5 our of 5 stars

In all honesty, there are only two television series that I have ever been hooked on in my lifetime. Granted, I don’t watch a tremendous amount of TV, but a show I thoroughly enjoy keeps me on edge for days. Looking back on my 16-year-old self, I recall nights of popcorn munching and Netflix binging. When I’m addicted to a show, there is no turning back until the entire series is finished. I always had a profound interest in psychotic murder and crime stories, but shows such as Criminal Minds become redundant after a while. Therefore one particularly unsettling and completely demented program catches my attention: “Dexter.”

Dexter Morgan is a serial killer, with a twist. Unlike the typical deranged murderer, Dexter lives his secret life as a blood spatter analyst. In other words, he works with the Miami Metro Homicide Police Department with his younger sister, Deb. Attempting to blend in as the “decent boyfriend and fatherly figure with a stable career,” he dates a woman named Rita and helps take care of her children from her first marriage.

Unfortunately for Dexter, he wishes he was just a regular Joe. Instead, he has the burning desire to kill people. He also claims that he cannot truly feel or express emotion. So he lives by his father’s “code of protection,” and only disposes of other serial killers while pretending to express love for others. Without giving the entire show away, there are two striking reasons why Dexter is so intense and intriguing.

       First of all, Dexter is psychologically interesting because his perception of himself is entirely different than how the TV audience views him. He believes to be a dark monster who is far from human. However, early on in the show, we discover that his father set him up for failure as a child.

Focusing on Dexter’s troublesome desires, his father taught him how to follow a strict code of guidelines in order to “tame the beast inside of him.” If someone reinforces that you are an evil killing machine over and over again, you will start to believe it. Hence, the self-fulfilling prophecy comes into play.

In another episode, Dexter jumps into a fire to save his girlfriend’s children from burning to death. If he didn’t have positive feelings or positive intentions, then he would have never contemplated the rescue. There are many other instances throughout the show when we see Dexter’s capability to express emotion like any other human. Of course, speaking the obvious would be a huge spoiler alert.

        Besides the gruesome killings to keep the show interesting, the audience is also captivated by Dexter’s heroic qualities. This is, perhaps, the most enticing aspect of the plot. Even though serial killers are supposed to be the villains, we end up rooting for Dexter. We never want him to get caught (Which, by the way, keeps the audience on edge) and we always want him to catch his victim.

As an audience, we even feel remorse for Dexter’s disturbing childhood and present life. Keep in mind, we do not feel this way just because he is the lead character. We cheer for Dexter because he only murders the other bad guys who are causing harm to Miami. Dexter does not cause anyone or anything harm except for those who are even more troubled than he is. In my opinion, he is similar to any other superhero: someone who masks his true identity in order to fight off crime for the benefit of the community.

        Dexter differs from most television programs because we continue to learn something new and unpredictable in all eight seasons. Several interpretations are formed as we pick apart Dexter’s sickening mind. Unlike the average show that turns into a cluster of repetitive drama, Dexter constantly keeps you guessing. I would definitely give this series a huge, five out of five star rating. The only downside is the awkward sex scenes, but other than that, I am completely fascinated with Dexter’s life-story.

Kassidi Andres is a features reporter for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]