WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Dexter: Original Sin season 1, episode 1!Though Dexter Morgan tragically died inDexter: New Blood’s ending,the vigilante serial killer’s death is officially retconnedinDexter: Original Sin’s opening scene. Based on the hit novel series by Jeff Lindsay, the dark dramaDexterquickly became a success following its premiere in 2006, following Dexter Morgan across eight seasons as he evaded capture while acting as a vigilante serial killer. However, the originalDexterseries became notorious for its divisive endingin 2013, which saw Dexter mercy kill his sister Deb, abandon his son, drive his boat into a storm, and become a lumberjack under a new alias.
Given the show’s enduring popularity,Dexterwas given another chance to redeem its finale through a limited revival series in 2021, titledNew Blood. Dexter begins killing again after a nearly decade-long hiatus, coinciding with his estranged son, Harrison, finding him under his new identity in New York. InNew Blood’s ending, Harrison discovers that Dexter murdered an innocent man outside the Code. Taking matters into his own hands and blaming Dexter for his Dark Passenger,Harrison fatally shoots Dexter with his father’s permission. However, the opening scene of the prequel,Dexter: Original Sin, reveals that Dexter actually survived.
Angela Brought Dexter To The Hospital After Harrison Shot Him In New Blood’s Ending
Dexter Was Rushed To The Hospital & Revived After New Blood
The first few minutes ofDexter: Original Sin, a prequel taking the timelineback to 20-year-old Dexter’s first kills and beginnings at Miami Metro in 1991, take place in the present day. With narration by Michael C. Hall, who portrayed Dexter Morgan inDexter,New Blood, and the upcoming sequelResurrection,Original Sin’s opening scenepicks up exactly whereNew Bloodleft off with Dexter Morgan bleeding out in the snow. However,Original Sinreveals there’s more to that scene thatNew Blooddidn’t include.
InDexter: Original Sin’s opening, a gravely wounded Dexter is rushed to the hospital in an Iron Lake police car, with a team of doctors working tirelessly to revive him. While his pulse was almost lost,the emergency room team was able to successfully jump Dexter back to life, confirming that he wasn’t killed by Harrison’s gunshot. However, it’s likely that Harrison still thinks he killed his father, asNew Blood’s ending saw Harrison drive away across the country after Angela let him leave the crime scene.
She brought him to the hospital and ultimately saved Harrison from being a killer.
SinceOriginal Sinshows Dexter being driven to the hospital in a police car, it’simplied that Angela Bishop, Dexter’s ex-girlfriend and the Chief of Police in Iron Lake, rushed him there. In the final moments ofDexter: New Blood, Angela manipulated the crime scene to make it look like she was the one who shot him, not Harrison, and called in the incident as an “officer-involved shooting.”Original Sinnow indicates that Angela had some hope for Dexter’s survival after that moment, so she brought him to the hospital and ultimatelysaved Harrison from being a killer.
Dexter: Original Sin Is Based On Dexter’s Life Flashing Before His Eyes While Dying
Dexter Is In The Hospital & Recounts His Early Days As A Serial Killer
After revealing that Dexter Morgan is alive in the present timeline,Michael C. Hall’s narrationsets up the basis forOriginal Sin’s story – while also justifying Hall remaining the voice of Dexter’s internal monologue throughout the series.Dexter’s voiceover reveals that, as he was dying, his entire life flashed before his eyes. He begins by taking audiences back to the moment of his birth, then skips ahead to the day that he realized he couldn’t put off killing any longer.
Lauren Vélez
Christina Milian
Dexter: Original Sinultimately becomes centered onDexter retelling his life’s story around the time he became a serial killer.Original Sinbegins when Dexter is 20 years oldin 1991, starting with the moment he cuts into a cadaver and realizes that he needs blood to satisfy his Dark Passenger. As grown-up Dexter is dying in the hospital, he thinks back to the choices he and Harry made in the early 1990s that would eventually culminate in where he is today – exposed as the Bay Harbor Butcher, shot by his son, and clinging to life in the emergency room.
Why Dexter: Original Sin & Resurrection Undid New Blood’s Death Ending
Dexter Remains Too Popular To Be Killed Off For Good With A Divisive Ending (Twice)
Similar toDexter: New Bloodessentially backtracking on the original show’s ending by having Dexter kill again,Original Sinsets up the franchise’s new sequel series by undoing Dexter’s death inNew Blood. Every timeDexteris given what seems to be a conclusive ending, Showtime returns with some bizarre twist to reverse it. Ultimately, theDexter: Original Sinprequel and theupcomingDexter: Resurrectionsequelare undoing Dexter’s deathbecause of how divisiveNew Blood’s ending was and how popular the franchise continues to beso many years later.
Dexter’s New Sequel Admits A Harsh Truth About New Blood, 2 Years Later
Dexter: New Blood continued the events of the original show, but now that the franchise is set to expand again, the sequel show reveals a weakness.
Dexterarguably wrote itself into a corner in 2006 by naming the series after the titular character; it’s analmost impossible task to continue the franchise without Dexter Morgan himself being in the lead. Plus, it’s nearly just as difficult to do so without Michael C. Hall being involved either on-screen or through voicework. Unless he becomes Harrison’s Dark Passenger, a la Harry Morgan for Dexter himself, then you’re able to’t continue if Dexter Morgan is dead. However, considering how divisive the character became inNew Blood, it would be amajor risk to carry aDexterspinoff on Harrison’s back.
Dexter: Resurrectionis set to premiere on Paramount+ with Showtime in the summer of 2025.
Dexter being killed by Harrison inNew Bloodwas met with massive division among audiences and critics, so, in what’s now become expected after controversial finales in this franchise, Showtime decided to undo it and giveDexter’s ending yet another shot. By havingDexter: Original Sinbring him back to life ahead ofResurrection,fans can anticipate Michael C. Hall’s Dexter Morgan returning on the small screen for longer than just a limited series, while also addressing and attempting to repair many of the unresolved stories, complaints, and divisive changes fromDexter: New Blood.
Dexter: Original Sin
Cast
Dexter: Original Sin explores Dexter Morgan’s early years in 1991 Miami as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. Guided by his father, Harry, Dexter crafts a moral code and navigates a forensics internship at Miami Metro Police, all while controlling his darker impulses.
Dexter: New Blood
Set a decade after his disappearance, Dexter: New Blood follows Dexter Morgan living under a new identity in Iron Lake, New York. Despite his attempts to embrace a peaceful life, unforeseen events in the tight-knit community reignite his Dark Passenger, challenging his efforts to leave his past behind.
Dexter
Dexter is a television series following Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter analyst for Miami Metro Police who secretly leads a dual life as a vigilante serial killer. Released in 2006, the show focuses on Dexter’s internal conflict as he hunts down criminals who elude justice within the legal system.
