Andrew Grevas
Dexter: Original Sin Episode 5 is currently streaming on Paramount + and will be broadcast on Showtime Sunday evening. If you haven’t seen the episode, proceed with caution as we’re entering heavy spoiler territory. The episode was written by Alexandra Franklin & Marc Muszynski and directed by Michael Lehmann.
After an episode last week that mostly treaded water, Dexter: Original Sin Episode 5 really pulled the prequel series together. This was an episode that almost exclusively revolved around Dexter, Deb and Harry in the 1991 timeline and fleshed out all three characters considerably—all while tying together other bits of narrative. Halfway through this first season, this is easily my favorite episode thus far.
As a viewer, I have felt a bit yo-yoed as to how I should feel about certain characters. Harry, especially, I’ve gone back and forth on throughout all three series in this “Dexter-verse.” This week was the first time I really felt like I had a handle on who he was, what his motivations were and began to feel comfortable with my opinions on him as a person and character. His deceased wife Doris too.
While the 1973 timeline was cut short and the “Big Bad” story was mostly sidelined, Dexter: Original Sin Episode 5 provided us with much needed time with our three main characters so we could invest more in them, and to truly give this prequel series a reason to exist. To me, that was accomplished this week.
Rest In Peace Doris
The main plot this week revolved around it being the one year anniversary of Doris Morgan’s passing. Doris has been frequently mentioned throughout the “Dexter-verse” but never fully explored as a character. Always passing mentions or brief moments shown, but we’ve never gotten to know her or been given enough information to form an opinion on her. While that’s still the case, this was a step in the right direction.
The story was kicked off by Dexter accidentally consuming six pot brownies Deb intended to take with her to a volleyball team outing. When she told Dexter that he was stoned, he begged his sister to stay with him. The sibling bonding was cute and needed, as it’s not something we ever really get much of. It took both of them being high for Deb to feel comfortable bringing up the topic of their deceased mother to Dexter. That’s important as it speaks to the walls that Deb is building and will continue to build for the rest of her life.
Deb tries to organize everyone going to visit Doris’s grave together on the anniversary of her passing, which of course falls apart. We see Deb turn to her new bad boy boyfriend to take her to the cemetery when Harry and Dexter are both MIA. Deb’s patterns we see throughout the main series are staring here. She turns to people that she knows probably aren’t good for her when her family isn’t there for her. It’s a desire to have someone there for her, even if warning signs have to be ignored. She’s a girl who just wants someone to see her.
It was here, in Dexter: Original Sin Episode 5, that I realized that Deb is the true tragedy of this ongoing narrative. She loses her mother as a teenager, during a pivotal time for any young woman—or child, period. Her father is broken and is giving all of his attention to his job and Dexter, who requires a lot of attention. Dexter isn’t there for his sister, as his life revolves around his Dark Passenger. So Deb devotes her life to a career in law enforcement, still trying to be a part of a family that isn’t there and hasn’t been there for her in a long, long time. She spends her adult years chasing the approval of a dead man and an emotionally vacant brother, the only living person that connects her to a past when she felt whole. Then she dies because of the career she followed her absent father into and because of the life her brother lead after dark.
Seeing young Deb talk to her mother’s grave, all I could think of was her future. In some ways, that’s the point of this prequel series. If we strip away the fun nostalgic music and Dexter killing bad guys, Original Sin seems to be about connecting the dots. Yeah, we root for Dexter because it’s fun to watch bad guys pay, but look at the path of destruction that surrounds him. Look at the pain his own sister spent her life in.
The Ballad of Harry Continued
Harry was again the crux of the episode, as his story spans all the timelines. In 1991, his dismissal of a witness leads to a killer being set free, which leads to lots of scotch. Harry’s bender is what causes him to miss joining the family to go to Doris’s grave, but it also helped provide us with more insight into this complicated cop. Drunken Harry flashes back to 1973, where we see him sleep with Laura Moser again. We want to be mad at him given that this episode revolves around his deceased wife. But as Harry tries to sneak out of Laura’s house in the middle of the night, we see a young Dexter awake, drawing a family portrait with Harry in the dad position.
This was insightful on a lot of levels. It establishes that the bond between Dexter and Harry was strong before Laura’s death. Dexter might not remember this as his trauma has caused him to block so much out, but Harry has always been that person he turns to for comfort and direction. This also shows why Harry feels as strongly as he does about Dexter, as he established an emotional connection with Dexter before Laura’s death and he knew of Dexter’s issues. He was a man grieving the loss of a child, when another child took to him. Dexter was part of Harry’s healing, which is why he clung to Dexter so tightly over the years, prioritizing him over his guilt, his wife, his daughter and his health.
This also could be part of Brian’s eventual motivation for violence. He doesn’t seem to have a connection with Harry. This new man in their lives took to his little brother, but what about him? Brian likely feels alone and neglected, and given that we’ve already seen violent tendencies from him, it’s a recipe for disaster.
The Pieces Come Together
Dexter started off the episode being “grounded” by Harry after his botched killing from the week before. Dexter: Original Sin Episode 5 for the titular character was a “coming together” episode. Dexter was bothered by Harry sidelining him. It motivated him to improve his processes and figure out that drugging his victims was the way to go. We really see Dexter come into his own, sneaking around and homing in on what he considers to be a successful setup. We also hear his monologue confirm that death didn’t feed his hunger, killing did. It was an acknowledgment from him that there would be no shortcuts, no easier way. Dexter had to kill.
But we also saw Dexter come to terms with his adoptive parents. When he finally makes it to Doris’s grave, Dexter acknowledges that Doris saw good in him, even though she knew he was troubled. Dexter doesn’t think anyone else will see good in him, which obviously Rita later will. This made me ponder how much Doris and Rita might have in common. Did Dexter subconsciously find a woman like his adoptive mother? We see here that Doris was a woman who just wanted a family. She doesn’t yell at Harry for coming home in the middle of the night. She doesn’t send Dexter away for being troubled. This does resemble Rita and her sweet yet broken nature. Just like how Doris would have been broken after the loss of a child and everything that came after.
Quick Hits
Captain Spencer pulling Harry off the kidnapping case after calling him the best detective he’s got was curious. I’m still 100% all in on Spencer being the Big Bad (possibly working with Brian) so this struck me as an excuse to get Harry away from the case.
Dexter putting Harry the killing table was a twist I didn’t see coming. Slightly shocking but effective as Dexter needed to prove to Harry that he’s OK to continue his killing. This was the point of no return moment, as Harry gave Dexter his approval to kill, and I don’t see Dexter checking in with Harry as much moving forward.
Deb’s boyfriend Gio might not be connected to the kidnapping case, but he’s connected to something. The cartel seems like an on the nose choice but would make narrative sense.
Every time we see Laura Moser, I feel a sense of dread. We know her end is coming soon. Kudos for not killing her off too quickly. The anticipation of her murder is building and brings an uncomfortable feeling the show that I enjoy.
Until next week….
