‘Dexter: Original Sin’ Review: Same Ol’ Dexter

Dexter: Original Sin is a member of a very exclusive club that’s quickly going to become much bigger—a prequel series focused on central characters in their early days. Young Sheldon, the soon-to-be Martin, and Legally Blonde will all be members of this club. The thing with trends in Hollywood is that once they pick up steam, they quickly become the new fad.

The truth is that shows like these have a harder time convincing the audience of their existence. They’re casting younger versions of iconic characters, they’re trying to re-create a similar feeling, or at the very least reimagine it. That’s a tough pill to swallow, especially considering how many prequels fail to match their predecessors in quality for a multitude of reasons.

Unlike Gotham or Bates Motel, these shows aren’t reimaginings—they’re set in the same world, so they’re bound by the same rules and continuity. Dexter itself has a lot of flashbacks of his life, so the audience knows a good amount about Dexter’s childhood and how he becomes a serial-killing vigilante.

The question for every single one of these types of shows is always “why?” What is the point of this show? We know Dexter’s background, Martin’s background, and Elle Woods’ background. Why are these shows being made? What is the purpose?

Dexter: Original Sin has a very good answer to those questions—the world of Dexter is fun as hell. The vibe of the original show is so unique yet vibrant despite the topics it touches that it’s near impossible to re-create without the right ingredients. Original Sin not only has all the ingredients but also has the recipe down.

The chief architect, showrunner Clyde Phillips—also the creator of Dexter—understands exactly what makes this show work, and he delivers. It’s campy, cheesy, unadulterated fun, and frankly, that’s the appeal.

The show opens with the birth of Dexter, but the real story begins in 1991, 15 years prior to Dexter. Dexter is 20 years old and graduating from college, setting him up for a career with the Metro Police Department’s CSI division as an intern. More notably, it’s also the same week his father, Harry, has a heart attack caused by Dexter’s desire to have his first kill.

Dexter finds that a nurse is poisoning her patients, including Harry, which makes his urge to kill that much stronger. This is where he finds the opportunity for his first kill—hence, his original sin.

The hardest job this show had was in the casting department. You can’t make a Dexter prequel without nailing Dexter himself. Michael C. Hall carried the original show on his back through thick and thin. It’s hard to imagine anyone matching up to his socially awkward yet brutal, nuanced performance that finds you rooting for the serial killer.

But to the surprise of almost everyone, Patrick Gibson absolutely nails young Dexter. He is magnetic—he gets everything down, from the voice to the small mannerisms Michael C. Hall had. He nails everything a young Dexter would be like.

The rest of the cast also looks almost uncanny compared to their original show counterparts, except for Christian Slater. While he doesn’t look like Harry, he is very solid in the role. Molly Brown as Debra is a standout—she had the assignment of playing what seemed like a very different version of Deb, but she does very well in the role. I’m very curious to see how she evolves into the Deb we know.

The show is very good at connecting events from the past that are known but not explicitly shown with new material that changes the perspective on them. It recontextualizes certain events in a way that doesn’t mess with the original show but adds a layer of depth, which I very much appreciate.

There are some issues within the show that prevent it from ranking at the top of the Dexter season power rankings—specifically, the main villain storyline. While the mystery is initially very intriguing, the reveal itself hinders its potential.

While there was a chance the villain, post-reveal, could’ve done it justice, it felt like the writers didn’t know what to do with the villain’s motivations. It felt sort of ham-fisted to fit the themes and life lessons Dexter would learn. The actual lesson and motivation itself were good, but it would’ve been better had the villain actually matched up to the bill. The saving grace of that arc was that the chase from Dexter’s point of view was still quite interesting.

The secondary villain storyline is far more interesting and becomes quite prominent toward the end, to the show’s benefit. There are little hints and clues throughout that are set up, and the show does justice to them. It’s a big part of the recontextualization of the original show, and this storyline does a great job at it despite not having much Dexter in it.

This show frequently flashes back to Harry’s time running a case involving Dexter’s mother. This aspect felt very stagnant for the majority of the season, and the ugly tint used to distinguish flashbacks from the present does not help at all.

However, the flashbacks become far more interesting in the last few episodes and show that they can add to the current narrative. Overall, I wish that storyline were more interesting, but it does at least save itself and serve a proper purpose by the end.

If you liked the original Dexter series, I’m almost certain this show is for you. It has almost everything you’d want in a classic Dexter season. The vibe, the kills, the setting, the energy, the writing—it’s all there. While the show isn’t perfect and might not be the best of the Dexter universe, it is absolutely worth a watch. Perhaps even new viewers will be interested in the show.

Dexter: Original Sin stars Patrick Gibson as Dexter Morgan, Christian Slater as Harry Morgan, Molly Brown as Debra Morgan, Christina Milian as María LaGuerta, James Martinez as Angel Batista, Alex Shimizu as Vince Masuka, Reno Wilson as Bobby Watt, Patrick Dempsey as Aaron Spencer, and Michael C. Hall as the narrator of Dexter. The show is now streaming on Paramount+

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