Summary
- Dexter: Original Sin risks ruining the original show by including Dexter’s biological mother as a recurring character.
- The casting detail of Brittany Allen as Laura Moser could contradict the Ice Truck Killer reveal and Dexter learning about his mother’s murder.
- Original Sin can solve this plot hole before it begins by either letting Laura appear as a memory to Harry or by letting Dexter’s older self reflect on the past.
Dexter: Original Sin is set to tell the story of Dexter Morgan as a young adult, but one casting detail risks ruining a major part of the original show. Some of San Diego Comic-Con 2024’s biggest reveals surrounded Dexter: Original Sin and another spinoff for the franchise, Dexter: Resurrection. These shows will explore two very different parts of Dexter’s life, as Original Sin‘s timeline places it 15 years before the original show, while Resurrection takes place after Dexter: New Blood. A whole host of Dexter content is set to enhance the serial killer’s story, but one detail threatens to ruin it.
The most glaring problem the upcoming Dexter spinoffs face is that Dexter seemingly died in the finale of New Blood. While that is a major concern, there is a way Dexter could be resurrected and return. Resurrection seems to understand how imperative it is to handle that problem well, but Original Sin also has its own problems to contend with. There’s one casting detail for the prequel show that could be a serious issue, and it could ruin the very foundation the first half of Dexter was built upon.
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Dexter: Original Sin Has Cast Dexter’s Biological Mother
Brittany Allen Will Play Laura Moser, Dexter’s Birth Mother
Some of Dexter: Original Sin‘s major characters have already been cast, and it could create a serious continuity issue. One of those characters is Laura Moser, Dexter’s biological mother, who will be played by Brittany Allen. In the original Dexter, Laura was tied very closely to not only Dexter, but also Harry Morgan, Dexter’s adoptive father. Laura was Harry’s criminal informant on a narcotics case, and they also had an affair together while Harry was married to Dorris. Harry also played a critical part in Laura’s death, which was itself a massively important part of Dexter.
Brittany Allen is best known for playing Popclaw in
The Boys
and for movies such as
What Keeps You Alive
and
It Stains the Sand Red
.
In the original Dexter, Laura was killed by a drug cartel when Dexter was still a child. Her murder was a major part of the show, as it explained both why Dexter had his “dark passenger” and ultimately became a serial killer, and why the Morgans adopted him in the first place. Since the Dexter: Original Sin timeline places the show 15 years before Dexter, it makes sense that it would explore her story more. Original Sin can expand upon some of the areas the original show left out in Laura’s story, but there are also some confusing aspects about including her in the show.
Original Sin May Ruin The Original Show’s Major Twist About Dexter’s Past
The Ice Truck Killer Reveal Doesn’t Work If Dexter Knew About His Biological Family
The most confusing thing about the confirmation that Laura Moser will be a recurring character in Original Sin is the fact that her death was crucial for one of Dexter‘s biggest twists. In Dexter season 1, the titular serial killer didn’t know anything about his life prior to being adopted into the Morgan family. Harry tried very hard to hide her brutal murder from Dexter, and he even destroyed many of the records that linked them together. That set the stage for one of the biggest reveals in the entire show: that Dexter had an unknown brother.
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Dexter season 1 saw Miami Metro tracking the Ice Truck Killer while Dexter began befriending and even looking up to him. Towards the end of the season, Dexter revealed that the Ice Truck Killer was his biological brother, Brian Moser, who was going under the alias of Rudy Cooper while dating Deb. The problem is that if Original Sin is going to include Laura Moser as a regular character that Dexter interacts with, it would ruin the original show’s reveal of the Ice Truck Killer. If Original Sin establishes that Dexter remembered his mother, it would completely contradict the finale of Dexter season 1.
Dexter: Original Sin Can Fix This Plot Hole Before It Happens By Focusing More On Harry Morgan
Dexter’s Dark Passenger Could Also Provide Insights His Younger Self Isn’t Aware Of
Though Laura Moser’s involvement in Dexter: Original Sin poses a massive problem in its potential to ruin Dexter season 1’s biggest twist, there’s already a perfect solution to that issue. Just because Laura is in Original Sin doesn’t mean she has to appear as a memory to Dexter, she could just as easily appear to another character: Harry Morgan. Harry knew Laura, and he felt responsible for her death. It would be extremely in-character for him to be visited by her memory, and it would flawlessly solve Original Sin‘s potential plot hole since Dexter wouldn’t be aware of her.
Dexter: Original Sin
will be available to stream on Paramount+ and Showtime.
If Original Sin does explain Laura’s presence by presenting her as one of Harry’s memories, it could not only solve an issue but actually present some very interesting new aspects to the franchise. A recurring theme in Dexter was the idea of nature versus nurture. Harry’s memories of Laura would be just like Dexter’s memories of Harry. That would tie them even closer together and lean into the idea of nurture being just as important as nature. It would also be a way for Original Sin to flesh out Harry’s past, personality, and guilt more than Dexter ever did.
Aside from using Harry more, Original Sin has one other way to include Laura without retconning Dexter. Michael C. Hall has been cast in Original Sin as the voice of Dexter’s internal monologue, which could indicate he’ll have more knowledge of the future than his younger self. If Original Sin plays its cards right, it could have the older version of Dexter remember Laura without revealing her to his younger self. That way, the older Dexter could comment on how she influenced his early adulthood without ruining Dexter season 1’s biggest reveal.
Dexter’s Biological Family Was A Major Part Of The Original Show’s Early Seasons
Much Of The Original Dexter Built Upon The Reveal Of The Moser Family’s Past
No matter how the show goes about it, it’s absolutely imperative that Original Sin protects the secret of Dexter’s biological family because it’s one of the franchise’s most important secrets. Laura, Brian, and the origin of Dexter’s dark passenger were huge parts of Dexter season 1, but they were also crucial to several other seasons that followed. The Moser family was the catalyst for much of the rest of Dexter, and for most of the internal turmoil and growth that Dexter had throughout the show.
Dexter: Original Sin has already painted itself into a corner by casting Laura Moser as a recurring character, and while there’s a clear way out, it still needs to tread lightly.
Dexter’s discovery of his origins and his biological family influenced everything from his memory of Harry to his killing career. That reveal was the cause of most of Dexter season 2. Laura’s death caused Dexter to go after Santos Jimenez, it brought him closer to Lila, and it made him wonder if he could “cure” his addiction to killing. Dexter seasons 3 and 4 also included some major callbacks to Laura and Brian, as Dexter had to learn to forgive Harry for his past sins, and Harrison got the same origin as Dexter had when Rita was killed.
Dexter
4.0
Based on the character created by author Jeff Lindsay, Showtime’s Dexter follows Miami Metro Police Department’s most skilled blood spatter analyst, Dexter Morgan, as he attempts to satisfy his Dark Passenger’s need to kill by hunting down criminals who have escaped justice. However, using the rules his adoptive father taught him to remain undiscovered, Dexter must walk the fine line of seemingly blending into society while continuously feeding his dark urges. Dexter faces several serial killers as his facade slowly crumbles around him; with every problem solved by his Dark Passenger, another one arises for his suburban fatherly life. When Dexter takes things personally or feels that the law is failing, he takes matters into his own hands and even compromises the investigations of his co-workers. Dexter aired on Showtime for eight seasons before receiving a mini-sequel series called Dexter: New Blood, which picked up ten years after the show’s events. You can buy each season for just $9.99 for Prime Day.
- Cast
- David Zayas , Michael C. Hall , Lauren Velez , C. S. Lee , James Remar , Jennifer Carpenter , Desmond Harrington , Julie Benz
- Release Date
- October 31, 2010
- Seasons
- 8
- Writers
- Jeff Lindsay , Scott Buck , Scott Reynolds , Tim Schlattmann , Karen Campbell , Melissa Rosenberg , Kevin Maynard , Wendy West , Manny Coto , Daniel Cerone , Jace Richdale , Drew Z. Greenberg , Chip Johannessen , Adam Fierro , Jim Leonard
- Directors
- Clyde Phillips
- Showrunner
- Clyde Phillips
The early seasons of Dexter were built on Dexter suppressing the memory of Laura’s death and Brian’s existence. If Original Sin doesn’t explore Harry’s internal memories and instead lets Dexter know about Laura, it would undermine all of that. At that point, Original Sin would essentially be an entirely separate story from the original Dexter, as there’s really no way to reconcile such a massive retcon. Dexter: Original Sin has already painted itself into a corner by casting Laura Moser as a recurring character, and while there’s a clear way out, it still needs to tread lightly.
