Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dexter: Original Sin season 1.There were plenty of new characters inDexter: Original Sinwho never appeared in the originalDexter, but these six were the biggest additions to the franchise. Thecast ofOriginal Sinis filled with returning characters from the originalDexter, like Dexter (Patrick Gibson) and Harry Morgan (Christian Slater), but also some veterans of Miami Metro like Maria LaGuerta (Christina Milian) and Angel Batista (James Martinez). Because of thetimeline ofOriginal Sin, however, the prequel show couldn’t be entirely filled with returning characters, and it created a host of new people who were mysteriously absent fromDexter.
Many of the characters who debuted inOriginal Sinweren’t inDexterfor a simple reason: they hadn’t been created yet.Dexterhad no way of knowing thatOriginal Sinwould add new people to Harry, Debra (Molly Brown), and Dexter’s lives almost 20 years after the original show started, so it couldn’t include those characters. From an in-universe perspective, however, many ofOriginal Sin’s characters should logically have appeared or at least been mentioned inDexter. These six characters fromOriginal Sinare the best examples of that idea.
6Tanya Martin
Played By: Sarah Michelle Gellar
One of the more noticeableDexter: Original Sincharacters who wasn’t inDexteris Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Tanya Martin. As the head of Miami Metro’s forensic science team duringOriginal Sin, Tanya worked directly with both Dexter and Vince Masuka (Alex Shimizu).She was essentially a mentor to both of them, and since Vince and Dexter worked together for years after she left the police department, it’s odd they never mentioned Tanya inDexter.Dexterdoes take place 15 years afterOriginal Sin, though, so there’s a more than likely chance Dexter and Masuka simply don’t think about Tanya much anymore.
Why Sarah Michelle Gellar Was Barely In Dexter: Original Sin Season 1
While Sarah Michelle Gellar was one of the most exciting casting additions to Dexter: Original Sin season 1, Tanya Martin is hardly featured.
It is still strange that Tanya is never even mentioned inDexter, however, especially since she was important in several other ways. For instance, Tanya gave Dexter the idea to use M99 as a drug to sedate his victims, as shown inOriginal Sinepisode 4. Her absence from the original show only got stranger afterOriginal Sinrevealed Tanya convinced Deb to become a police officer.Tanya was secretly responsible for a lot of things fromDexter, yet she never appeared in it.
5Clark Sanders
Played By: Aaron Jennings
Another member of Miami Metro who wasn’t inDexteris Clark Sanders, Dexter’s first police officer friend. AsOriginal Sinprogressed, audiences learned that Clark was a gay police officer, and after being spotted at a gay bar, confided in Dexter about his secret. Clark even asked Dexter for help during Bobby Watt’s blood drive, and ironically called him a “lifesaver.“Despite being the first person Dexter really clicked with at Miami Metro, Clark Sanders wasn’t inDexterat all. His desk at the front of Miami Metro’s office was taken up by various unnamed police officers and receptionists instead.
Despite being the first person Dexter really clicked with at Miami Metro, Clark Sanders wasn’t in Dexter at all.
Like Tanya, there’s a very good chance Dexter simply didn’t think about Clark much 15 years after they first met. Clark also could have moved away from Miami, transferred to a department other than homicide, or simply not be friends with Dexter anymore during the original show.There is, however, another possible explanation for why Clark may not have appeared inDexter: Miami Metro may have found out his sexuality. In the early 1990s, that would have been disastrous for Clark’s career, and he may depart Miami Metro as a result.
4Sofia
Played By: Raquel Justice
Miami Metro Homicide wasn’t the only source of character disappearances. Deb’s best friend and Dexter’s first girlfriend, Sofia, was also never mentioned inDexter’s eight seasons. At the start ofOriginal Sin, Deb and Sofia seemed inseparable. They were both on the volleyball team, they hung out constantly, and even tried drugs together.Friends often grow apart as they age, but Deb and Sofia seemed to be very important to one another. It’s not as strange that Dexter never reminisced about her, given how their romance ended, but he still could have mentioned her when ruminating on his lack of interest in sex inDexterseason 1.
Original Sin could have simply used the excuse that Sofia and Deb became enemies to explain why she wasn’t in Dexter, but instead, the prequel show had them make up in the season finale.
Sofia’s absence fromDexteris also unique for another reason:Original Sinhad the perfect opportunity to explain her absence, but didn’t take it. Deb and Sofia had a falling out after Deb refused to believe that Dexter cheated on her, and the two weren’t even on speaking terms for the second half ofOriginal Sinseason 1.Original Sincould have simply used the excuse that Sofia and Deb became enemies to explain why she wasn’t inDexter, but instead, the prequel show had them make up in the season finale. For now, Sofia’s absence fromDexteris unexplained.
3Bobby Watt
Played By: Reno Wilson
One of the more curious characters who was missing from the originalDexteris Bobby Watt, Harry’s longtime partner at Miami Metro. Harry and Bobby worked together for decades, ever since they were working narcotics and using Laura Moser (Brittany Allen) to take down thedrug kingpin Hector Estradain the 1970s.Since Bobby and Harry worked together for so long, Dexter should have had some memories of Bobby, or at least made mention of him, inDexter. He could even have talked to Bobby’s wife, Missy (Keisha Thompson) for more information about Harry’s secretive past.
9 Missing Original Characters In Dexter: Original Sin Season 1
There are nine characters from the original Dexter who should have, or at least could have, appeared in the prequel series Dexter: Original Sin.
Like Sofia,Original Sinalso had a prime opportunity to explain Bobby’s absence fromDexter. Bobby was shot in the neck inOriginal Sinepisode 8, and he easily could have died from his wounds.That also would have fit with the storyDextertold about Davey Sanchez, Harry’s original partner who Bobby seemingly replaced inOriginal Sin. Instead, however, Bobby was still alive at theending ofOriginal Sinseason 1, so the franchise will have to find a new way to explain his absence inDexter.
2Captain Aaron Spencer
Played By: Patrick Dempsey
Aside from Tanya, one of the most notable absences fromDexteris Captain Aaron Spencer. AfterOriginal Sinrevealed that Spencer was the kidnapper, the prequel show instantly made it odd thatDexternever mentioned him.One of Miami Metro’s captains turned out to be a secret child killer and kidnapper, yet no one inDexterever brought Spencer up. Even during the Bay Harbor Butcher investigation inDexterseason 2, when everyone was shocked that James Doakes (Erik King) had been “hiding” as a police officer, no one saw the similarities between him and Spencer.
Even if the cop-turned-killer similarities between Spencer and Doakes weren’t there, Spencer’s inclusion inOriginal Sinstill presents a problem forDexter.Throughout the original show, Captain Thomas Matthews (Geoff Pierson), not Spencer, was shown to be a lifelong friend and superior to Harry Morgan. As such, Matthews was often referenced by other characters or shown in flashbacks to Dexter and Deb’s childhoods, but since Spencer worked with Harry for over 20 years, he should have also made some appearances inDexter.
1Gio Martino
Played By: Isaac Gonzalez Rossi
The last, and probably least noticeable, character who didn’t appear inDexterwas Gio Martino. Gio was Deb’s boyfriend for much ofOriginal Sinseason 1, until their massive falling out. During a day trip to Bimini, Gio outed himself as a drug smuggler and stranded Deb in the Bahamas without her passport.Gio was just the first of Debra’s many terrible boyfriends, which means he could have easily been referenced during one of her later doomed romances.While lamenting how Rudy Cooper (Christian Camargo) turned out to be the Ice Truck Killer, Deb could have noticed the trend that started when she was a teenager.
Original Sin season 1
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Andrew Briggs
Wanted Fugitive
Gio’s absence fromDexter, however, isn’t that big of a deal. Again,Dextertakes place 15 years afterOriginal Sin, so Deb probably wasn’t thinking about her high school fling much in her late twenties. Her boyfriends inDexteralso proved to be much worse than Gio, ranging from a serial killer to a much older FBI agent who died in front of her, so Gio probably didn’t make the list of Deb’s biggest romantic worries. Still, he is one of the many characters inDexter: Original Sinwho could have popped up inDexter, but didn’t.
Dexter: Original Sin
Cast
Dexter: Original Sin explores Dexter Morgan’s early years in 1991 Miami as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. Guided by his father, Harry, Dexter crafts a moral code and navigates a forensics internship at Miami Metro Police, all while controlling his darker impulses.
