It’s been eight years since audiences last saw Dexter’s iconic opening title sequence, and while New Blood no longer uses the Miami-based opening credits, the first episode references the original opening. Showrunner Clyde Phillips made the decision not to recon any of the things that happened in Dexter’s initial eight-season run even though the last few seasons, particularly the season 8 finale, were widely disliked. Even though she was killed in the original ending of the show, Dexter’s deceased sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) also returns in New Blood, now as an imaginary representation of his “Dark Passenger.”
Michael C. Hall's Dexter Morgan has also changed significantly in Dexter: New Blood. It begins with Dexter running through a forest in the snow, a stark contrast to the city of Miami and its balmy weather. Now he lives in a small town and carries a hunting rifle on his morning run and searches for the same white buck, which he aims at every morning but refuses to kill. Clearly, despite New Blood not retconning anything from the original series, there have been some changes for the characters.
However, there are some other ties to the original series, namely in Dexter: New Blood's evolved title sequence. In the original title sequence, Dexter completes his morning routine: he shaves, makes breakfast, gets dressed, and leaves for work. New Blood references the old title sequence in several ways. Dexter’s breakfast in the original title sequence included ham, eggs, Red Hot hot sauce, and blood orange juice. On the second morning in New Blood, he cooks a slice of ham in a skillet and shakes hot sauce reminiscent of blood onto it. This brings any viewers who thought New Blood wasn’t a Dexter show right back to the beginning. Writers wanted to remind viewers that even though it’s been eight years and they’re no longer in Miami, they are still watching the same Dexter Morgan repeat his routine. Referencing the original title sequence is a perfect way to do that.
Dexter: New Blood also contains another overt reference to the old show: Dexter sharpens a set of knives and puts them in a case similar to his old one. The knives belong to the town butcher and Dexter returns them as the man is cutting up a dead pig, its blood is spilling all over the table and floor. It’s a clever nod to the past when Dexter would sharpen his knives and was called the “Bay Harbor Butcher.” The pig’s blood spilling all over the table and the ground parallels the way Dexter would carve up his human victims, slicing them into pieces once they were dead.
On the first morning viewers see in Dexter: New Blood, Dexter eats a bowl of cereal, a very different meal than in seasons 1-8. It isn’t until the second morning that his breakfast looks more like the usual one. He and Deb comment that it has been almost 10 years; they're referencing how much time has passed since he stopped killing, but it also applies to the audience who hasn’t seen him dousing his breakfast in hot sauce in almost a decade. The nod to the original title sequence invites viewers back and reminds them they’re watching Dexter.
More importantly, however, the reference to the original Dexter title sequence isn’t made until the second day. Dexter meets a man, Matt (Steve M. Robertson), who challenges his strict lifestyle and makes degrading remarks about Dexter’s insistence on following the rules. Dexter’s frustration and desire to kill Matt, the son of Dexter: New Blood’s main villain, is slowly causing his Dark Passenger to emerge. Waiting until the second day to reference the opening title sequence purposefully shows that he is about to look a lot more familiar even though he appeared to be a different man at the start of the episode.