Dexter with his hands clasped at his chin in stadium seats in Dexter: Original Sin
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Dexter Original Sin First Episodes Review: This Is the Spin-off We Needed

I’m wary when a show develops a spin-off because it sometimes comes across as a desperate attempt to keep a series, characters, or a franchise alive when it should go out gracefully. But sometimes, they work. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Better Call Saul, and Young Sheldon are perfect examples. Given this, I was cautiously optimistic about Dexter: Original Sin.

As a long-time fan of the original series (it remains one of my favourite shows ever), I was worried about a sullied reputation. Then again, Dexter’s lacklustre ending (and arguably even its last four seasons) and the mixed reception to the limited series revival Dexter: New Blood already had fans slightly soured and questioning this new spin-off, along with the upcoming one, Dexter: Resurrection. But I have been pleasantly surprised with what I have seen so far.

What Is Dexter: Original Sin About?

Dexter in the dark wearing plastic over his clothes and holding a knife in Dexter: Original Sin.
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Dexter: Original Sin tells the backstory of lead character Dexter Morgan (played by Michael C. Hall in the original, Patrick Gibson in the prequel with Hall continuing to handle voiceover inner monologue duties). He’s a budding serial killer with intense urges to murder and see blood, likely spawned from the horrendous murder of his mother, which he witnessed as a child.

His adoptive father Henry (played by James Remar in flashbacks in the original, Christian Slater in the spin-off) was a detective and learned of these urges early on. Rather than turn his son in, he tried his best to channel Dexter’s “addiction.” He sent him to med school, went hunting for animals with him, anything to satisfy the urges to see death. But nothing worked.

Dexter and Harry standing in the kitchen in Dexter: Original Sin.
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Fans of the original heard certain things about Dexter’s life as a young adult, notably how Harry devised a Code to which Dexter needed to live. If he was going to kill, he could only kill awful human beings who slipped through the justice system. He had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person was guilty. And he had to report everything he did to his father.

Older Dexter often reminisced about his first kill, a nurse named Mary (Tanya Clarke in Original Sin, Denise Crosby in flashbacks in Dexter) who was purposely killing patients and almost killed his father when he was hospitalized for a heart attack. In Dexter, he has since refined his kill process, hunting his victims and injecting them with drugs to incapacitate them. He lies them on a plastic-wrapped table in a plastic-wrapped Kill Room and recites their misdeeds to them, often with photographic evidence of their victims. He cuts a slit in their cheek to keep blood in a slide as a trophy, then plunges a knife into their chest. He dismembers the body, wraps it up in garbage bags, and dumps them in the ocean under the guise of taking a trip out in his boat, aptly named Slice of Life.

Nurse Mary on Dexter's table looking terrified in Dexter: Original Sin.
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But his process was once messy, his kills frantic and sloppy. What’s more, when he first started working for Miami Metro in forensics, he was completely green. He didn’t know how to do the job nor how to commiserate with others in a way that would make him seem normal. But he did have a knack for seeing a crime scene in ways no one could, though they didn’t understand where this insight originated. All of this is plays out in Dexter: Original Sin.

Dexter: Original Sin Review

Dexter: Original Sin opening sequence.
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From the opening credits that pay homage to the original, to Hall’s familiar voice as the inner monologue, Dexter: Original Sin had me giddy from the first episode. Gibson does an impeccable job of capturing the awkwardness of the character in such a way that you really believe this is Hall as a young adult. The actors cast to play the supporting characters are spot-on as well. They don’t just look like actors in costume: everything from their mannerisms to the inflection in their voice and signature quirks is replicated wonderfully. It’s almost enough to make you forget that Harry doesn’t look anything like he did in the original series (Slater captures him so well, you don’t even care).

The series explores more than just Dexter’s journey. You see the dynamic play out that Debra (Jennifer Carpenter in the original, Molly Brown in Original Sin) recalled so many times: Dexter and her father were so close and she always felt like she was on the outside looking in. Of course, she didn’t understand why at the time. We see the early crush Detective Angel Bautista (David Zayas/James Martinez) had on Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez/Christina Milian), how Vince Masuka (C.S. Lee/Alex Shimizu) was always the irritating, obnoxious, co-worker, and the inner torment that eventually led to Harry dying by suicide. In one scene when Harry realizes Dexter took Nurse Mary’s earrings as a trophy, he is gutted and calls the act “sick.” As a detective, he knows exactly how sadistic killers work and recognizes Dexter is one of them in this moment. But he’s morally torn since he knows who Dexter is deep down and believes he can “fix” him, or at least redirect him in a positive way.

Masuka holding up a camera in a home in Dexter: Original Sin.
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The Easter Eggs abound in the series. There’s Dexter’s first attempt at gaining favour with his co-workers by bringing a vegetable tray only to be coached by Camilla Figg (Sarah Kinsey as a younger version of the character played by Margo Martindale in the original) to bring donuts instead. How he spins in his chair, the long shaggy hair, and the story of his birth mother Laura Moser (Brittany Allen, Katherine Kirkpatrick in flashbacks in the original) and the tragic events that led up to her death all track with the original. Showing the events play out between Moser, who was working as Harry’s informant, reinforce the guilt Harry felt and why he took Dexter in as his own. Other events that play out in Original Sin further solidify this decision.

The show is equal parts nostalgic and fresh, not to mention it has a killer ‘90s soundtrack. It’s not necessarily one you can watch without having watched Dexter, and even Dexter: New Blood (or at least read recaps of both). Yet it also stands on its own as a story about a young man with a Dark Passenger he can’t suppress yet tries to control.

Dexter in the dark holding something in his hand in Dexter: Original Sin
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One of the factors that made Dexter so popular in the first place is that fans couldn’t reconcile their feelings about him. He was a psychopathic killer who, for the most part, lacked empathy. But he also fashioned himself a vigilante, thanks to his father’s teachings. He was ridding the streets of people who raped women, murdered children, distributed drugs to vulnerable people, and killed innocent others in cold blood. He was doing something good in the eyes of viewers and they had a tough time wanting to dislike him for it.

Gibson’s young Dexter may not be as refined as the older, more seasoned Dexter with his kill shirt, needle, and knife set. Older Dexter had his ritual planned right down to the last body part drop. But Gibson adds a sense of vulnerability to a character fans already hated to love, and makes you hate to love him even more.

Dexter spinning in his new office chair at Miami Metro talking to the head of forensics in Dexter: Original Sin.
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Overall, the series plays out events that we heard about in the original or saw briefly in flashbacks in a way that makes you not only sympathize with Dexter, but also with Harry and Debra. You gain a better understanding of why Deb is the way she is, and why Harry felt he had no other way out.

Dexter was never going to change or be healed or satisfied with alternatives, and deep down, Harry probably knew that. He was a seasoned enough homicide detective to understand how killers worked. Both Gibson and Slater pull off the dynamic in all its raw, unfiltered glory, which makes you convinced that this is the backstory Dexter was telling us all along.

Should You Watch Dexter: Original Sin?

Dexter in an elevator with a backpack smirking in Dexter: Original Sin.
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If you’re a fan of Dexter and watched the original, you won’t be disappointed watching Dexter: Original Sin. Some aspects may make you cringe, including the backstory of a neglectful Harry losing his first son in a pool accident and the challenge in accepting this version of a young Debra as the same sharp-tongued sister we got to know in the original. But if you suspend belief for moments that aren’t as believable, you really feel like you’re watching characters you know evolve into the people they become. Most importantly, you’re seeing how they got there.

The show made the right move in having Hall do the voiceover: without it, Dexter: Original Sin may have felt like nothing more than a cheap attempt at bringing back a character who had already told his story. But his recognizable voice, delivered in the same monotone fashion as the original, along with Gibson’s sinister smirk and doe-eyed, unaffected reaction to everything from a young woman kissing him to his sister’s grateful embrace, is reminiscent of the Dexter we know.

Dexter holding and looking at a bloodslide in Dexter.
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Fans know where the show ends up, with Harry’s tragic death, Dexter continuing his work as a blood spatter analyst, and Debra eventually joining the force. But the journey to get there, should it play out over multiple seasons, is one we never thought we wanted nor needed until now.

There’s something deeply likable about Gibson as Dexter. Seeing as this is precisely what Hall set out to accomplish with the original, and accomplished in spades, we’re on the right track. Dexter: Original Sin is fascinating, fun, and dark, just like the original. This is making a murderer in its finest form.

Stream Dexter: Original Sin on Paramount+ with Showtime.