Dexter: Resurrection's Latest Episode Just Left Me With A Big Theory About The New York Ripper's True Identity, And I Need To Talk About It

Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Dexter: Resurrection episode "The Kill Room Where It Happens." Stream it with a Paramount+ subscription and read at your own risk!

Dexter: Resurrection's first season is nearing the end of its ten-episode run, and exciting things are happening. It seems like Angel Batista's showdown with Dexter may come to an unexpected end, and I think the resolution will go deeper than that. Detective Wallace has chased the New York Ripper for years, and I think she might be closer than ever to finally finding him.

Just on the heels of being excited that Eric Stonestreet's Pony Tail Killer escaped Dexter's wrath, I now have a big theory regarding the true identity of the New York Ripper. I'm officially off the train that Blessing is the mysterious serial killer, and I think I have a much more compelling idea.

Detective Wallace Is Beginning To Suspect Batista Is The Bay Harbor Butcher

The latest episode of Dexter: Resurrection nearly ended with Batista catching Dexter in the act of a kill, but the killer slipped away at the last minute. Still thinking he had ample evidence to get him pulled in for questioning, Batista phoned Detective Wallace and had her and Detective Melvin come and check out the kill room before it was taken down.

Unfortunately for Batista, he had zero evidence that anything malicious occurred, and it ended with her phoning Miami Homicide's Joey Quinn with questions about him. She learned that Batista had lied about still being involved with law enforcement, and alarm bells started to go off in her head.

I Think This Will Lead Her To Realize Detective Melvin Is The New York Ripper

The end of "The Kill Room Where It Happens" made it seem like Wallace was beginning to suspect Batista is actually the Bay Harbor Butcher, and attempting to frame Dexter for the crimes. It's a colossal misstep for a detective who has done some fantastic work thus far in following her leads, which struck me as odd. Then, I started to think about it, and how it would inadvertently solve the biggest mystery of Dexter: Resurrection so far.

One thing that the New York Ripper and Dexter have in common is that neither were caught despite being very prolific. One way Dexter stayed ahead of the game back in the original series was having a heads up on what his coworkers in Miami Metro were looking into, thus avoiding detection time and time again. Now that Wallace suspects Angel Batista could've been doing that, could it put her on the path that someone in the NYPD is the New York Ripper?

Not just anyone, but I think Wallace will ultimately realize that Detective Melvin is the New York Ripper. I'll back that up by noting that Melvin tried to pressure Wallace into attending Leon Prater's gala, noting that he gives a ton of money to the NYPD.

Could he be so adamant on doing that because he's the Ripper, and intends on giving Prater the greatest gift of all by killing his partner in front of the billionaire on the night of the gala? Time could tell...

This Would Explain Dominic Fumusa Having A Relatively Minor Role Thus Far In Dexter: Resurrection

Dexter: Resurrection has a stacked cast, and I think that made Dominic Fumusa's casting as Detective Melvin pretty understated. The former Nurse Jackie actor has appeared in a ton of crime shows over the years, so putting him in a role of a character who felt pretty insignificant to the story up to this point feels odd.

In a cast that didn't have the likes of Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman, Krysten Ritter, Neil Patrick Harris, and Eric Stonestreet, his casting would stick out a lot more. With those actors in Dexter: Resurrection, however, he's slid under the radar, and I think in part, that could be by design.

Also, as many have theorized, there are a lot of people out there who think Dexter's landlord, Blessing Karma, is the New York Ripper. Frankly, the fact that it feels so obvious to the audience has me further convinced it's a red herring so that viewers don't look into it much further. We'll see if my theory that Melvin is the New York Ripper pans out, but at this time, I feel pretty convinced he is.

Dexter: Resurrection streams new episodes on Paramount+ on Fridays, with another airing on Showtime on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Pretty soon, it'll be time to check out that 2025 TV schedule and find a new show to watch once the season is over, so be sure to check it out and see what's premiering in the coming months.