Dexter: Resurrection Recap: Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Dexter's being tested in more ways than one this season, and that includes some killer cardio. 

In Friday's "Dexter: Resurrection," Dexter finds himself hustling to climb a gazillion flights of stairs in order to chase down the Five Borough Killer, the maniac who just tossed an innocent man off the rooftop of a Broadway building. When FBK drops his smart glasses a few flights down, it's Dexter vs. his foe in a stairwell race that sadly ends with a big L for Dex. (Might be time to hit the gym again, huh Dex?)

After FBK slips through his fingers, Dexter finds a uniformed Harrison outside. Seeing as Dexter is an eyewitness, his rookie cop son starts hitting his pops with questions, only Dexter's itching to make himself scarce. No need to put himself back on Wallace's radar. He promises Harrison that he'll answer any questions he's got, only later and off the record. Harrison says he'll hold him to it, and Dexter eventually does come through with some pertinent information back at his apartment the following day. If Harrison didn't follow in his family's footsteps, the kid could've gone to art school!  

This is the first instance where Harrison's new job as a law enforcer clashes with Dexter's, uhh, hobby. While it worked out well enough this time around, it feels like future drama is inevitable there. Dexter even mentions (via inner monologue) that he thought Harrison's job would wind up helping him, and not the other way around. These new and very unique circumstances feel like a gargantuan conflict of interest that may soon pit father and son against each other. How will they be able to navigate all that without losing their connection?

Claudette Wallace is known for her stoicism, almost robotic reactions, and her unique approach to the cases she works. But outside on the street, she hears the taunting of her favorite Bee Gees song, and when she finds out who the crazy man is that's belting the tune in her direction, it's Don Framt. The New York Ripper, himself. And it's the first time we see Wallace absolutely lose her s**t. She starts screaming back at the guy, who fakes a fall out of his wheelchair and starts screaming for help from the scary police. Even though she never touched the guy, it's not a good look for the detective and Mixon immediately removes her from the Ripper case all together.

Later in the episode, we learn why "Stayin' Alive" is permanently stuck in her head. During her early days on the force, she was responding to a noise violation at an apartment. The apartment wound up being a crime scene and as she entered, the Bee Gees classic was playing on a turntable and stuck in a loop due to blood on the vinyl and stylus. She now knows that she passed the New York Ripper on the stairwell as he was exiting the building after the murder. And if she had only looked up and paid attention to who was coming down the stairs, she believes she could've prevented many of the Ripper's victims from their untimely and gruesome demises.

Oliva prevents Wallace from tearing Mixon a new one, redirecting her laser-focused attention and talent to the Five Borough Killer case. He makes her a promise that they'll eventually take down the Ripper. One day.

Charley lures the Sleepy-Eyed Stranger to the penthouse she rented, but once there, Dexter learns something that complicates the whole shebang. Sleepy brought a live victim with him that he intends to kill in front of Prater. But he won't tell "Red" where the man is stashed.

Thanks to Charley's help, they use two separate cars to follow Sleepy to a parking garage where the man is found stashed inside a box that's stashed inside a U-Haul van. Dexter is able to stab Sleepy with his syringe cocktail, and after, he tips Joey Quinn off about a suspicious looking fellow who just pulled into a garage. So while Dexter takes Sleepy back to his kill room, Quinn is able to save the day and save a life.

Taped down on the slab, Sleepy explains how thrilling it is to watch over his victims as they sleep, despite the fact that they never know just how in danger they really are. His operation of working alone stands in contrast to Dexter's realization that he never would've been able to pull the day off without the help of Charley and Quinn. Not only was he able to save an innocent life, but he was also able to end the Sleepy-Eyed Stranger's reign of terror for good. He stabs Sleepy with a giant-sized knife in front of a mobile of his victims' photos, reflecting on how teamwork might just be the right path for him moving forward. Maybe he doesn't need to work in the shadows alone anymore.

As he dumps multiple bags of body parts into the New York Bay, he fondly thinks about his new partnership with Charley... and his forthcoming target: the Jaw Splitter.

Now it's your turn! What did you think of Episode 3? Will Dexter and Charley's partnership be smooth sailing from here? Sound off in the comments below!