Dexter: Resurrection’s second season introduces two serial killers who could become Dexter’s most dangerous opponents since John Lithgow’s Trinity Killer: the Five Boroughs Killer and the New York Ripper. The premiere, “Risky Business,” reveals the first of them, while the Ripper’s identity is finally made known after he was mentioned in the previous season.
Dan Stevens plays the Five Boroughs Killer, identified in promotional materials as Lucas Stark or Owen Stark. He first appears on a subway, seemingly an ordinary man, before calling the New York Police Department to warn that a murder will take place at a baseball game.
Stark uses the stadium’s crowds and blind spots to evade surveillance, shooting a woman with a silenced weapon. He then records the killing and sends the footage to a woman in a park. Unlike Trinity, whose murders followed a ritual and left scenes for police to discover, Stark’s apparent fixation is on making law enforcement witness his crimes and escaping capture.
The New York Ripper also steps into the story with a name and a face. Brian Cox plays Don Framt, a wheelchair-bound man questioned by detectives Wallace and Oliva. Framt is believed to have killed victims using a hook designed to lift pothole covers, but the police cannot prove his guilt. Although he is no longer active, he continues to contact victims’ families with threats and watches as his calls receive public attention.
The season also links the killers’ need for an audience to a new feeling in Dexter. A dream involving Angel Batista recalls the guilt Dexter carries over his friend’s death. At the same time, Dexter has begun to want recognition for killing serial killers and believes his actions have saved lives.
That desire echoes the way Stark and Framt seek attention, though Dexter’s motives differ. The season sets up both men as formidable threats, with the possibility that they could become even more dangerous if they work together against him.
Sources: Comic Book Resources.