the Dexter reboot could offer even darker serial killer drama but also make up for the controversial decisions of the final season.
Debate has raged as to which - if any - of the original cast could also return. Harry Morgan actor James Remar insisted that none of them had been asked back. Newcomers like Jamie Chung, however, have seemingly suggested otherwise. As such, rumors have persisted among fans — with many using social media posts as potential evidence. With Dexter season 9 relocating the eponymous serial-killing vigilante to upstate New York, it remained unclear how the Miami-based characters could be weaved logically into the plot. That being said, there is one past character unbound by such restraints and could appear freely without fear of contrivance: Debra Morgan. Having died in the original Dexter series finale, the way has already been paved for her to take over from Harry as an imaginary presence in Dexter's life.
Throughout Dexter's original run, his adopted father served as something of a spiritual guide. Having originated the titular Harry's Code, the figment was the embodiment of those rules and the closest thing Dexter had to a conscience. The hallucinatory Harry was also an interesting sounding board for Dexter as he wrestled with his emotions and various issues. Over time, however, following multiple revelations, Dexter became increasingly disillusioned with Harry — who could arguably be considered the show's true villain. Equally, by the ending of Dexter, the trope had been entirely played out, persisting merely due to a rote commitment to the established formula. As such, it was almost a relief when Dexter said goodbye to Harry and everything the man had come to represent within his complex psyche.
Conversely, though the duo had their rocky spells, Dexter's trust in Deb never waned. Even when he still believed that he was incapable of emotions, Dexter loved Deb. As twisted (and nonsensical) as things might have gotten during Dexter's final seasons, Deb remained equally committed to Dexter. That remained so even after Debra learned the truth about Dexter's murderous ways — with her seemingly still absolving and ing him right up until the show's end. Whether or not fans agreed with that eventual mentality, it was the note that Dexter and Deb parted on. And with it established that Dexter season 9 won't retcon what came before, it will remain part of the show's canon. Deb knew Dexter fully, like nobody else ever had, and was his true constant. As such, it would make all the sense in the world for a figment of her to have become Dexter's new guiding influence during the intervening years.
Deb would be the perfect person to keep Dexter from going completely off the deep-end and more in line with whatever code he'll next follow. Perhaps even more importantly, it would allow Dexter to resume a familiar dynamic but in an entirely fresh way. Debra was, after all, a lovably brash and foul-mouthed counterpart to Dexter's calculating stoicism. By having her in Harry's place, the show could recapture some lost humor and include the kind of bickering but heartfelt exchanges that Dexter fans loved so much from the adopted siblings. Of course, it wouldn't entirely make up for the egregious mistake of killing Deb off in the first place. Still, it would make an interesting way to bring the talented Jennifer Carpenter back. And while it won't change that Dexter's series finale was one of TV's worst endings, the Dexter season 9 episodes could at least recontextualize it into a stepping stone to something great.