My biggest failure as a Dexter fan is in not having read the books. I loved this show when it first came to my attention, and even with a controversial finale I still enjoyed it all. When it returned with New Blood, I was thrilled. The short lived limit series nature of it was a downer, but it was another dose and this Dexter junkie was happy for the fix.

So when Original Sin was announced I was beyond excited. I will admit I wasn’t familiar with Patrick Gibson, our new young anti-hero. But Christian Slater as Harry is great. I’m not going into a run down of each of the new cast yet, too early for most of them. But the new Masuka has the laugh down, and that alone will make him a great young version.

I’ve seen the harsh words about young Deb, but she is a high school character. I think it is very fair to let her grow into the character. Be honest, how different were you at 17 compared to 30 (ish).

From the opening of the show though, we know we are in for a Dexter treat. And those calling it “fan service” are being a bit daft. Of course it’s fan service. They are bringing back a beloved show. By definition that is going to be fan service. That doesn’t mean they can’t do a good job and tell good stories. Having Michael C. Hall do the internal monologue voice overs is great. Is it “fan service”? It’s brilliant. Fans of the original series are going to be instantly drawn because of his voice, I know I was.

But back to the opening. We are given a glimpse into the pseudo “deus ex machina” ret con of the New Blood ending. I’m guessing that when Resurrection comes we will get a more detailed expansion of that opening. Not sure how much more than “he survived” we need now as we wait for the next current timeline series to start. The idea that Original Sin is the moment of “your life flashing before your eyes as you are dying,” is interesting. We all know the idea of that, but who is to say how that plays out. Examining his life is going to be fun.

When we first see young Dexter, the long hair is a bit peculiar. Don’t worry, it doesn’t last past the first episode. I do recall thinking that Michael C. Hall with long hair in the episode where he played a young Dexter looked odd.

The primary thing we get in this episode is a glimpse into how Dexter and his family are. He doesn’t get along great with Deb, but after coming to her rescue at a party, we see her realize (maybe for the first time) that Dexter will be there for her when it matters. Maybe not when it is wanted, as he skips out on her big volleyball game. But in his defense, he was indulging in his first saran wrap kill room moment.

Speaking of his first kill. It comes in defense of Harry. During a hunting trip together, Harry has a heart attack and Dexter has to rush him to a hospital. When Harry fails to improve, Dexter begins digging and finds the nurse is trying to kill him with medically untraceable chemicals. But Dexter is bound by the morality Harry has instilled in him. It creates an internal struggle as his Dark Passenger is beginning to demand attention. With a quick explanation to Harry about the situation, Harry gives Dexter his blessing to kill the nurse.

In this episode, Christian Slater doesn’t have a really good role to fill. It’s hard to look at it and say he doesn’t do a good job as Harry when most of his screen time is spent in a hospital bed on the brink of death. We need to see more of him, and I am confident that he will do justice to the role. He’s trying to replace an amazing job done by James Remar, but Slater will shine in this role.

I can’t stress enough that this is a pilot episode. We haven’t seen enough of any characters to really judge them against the actors who played them for 8 years. The episode ends with Dexter being given an internship at Miami Metro under Masuka. I can only guess that episode two will feature the two of them working in the lab on a case. One character that I’m hoping we see down the line is Doakes, but he isn’t here at the start. And I imagine he would likely not come in until several seasons in, if not literally in the final season. We can’t have the suspicious Doakes come in while Dexter is still getting his feet under him.

Expect episode two to have more introspection on the characters and the portrayals. I may have missed the actual debut night of episode one, but moving forward I plan to watch and write on Friday when it airs. That means you get a double dose of Dexter deconstruction here this week. See you back here in 3 days. (Don’t stay away for three days though, there’s likely to be new content between now and then!)

Do we need a number here? Technically this is a review, so I should give it one. That is an expectation for review material. I’m going to go with a 9 here. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great start. And hearing Michael C. Hall speaking as Dexter again is damn near enough to get a 10 from me by itself.