You can’t kill Dexter Morgan. No, seriously. Remember how important his death was to the end of 2021 Dexter: New Blood? How did the whole series really lead to this emotional moment? Well, first thing about the prequel Dexter: Original Sin The goal is to lighten all that emotional weight by reviving present-day Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall). That’s right: Dexter survived his son’s shooting as he was taken by a snow-covered patrol car to a hospital, where he was shocked back to life. While lying in a hospital bed, he narrates how when you’re close to death you really see your life flashing before your eyes, leading us into what appears to be a flashback, although one wonders if we’ll get one too and again a bit from the current Morgan timeline à la You better call Saul. Call this one Don’t call Dexter.

Although this prologue will probably get the most attention, it is the premiere of Dexter: Original Sin is about introducing younger versions of characters we already know and (mostly) love. One of the interesting things about it original sin is that we already know a lot about Dexter Morgan from the original series, including how his father Harry shaped his control over his “dark passenger” and how his mother’s murder shaped his personal demons. So when you play it all back, sometimes it feels a little like you’re watching a community theater version of a play you know by heart. It also doesn’t help at all that some of the main cast seem to be miscast or poorly directed at best. It’s hard to judge an episode’s cast/performance alone, but after an hour, there’s definitely cause for concern.

Part of the problem is that Patrick Gibson steps into the role of one of the most memorable characters of the prestige TV era. Michael C. Hall’s performance as Dexter Morgan is truly phenomenal, encapsulating the facets of a man who believes in justice while also being an antisocial serial killer. Patrick Gibson just doesn’t have it yet. He plays the young Dexter as a rather socially awkward blank player. While Hall had deep sociopathology behind his eyes and mischievous smile, Gibson more often feels like he’s engaging in apathy. There is a big difference.

To be fair, Gibson is the victim of a conspiracy here, as creator Clyde Phillips and his writing team use the premiere to cross Dexter’s first murder and hiring by the Miami police off the “prequel list,” so to speak. Who was Dexter’s first victim? An “Angel of Mercy”, a nurse who treated his father when Dex discovered she was also killing patients. When he learns that heart-attack-stricken Harry (Christian Slater) is next on Nurse Ratched’s list, he finally has an outlet for his Dark Passenger and even gets his father’s approval first to commit the deed.

Harry’s heart condition – which is potentially fatal when he realizes that Dexter’s murderous urges can no longer be satisfied by hunting – is the connective tissue that truly brings Dexter into the world of police work. Of course, Harry works for the department, but Dexter’s investigation and the support of Harry’s colleagues lead to a paid internship offer for young Morgan, and that means we get to meet even more people Dexter babies Characters! Alex Shimizu plays a young Vince Masuka and James Martinez takes on a thirty-something Angel Batista. (Christina Milian will portray a young Maria LaGuerta.) The premiere also introduces some new players to the Miami PD, including a detective named Aaron Spencer (Patrick Dempsey) and his superior Tanya Martin (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Seeing Slater, Dempsey and Gellar show up to investigate the scene of a home invasion feels like catnip to fans of ’90s pop culture.

The feeling that this is at least partly a nostalgia minefield is reinforced in And In The Beginning… by some of the year’s strangest pinpricks. Should a viewer ever forget that this show is set in the early ’90s, the music supervisor is there to remind them, often under the strangest of circumstances. George Michael’s still stirring “Freedom” is one thing, but “Ice Ice Baby” as cops in SWAT gear arrest a suspect in the home invasion murders, and Poison’s “Nothing But A Good Time” for 30 seconds as Dexter kills his are the first victims Decisions.

Of course there is another main character in the world of Dexter That has to play a role here, but neither the writers nor Molly Brown seem to know what to do with Debra Morgan, at least not in the premiere. She’s sassy in a way that feels like an echo of Jennifer Carpenter’s performance, but it has a perfunctory tone, partly because Brown seems miscast, but more because of her involvement here feels more like fan service than character-based writing. It’s also another case where we know exactly what Carpenter brought to the role, and just as the premiere doesn’t seal the deal that Gibson will turn into Hall in fifteen years, it also doesn’t convince anyone that Brown is Carpenter becomes. Of course, having the shadow of it doesn’t help what they did with these characters also in terms of borderline incestuous attraction. Still ew. Forever ew.

To do justice to this awkward premiere, the final scene of “And In The Beginning…” feels like the actual beginning Dexter: Original Sin. Dexter Morgan arrives on his first day at the Miami Police Department ready to help solve cases in a way that satisfies his vengeful inner psychopath. And Gibson comes to life a little in this scene, as if he’s finally becoming the Dexter we know, having saved both his father and his sister, taken a murderer off the streets, and landed the job of his dreams.

Should what is essentially a prologue to a prequel have been more memorable? Undeniable. In some episodes, most people won’t even remember Dexter’s first murder, even though it should have been defining of the character’s legacy. And that’s what will determine the success or failure of this series: whether the writers just want to check off the “prequel show” boxes or actually delve into what makes Dexter Morgan tick. Do they want to do what everyone expects of them and not take any risks like they do in this episode, or could they take what we know and love about Dexter Morgan and go somewhere original?

Crazy observations

• • The credits! One only needs to look at the replication of the original end credits with a new performer to see what content this show reflects rather than redefines. However, it’s still a shock to hear that theme music and even see Gibson doing many of the same Dexter moves from the Showtime classic.
• • There is an important flashback to Harry losing a child to drowning and how his wife Doris, upon her return, witnesses the horrific scene of her child being taken away by the coroner. It’s a pivotal moment in Harry’s life and something that one hopes will have dramatic resonance. He couldn’t save this boy. Can he save Dexter?
• • Of course, we all know important things about Dexter’s background, including his mother’s murder and how Harry found him at the bloody crime scene. Will we learn more about Laura (Dexter’s birth mother, who was one of Harry’s informants)? Will we see Brian, Dexter’s biological brother? What about Dr. Bird who helped Harry design young Dexter’s “code”?
• • We also know something crucial to this season: Harry Morgan died when Dexter Morgan was 20, the age he is in this episode. Don’t get too attached to Christian Slater. Although after that premiere, he might be happy to jump ship to a better show sooner rather than later.