Latest ‘Dexter’ Victim Teases Another Resurrection: “I Wouldn’t Count Anything Out”

Latest ‘Dexter’ Victim Teases Another Resurrection: “I Wouldn’t Count Anything Out”

[This story contains major spoilers from episode six of Dexter: Resurrection.]

Another killer bites the dust… on second thought, two more killers bite the dust. On third thought, maybe it really is just one? The math’s getting confusing here on Dexter: Resurrection, as the latest episode brings us two casualties and one resurrection — with potential to change those numbers in the weeks ahead.

The sixth episode, “Cats and Mouse,” sees Dexter (Michael C. Hall) stalking the Gemini Killer, played by David Dastmalchian, a murderer so famous as to top the FBI’s most-wanted list. As easily as he evades the feds, the Gemini Killer is no match for Dexter Morgan, as he all but ties himself up to the wrong end of the killing table. But both Dexter and Dexter viewers get quite the shock at the end of the episode when the Gemini Killer casually meets back up with Dexter and their fellow murderous peers, as if nothing happened at all. Finally, Dexter puts it together: the Gemini Killer was actually the Gemini Killers, a pair of twin brothers working together. 

That’s not the only twist of the episode, of course, as Krysten Ritter‘s Mia LaPierre, aka Lady Vengeance, meets her end in what appears to be a death by suicide, but is more likely a hit taken out on the killer by Peter Dinklage’s Leon Prater and his right hand Charley (Uma Thurman).

We don’t see the killing directly, but we do see Mia’s body being cut down from her prison cell. It would seem a pretty definitive ending for the character. Then again, Dexter himself was shot in the heart in the Dexter: New Blood finale, and look where we are now. So is there a surprise Vengeance reunion tour in the works? That’s Ritter’s hope, at least, as she makes it clear to The Hollywood Reporter that she’s not quite done sinking her teeth into Lady Vengeance: “Never say never.” More on that and more on becoming Lady Vengeance in our conversation with Ritter below.

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How much did you know about Lady Vengeance’s arc when you signed on?

I knew what they were planning. We talked about this character in depth. They actually wrote it with me in mind, so when I got the scripts it was absolute candy. I worked with Scott Reynolds on Jessica Jones. Months ago we were texting about nothing — like, restaurants. I’m like, “Oh, what are you working on?” He told me about Dexter: Original Sin and that Resurrection was green lit. I was like, “Ooh, do you have something for me?” And he said, “Well, actually, would you be interested? And how would that work?” I told him if the part is amazing, I’ll be there. You never know what’s going to happen with those conversations. And sure enough, something came in and it was even better than I could have imagined. Every scene as I was reading it, I was like, “Oh my God, I have to do this.”

Were you a Dexter fan beforehand?

I was absolutely a Dexter fan. I mean, it’s a legacy TV show. I’m a huge fan of Michael C. Hall and the tone of that show. Melissa Rosenberg, the creator and showrunner of Jessica Jones, also works on Dexter. So that sensibility, how they do really dark drama with horror elements also have a lot of comedy, too? I love that stuff.

What caught you the most about Lady Vengeance once you started reading scripts?

It was right from page one. You don’t really see female serial killers, flashy and glamorous roles like this very often. This is a choice role that doesn’t come across your desk every day. As I was reading it, it just felt like the words fit in my mouth because Scott knows me so well. I remember kind of laughing because a hundred years ago when I was dating and would go on dates, I would always take my date bowling. And Scott knows this about me! So the fact that they had her take Dexter on a bowling date was really funny. I was like: All right, buckle up, because I’m actually very good!

Do you still bowl?

I still bowl often. There was a while where I had my own ball and shoes. I’m such a dork. (Laughs.) It was hot pink. Now I bowl pretty often with my son, and we’ve been going since he was 4. Going bowling with a 5-year-old is a blast. He uses the bumpers, but at this point he beats me sometimes.

What were your first steps in cracking the character? Was there one major inroad for you?

First, there’s obviously what’s on the page. Usually I hook into the character having a certain cadence or maybe she walks a certain way or, how does she hold her body and why? Then it was really about diving into the look and costumes. I immediately put together a mood board of how she could look and how we could really, really lean in. Then I sent that to Cat Thomas, the costume designer, who got so excited and sent me back something even better.

When you start to get that kind of collaboration where you can get so much excitement from somebody else, it just catches on fire. That was another element to this character that was so fun and so candy: we really wanted to have a look that could be a Halloween costume. How do we really go for it? I wasn’t interested in playing anything safe. Cat and I had so much fun putting together these looks. Every time they saw something we were putting together, they were just like, “Yes, yes. Put it in the show. Actually. We need more looks, add more outfits.”

What was the first scene you shot? Was it the meeting of the murderers?

No, the very first thing I shot was the running in Central Park scene with Michael C. Hall. It was just the two of us. Within 20 seconds, it was obvious that we had a natural chemistry and really easy rapport, we just clicked in very easily, and that doesn’t always happen. Then I believe the next stuff was the meeting at the mansion, It was a week long and it was awesome. Everybody felt like, this is a big deal. Nobody was going back to their trailers. We were all just with each other, sitting around in between setups, connecting on a personal level and celebrating what fun roles these are.

All of the actors… Uma Thurman, how do I even be a normal person around her? David Dastmalchian and I have been dying to work together for years. Eric Stonestreet I used to run into a bit on the Fox lot when they were doing Modern Family and I was doing Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23. So we had a nice time reconnecting and he’s so funny, you could spend all day with him. Then obviously Neil Patrick Harris was so amazing. We all just spent every second together.

Neil said the same thing. To be a fly on that wall!

It was one of the most fun weeks I’ve had on set, and I’ve been doing this for 27 years. The crew felt it, too. It was across the board. Everybody was like, “Wow, all of these incredible people are all in one room.” It was just celebratory and delicious and enjoyable. It set the bar of how you want every work experience to be. And I think because this is a long-running show, the crew is so efficient. It’s actually a lot of crew members from Jessica Jones that I knew. So it felt very natural and easy, like a high-functioning really well run TV show.

It’s unfortunately short-lived, after Dexter all but turns you in, and we see what happens at the end of this episode. Did you push back at all, hoping to stick around for longer?

When I first read this script, it was like, “okay, these cool three episodes, we’re going to do it.” But then as I was there and in the skin of this character and having so much fun, there’s not a day that goes by where we’re not talking about how to do more with this character. So I wouldn’t count on anything, but if there is a way for me to continue playing this character, I would do it because it was a blast.

I don’t know what that says about me, that I loved playing this character who happens to kill people. (Laughs.) But I think because there is a playfulness to her in moments, that’s very fun for me to hook into. And the fact she’s got so many colors when we first meet her, she’s so stoic and reserved and incredulous and kind of scoping everything out, and then she sinks into the sexy flirtation and rapport with Dexter, and then we get to see these deranged psychotic glimpses of who she is. And also her backstory is so interesting. It’s such a well-written character that I guess it’s no surprise that it was a blast, but it really was one of the most fun characters to play.

Listen, they literally killed Dexter at the end of New Blood, and here we are. Can’t rule anything out!

Yeah, I wouldn’t count anything out. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.

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Dexter: Resurrection streams on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. Follow along with THR‘s season coverage.