Dexter: Original Sin Reveals How Dexter Is Alive After New Blood

Dexter: Original Sin has resurrected Dexter Morgan following his death at the end of New Blood. Despite being released 18 years ago, Dexter is still one of the most popular TV shows out there. The show was a huge hit on Showtime in the late 2000s and early 2010s having helped define the cable channel. The show recently had a major second wind when Dexter was re-added to Netflix over the summer, unleashing the Dark Passenger on a whole new generation of people. Dexter was suddenly swarming social media as a generation that was previously too young for the show became captivated by it, particularly a generation that grow up in the age of superhero media.

Dexter concluded its run in 2013, but left the door open for a return down the line. In 2021, that return came in the form of Dexter: New Blood, a 10 episode mini-series that aimed to give the character a definitive ending. At the end of the show, Dexter Morgan is shot and killed by his son. Dexter comes to terms with the fact he’s done more harm than good to those around him, ruining the lives of everyone he holds dear. As such, he allows his son to put him down once and for all as he can’t continue running and he refuses to live his days in jail or face the death penalty in Miami. It seemed like that would be the end of it, but it wasn’t!

Michael C. Hall’s Dexter Morgan will return, from the dead, in a new show called Dexter: Resurrection. However, that show won’t premiere until June 2025. In the meantime, fans will have to wait with a prequel series called Dexter: Original Sin. The new show aims to fill in some of the gaps of the character’s early years and it’s doing so in a pretty fascinating way. Michael C. Hall’s Dexter narrates the entire show, more or less recalling his life. The first episode of Original Sin premiered tonight on Paramount+ and it opens by answering the question on every fan’s mind: How is Dexter still alive?

Dexter: Original Sin – How Is Dexter Still Alive?

So, despite getting shot in the chest, seemingly near the heart, Dexter lives! Original Sin begins by having a police officer, likely Dexter’s now ex-girlfriend Angela, rushing his unconscious body to the emergency room. From there, a number of doctors put pressure on Dexter’s gunshot wound to control his blood and determine he has no pulse. The doctors scramble to bring him back to life and ultimately use a defibrillator. After a couple of attempts, Dexter’s pulse returns and his inner monologue makes a sly remark about his resurrection. However, he’s still unconscious, likely in some sort of temporary coma. It’s really as simple as that: Dexter got defibbed back to life.

There may be a bit more to that, possibly something that will be revealed in more detail later in Original Sin or in Resurrection. Michael C. Hall had previously hinted to Variety that the cold weather in Iron Lake played a part in keeping The Bay Harbor Butcher alive. It’s likely the cold weather and snow slowed his blood loss, allowing Dexter to still have a fighting chance with the help of some doctors. Where that leaves him from here is a big question.

At the end of New Blood, Dexter was publicly outed to the world as a serial killer. Angel Bautista was on his way from Miami to confront Dexter and law enforcement was prepared to haul him back to his home state. Whether Dexter will somehow manage to escape the hospital once he awakens remains to be seen. It’s likely he will be cuffed to his hospital bed and will have to at least face the music in some way, possibly to some new characters played by Peter Dinklage and Gillian Anderson but it’s hard to imagine a whole new series where Dexter is just handcuffed or in a jail room the entire time. It doesn’t lead to much suspense. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out!