Note: Dexter: Original Sin Season 1 premiere recap contains SPOILERS from the first episode. If you don't want to know what happens, watch the episode and come back later. Also, Trigger Warning: The episode features S**ual Violence.
The latest addition to the Dexter Universe, Dexter Original Sin aired its first episode on 13 December, 2024. It is a prequel to the original 2006 series and is set in 1991. Among the characters it features is Dexter and Debra's father, Harry Morgan, who is alive at that point of time. Christian Slater plays Harry Morgan while Patrick Gibson is cast as the young Dexter. Its synopsis reads like this:
"In 1991, young Dexter Morgan (Patrick Gibson) begins his internship as a forensic technician for the Miami Metro Police Department while transitioning into an avenging serial killer. When his bloodthirsty urges can no longer be ignored, Dexter must control his inner darkness. With the help from his foster father Harry (Christian Slater), he adopts the Code designed to help him find and kill other serial killers while staying under the radar of law enforcement."
At the very beginning of this recap of Dexter Original Sin season premiere recap, let's get to the most important plot point of the show that will have an impact on Dexter: Resurrection.
How does Dexter: Original Sin retcon the end of Dexter: New Blood?
At the end of Dexter: New Blood, Harrison (who's grown up) shoots his father because he is instructed to end the cycle of violence perpetuated by Dexter's dark secret. While New Blood was appreciated by the audience and critics, the finale was universally criticised, particularly for the ending. When Dexter: Resurrection with Michael C. Hall was announced at Comic-Con 2024 as a continuation of the original series, fans were left wondering how the ending of New Blood could be undone.
The answer is provided in the very opening moments of the prequel series. A prologue shows Dexter being taken to a hospital and revived by doctors. After being saved, Dexter recounts his youth, setting the stage for the prequel.
What happens in the First Episode of Dexter: Original Sin?
After the prologue, we hear adult Dexter as a narrator and the rest of the episode unfolds in flashbacks. The opening titles follow, along with the hummable theme tune, after the hospital scene. Shots featured in the opening credits of Dexter: Original Sin Episode 1 have slight variations from those of the earlier seasons, and feature Gibson as a young Dexter instead of Hall. Harry Morgan is present, too, and we see Molly Brown as a young Debra instead of Jennifer Carpenter, who has been seen essaying the adult version of the role in the past.
As the episode rolls, we see a young Dexter as a student in medical school. He calmly performs surgery on a body, as his fellow students declare him a "freak." Dexter is disappointed by the lack of blood as he pulls out the heart, revealing no emotion. The teacher appreciates his impeccable skills as a surgeon. Meanwhile, we see cops including Harry, a young Masuka (Alex Shimizu) and Batista (James Martinez), Harry's partner Bobby Watt (Reno Wilson), the "boss" of forensics Tanya Martin (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and the police captain Aaron Spencer (Patrick Dempsey). Harry spots a small lead at the crime scene as it ends.
At the Morgan household, Debra hopes to attend a college party and Harry tells her that he will grant permission only if Dexter goes with her. At the party, Dexter feels out of place. However, he rushes to defend a drunk Debra when one of her friends warns Dexter that his sister is unconscious and alone. A frat boy, Andy, tries to assault Debra but Dexter reaches on time and starts to whale on him. He comes close to stabbing Andy with a knife but Debra prevents him. She is thankful to her brother but on returning home have an exchange with Harry, which ends with their father telling his children to go to bed. A flashback follows, revealing Debra's older and biological brother had drowned in the pool while Harry was watching a game.
The next day, during a hunting trip with Harry, Dexter confesses how close he came to killing Andy. Harry has a heart attack hearing this and Dexter rushes him to the hospital. There, he discovers something sinister. Harry's condition improves but his health suddenly starts to decline. Dexter investigates and realises that Nurse Mary is a serial killer who poisons patients and clips their obituaries from the newspaper.
On being permitted to kill Nurse Mary by Harry, Dexter commits the deed the same night as Debra's basketball match. While Deb is initially upset with Dex for missing the match, her mood improves when Harry is discharged from the hospital.
Dexter confirms to Harry that there were no witnesses to Nurse Mary's murder and that he fed her body to alligators. Once Dexter leaves the room, Harry is overcome by guilt and starts weeping, setting up his tragic end that was revealed in the second season of the original series.
In the closing moments of the episode, Dexter drops out of medical school and joins the forensics department, the career we see him pirsuing in the original series. Dexter earns internship for having impressed Masuka by identifying a common pattern in crime-scene photos at a career fair earlier in the episode. While Harry disapproves of this move, Dexter is quite eager because the job gives him access to blood.
Dexter: Original Sin's Shout-outs to the Original Series
Just as numerous prequels, Dexter: Original Sin does have shout-outs to the original series. Here are some of them, with slight variations at times:
- In the first frame of the opening credits, we see the mosquito stinging a sleeping Dexter's hands. However, when swatted, instead of being crushed, it buzzes away. It is only while disposing of Nurse Mary's body at night that Dexter successfully swats a mosquito. The opening credits of the subsequent episodes may probably feature young Dex successfully swatting the annoying insect.
- The main antagonist Nurse Mary is Dexter's first kill, and events of this episode are seen in the third episode, “Popping Cherry”, of the first season of the original series.
- After sitting on the lab chair, Dexter as the new intern starts spinning the seat, much like his adult counterpart throughout the original show.
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The first episode of Dexter: Original Sin is available on Paramount+ with Showtime. The 10-episode series will air every Friday till 14 February, 2025.
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