Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dexter: Original Sin episode 4 and Dexter season 8.The prequel seriesDexter: Original Sinhas gone to great lengths to fit in with most ofDexter’s established canon, except forDexterseason 8. Almost everything inDexter: Original Sinis designed to add to the original show’s story rather than detract from it. Even thecast ofOriginal Sinis mostly composed of returning characters, and even Michael C. Hall has returned as the voice of Dexter’s inner monologue. That doesn’t mean the prequel show hasn’t retconned anything, however - it’s already changed theending ofDexter: New Blood- and it seems to be changingDexterseason 8 as well.
InDexterseason 8, Dexter met Dr. Evelyn Vogel (Charlotte Rampling). Dr. Vogel was a psychologist who specialized in psychopaths, and she indirectly treated Dexter when he was a child.Dexterrevealed that Harry went to Vogel for guidance about how to handle Dexter, and they came up withthe Code of Harrytogether. Though she only came in at the end ofDexter’s eight-season run, Vogel proved to be a massively influential part of the serial killer’s life. Now, however,Original Sinis making her far less important to Dexter’s early days of killing.
Harry Morgan Should Be Talking To Dr. Vogel About Dexter In Original Sin’s Timeline
Harry Was Being Advised By Dr. Evelyn Vogel Throughout Dexter’s Early Days As A Serial Killer
After Dexter first met Dr. Vogel inDexter, she gave him some of the videotapes she made of her meetings with Harry. Those tapes revealed that Harry was meeting with Dr. Vogel as Dexter began killing, since he was talking in the present tense about events that took place just days prior.Based onOriginal Sin’s timelineand the fact that it follows Dexter’s first few kills, Harry should be meeting with Vogel about Dexter in the prequel show. He hasn’t, however, and it looks like Harry doesn’t confer with Vogel at all inOriginal Sin.
Dexter: Original Sin’s Story Was Already Shown On-Screen In A Forgotten Prequel From 16 Years Ago
Dexter: Original Sin will show Dexter’s earliest kills, but another show already depicted some of them years before the prequel series releases.
Dr. Vogel’s absence can - at least partially - be explained by howOriginal Sinhas changed the timeline ofDexter. Several of thekills that were supposed to be inOriginal Sinwould have taken place when Dexter was still in college. The show contradicted that and proved Dexter took his first victim, Nurse Mary, just days before graduation.It could be that in expeditingDexter’s timeline,Original Sinskipped over Vogel. That isn’t a full explanation, though, as there still should have been room for Harry to meet with Vogel if the show wanted to include her.
Original Sin Also Changed One Of The Kills Harry Told Evelyn Vogel About In Dexter: Season 8’s Videotapes
Dexter’s Third Kill Was Supposed To Be A Drug Dealer, But It Ended Up Being A Mob Hitman
Original Sinisn’t just writing Dr. Vogel out ofDextercanon, it’s also changing some of the kills thatDexterseason 8 established. In one of Vogel’s videotapes, Harry mentioned that Dexter had killed his third victim, a drug dealer who killed a few college students.InOriginal Sin, however, Dexter’s third victim wasn’t a drug dealer, but a mafia hit-man named Mad-Dog (Joe Pantoliano). There’s a huge discrepancy inDexterseason 8’s description of Dexter’s third victim andOriginal Sin’s depiction of the moment. There are also only a few ways to reconcile that discrepancy, short of saying that Harry lied to Vogel for no reason.
There’s a huge discrepancy in Dexter season 8’s description of Dexter’s third victim and Original Sin’s depiction of the moment.
At the end ofOriginal Sinseason 1, episode 4, Dexter didn’t actually kill Mad-Dog himself, as the hitman was struck by a car.Original Sincould make the case that Mad-Dog technically wasn’t Dexter’s third victim, since he didn’t deal the killing blow. While there is room forOriginal Sinto stick withDexterseason 8’s story, it doesn’t seem very likely. When he was discussing Dexter’s third kill, Harry mentioned that he began displaying photos of their victims, which is exactly what Dexter did with Mad-Dog. That presents even more evidence thatOriginal Sinis forging its own path.
Why Original Sin May Be Rewriting Dexter Season 8
Dexter Season 8 Wasn’t Well-Liked, & Leaving Vogel Out Helps Harry’s Characterization In Original Sin
There are a handful of reasons whyOriginal Sinmay be rewriting the canonDexterseason 8 established.Dexterseason 8 is fairly infamous for being a low point of the entire series. Aside fromDexter’s “lumberjack” ending, many fans took issue with how the entire season treated Deb and Hannah McKay, and Dr. Vogel’s entire storyline as a whole.It’s possible thatOriginal Sindidn’t think it was that big of a deal to rewrite a season that was almost universally disliked. Rewriting the events ofDexterseason 4 would have caused outrage, but retconningDexterseason 8 has ruffled far fewer feathers.
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“And in the Beginning…”
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“Kid in a Candy Store”
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“F is for F***-Up”
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“The Joy of Killing”
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“Business and Pleasure”
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Original Sinalso may have chosen to ignore Dr. Vogel in favor of a different character: Harry Morgan.By taking Vogel out of the equation, Harry has a lot more responsibility for Dexter becoming a serial killer that he could barely control. It’s far more dramatic than blaming the Code on a random psychiatrist, and it makes Harry’s story inOriginal Sinmuch more thematically poignant. It will also help explain the guilt that ultimately led Harry to suicide, soDexter: Original Sinmay have simply decided that retconning the events ofDexterseason 8 was a small price to pay for a better story.
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
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.
