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7 Bears
Netflix’s 7 Bears takes a comedic twist to some beloved fairytales. But no amount of magic can mask some concerning comments.
Dexter should’ve died.
We all thought he did: Harrison, his son who shot him; the audience, who had tuned into the Dexter: New Blood finale to see how the series would end; even the show’s executive producer.
“I’m just gonna say three words because it’s not like that was all a dream or anything like that,” Clyde Phillips told USA Today following that show’s finale.
“Dexter is dead.”
But, somehow, Dexter returned, clinging to life. Apparently the frigid snow iced his seemingly mortal wound and slowed his heart rate down long enough for the paramedics to save him.
Sure, it took lying around in a coma for 10 weeks before he came to. But now Dexter’s back, and he’s got a whole new perspective on life.
Important note: That perspective doesn’t preclude slaughtering a few more souls now that Dexter’s back from the dead himself.
Chiefly, Dexter (and the ghosts who previously spoke to him in hallucinations) has realized that his life, like all those he’s slain, is fragile. And he’d like to spend what time he does have with someone he loves.
The big problem with being a secretive serial killer, however, is you can’t really open up to anyone. Sure, there are a few people out there who know the truth. But Dexter’s not exactly on good terms with any of them.
One of them is Harrison, who has his own “Dark Passenger,” his own insatiable murderous tendencies. But, if you might recall, Harrison’s the one who put a bullet into Dexter’s chest after he learned that Dexter broke their family code: to satisfy their bloodlust by only killing people whom they consider to be evil.
Still, Dexter thinks that the bullet could just be a thing of the past, and the two might still reconnect—if only he can locate Harrison.
The answer to that question is New York City, where Harrison has taken up a job as a hotel concierge. He’s gotten by without giving into his Dark Passenger. He doesn’t want to be a killer—regardless of whether someone deserves it.
But then he sees a hotel guest attempting to rape a drugged woman. He beats the man to the ground. He recognizes that the man will simply find another woman if he lets him go, so he grabs the nearby toilet tank lid, lifting it over his head to deliver the killing blow.
As it comes swinging down, perhaps Harrison is thinking:
Huh. Maybe dad was right.
If there’s one thing directors don’t know how to do, it’s let a series die.
Certainly, for as much problematic content as there was in Dexter and Dexter: New Blood, those two series concluded with a kind of justice: their titular character being killed by a gunshot from his own son, a young man who rejected the monstrous path his father told him he was bound to walk.
But then Dexter: Original Sin indicated that Dexter might just pull through. And now, Dexter: Resurrection brings him back from the brink of death.
There’s not much else to say about the series, since it’s mostly a continuation of the same gruesome stuff that’s filled previous installments in this franchise. That means a continuation of all the hunting, the killings, the dismemberments.
However, for those who’d like a more succinct summary, I think the Paramount Plus warning for the first episode quite aptly describes the show as a whole:
“Coarse Language, Violence, Nudity, Rape, Gore, Distressing Content.”
Yeesh.
Perhaps Dexter should’ve stayed down.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Dexter recovers from his gunshot wound, and Harrison finds a hotel guest to kill.
As detectives reincorporate a dismembered body, we see the naked man’s genitals. We see a woman in her underwear and a shirtless man. A man and woman kiss. Two gay men check into the hotel.
A male hotel guest spikes a woman’s drink and takes her to his room, intent upon raping her. However, Harrison stops him. The two of them brawl, leaving the man’s face bloodied. Harrison then beats him over the head with a toilet tank lid until he dies. Harrison chops the body up, showing each dismembered piece to the camera. A man is stabbed, and Dexter bashes another man’s head against cell bars. We see a dead woman in a blood-filled tub. A flashback shows Dexter sitting in blood.
Someone says, “Like our Savior, sometimes you have to go through hell to achieve resurrection – not that we’re anything like the good Lord.” Dexter has many hallucinations, talking to various dead people. When a fourth such specter appears, Dexter mutters, “Isn’t there something about these ending after the third ghost?” Harrison suffers a jump-scare vision of a man he killed. The lyrics from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ soundtrack song “Red Right Hand” include these lines: “He’s a god, he’s a man, he’s a ghost, he’s a guru.”
Harrison supplies marijuana to a hotel guest. A woman ingests a spiked drink and becomes inebriated. Harrison vomits.
We hear the f-word roughly 30 times, including a few pairings with “mother.” We also hear the s-word 13 times. “A–,” “b–ch,” “h—,” “d–n” and “p-ss” are used, too. God’s name is used in vain once, and Jesus’ name is likewise used in vain once. A woman uses the word “white” pejoratively to describe a man.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Netflix’s 7 Bears takes a comedic twist to some beloved fairytales. But no amount of magic can mask some concerning comments.
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