from Chris Snelgrove
| Published
When Dexter: Original Sin was announced, fans collectively groaned. Still the original Dexter the show ended with an infamously terrible episode, and the backstories of popular IPs played out for a long time. However, like the titular character planning his next murder, I spent some time considering the possibilities of a series focusing on the early years of Dexter Morgan’s transformation into Miami’s weirdest serial killer. And I came to a conclusion as shocking as Rita’s sudden death in season 4: because of its complicated history and unanswered questions, Dexter might be the only TV show that really needs a backstory.
Dexter backstory
what is this Dexter backstory for, right? Dexter: Original Sin is set in the 1990s and focuses on how our protagonist (Patrick Gibson) becomes a serial killer with a strict moral code imposed by his father (Christian Slater). Michael S. Hall will return to provide narration as the older Dexter, and it’s virtually impossible to avoid comparing this show to NCIS: Originwhich is also set in the 1990s, features a variety of actors playing familiar characters and features voices from Mark Harmon as the elderly Agent Gibbs.
This comparison is a great starting point for discussing why Dexter is the only show that actually needs to have a backstory. The essential problem of NCIS: Origins is that while it splits its time between weekly procedurals and character development for Gibbs, it doesn’t really offer viewers anything new. We get crappy new characters doing the same thing their more charismatic counterparts did every week in the original NCISand much of the aforementioned characterization is simply a dramatic retelling of events that fans have already heard about.
The reason we need Dexter’s backstory
Why then, I think Dexter needs backstory more than NCIS or another show? On the one hand, there’s still a lot in the main character’s crazy backstory that we could use more detail on. For example, Dexter’s cop father discovers that his son has uncontrollable murderous urges and arms him against the bad guys. We only know the outlines of how it works, but it could be very rewarding to see this father (played by comeback icon Christian Slater, no less) develop a crazy solution to an unthinkable problem.
As a big fan of the original Dexter (minus that god-awful finale), I also hope the backstory delves more into how our beloved blood spatter analysis effectively infiltrates the police and hides his murderous actions from the people whose whole job it is to bust killers like him. That’s part of the quirky charm of the original show, but the idea of ​​a prolific serial killer hiding among the cops is wildly unrealistic. Potentially this Dexter backstory can help illustrate how our boy was able to accomplish this, even as it sketches out his relationship with fan-favorite supporting characters like Batista and Masuka.
Learning to be a better killer
Finally, a Dexter backstory can help outline any early mistakes the young killer makes that force him to disguise himself better in the future. For example, his romantic involvement with Rita on the original show was partially fueled by his need to blend in and not seem like what he really is: an obsessed, single white male, aka the profile of too many real serial killers. For longtime fans, it might be fun to see the early blunders our hero makes to become the confident killer of the original TV show.
Television is full of sequels, but even some of the best are technically unnecessary: Better call Solfor example, is the gold standard, but it’s mostly a deep dive into a minor Breaking Bad a character, not a show, that helps us better understand the original series. Likewise, fantasy fare like The house of the dragon or Rings of Power offers some fun lore, but none of it feels like necessary viewing to better understand accordingly Game of Thrones Lord of the Rings show or movies.
Dexter is officially the only show that needs a backstory to help us unpack the main character and fully understand the earlier series. And we can all see how well it does when Dexter: Original Sin premiers of Friday the 13th on Paramount+. With showrunner Clyde Phillips (who handled the first four seasons of the original Dexter), this backstory should be anything but boring.
