation delivered."
Phillips was interested in exploring Harrison's personality after the events of New Blood, "This was his way of dealing with something that's wrong and dangerous. He knows one of the rules is that you kill in order to help other people. Maybe this was an overreaction on his part, maybe it was the right thing to do. The audience can determine that, and Harrison and Dexter will determine that. But it raises a question: Is this in his DNA?"[3]Jack Alcott added, "I think that that is a real gift that Harrison gets from Dexter. Being a really impulsive, reactive person can lead itself to all sorts of nasty situations and it is the discipline and the meticulousness that he received from his father that really gets him out of that situation in the hotel."[4]
Michael C. Hall said that the conversation between Dexter and Angel was one of his favorite scenes to film, explaining "It was just so rich and complicated. There is so much water under the bridge, and this cat-and-mouse dynamics. But it was also just so bittersweet, these guys who used to have this simple connection, everything’s just fraught with complication and suspicion now."[5]David Zayas also offered another perspective, "This is a different Angel, with all the information he has now, particularly Dexter just being alive. It's a new case he has to deal with outside of his environment, in a new place, in New York, where he has no authority as a police officer. He's having to deal with the cold coming from Miami. There's so many little issues for him to navigate, while he's trying to get some justice for all of what he's missed over those many years."[6]
Phillips explained the decision, "It is really Dexter's subconscious saying, “I've got to get back to my son.” This is America's favorite serial killer show, but it's also a father-and-son show. And it's Dexter's mission to get back and try to undo the trauma of having Harrison, his own son, shoot him. Dexter wants to save that relationship."[3] Hall was excited in getting them back for guest spots, "It was awesome. It was such a perfect way to re-engage with the mythology of the character. For me as an actor, for the character, for the audience, to grow out of that soil was the best way to start."[9]
Reception
"A Beating Heart..." received mostly positive reviews from critics. Louis Peitzman of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "If it helps ease your confusion, consider that Resurrection is essentially a rebranded tenth season of the original show. While technically a new series, it starts with a “previously on” that sums up the entirety of New Blood, and the first episode is loaded with references to Dexter proper, including several familiar faces. With OG showrunner Clyde Phillips back in the driver's seat, we're in safe hands."[10]
Shawn Van Horn of Collider wrote, "The episode ends with a mysterious woman breaking into an apartment. [...] Dexter is resurrected, but it looks like his life, along with others, is about to take an interesting new direction."[11] Matthew Wilkinson of Game Rant wrote, "it all still feels familiar in a positive way, and Dexter: Resurrection has started well, with the serial killer world making an emphatic return."[12] Mads Misasi of Telltale TV wrote, "While Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 Episode 1, “A Beating Heart...” focuses mostly on Dexter's coma dreams, there is some depth added with the Harrison bits."[13]
Greg MacArthur of Screen Rant wrote, "The first two episodes of Dexter: Resurrection show incredible promise for the Dexter sequel series, blending the show's vintage nostalgia with fresh new faces and storylines. While the location switch to New York City may have initially seemed risky, watching Dexter operate in the Big Apple is just as great as Miami – and far better than frigid Iron Lake."[14] Carissa Pavlica of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3.75 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "It's messy, psychological, and leans heavily into its legacy. But for a series that’s literally bringing its protagonist back from the dead, Dexter: Resurrection hits the ground running with just the right mix of nostalgia, narrative propulsion, and an infuriating knack for letting its antihero live to kill another day."[15]
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