Somehow, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, Dexter has become a franchise. The original series dragged its bleeding body across the finish line over a decade ago, but America’s favorite serial killer refused to die. Even a years-later sequel series aiming to end the story couldn’t hold him down. Divine intervention and, presumably, a truck full of cash has brought our killer of killers back again. However, before we get to Dexter’s resurrection (coming this summer!) we must first look at his past.
Dexter: Original Sin is a prequel series looking back on the murderous beginnings of Miami’s premier forensics technician. All your favorites are here and decidedly younger! The cast features Dexter, his father Harry, his sister Debra, and his teammates Angel, Masuka, and LaGuerta. It’s hard to believe there’s room for any characters not part of the original series. I can only assume we’re a few seasons away from a doe-eyed Doakes joining the force and giving Dexter a rousing “surprise motherfucker!”
Original Sin is in the tricky position of having to add interesting plot beats to a history clearly filled in during the original series. The prequel often struggles to provide meaningful details about Dexter’s past. Instead, the show adds in layers of flashbacks like a very lazy nesting doll.
The opening scene frames the entire show as Dexter looking back on life as he dies, revives, and waits for his next series. The show is technically one big flashback. It’s like Better Call Saul meets Young Sheldon with slightly more murder. We also get flashbacks interspersed throughout each episode of Harry’s past. It’s unclear in the episodes I watched whether this is something Dexter is also remembering or just a lazy way of padding out the runtime. Either way, they don’t add to the proceedings besides giving us a look at Christian Slater in some truly awful de-aging makeup.
To be clear, that isn’t a rag on Slater. His performance as Harry Morgan is one of the show’s bright spots. Probably due to him having actual material to work with. The actual star of the show, outside of Michael C. Hall’s fun narration, is Patrick Gibson. As our Young Dexter, it’s easy to write off Gibson’s performance as simple mimicry. While he does absolutely nail things like Hall’s coy smile. He also adds a level of naivety that feels real to the character at this stage. The show’s best scenes are when Dexter and Harry are together.
Unfortunately, the rest of the cast just isn’t as interesting. Even Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, doesn’t have much to do with her role as Dexter’s certainly doomed boss. It’s poor Debra Morgan who gets the worst of it though. By virtue of being a teenage girl written by people much older, Deb gets saddled with some truly terrible dialogue.
Like many current franchise installments, Dexter: Original Sin feels like it is solely in conversation with itself. Everything builds to moments of fan service and little Easter eggs designed to have you pointing at the screen like DiCaprio. None of it lasts in your mind for long. The show’s prequel nature also means that it can’t go too far outside the established box. There is likely stuff to enjoy if you’re a fan of the original series (I consider myself a fan of the first half.) Taken all together, though, Original Sin feels a bit like Dexter himself, empty inside.