Plenty of theories have emerged about Mia, a.k.a. Lady Vengeance (Krysten Ritter) inDexter: Resurrection, especially regarding her status as a vigilante killer of sexual predators who follows a self-imposed code similar to Dexter’s (Michael C. Hall). It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how this fits in perfectly with Ryan’s (Bryan Lillis) murder and a potential link to help save Harrison (Jack Alcott) from being arrested and charged for it.
In Episode 5, “Murder Horny,” more is revealed about Mia and how she might play into this plot.But the revelation is shocking, suggesting she isn’t the woman Dexter thought she was all along.
Spoiler warning for Episode 5 of Dexter: Resurrection.
Dexter: Resurrection
Mia’s Introduction Piqued Dexter’s Interest
When Dexter first met Mia at Leon Prater’s (Peter Dinklage) dinner party, he was immediately intrigued. Not only is she a stunning woman, but she also seems to operate by a code like he does. She’s known as Lady Vengeance, a killer who only targets sexual predators. She viciously kills them, bludgeoning them and gouging out their eyes, then moves on to the next, satisfied with preventing them from harming another person.
She reveals more about her backstory to Dexter when they go for a run in the park the morning after dinner in Episode 4, “Call Me Red.” She had a lot of pent-up rage as a child, but her parents ignored it, chalking it up to nothing more than pre-pubescent anger. She tried ballet for a time as an outlet, putting all her efforts into the punishing practices. But it wasn’t enough.
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When she returned home after college to discover that her mother’s boyfriend had abused her younger sister, that was the last straw.She brutally murdered him and felt a release she had never felt before. That is when she realized that killing was the only way to scratch the persistent itch, her own version of a dark passenger. She presumably followed this self-imposed code, targeting other sexual predators. Her kill count is at least five people over 18 months. Butin Episode 5, Dexter learns that Mia isn’t who he thought she was all along. While the title fits, the code is more manufactured by the media than rooted in reality.
The Revelation Sparks Questions About Gender Stereotypes
After a fun day of bowling, Dexter and Mia head to a local wine bar so she can show off her sommelier skills some more. While there, she reveals something terrifying to Dexter.She isn’t Lady Vengeance. That’s just a name the media made up for her because it seemed to fit. She simply likes to kill. She loves the thrill.She’sthe predator.
How did she wind up being known as Lady Vengeance? Mia advises that the first few victims just so happened to fit the narrative, and the media ran with it. They tried to create some type of deep meaning in what she does. But in her eyes, she doesn’t need a noble reason. She just wants tosilence her dark passengerand chase the adrenaline. “Society doesn’t think a woman could possibly just enjoy murder,” she tells Dexter as he looks on, stunned. “She has to be a noble crusader, a victim who fights back. The truth is, I’m the predator.”
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It’s an interesting revelation that suggests the media created a character to explain Mia’s murders that has nothing to do with any actual pattern. Looking back, all her victims had troubled pasts that caused the media to wrongly believe that they had something to do with why they were targeted. In actuality,they were simply random victims.
Coincidentally, many of them hadhistories of abuseor exploitation, a sad reality that even the men Mia chose at random fit a disturbing profile of violence against women. One was a former soldier who was dishonorably discharged for misconduct, presumed to have been sexual in nature, relating to female soldiers.
Upon meeting Dexter in Episode 4, Mia comments that she finds the name absurd, pointing out that if she were a man, they would not have called her Sir Vengeance. Sadly, she’s right. And the fact that her kills aren’t some macabre version of Cassie (Carey Mulligan) fromPromising Young Womanis eye-opening and worthy of sparking conversation.
What Happens Next Is Chilling but Clever
Reeling from this news, Dexter is taken aback when Mia propositions him for a three-way. She doesn’t mean sex, but rather a three-way kill. She wants them to change things up and work together. Dexter, of course, is not interested in killing an innocent person who doesn’t meet The Code. But how does he get out of this?
Always thinking on his feet andfinding ways to get out of trouble, Dexter declines her offer. But she tells him the conversation has now made her “murder horny,” so she’s going to go perform a kill on her own. Now, Dexter knows Mia doesn’t qualify for a pass under The Code, and he has the chance to stop her from committing another murder.He can’t kill her, however, because if Leon’s serial killer friends start dropping like flies as soon as he arrives, there will no doubt be suspicion cast on him.
He falls back, but Dexter has a plan. He breaks into her apartment, plants Ryan’s watch that he had graciously taken from Harrison in her musical box of victim trinkets, opens her curtains, then heads to the roof of a building across the street to lie in wait.
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When he sees her arrive with her latest victim and bash him over the head with a wine bottle to knock him out, he calls the police as a random concerned citizen. Using a fake Brooklyn accent, he says he believes there’s an attack happening in that apartment, and they need to hurry. The NYPD officers arrive and catch Mia in the act of prepping to torture the frightened man. She’s arrested and presumed to have killed Ryan once they find the music box.Harrison is thus no longer a suspect, and all is right in the world… for now.
“Even if I can’t be in my son’s life,” Dexter’s inner monologue notes, referencing Harrison’s earlier rebuffs of his desire to reconnect, “at least he can have one.” In one fell swoop, Dexter has prevented a murder, saved his son, and taken down one of the most notorious serial killers.
As for Lady Vengeance potentially having been the female version of Dexter, as fans thought would be the trajectory of her story, the reality proves thatDexter is one of a kind. It’s precisely why the character is so beloved, despite what he does.
“There’s no one else in the world like you,” Harry’s ghost tells Dexter as he grapples with the reality that Mia isn’t the woman he thought she was, but just another sadistic, psychopathic killer who lacks empathy. “That’s a compliment.” Will Lady Vengeance get out of this jam? Time will tell, but her arrest will certainly raise Leon’s suspicions and worry him about what she might reveal. For now, at least Harrison is safe and on a path to healing with his dad. Lady Vengeance just became the perfect patsy, and deservedly so. Ryan might not have fit her non-existent code, but she could very well have killed him all the same. And, at least for now, she can’t kill anyone else.StreamDexter: ResurrectiononParamount+ with Showtime.
