Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dexter: Original Sin season 1, episode 10 and Dexter season 2.Harry Morgan (Christian Slater) didn’t tell Dexter (Patrick Gibson) the truth about Laura Moser (Brittany Allen) in the finale ofDexter: Original Sinseason 1, and he had a few good reasons for that decision. Theending ofDexter: Original Sinseason 1had many unexpected moments and twists, and some of them didn’t immediately make sense. One of the more confusing moments concerned Harry and Laura Moser’s affair, and specifically his decision to hide the truth of Dexter’s childhood from his adoptive son.
After Dexterkilled Aaron Spencer (Patrick Dempsey), he told Harry about how he saved Nicky and made sure that Spencer wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone anymore. Harry was distraught that his longtime friend could have been a monster that whole time, but Dexter comforted him by saying that Spencer became a monster, unlike how Dexter was born a monster. Harry had a chance to correct Dexter - he even had flashbacks to moments where Dexter was a sweet and normal young child - but he didn’t. Dexter probably would have been comforted by knowing that he wasn’t inherently bad, so it’s confusing that Harry didn’t tell him.
Harry Kept Laura’s Death Secret Because Of His Guilt & Fear About How It Would Change Dexter
Harry Was Ashamed Of How He Contributed To Laura’s Death & Wanted To Spare Dexter The Trauma
Harry had two reasons for not telling Dexter that he wasn’t born bad, and that there was a single moment that gave him his Dark Passenger. The first is thatHarry was ashamed and guilty of how he contributed to Laura Moser’s death. After all, Harry essentially forced her to become a criminal informant, he had an affair with her in an uneven power dynamic, and he was supposed to protect her from Estrada’s men. Harry didn’t like to talk about it at all, but he also didn’t want Dexter to think of him as the man who got his mother killed instead of a father figure.
Dexter: Original Sin Season 2 - Confirmation & Everything We Know
Showtime’s Original Sin explores the life of Dexter Morgan in the early 1990s, and now the prequel series has scored a season 2 renewal.
The second reason Harry hid Laura’s death from Dexter is because he didn’t want Dexter to live with such a traumatic experience. Dexter had been able to completely repress the memory of Laura’s death, so Harry wanted to preserve his blissful ignorance. Additionally,Harry thought that if Dexter knew about Laura’s death, he would become just like Brian Moser (Roby Attal). Brian was completely ruled by the trauma of Laura’s death, and it turned him into a heartless killer. Harry didn’t want the same thing to happen to Dexter, and he decided that hiding the truth was the best way to make sure it didn’t happen.
Should Harry Have Told Dexter The Truth About Laura Moser?
Harry Was Right To Hide Dexter’s Origins From Him - It Gave Dexter Time To Internalize Harry’s Morals
Harry’s lie at the end ofOriginal Sinseason 1 reignited one of the oldest debates in theDexterfranchise: should Harry have tried to hide Laura and Brian Moser from Dexter? Luckily, the originalDexterhas already shown what would have happened if Dexter learned about his origins.After Dexter learned that Harry was sleeping with Laura inDexterseason 2, his life began to spiral. He declared that he needed to find his own way and not live underthe Code of Harry, and he very nearly became the monster Harry was trying to keep him from being.
Harry was right in Original Sin: he was the best thing for Dexter. The Morgan family’s love is what kept Dexter from fully giving in to his Dark Passenger, and the truth wasn’t worth risking that.
Dexter eventually went back to the Code after realizing that his values really did align with Harry’s. However,if Dexter found out about Laura at age 20, he might not have had time to internalize the code, and he could have become a true monster. On top of that, Harry was also right inOriginal Sin: he was the best thing for Dexter. The Morgan family’s love is what kept Dexter from fully giving in to his Dark Passenger, and the truth wasn’t worth risking that. It may be controversial, but Harry probably made the right choice by lying to Dexter inDexter: Original Sinseason 1.
