Dexter: Original Sin – Episode 6 Review

Warning! This article contains spoilers from Dexter: Original Sin Episode 6.

Dexter: Original Sin‘s sixth episode sees Dexter chasing the ‘kill’ that will see him officially become a serial killer, while Miami Metro Homicide chief, Aaron Spencer, deals with the brutal kidnapping of his young son. Elsewhere, the 70s flashbacks see the birth of Debra Morgan, while Harry’s affair with Laura Moser heats up significantly, and the undercover mission to bring down the cartel takes a shocking turn.

This episode was directed by Michael Lehmann and written by Terry Huang. It aired on Paramount+ with Showtime on January 10, 2025, and the title of the episode is ‘The Joy Of Killing’. Another dark and twisted episode that blends well with a few flickers of laugh-out humor, and it successfully re-introduces the main storyline with potentially devastating consequences.

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A Good Mix Of Shocking Thrills And Laugh Out Loud Moments

After the deviation from Miami Metro Homicide’s main case in last week’s episode, the second half of Original Sin‘s debut season begins with a tense scene which sees Aaron Spencer’s young son being kidnapped. The identity of the villain remains unknown to the main characters and viewers and this creates a compelling mystery that feels different to anything previously seen in Dexter-verse. The dark opening is soon lightened up by some much-needed humor courtesy of Patrick GIbson’s brilliantly nuanced performance as Dexter Morgan. Any concerns about the relatively unknown actor taking on the role made famous by Michael C. Hall were quickly alleviated as soon as he appeared on-screen in Dexter: Original Sin‘s first episode. And by this episode, he really has established himself as the true embodiment of the serial killer with a code.

Dexter and his love interest, Sofia’s double date with Debra and Gio is one of the funniest scenes in the prequel so far. A large majority of the humor in this series comes from Dexter’s insatiable appetite for food. It’s great to see a lighter side to the character, and Gibson balances these humorous moments really well with his dark passenger side. Each murder Dexter carries out is an improvement on the previous one, as he perfects Harry’s code. However, it’s the errors he keeps making in the disposal of his victims that make these scenes compelling, and decidedly different from the original series.

Original Sin’s New Supporting Characters Are Still Largely Missing In Action But Patrick Dempsey Does Get A Chance To Shine

Sarah Michelle Gellar has absolutely nothing to do again in this episode, but it feels like she is being saved for a dramatic conclusion involving her character, Tanya Martin. Bobby Watt is strangely under-developed in the 90s set story, but has much more to do in the 1970s timeline. These characters need more to do in the second half of the season, as all good prequels should introduce compelling new characters to create stakes to make up for the lack of them in already established characters. Masuka and Batista also have little to do in this episode, but the audience is familiar with their future arcs, so it doesn’t matter as much at the moment, with more seasons likely to come in the future. One character who has been given some good screen time this week is Aaron Spencer, portrayed by Patrick Dempsey. He is now at the center of the main storyline, with a personal involvement in the kidnapping case, and Dempsey gets a chance to flex his acting chops a bit more.

Aaron Spencer was never mentioned in the original series, so his fate in Original Sin is very much up in the air, which works nicely for his end of season arc. His relationship with Harry Morgan is cemented in this episode, as the pair share a stiff drink in his office, but one glaring issue is the fact that his character is heavily involved in the investigation into his own son’s disappearance. This wouldn’t have happened, even back in the 90s, and it feels like a contrived way of getting Spencer to showcase his anger and frustration. Nevertheless, Dempsey plays it well, but it might work to have his character go rogue in future episodes. Get him out of the flashy suits, and work the case off the books alongside Harry Morgan. Overall, another great episode.

Dexter: Original Sin Episodes 1-6 Are Available to Stream on Paramount+ with Showtime Now

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