Dexter English TV Series
It has been weeks since I saw Dexter on Amazon Prime, but the show and its characters have made such a big impression on me that they are still in my mind. Barring the slightly disappointing 6th and 8th seasons, Dexter is an incredible series that will reward your time. Just the premise of the show itself is chilling and fascinating. It is about a blood spatter analyst, Michael C. Hall's Dexter Morgan, who moonlights as a serial killer of other serial killers. An analyst by day, an eliminator of serial killers by night; Dexter Morgan works for Miami Metro Police Department. In his free time, which essentially means most of the time, he works with a moral code that his foster father, James Remar's Harry, taught him. The code includes the instructions - Do not kill an innocent, Do not get caught.
The first few episodes of Dexter are about how Dexter Morgan works as per Harry's code. Like all sociopaths, an adult Dexter also has a backstory that explains why he is this sociopathic killer. Harry, a member of Miami Metro Police force, finds a young Dexter in a pool of blood after some hooligans kills his mother, and then he adopts the kid. Harry then brings Dexter to his family, which consists of his wife Doris Morgan and daughter Debra Morgan. Despite knowing that Dexter has an impulse to kill, Harry refuses to let the child go. He drives Dexter's psychopathic version to one killing those who he feels deserve to die.
Harry's lessons are so important to Dexter that the former lives as figments of his imagination. This essentially means we see Harry as a person inside Dexter's mind. The conversations between both characters are a joy to watch. This is largely down to the brilliance of Hall's voiceover for Dexter. It is a really complex character, and Michael C. Hall embodies him. This means Hall breathes, walks, talks, and lives as this part monster, part sociopath and part Mr. Nice Guy next door. His performance in Dexter is so good that you cannot imagine anyone else in this role.
The moment of truth for Dexter is when he decides to marry a widower, Julie Benz's Rita, with two children. For the family of three, Dexter is a nice guy who becomes a part of the household even before marriage. But for Dexter, they are all a nice cover-up for his double life. The thing about Dexter is that he cannot feel emotions like normal people. Most of the emotional complexity of the series is built around this trait of Dexter.
There is an incredible scene in the middle of the series where Dexter watches a funeral to understand what it is like to lose someone in life. It is incredible, given that Dexter is mature enough to understand it. Michael C. Hall said in one of his interviews that there has not been a character like Dexter Morgan in all literature. After all, who kills with a moral code in a way that makes us root for the person?
Having this 'eliminator of serial killers' premise is one thing, but Showtime really took it to another level. There is a series of terrific writing decisions that keeps Dexter an engrossing watch all along. One of those choices is to make Dexter Morgan fall in love with other killers. This is a fascinating idea, versus making him a vigilante hero who just eliminates anyone that gets in his way. There are also sequences where he observes other serial killers, like Arthur Mitchell (John Lithgow), to see how they manage to live a double life.
There are also many terrific supporting characters in Dexter, who give the show just enough human qualities. Dexter is not all a freak show, as its title cards may suggest. The bold and beautiful Jennifer Carpenter drops the most F bombs out of all the television characters ever. But she is also a fine actor essaying a character who serves as a foil to the monster that is Dexter. Some of the brother-sister bonding sequences featuring Hall and Carpenter will leave you misty-eyed.
David Zayas as Angel Batista, C.S Lee as Vince Masuka, Lauren Velez as María LaGuerta, Eric King as James Doakes, John Lithgow as Arther Mitchell, Desmond Harrington as Joey Quinn, Keith Carradine as Frank Lundy, Yvonne Strahovski as Hannah Mckay, Aimee Garcia as Jamie Batista. They are all fantastic in Dexter, and the show also has a few other actors who impress in cameo roles.
Dexter is not for faint-hearted people. I found some of Dexter's ritualistic killings gratuitously violent. It is about killers, so one would expect it to be part of the whole package.
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