Summary
- Arthur ‘Trinity’ Mitchell’s spin-off lacks Dexter’s appeal due to his lack of redeeming qualities.
- The Trinity series aims to explore his origins but may struggle since Trinity is purely a villain.
- John Lithgow’s return as Trinity’s narrator poses challenges, as he is an unreliable narrator compared to Dexter.
The Dexter universe is going through an exciting expansion, with the prequel series, Original Sin, currently airing on Paramount+ with Showtime, and the Michael C. Hall-led sequel, Resurrection, set to begin filming this month for a release in Summer 2025. To add to this, it has been confirmed that the Trinity Killer spin-off will also be moving ahead, with John Lithgow returning to narrate the series. However, fans are questioning how it’ll work with the character not possessing any redeeming qualities like Dexter.
Arthur ‘Trinity’ Mitchell was Dexter’s adversary in the fourth season back in 2009, and he became one of the most iconic villains in television history. But he is exactly that: a villain, and not an anti-hero. Clyde Phillips and Scott Reynolds will be co-creators and executive producers on the Trinity-led series, and it’ll focus on his early life, as he developed his own dark passenger.
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The Trinity Killer Is A Compelling Character But He Doesn’t Have The Same Appeal As Dexter And This Is A Problem
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Trinity Killer Spin-Off |
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|---|---|
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Starring |
John Lithgow |
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Created by |
Clyde Phillips and Scott Reynolds |
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Platform |
Paramount+ with Showtime |
There is a reason why Dexter Morgan works so well as a leading character, and that is because he possesses redeeming qualities despite his killer instincts. Like all the great anti-heroes in the golden age of television, Dexter is complicated, but ultimately likable, and audiences are still interested in his story nearly 20 years after he first appeared on television screens. The recent boom for the Dexter-verse has led to two spin-off series, and inevitably, there are more to come, including the Trinity Killer solo show. It was looking like the series was on the back burner, but after the resounding success of Original Sin, plans are moving ahead for an Arthur Mitchell prequel.
Fans were given a glimpse of Trinity’s torrid past in the original Dexter series, and this will now be expanded into a full series. Trinity was a great foil for Dexter, but it remains to be seen if the character can carry his own show for a whole series. Trinity isn’t an anti-hero, he is just a villain, but, of course, that doesn’t mean he started out that way. But even if he did once possess good qualities, fans don’t want to see a young Arthur Mitchell as a wholesome good guy. The series will have to land somewhere in the middle to show the origins of his darkness, before he fully moves over to the dark side. As Ryan Murphy has shown with his Monster anthology series, villains like Jeffrey Dahmer and The Menendez Brothers can be intriguing leading characters, but they manage to tap into the human side of these monstrous creatures. Trinity is the incarnation of evil, so the writers will have to balance the good with the bad if the prequel spin-off is to work.
John Lithgow’s Return Will Attract Viewers But It Might Also Create Problems For The Trinity Series
Original Sin has found a unique and interesting way to bring back Michael C. Hall, through the ‘inner voice of Dexter’ as he narrates his origin story from the perspective of his life flashing before his eyes. It has been announced that Arthur ‘Trinity’ Mitchell will also narrate his origin story in his own spin-off series, and as exciting as it’ll be to hear John Lithgow’s dulcit tones in the Dexter-verse once again, it doesn’t come without its own problems. Trinity is a very unreliable narrator: a narcissistic murderous creature wallowing in self-pity. Dexter isn’t without his own issues in terms of reliability, but Original Sin is also Harry’s story, so there is a balance to how events are perceived.
Unlike Dexter, Trinity is dead, so his voiceover in the prequel series will likely take on a different tone. Or, the spin-off series could opt to catch up with Trinity prior to his demise, and flashback to his early days. The next obstacle will be finding an actor who can portray the iconic villain, with John Lithgow being a very hard act to follow. However, Original Sin is proof that the creative team are very adept at casting younger versions of iconic characters, with Patrick Gibson getting rave reviews for his portrayal of a young Dexter Morgan. John Lithgow’s narration will attract viewers, but a spot-on casting of his younger iteration along with a strong supporting cast is vital to keep fans on board for multiple episodes of Trinity’s solo outing.
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