Tamal Kundu
One of Showtime’s most prolific shows of all time, ‘Dexter’ enthralls its audience in its first few seasons but then fizzles out with predictable and yet somehow incoherent narrative. The series ending, according to Michael C. Hall himself, “was mystifying at best to people, confounding, exasperating, frustrating, on down the line of negative adjectives.” So, when the news broke that there would be a sequel series to ‘Dexter,’ it instantly garnered much attention. Clyde Phillips, who served as the showrunner in the first four seasons of the original series, created the sequel, ’Dexter: New Blood.’
As always, a father-and-son dynamic is at the epicenter of the narrative. This time, it revolves around Dexter and his estranged son Harrison (Jack Alcott). Now all grown up, Harrison walks back to his father’s life after several years. If you are wondering how old Harrison is in ‘Dexter: New Blood’ or how he found Dexter, to begin with, we got you covered.
How Old Is Harrison in Dexter: New Blood?
Harrison is Dexter’s biological son with Rita Bennett (Julie Benz), Dexter’s late wife. He is first introduced in season 4. At the end of the season, Dexter finds him in the pool of his mother’s blood, crying, after the Trinity Killer murders Rita. This scene is a throwback to Dexter’s own childhood when Harry found him.
These parallels between Dexter and Harrison are regularly drawn throughout the rest of the series, effectively establishing Dexter’s fear that Harrison is turning into him. In season 7, Harrison is three years old. Dexter himself mentions this to Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski) in episode 8, ‘Argentina.’ However, things become complicated in season 8.
The events of the season premiere take place six months after LaGuerta’s death, which happened at the end of the seventh season. But Harrison seems to have been aged up a bit. He is a lot more talkative, attends a swimming class, and plays soccer. He is most likely four or even five years old when the eighth season concludes.
We know that about a decade has passed between season 8 and ‘Dexter: New Blood.’ This means that Harrison is probably 14, 15, or even 16 years old when Dexter finds him in his cabin. In season 7, Dexter envisions a happy life with Hannah and Harrison and sees a 17-year-old blonde and athletic version (Lucas Adams) of his son. The one that Alcott portrays in the new series is significantly different from that.
How Did Harrison Find Dexter?
At the end of season 8, Dexter fakes his death and moves to Oregon, where he works as a lumberjack. However, in ‘Dexter: New blood,’ he is in Iron Lake, New York. From his conversation with Matt Caldwell, we know that he has been working at the Fish and Game store for a couple of years. So, we can safely presume that he has been in Iron Lake for at least that much time. It’s possible that he was somewhere else before that, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be Oregon. He was probably moving from one small and sleepy town to another in the past decade, staying as far away from Miami as possible. And yet, Harrison has found him.
One possible reason for this is that Dexter might have contacted Hannah at some point in the last couple of years to let her know that he was alive. Harrison found out about it and subsequently located his father in the outskirts of the snowy community of Iron Hill. Or, Dexter had reached out to Hannah a long time ago and made her understand why they must stay apart. They kept in touch throughout the years, which culminated in Harrison’s appearance in Dexter’s cabin. It is also possible that Harrison methodically retraced his father’s steps since his presumed death in the hurricane in Miami. After all, he is Dexter’s son and likely has inherited his father’s instincts.
