The Weekend Binge – Dexter – Seasons 1-8 now streaming on Netflix

Everybody loves a vigilante – I mean, let’s be honest, who hasn’t secretly wished they could be Batman or Batwoman? I know what you’re thinking – why hasn’t Batwoman been created yet? I often wonder what I’d be like as Batman. I’m a bit of a wimp so I’d probably be a shit Batman, but then again I am rather cunning…

Right, we’re back – drifted off for a ten minute ‘I am Batman’ daydream there. Quite frankly, it was disappointing – I tried hitting on Catwoman, she wasn’t having any of it and I just sulked around Gotham instead of doing anything heroic. Anyway, I guess the reason we love those mavericks who take the law into their own hands is because we can all put our thumb on a story about a scumbag who does wrong and gets away with it and thus it’s only natural that if we see a story unfold where someone is in the wrong, we’re totally up for it when they get their comeuppance from Joe or Joanna Public who is lurking in the shadows ready to pounce.

I suspect that when most think of a vigilante our brains go on autopilot and take us to those Marvel and DC characters but one of my favourites is Michael C Hall’s portrayal of Dexter Morgan and his ruddy dark passenger, a psychopath serial killer whose adopted father taught him how to channel his lust to kill so that he focuses on the worst kind of criminals. Ironically, in Showtime’s Dexter it’s a case of hunter became the hunted as he satisfies his need by taking out people that are as evil as him, but not weaponised.

The world of Dexter and his alter ego…

The other self is crucial to the story of any hero, even the questionable ones, and when Dexter isn’t taking out child killers and murder-rapists, he’s doing his best to blend in to day to day life in Miami despite his social awkwardness. His now deceased former cop father taught him how to fit in and after one of the best openings to a pilot episode, in which Dexter tracks and makes his first kill complete with his own fucked up ritual, probably the best ever use of the character’s thoughts voiceover helps to show us just how he’s disguising himself in every day society. Clever little insights include dating a woman who was a victim of sexual assault and thus means he doesn’t have to have sex with her and buying doughnuts for work colleagues each day to be ‘that nice guy.’ Little do they know – he’s flipping lethal.

And how does he pick his victims? Well, he works for the Miami Metro Police Department in the homicide unit as a blood spatter analyst and his expertise in forensics helps him to confirm those who fit the code that his father set out for him, which includes never kill an innocent, shit like that. So yeah, access to police records, ‘crims’ that slip through the cracks of the judicial system being wrapped in cling film and dismembered and the lines get blurred further when Dexter, always steps ahead of his colleagues in solving cases, opts to leave these cases unsolved so he can feed his addiction by handing out his twisted form of justice. It’s all lovely stuff and the stories of him preying on his victims fit neatly into series story arcs across eight seasons, though, sorry, but the last few are a little bit crap. Don’t let that put you off – you’ll be rewarded if you watch the best ones!

The supporting characters and a bit more on that voiceover…

Dexter is a great character, truly, and his voiceover, the internal Dexter, at times feels like another character too. You see, Dexter’s ‘hobby’ is a secret and he can’t talk about it with other characters so the voiceover is a clever vehicle used by the show’s creators to get across exactly how he’s feeling and essentially who the real Dexter is. Although it’s a drama series, the voiceover offers very dark, dry humour that helps to build an affiliation with our anti-hero. At least, it did for me…

Dexter’s foul mouthed sister, Deb, a fellow colleague is brilliantly portrayed by Jennifer Carpenter, along with his girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) and her children are crucial to the ongoing narrative; their presence provides the viewer with the ever long question – is Dexter actually a psychopath or has he been wrongly branded that by his father? These relationships are interesting – Dexter claims early on to not feel anything for anyone but he does evolve, which is interesting to see. These characters are crucial to the narrative too and keep Dexter grounded almost as their existence seems to hinder his ‘extra curricular activities.’ That reference probably doesn’t work – he’s not a school kid – but it sounded nice so it’s staying. Further hindrances are Dexter’s work colleagues, who at various points throughout the series he has to sidestep, backstab, con and blend in with. In writing drama you need to create obstacles that characters need to get past in order to fulfil that dramatic need and his colleagues and other antagonists that rock up throughout the eight seasons offer that. 

Our own curiosity and the series story arcs…

Very much like our interest in vigilantes, we also have an interest into the mind of a monster and Dexter is a delightful mixture of both, but like with shows such as CSI if you’re a little bit intrigued by the psychology behind a homicide then this programme will hold your interest as well as scare you off living in Miami – there does seem to be a lot of savage murders there.

This hunter becomes the hunted theme that runs through Dexter throws up an interesting antagonist in the form of another serial killer clashing with our main man. The pilot will have you intrigued as a serial killer is trying to reach out to Dexter, a man who we think has kept his secret, but in later series there are equally as gripping storylines that run throughout, known as story arcs, that bumble on with subplots working nicely around them. The fourth series with the excellent John Lithgow starring as The Trinity Killer is by far the standout.

Final thoughts…

I love Dexter but I’m aware it’s got flaws. It’s cheesy to a degree, as are most vigilante tales, it’s got some B stories that are a little bit hard to care about, but series one, three, four and five are fantastic and will have you gripped, amused and rooting for Dexter. Visually it’s wonderful as well, very sharp and cinematic and I must say, without going into too much detail, that the colouring and lighting throughout is quite brilliant as is the soundtrack, which has a comic effect when matched to some of his activities. As mentioned, the later series get a bit naff, but that shouldn’t put you off watching some of it and in truth season one ties off nicely as a stand alone if you were to watch it and not catch any more.

Dexter seasons 1-8 can now be streamed on netflix.com 

Arran Dutton

Arran Dutton is a scriptwriter and producer with credits for BBC. Find out more about him at arrandutton.com