Why Didn’t Harrison Find Astor & Cody In New Blood?

Summary

• Harrison’s absence in Astor and Cody’s lives remains unexplained in Dexter: New Blood.
• Astor and Cody’s exclusion from the revival series allows for a focus on Harrison’s storyline.
• Harrison could potentially reconnect with Astor and Cody after the events of Dexter: New Blood.

Dexter: New Blood introduced a major Harrison plot hole — why didn’t he find Astor and Cody after being sent to Miami, and since he didn’t, what really happens to Rita’s kids? Harrison arrives in New Blood episode 1 after finally tracking down Dexter, who abandoned him in the original series finale nearly a decade before. When Harrison explains to Dexter how he found him in Iron Lake, he says he was living with Hannah in Argentina for approximately five years before she died, after which he was shuffled through the foster system in Miami for three years.

Considering Harrison has (presumably) living family members left in Florida, it’s curious why he didn’t seek them out instead of Dexter. Before Dexter had his son with Rita, he was a good stepfather to her children, Astor and Cody. Dexter helped raise them until Rita’s murder by The Trinity Killer in the season 4 finale. Feeling he couldn’t properly raise Rita’s kids and the infant Harrison after his wife’s death, he sent Astor and Cody to live with their father Paul’s parents in Orlando, Florida, with Astor only making a few brief appearances during the remainder of the series.

Why Didn’t Harrison Try To Find Rita’s Kids In Dexter: New Blood?

Harrison Had To Have Known He Had Siblings

Surprisingly, Dexter: New Blood does not mention Astor or Cody, let alone include a legitimate conversation about Rita. If Harrison knew his mother was murdered, he should also know about Astor and Cody. While Harrison still would have been quite young when placed in Miami’s foster system, he had a keen investigative eye to spend those three years searching for a nonexistent Jim Lindsay around the United States.

Instead of going through the foster system, why wouldn’t he have tried to track down Astor and Cody? They would already be in their early 20s, living regular lives and thus not very hard to track down – at least not as hard as Dexter in Iron Lake. While Harrison never tried to find them, the most realistic reason why is that he was too consumed with getting answers from his father.

Why Astor And Cody Not Being In Dexter: New Blood Is Great – For Them

Astor & Cody Were Always In Danger Thanks To Dexter

​​​​​​While the omission of Rita’s kids in Dexter: New Blood may disappoint many, it works better for the two young characters. Astor and Cody were great for Dexter‘s storylines, but including Dexter’s stepkids in New Blood would’ve lessened the impact of Harrison’s return. Not having Harrison search for the two does seem like a gaping plot hole, but had he done so, it would have weakened the revival.

A big reason it’s for the best that Astor and Cody didn’t return is their relationship with their stepfather. Astor took Rita’s death the hardest and blamed Dexter for a long time. There wasn’t a heart-to-heart or an official reconciliation between her and Dexter, but rather, a half-hearted hug. While Cody’s relationship remained intact with his stepfather, Astor’s return would’ve taken the focus away from Harrison’s own tension-filled New Blood arc. It simply would’ve overfilled an already stuffed sequel series.

Harrison Could Find Them After Dexter: New Blood

Harrison Likely Still Has Questions

If Harrison were searching for his family and answers, Astor and Cody would be the logical place to establish a connection. Harrison probably had questions about Rita, which Hannah couldn’t answer because they never met. It’s also possible that Astor and Cody would be active on social media, so they would be much easier to find. Additionally, while Paul’s parents weren’t Harrison’s blood grandparents, they came to his birthday parties and treated him as kindly as their grandchildren.

It is a good bet that Astor and Cody are safer without anyone from that part of the family near them.

Astor and Cody may not have known what happened to Harrison before New Blood, but they would probably be the most receptive to reconnecting with him. However, this could also be a bad idea for the two siblings. Rita died because of her relationship with Dexter Morgan. Harrison might have his own Dark Passenger, and it is a good bet that Astor and Cody are safer without anyone from that part of the family near them.

Although Christina Robinson (Astor) and Preston Bailey (Cody) were present at Dexter: New Blood’s world premiere in New York, they didn’t appear in the series. New Blood centered around the torn relationship between Dexter and Harrison, so the screenwriters didn’t have too much time to include his half-siblings in the revival’s ten-episode run. Since Dexter:New Blood ends with Dexter’s death, Harrison may finally seek out his long-estranged siblings.