Summary
Harry Morgan’s famous code that he created for his son, Dexter Morgan, to channel his killer urges is set to be a big focus in theDexterprequel series. However, the show has a big decision to make about how to portray it on screen. At the beginning of the originalDexterseries, the idea for the code was believed to be solely down to Harry, as he was determined to channel his adopted son’s killer urges.
This all changed in the final season ofDexter.The show introduced the character of Evelyn Vogel (played by Charlotte Rampling), and revealed that she was responsible for helping Harry formulate the code. Fans weren’t enamored with the character and the consensus is that it was unnecessary to introduce her as someone who helped with Harry’s code.Theprequel series,Dexter: Original Sin,needs to decide whether to scrap Evelyn Vogel’s character altogether, or mention her sparingly.
What Happened to Evelyn Vogel in Dexter Season 8?
Dr. Evelyn Vogel is a neuropsychiatrist who assists with the treatment of psychopaths.In season 8 ofDexter, she turns up to assist Miami Metro Homicide with the investigation into a serial killer known as the Brain Surgeon. However, it turns out Vogel knows all about Dexter Morgan (played byMichael C. Hall) as she helped Harry Morgan come up with the idea for ‘The Code’ all those years ago.
The morally conflicted main characterwatches an old tape of Harry talking to Vogel about his son’s fascination with crime scenes. Evelyn reveals that the code was her idea, and not Harry’s, which Dexter originally thought. However, Harry did play a part in forming the details of the code using his background in law enforcement. Vogel also claims to be Dexter’s ‘spiritual mother.’ It is revealed that these conversations between Harry and Vogel took place when Dexter was 10 years old.
Vogel wants Dexter to find the killer who has left brain matter in a jar on her doorstep, as she fears for her life. She taught Dexter how to follow the code, so she wants him to protect her in her time of need. Dexter is initially reluctant to help her, and suggests she gets Miami Metro’s assistance instead. However, she thinks the killer might be a former patient of hers, and believes law enforcement would be less than supportive of the methods she used to treat the eventual murderer.
As Season 8 progresses, Dexter and Vogel grow closer,as she helps him understand his urges and why he channels them. She is also insistent that Dexter does have a human side despite his killer urges. As time goes on, it is revealed that Vogel had two sons named Daniel and Richard. Unfortunately, Richard died at the hands of Daniel, and Daniel was committed to a mental asylum. It turns out that Daniel Vogel has resurfaced in Miami under the new name of Oliver Saxon, and he is the Brain Surgeon. He ends up killing his mother, Evelyn, by slicing her throat. She dies in a pool of her own blood as Dexter tries to comfort her, but he is unable to save her.
How Should Dexter: Original Sin Approach the Character of Evelyn Vogel?
Dr. Evelyn Vogel was instrumental in helping Harry Morgan form the code that Dexter would live by during his serial killing heyday.Dexter always believed his father had come up with the code independently, but Vogel revealed that Harry had sought her advice during Dexter’s childhood, when he discovered that his adopted son had some rather disturbing urges. These urges formed as a result of the trauma he experienced after witnessing the brutal murder of his mother, Laura Moser, when he was a young child.
The events ofprequel series,Dexter: Original Sin, will take place in 1991, 15 years before the events ofDexterbegan. Vogel’s involvement with Harry Morgan would have taken place years before the events of the new prequel series, so this leaves the inclusion of Vogel in the series totally up to the creative team. They aren’t backed into a corner in terms of Vogel’s inclusion in the narrative, as there is no mention of her making an appearance during the time thatDexter: Original Sinis set in.
Dexter Morgan will be 20 years old at the start ofDexter: Original Sin, and season 1 will likely featureDexter’s first kill. The code had already been formed by Harry and Vogel during Dexter’s childhood, butthere is a chance she could still appear.However, she wouldn’t be able to feature in scenes with Dexter. He had no knowledge of her existence until 2013, when season 8 ofDextertook place.
Many fans were less than positive about the character of Evelyn Vogel, so its likely she won’t feature inDexter: Original Sin, aside from the odd mention of her character in passing. The code will be a major focus of the prequel series, so it would be strange if Vogel wasn’t mentioned at all, due to her involvement in the formation of the code in the first place.
