Dexter Original Sin: And in the Beginning...

"Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life."

I feel bad for Michael C. Hall. He created a character so memorable that the suits refuse to let it go.

So here we start with Original Sin, right at the end of Dexter: New Blood, and surprise, Dexter isn't dead, after all. This entire first episode had a surreal feel to it. Maybe this is all just Dexter's life flashing before his eyes. Maybe at the end of Original Sin we'll get a Dallas "It's all a dream" ending.

(Yes, I know that Dexter: Resurrection is coming this June, so a dream ending is unlikely. But it did feel possible.)

They even gave us a symbolic series rebirth, a flashback to Laura Moser giving birth to baby Dexter on February 1, 1971. They showed us young Dexter in medical school trying unsuccessfully to redirect his blood lust, and Harry having a heart attack on one of their hunting trips also intended to redirect Dexter's lust to kill.

Which brought us to Dexter's first human kill, Nurse Mary, which we already saw in the original series. Young Dexter carried it out clumsily, but he did wait for Harry's permission and he did indeed follow Harry's "Code." I'm not going to repeat what I said in my original review about sex, virginity and plastic wrap, so if you're interested, check it out. What was most notable here was that when Harry got home from the hospital, he cried. He had undoubtedly hoped he could channel Dexter's urge to kill forever, but how could he disapprove when Dexter just saved his own life?

And yet, this first episode also reminded us of why Dexter is not like other serial killers. He went to a college party with Deb and despite her reckless behavior, successfully protected her from sexual assault. His rage at her attacker showed that his love for Deb is genuine. If Dexter is truly a psychopath, would he care if Deb were raped?

Dexter's connection of two photos in Masuka's display at the job fair led to an internship at the oh so familiar Miami Metro working for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who is now Tanya Martin, "Boss lady of forensics." Buffy is my favorite television series ever, so this particular casting is intriguing. It's also intriguing that I don't recall a single reference to Tanya Martin in the original series. Unless I've forgotten it?

The Original Sin powers that be did a good job with the casting. Right off the bat, Jen (Molly Brown) felt like Jen to me, and so did her mouth. Angel (James Martinez) looked exactly like Angel. Masuka (Alex Shimizu) sounded familiar. Patrick Dempsey's Captain Spencer felt a bit weird because I thought he was supposed to be Deputy Chief Matthews, but no – he's a completely new character, isn't he? I think I missed Maria (Christina Milian) entirely this time. I'll watch for her in the second episode.

Patrick Gibson as young Dexter was good, but he didn't click with me. Maybe it was the long hair. Maybe it's because Michael C. Hall is literally a tough act to follow. Christian Slater is a strong actor and a good choice for Harry.

In summary, they did a pretty good job with this pilot, taking us back to a mostly unexplored time of Dexter's life that included Harry and Deb and much of Miami Metro when they were younger. But I'm not sure I'm on board. I still think Dexter should have died at the end of the original series, not Deb. I'd hoped that the first reboot, New Blood, was specially created to fix that. Guess not.

Bits:

— The Dexter series variety of music is back. So are the credits, recreated to include Deb and Harry.

— It's 1991 and Dexter is 20 years old.

— No boat yet. Dexter disposed of Nurse Mary's body in Alligator Alley, where he was stung by a mosquito, an echo of the first moment of the series credits. Dexter kept a trophy that wasn't blood: her earrings.

— There was an overexposed flashback to Harry watching a game on TV while a little boy drowned in their swimming pool. Doris arrived and was inconsolable while the little boy's body was taken away. Did we know there was another Morgan boy before Dexter?

— I had another thought about the casting of Sarah Michelle Gellar. Was it a salute of sorts to Julie Benz, who was a cast member of the original Dexter series and who also played a long time continuing character on Buffy and Angel?

— Dexter's long hair was awful. Thankfully, he got a haircut at the end of the episode for his new internship at Miami Metro.

— I have a terrible time remembering the title of the previous Dexter reboot, New Blood. I wonder why that is?

— Also, I didn't find this episode quotable. That's not a good sign. Although it was nice to have Michael C. Hall do the narration. Maybe there just wasn't enough of it.

I often chicken out of rating pilots because I don't have the rest of the series to compare it with. But I could probably give this reboot three out of four earrings. It was well done, even if it didn't resonate with me. What did you guys think?

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

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