Dexter's Massive New Morgan Family Retcon Completely Changes The Original Show, 18 Years After The Premiere

By Jordan Williams

Published Dec 13, 2024

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

This article contains mentions of suicide.

Showtime’s prequel Dexter: Original Sin’s timeline kicks off in 1991, introducing 20-year-old Dexter Morgan as he graduates from college, begins his forensics career at Miami Metro Police Department, and is given the go-ahead to finally put the Code of Harry to use. With Harry still alive and Deb only a teenager, Original Sin also puts a greater focus on the Morgan family secrets and past that didn’t make it into the 2006-premiering Dexter series.

In Dexter: Original Sin season 1, episode 1, Harry and Dexter have to confront the reality that Dexter can no longer suppress his bloodthirst. While facing this realization about his son, Original Sin’s returning Dexter character Harry Morgan reflects on his history as a father, which leads to a flashback taking place before he adopted Dex and before Deb was born. The flashback introduces a major revelation about the Morgan family through the character Junior, whose tragic fate changes the context of Harry’s decision to adopt Dexter and his guilt over teaching Dexter the Code of Harry.

Dexter: Original Sin Reveals Harry Had Another Son Before Adopting Dexter

Junior Morgan Tragically Died By Drowning In A Swimming Pool

Providing a major twist, given Dexter and Deb never mentioned having another sibling who ed throughout Dexter’s original eight seasons, Dexter: Original Sin’s premiere reveals they had an older brother who died as a child. After Dexter and Deb come home 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 to his son, Junior, who suddenly stops responding to him in the backyard.

When Harry rushes outside the house, he finds Junior, who appears to be about five or six years old, at the bottom of their pool. Christian Slater's Harry Morgan immediately jumps in the pool and tries to revive his son, but, after getting no response from Junior, he desperately tries calling for help. The flashback then cuts to Harry’s wife, Doris, returning home to see Junior’s body being carted away by a coroner, with Doris screaming while Harry tries to comfort her.

Returning Original Characters In Dexter: Original Sin
Character	Dexter Actor	Original Sin Actor
Dexter Morgan	Michael C. Hall	Patrick Gibson
Debra Morgan	Jennifer Carpenter	Molly Brown
Harry Morgan	James Remar	Christian Slater
Angel Batista	David Zayas	James Martinez
Vince Masuka	C. S. Lee	Alex Shimizu
Maria LaGuerta	Lauren Vélez	Christina Milian

Not only is this revelation that Harry had another son before Dexter a huge shock, but it also begs the question whether Dexter and Deb even knew about their brother. Junior died a year before Dexter’s adoption and a couple of years before Deb was born, so it’s possible that Harry and Doris’ grief led them to avoid ever mentioning their dead son again – especially given the guilt that Harry harbors for not being able to save him. Tying into that grief, the backstory of 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

Young Harry Morgan carrying Dexter from the crime scene in Dexter flashback

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 had been one of the responding officers on the scene, as Dexter’s mother, Laura Moser, had been brutally murdered in front of her sons by Hector Estrada, a drug lord who discovered that Laura had become an informant to the police. Of course, the police officer she had been sharing information with was none other than Harry Morgan, who she was also having an affair with.

Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan with a drawing from Dexter: Early Cuts on the left and Patrick Gibson as Dexter in Dexter: Original Sin on the right

We Already Know 6 Kills That Will Be In Dexter Morgan’s Prequel Show

Dexter: Original Sin will show Dexter's earliest kills, but the franchise has already revealed six of his earliest victims and how he killed them.

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Therefore, the original show suggests that a significant reason for Harry adopting Dexter was out of guilt. Since Laura had been an informant for him, Harry felt responsible for her death, so he adopted her younger son Dexter while leaving her elder son, Brian Moser (the future Ice Truck Killer), to be placed in 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 didn’t have any children of their own.

While he couldn’t save Junior, Harry could save Dexter.

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 like he had another chance to redeem himself after Junior’s death. While he couldn’t save Junior, Harry could save Dexter. Dexter would give Harry and Doris another chance at raising the son that they lost, and Harry could continue to “save” him by trying to prevent Dexter’s Dark enger from turning him into Brian, who he felt was already too far gone, through the Code of Harry.

Junior's Fate Makes Harry's Death Before Dexter Even More Upsetting

Harry's Guilt Over Failing Both Of His Sons Was Too Overbearing

One of the biggest surprise reveals in Dexter’s original series involved the truth behind Harry Morgan’s death. While Dexter and Deb were told that their father died from heart disease, they eventually learned in season 2 that Harry died by suicide. After seeing Dexter dismember one of his victims, Harry fatally overdosed on his heart medication, being wracked with guilt over teaching Dexter the Code and guiding his son into becoming a serial killer. While seeing Dexter in the act of his killing incited Harry’s death, the backstory with Junior adds another tragic layer to his fate.

Based on Dexter's voiceover narration, Harry Morgan dies approximately one year after Dexter: Original Sin's premiere.

When seeing Dexter operate as the Bay Harbor Butcher, Harry decided that he failed both his sons. Not only had he been unable to save Junior from drowning as a child, but he had also turned his other son into a “monster” by allowing him to kill and butcher people. Harry couldn’t live with his perceived guilt of being responsible for both of his sons’ demises and his death tragically soon followed. It seems that was his solution to try to ensure he didn’t “ruin” Deb as well, with Harry’s death haunting his children long after Dexter: Original Sin’s timeline.

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