THE PERFORMANCE | Dexter is at his best when his back’s against the wall, and the same can be said for Hall, who once again delivered another powerhouse showing as one of TV’s favorite fictional serial killers.

In this week’s season finale, Dexter was forced to think on his feet while he was trapped inside Prater’s gruesome trophy vault. His precarious predicament gave Hall some intriguing suspense and emotions to work with, beginning with the character’s surprising feelings of loss over the late Batista. “Why does his death hurt so much?” Dexter asked as the actor painted his face with pain and confusion, his speech seething in anger. Watching the character wrestle with new and conflicting feelings was compelling to see after all these years, and Hall used this unique moment to enhance what would become a grand slam performance.

As Harrison attempted to infiltrate Prater’s gala undetected, Hall’s nervous body language and reactions raised the stakes and turned the tension up to 11. After his son was eventually apprehended by Charley and Prater, Hall expertly revealed, albeit non-verbally, just how much Dexter loved his son.

But the real fireworks boomed during Dexter and Prater’s final confrontation, which saw both actors firing on all cylinders. (Peter Dinklage has also been consistently excellent as this season’s Big Bad.) Once Prater was tied up in plastic, a lamb for the slaughter, Hall unleashed Dexter’s darkest and most terrifying urges, making us nearly leap off our couch when he bellowed, “Never utter my son’s name again!” Then, like the pro he is, he slipped back into a devilish whisper, as he explained the intoxicating effects of Prater’s “buffet of killers” for his dark passenger.

Dex referred to his experience at Prater’s compound as “a f–king revelation.” Eleven seasons in, that’s exactly how we’d describe Hall’s continued presence as the Bay Harbor Butcher, a performance so elevated, so natural, so thrilling that it always leaves us wanting more.

Scroll down to see who got Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…

HONORABLE MENTION: Melissa Navia

Photo : Courtesy of Paramount+

Melissa Navia pilots the Enterprise as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ senior helmsman Erica Ortegas, and this week, she absolutely took the wheel as Ortegas had to fight to survive, Cast Away-style, after crash-landing on a barren moon. Navia maintained Ortegas’ signature spunk as she made the best of her dire situation; we loved seeing her all pumped up when she finally got that water condenser to work. But it turned out she wasn’t alone, and Navia got to work through Ortegas’ buried trauma as she faced off with a stranded Gorn and then actually befriended the beast, with Navia finding a surprising tenderness in her hard-charging character. The Gorn’s story ended in tragedy, though, and the way Navia screamed at that moment just about ripped our hearts out. When Ortegas learned her whole ordeal was just a cosmic experiment, Navia unloaded a galaxy’s worth of hurt and frustration — and we’ll never see Ortegas quite the same way again, thanks to Navia’s vividly layered work here. — Dave Nemetz

HONORABLE MENTION: Jenna Ortega and Emma Myers

Photo : Netflix screenshot (3)

Netflix’s Wednesday spun a freaky tale in Episode 6 when a spell gone awry caused the titular Addams to swap bodies with her werewolf roommate Enid, resulting in one of the show’s most thoroughly entertaining hours to date. Both actresses expertly mastered the other’s mannerisms, with Emma Myers nailing Wednesday’s menacing stare and chilling glide-walk, and Jenna Ortega fully embracing every color of the Enid rainbow — often literally. Beyond simply being fun, however, the episode also packed an emotional punch, culminating in a satisfying moment of understanding between the uneasy besties. — Andy Swift