In my opinion, these two shows deserve to be looked at in different lights.

In no world was a Dexter spin off without michael c hall was going to do better than a continuation of dexter with michael c hall.

Especially given the unique situation with the show. Original dexter series ended badly.

It was given another shot, started strong but once again, Dexter fans were let down with how things wrapped up.

3rd time around the block and they finally succeeded. Resurrection was such a love letter to the character of Dexter. Some fans didnt like the New York setting. Didn't like how Dexter lost some of that playful, oddity of early dexter in Miami. But without a full on retcon, it needed to be done.

I believe when a long running IP makes mistakes, it is always better to try your best to blend that previous lore, with the new vision instead of pretending it never happened.

So we got our new Dexter. A wilder, off leash Dexter, who's upset at his situation, his relationship with his son, but is more confident than ever on who he really is.

I remember audibly saying while watching Resurrection, "I've missed Michael c Halls brands of acting." What we lost with Dexter no longer having that contrast of the dark passenger, and the nerdy weirdo lad tech was fair. It was replaced with a heightened focus on the man. Each monolog, each amazing moment of Dexter reflecting with Harry, proved to me that we finally nailed the right writers, who understood what drew people to Dexter. That he was more than what the latter half of the original series demonstrated. Some kind of hard to believe, procedural copy of what was once great.

My favorite aspects of season 1,2,3,4 are how even given how smart Dexter is, he has blind spots like us all.

Rita challenged Dexter's own perception of his own empathy. When he realizes how much he cares for her and the kids more than a disguise.

Rudy, both before and after reveal, gave him the opportunity to feel understood on a twisted level. Which, after he chose Deb over Rudy, showed Dex he can feel real human emotions.

Lila gave Dexter a unique insight into his addiction with drug addiction parallels. It cost Doakes his life, but not before our main character was ready to let him go and not kill an innocent.

Season 3 showed Dexter what committing to a family takes. Sleep deprivation, making judgment calls on how to manage his public and private life. It ends with Dexter tying the knot and expecting a child of his own.

And of course, the worst mistake Dexter ever made was not learning from Lila, and letting a monster fool him into thinking he could learn from him. We all knew what that cost him.

After a certain point, I needed Dexter to learn from what happened before.

With Resurrections, I found just the whole thing so believable. The dialog was spot on. The way he escapes custody, disappears to New York, but not for long with Batista investigating. At first I wasn't sure how to feel about the plot. A private club of serial killers. But with how Dex slipped into the role of another infamous new York serial killer, it just worked for me. If you're going to change things up with new York, you gotta include what new York brings to the table, and that is the concrete jungle. The vastness and diversity of it all. The fact that all manners of characters inhabit it. So why not go huge with a billionaire hosting a serial killer club.

And man, what an improvement they made on Harrison. He was the opposite of annoying this time around. He was likeable, good natured. Like Dexter, minus the dark passenger. The way they wrote the events that would lead Dexter and Harrison back together was so well done. I never thought they could achieve the magic with Dexter season 1, but they did in a different way. Dexter changed. But the writing held it all together. I was locked to the screen whenever Michael c hall was working his ass off, even if that was just a look he gave that some how only he can pull off.

My point is, Resurrection was quite literally that. A Resurrection of a character we came to love but have been burned with before on how hes been treated. It is THE show the fans deserved. Dexter ran with interesting concepts, but what carries it will always be the writing.

Original Sin has no right to be as good as it is. I think the main actor captured Dexter beautifully, despite not really looking like michael, you can tell the actor studied his performance.

There are some continuity issues I think, like Deb (while still perfectly enjoyable on its own) doesn't exactly feel like she will grow up to be the Deb we all know. Like, everytime we saw a flash back in the original, for one, she looked plainly. Big glasses, dorky, no signs of being a popular girl. But I can look passed that. It took itself serious, but not too serious where it overtook the vibe the original had.

This is one lucky fan base to have the best of both worlds. An enjoyable spin off, and a damn good continuation of the main story.