Huge new retcon of Dexter's Morgan family completely changes the original show, 18 years after it premiered

NOTICE! This article contains major SPOILERS for Dexter: Original Sin season 1, episode 1!

Showtime prequel Dexter: Original Sin features a new retcon about the Morgan family that adds a completely new interpretation to the Harry and Dexter dynamic from the original show. Dexter: Original SinThe timeline begins in 1991, introducing 20-year-old Dexter Morgan as he graduates from college, begins his forensic career with the Miami Metropolitan Police Department, and receives authorization to finally put Harry's Code to use. With Harry still alive and Deb just a teenager, Original sin also puts a greater focus on the Morgan family's secrets and past who did not appear in the 2006 premiere Dexter series.

In Dexter: Original Sin Season 1, Episode 1, Harry and Dexter have to face the reality that Dexter can no longer suppress his bloodlust. As you face this realization about your child, Original sinis returning Dexter the character Harry Morgan reflects on his history as a father, which leads to a flashback before he adopted Dex and before Deb was born. THE flashback presents a big revelation about the Morgan family through the character Juniorwhose tragic fate changes the context of Harry's decision to adopt Dexter and his guilt over teaching Dexter Harry's Code.

Dexter: Original Sin reveals that Harry had another son before adopting Dexter

Junior Morgan tragically died from drowning in a swimming pool

Providing a major twist as Dexter and Deb never mentioned having another sibling who passed away Dextereight original seasons, Dexter: Original SinThe premiere of reveals that they had an older brother who died as a child. After Dexter and Deb return from the college party, Harry has a flashback to what appears to be the fall of 1972 or early 1973, about a year before he adopted Dexter. In the flashback, a younger Harry is watching a Miami Dolphins football game while calling out to his son, Junior, who suddenly stops responding to him in the backyard.

When Harry runs out of the house, he finds Junior, who looks to be around five or six years old, at the bottom of the pool. Christian Slater's Harry Morgan immediately jumps into the pool and tries to revive his son, but after getting no response from Junior, he desperately tries to call for help. The flashback then cuts to Harry's wife, Doris, returning home and seeing Junior's body being taken away by a coroner, with Doris screaming as Harry tries to comfort her.

This revelation that Harry had another son before Dexter is not only a huge shock, but it also raises the question of whether Dexter and Deb knew about their brother. Junior died a year before Dexter was adopted and a few years before Deb was born.So it's possible that Harry and Doris' grief led them to avoid mentioning their dead son again – especially given the guilt Harry harbors over not being able to save him. Tied to this pain, the story behind Junior Morgan's death expands on Harry's reason for taking Dexter in as a child.

Junior's death adds another tragic reason for Harry adopting Dexter in the first place

Harry thought saving Dexter would redeem his failure with Junior

The original Dexter show revealed that Three-year-old Dexter was adopted by Detective Harry Morgan in 1973 when he was found in a pool of his mother's blood.. Harry was one of the officers who responded to the scene, as Dexter's mother, Laura Moser, was brutally murdered in front of her children by Hector Estrada, a drug dealer who discovered that Laura had become a police informant. Of course, the police officer she was sharing information with was none other than Harry Morgan, with whom she was also having an affair.

Therefore, the original show suggests that a significant reason Harry adopted Dexter was out of guilt. As Laura was his informant, Harry felt responsible for her death, so he adopted her youngest son, Dexter. when leaving his eldest son, Brian Moser (the future Ice Truck Killer), to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. It was also implied that Harry and Doris adopted Dexter because Harry felt responsible for the boy after finding and rescuing him, and because the Morgans had no children.

However, the revelation of Junior's death adds another reason to Harry's decision to adopt Dexter and raise him. By adopting Dexter as his son, Harry felt he had another chance to redeem himself after Junior's death.. Although he couldn't save Junior, Harry could save Dexter. Dexter would give Harry and Doris another chance to raise the son they lost, and Harry could continue to “save” him, trying to prevent Dexter's Dark Passenger from turning him into Brian, who he felt was already too far gone, through of the Code. from Harry.

Junior's fate makes Harry's death before Dexter even more disturbing

Harry's guilt over his two sons' failure was too overbearing

One of the biggest surprises revealed in DexterThe original series involved the truth behind Harry Morgan's death. Although Dexter and Deb were told that their father died of heart disease, they eventually I found out in season 2 that Harry died by suicide. After seeing Dexter dismember one of his victims, Harry fatally overdoses on heart medication, being wracked with guilt for teaching Dexter the Code and guiding his son to become a serial killer. Although seeing Dexter in the act of his murder incited Harry's death, the backstory with Junior adds another tragic layer to his fate.

Upon seeing Dexter operate as a Bay Harbor butcher, Harry decided he had failed his two sons. Not only was he unable to save Junior from drowning as a child, but he also turned his other son into a “monster,” allowing him to kill and massacre people. Harry could not live with his perceived guilt of being responsible for the deaths of his two children and his death tragically soon followed. It seems like this was his solution to try and ensure he didn't “ruin” Deb too, with Harry's death haunting his children long after. Dexter: Original Sintimeline.

New episodes of Dexter: Original Sin release Fridays on Paramount+ with Showtime.