Dexter Finally Reveals The Origins Of Why He Brings Donuts To The Station, 18 Years Later

Though he generally struggled to understand basic social skills in making friends, getting people to like him, and making everyone think that he was just another “normal” guy, Dexter found that offering others donuts was the easiest way to get to their hearts. In Dexter: Original Sin season 1, episode 2, the prequel reveals the very first time that Dexter brought donuts into Miami Metro. There are some comical errors in Dexter’s alternate attempts to make his colleagues like him but, by the end of the episode, a tradition is born that he maintains for decades.

Dexter Started Bringing Donuts After His Colleagues Hated His Idea Of Bringing Vegetables

Dexter Knew That Food Was The Way To Win His Coworkers' Appreciation

Dexter: Original Sin reveals that, before he brought donuts, Dexter tried to win his colleagues’ favor with a different type of food. While his heart was in the right place, 20-year-old Dexter Morgan was a bit misguided with his first attempt, which saw him bring a vegetable tray to share with others at the station. This didn’t go over so well, with the detectives on the police force and those in other departments around Miami Metro rejecting Dexter’s offer while finding it a bit odd.

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After Dexter showed the vegetable tray to Camilla Figg, a mother figure to him after the deaths of his biological mother Laura Moser and adoptive mother Doris Morgan, she helped guide him in the right direction. Bluntly, Camilla told Dexter that cops “don’t eat that s***,” then proceeded to throw the veggie tray in the garbage. With Camilla’s help, young Dexter showed up the next day with a box of donuts, which was immediately met by excitement and gratitude from Dexter: Original Sin’s characters at Miami Metro. Therein, Dexter found the key to fitting in and being likable at work.

Dexter Bringing Donuts Was The First Time Others At Miami Metro Started To Appreciate Him

For years, Harry had been trying to find ways to get Dexter to connect with other people around him. However, while Harry didn’t want Dexter working at Miami Metro because of his fears that it would be too easy for Dexter to get caught, it finally gave him a community and a sense of “normalcy” with a social outlet. Not only that, but it gave Dexter friends for the first time in his life through Batista and Masuka.

Though Harry gave Dexter some advice to joke around with the others to fit in, it was Dexter’s own idea to bring donuts that finally worked. It’s heartwarming that Dexter sharing donuts is the first thing that makes others at Miami Metro appreciate him, and that he keeps it up for the next few decades when he works there. Through his routine of bringing donuts into Miami Metro, Dexter gets an interesting look into the simplicity of social acceptance in groups, something he’s always struggled to contend with, but that integrates one of his favorite things outside killing: food.

Dexter Eventually Stops Bringing Donuts To Miami Metro In Dexter Season 7

Dexter Later Had Better Masks Than Being The "Donut Guy"

Dexter bringing donuts to Miami Metro became a staple of the show for almost every season of Dexter – until it abruptly stopped in season 7. This element in Dexter’s efforts to maintain his mask of normalcy is so integrated into his routine that he gets to know the people who work at Sadie’s Donuts. However, in Dexter seasons 7 and 8, he stops bringing donuts to his colleagues at Miami Metro after more than 20 years of being the “donut guy” at work.

Dexter Morgan not bringing donuts to Miami Metro coincided with a divisive shift in his character in the original show’s later seasons. At that point, Dexter had been getting sloppier in his killing, which included breaking the Code of Harry, and he began to explore whether he could rid himself of his Dark Passenger for good. This involved shedding some of the masks that he had long put on in front of those around him, such as no longer believing he needed to bribe others with donuts if he already seemed “normal” enough with his and Rita’s family.

Early in the original Dexter show, the titular serial killer’s mask of normalcy was typically exhibited through bringing donuts to the station, playing on Miami Metro’s bowling team, and dating Rita. However, once he got married to Rita and had his son, Harrison, those aspects of trying to make himself seem more approachable and likable through sugar-based bribes and group activities were phased out. Of course, like in Dexter: Original Sin, Dexter had to bring these strategies back into play when he was starting his social disguises all over again in Iron Lake in New Blood.

New episodes of Dexter: Original Sin season 1 release Fridays on Paramount+ with Showtime.

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  Dexter: Original Sin explores the origins of Dexter Morgan as he transitions from student to serial killer in 1991 Miami. Guided by his father, Dexter channels his dark urges through a moral code while starting a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.

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  Based on the character created by author Jeff Lindsay, Showtime's Dexter follows Miami Metro Police Department's most skilled blood spatter analyst, Dexter Morgan, as he attempts to satisfy his Dark Passenger's need to kill by hunting down criminals who have escaped justice. However, using the rules his adoptive father taught him to remain undiscovered, Dexter must walk the fine line of seemingly blending into society while continuously feeding his dark urges. Dexter faces several serial killers as his facade slowly crumbles around him; with every problem solved by his Dark Passenger, another one arises for his suburban fatherly life. When Dexter takes things personally or feels that the law is failing, he takes matters into his own hands and even compromises the investigations of his co-workers. Dexter aired on Showtime for eight seasons before receiving a mini-sequel series called Dexter: New Blood, which picked up ten years after the show's events. You can buy each season for just $9.99 for Prime Day.