Dexter: Original Sin, the highly awaited prequel series to Dexter, premiered on Paramount+ with Showtime on December 13, 2024, and got the audience hooked from the word go. The mystery crime drama showcases the origin story of the titular serial killer.
The show depicts how Dexter Morgan goes from being an ordinary college graduate to a dreadful murderer. The debut episode showcases Dexter’s first kill, connecting the show to the original series’ lore.
Nurse Mary, a serial killer herself who was slowly poisoning Harry Morgan in his hospital bed, becomes the first victim. However, unlike his victims in the original series, Dexter does not take her blood on a slide. That is because he starts keeping blood slides as a trophy much later during his killing spree.
Why does Dexter not keep Nurse Mary’s blood in Dexter: Original Sin?
Dexter is known for collecting the blood of his victims on slides and keeping them in a box that serves as a trophy case. In the original series, he fills two such boxes. However, after the forensic analyst stabs Nurse Mary to death in Dexter: Original Sin, he does not take her blood on a slide.
Instead, Dexter snatches her blood-stained gold earrings and keeps them hidden in his room, though he later regrets the move. He does not keep Nurse Mary’s blood slide as she is his first kill, and at the time, Dexter has not started the tradition of collecting slides as trophies.
Dexter starts the trend later when he kills a sniper named Alex Timmons in season 1, episode 4 of the original series. This eventually becomes his signature style and he ends up collecting 46 slides in a box that is stolen at the end of season 2.
It is possible that Dexter thinks of collecting blood slides after his plans of keeping Nurse Mary’s earrings as a memento go awry. As seen in Dexter: Original Sin, he is already regretting his decision to keep the jewelry and might find himself in trouble if someone uncovers it in his room in later episodes.
Why does Dexter kill Nurse Mary in Dexter: Original Sin?
Nurse Mary’s murder is portrayed not only in Dexter: Original Sin but also in the predecessor series. In the original, Michael C. Hall enacted the scene, while in the new series, Patrick Gibson has stepped into the shoes of Dexter Morgan to re-enact the sequence.
In the story, Mary is an Angel of Death-type killer who secretly poisons patients, including Dexter’s adoptive father, Harry Morgan, who is in the hospital after a heart attack. Dexter notices Mary’s odd behavior. He finds her smirking after a patient dies and keeping a scrapbook of her victims.
Dexter tests the injections Mary has been giving Harry and finds they contain potassium nitrate, a chemical that can kill someone if used repeatedly. He realizes Mary is trying to kill Harry. Dexter warns Harry about Mary's motives and stops her from giving him another dose.
Meanwhile, Harry quietly gives him permission to take down Mary. Dexter then sets up his first kill at Mary’s home and covers everything in plastic to not leave a trace. When Mary comes home, Dexter confronts her with proof of her crimes. She tries to defend herself, saying she was helping her victims.
However, Dexter is furious as she almost killed his father, and stabs her in the chest multiple times, leaving her dead. He later wraps her body in plastic and dumps it in the Florida Everglades, where alligators devour it.
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Mary’s death is a turning point in Dexter’s life. It is the first time he uses Harry’s code to justify killing someone who ‘deserved it.’ The event shapes Dexter’s future as a vigilante serial killer who targets dangerous people.
Dexter: Original Sin airs new episodes on Paramount+ with Showtime on Fridays.
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