The first critic, Emily Nussbaum, reviewed the television show in such a way that she tells the readers exactly what to expect from the show instead of analyzing the show’s impact or the symbols that are used. In this way, the review takes a more content analysis type of approach to the review, where she straightforwardly analyzes what exactly is on the screen instead of the meaning behind it. In this way, it reads more like a Rotten Tomatoes review than anything, stating, “The premise sounded like a bad joke: a serial killer who kills other serial killers. Yet, once you begin to watch, the Showtime series was more brainy and more affective than bloodthirsty.” The review then goes into Dexter’s background and routine as the antihero of the series, more so informing the possible audience what they’re in for than analyzing the content. There are a few instances where allegory and metaphor are used, but it is mainly about the content that is directly being delivered. In this way, it seems as though the critic is more accustomed to summarizing than critiquing.
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The second critic, Christopher Ryan, is more clearly a hardcore fan of the series. Through this review, he goes into creative detail on the show: explaining the brilliance of the opening sequence, and the psychoanalysis of Dexter Morgan, our hero. I’ve noticed that this critic is very informal in his writing, using exclamation points nearly as many times as periods, and does this mainly while breaking the fourth wall in order to excite the reader. He also tends to ask us questions about our own morality and how different it actually is from our serial killer antihero. The entire review is marked with strong and creative language that is used to affect us emotionally: “Dexter challenges us to join in, if we dare, for a journey along the razor’s edge separating the cleansing execution of moral justice from the sticky evil that oozes from numbed slaughter… Because we know his secret and see what he sees, we want him to fulfill his destiny, we are drawn to him – cheer him on as he battles ‘real evil’” He then connects this to our own lives and our concepts of evil, saying that the anti-empathy that allows Dexter to kill other people is something we all share, and the numbness spreads as we progressively disengage from tangible life and death.
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