It is seemingly not doable for “Dexter,” as a franchise, to maneuver ahead. In the ultimate moments of the sequel sequence “New Blood,” which aired eight years after the unique sequence finale in 2013, Michael C. Hall’s serial killer was fatally shot. (Or no less than, he appeared to be — extra on that in a second.) This growth, on its floor, marked the top of the street for one of many defining leads of the antihero period, a task Hall had been enjoying for 15 years on the time. Sure, but one other follow-up, “Resurrection,” would move the torch to Dexter’s son Harrison (Jack Alcott). But if community Showtime needed to maintain wringing drops from this blood-soaked towel, the one path left to go in was again.
Incredibly, the prequel “Dexter: Original Sin” tries to have it each methods. Not solely does the 10-episode season — advance screeners of which weren’t offered for critics — wind the clock again to 1991, when a 20-year-old Dexter (Patrick Gibson) graduates from the University of Miami and makes his manner into the native police division as a paid intern. The present, created by authentic “Dexter” showrunner Clyde Phillips, additionally undoes the seeming finality of “New Blood.” As it seems, Dexter survived, and the occasions of “Original Sin” are framed as recollections he mulls over whereas on the working desk. Before introducing Gibson, the digicam zooms in so the “Emergency Room” signal as an alternative reads “Emerge.”
The fast, insurmountable drawback with “Original Sin” is that the identical superfans who kind its audience are already conversant in its main occasions, as a result of “Dexter” itself was chock-full of flashbacks. Christian Slater could also be new to the a part of Detective Harry Morgan, however it’s long-established “Dexter” lore that Harry helped his adoptive son channel his “Dark Passenger” to extra (debatably) constructive ends by concentrating on different killers. Even the id of his first sufferer, a nurse who preyed on her sufferers, is locked into the canon. There aren’t many gaps left in Dexter’s youth for “Original Sin” to fill in.
“Original Sin” opts to steer into the skid, embracing repetition fairly than placing in a lot effort to keep away from it. Dexter’s coworkers Batista (James Martinez) and Masuka (Alex Shimizu) are launched precisely as they are going to be within the first sequence, proper right down to their costumes: Batista is a gregarious mensch in a fedora, Masuka is a skeezy lech, and each are already put in at Miami Metro. While Maria LaGuerta (Christina Milian) no less than will get a backstory as a brand new detective who’s been publicly vital of the murder division’s disproportionate give attention to white, well-off victims, she’s not that far faraway from the girl she’ll be in 15 years. Gibson spends many of the premiere in a ridiculous wig of surfer curls; by the top, he’s acquired Hall’s haircut, and his inside monologue sounds suspiciously like his predecessor. (Hall returns IRL for the opening scene, however retreats to the sound sales space to offer narration all through.)
Dexter could also be a relative novice at 20 years previous, but he already has his M.O. of wrapping his victims and their environs in plastic — each to restrain them and permit for environment friendly cleanup — dialed in. His sister Deb (Molly Brown) is a bratty teenager, and there’s a faint whiff of novelty to “Original Sin” as a demented household sitcom a couple of grieving household with some lethal secrets and techniques. (In 1991, Deb and Dexter’s mom has just lately handed away.) Dexter’s first kill, initiated by the nurse poisoning Harry when he’s hospitalized after a coronary heart assault, is intercut with Deb’s highschool volleyball sport. But there’s not sufficient to unseat the impression that “Original Sin” is simply enjoying again the hits, proper right down to a soundtrack of ‘90s touchstones like “Ice Ice Baby.” The present might’ve taken extra time to get Dexter within the swing of issues; as an alternative, he satisfies his bloodlust and lands the job in 45 minutes of screentime.
“Original Sin” gives some new data through Harry, who will get his personal garishly color-saturated timeline set within the Seventies. But the machine simply turns into an echo of the “Dexter” flashbacks, and calls consideration to how a lot the slight ‘90s timeline is in want of padding out. The “recent” faces within the “Original Sin” ensemble are themselves avatars of nostalgia: Sarah Michelle Gellar performs Dexter’s new boss, whereas Patrick Dempsey seems because the mustachioed, helmet-haired police chief. (At least the hair and make-up departments are having enjoyable!) “Original Sin” doesn’t draw any new life from a bit of IP that’s now sufficiently old to vote. It does, nevertheless, symbolize the profit-chasing retrospection that’s devouring tradition from the within out like a termite infestation. All that’s left is a hole construction to be blown away by the subsequent Miami storm.
The first episode of “Dexter: Original Sin” is now streaming on Paramount+ and can premiere on Showtime on Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET, with remaining episodes streaming on Fridays and airing on Sundays.
