Within the past two months I have become so captivated by the seductive nature of “Dexter” through the brilliantly beautiful yet horrifying title sequence of our favorite serial killer’s morning routine, and the character’s constant vacant emotions that we all experience through our self-diagnosis of loneliness and misunderstanding. In these past two months, I’ve so far watched the series up until the seventh season, and I honestly can’t see a single reason not to admire our anti-hero Dexter! It seems that, with every knife that finds its way into the heart of a baddie, Dexter finds a way into the hearts of the viewers. But why is that? Why are we so compelled to like and even admire a cold-blooded killer? Why is it that we cheer him on, and want to see him brutally murder his target? Well, there are reasons for this that we don’t even think about while watching this bloody addictive program.
Take
note of the opening title sequence: not
only does the music and beautiful cinematography have the allure to keep you
engaged and interested, but we are living through Dexter’s symbolic routine
with him. We feel that we know Dexter on
a personal level because of the nature of the opening sequence and the show as
a whole. Because as a viewer, we are
Dexter’s conscious and who he speaks to about every creative and amusing
thought that runs through his head. Take
for example the beginning of every episode, when he breaks the fourth wall to
speak to the viewer personally about the challenges that he faces about
(eventually) being a single father and managing the Dark Passenger while
simultaneously planning out his next kill.
We take the role of a serial killer’s psychologist in the series, which
involves us in a way that makes us feel compassion for him: like we’re his only
friend and sole keeper of his dark secret.
The
genius of the program is that by sharing Dexter's secret life and thoughts with
us in all its profound exclusivity, we are emotionally connected to this serial
killer’s code and view of the world! We honestly believe that Miami is a safer
place when we allow Dexter to fulfill his ultimate destiny, which is satisfying
his thirst for slaying those that are like him.
He is ironically a symbol of ultimate good, which is precisely why we
like him on the surface. And we learn
that a serial killer who only murders other killers spills the blood of those
that spill the blood themselves: or a knife to stop other knives. But why do we see this as acceptable?
A
killer who kills killers is also a hypocrite, so why are we so aligned to his
point of view? It’s because he’s also
the most charming killer we've ever met.
He’s clever, calculated, creative, good-hearted, and above all else, he’s
the DaVinci of manslaughter. Through the
entire journey, we’re convinced that he’s doing what is right because he
himself is convinced. And because we
feel we know him so well, we accept him.
But
how exactly can we trust him? After all, a killer is still a killer. How do we know that one day, if he gets in a
powerful enough position he won’t break our trust and become your normal,
everyday serial killer? It’s because of
his upbringing which makes him so special.
Orphaned straight from a pool of his mother’s blood as a young boy, his
entire life from that point was carefully watched and molded to fit a specific
code of ethics known as “Harry’s code” which was the work of his foster father
Harry. His life became all about using
his unique thirst for bloodshed to defend the innocent common folk from those
that either will do them harm or have done them harm, and then being able to
cover it up without leaving a trace.
Time and time again we have seen the tame nature of Dexter’s dark passenger,
refusing to kill the innocent, and mourning when a mistake has been made (which
has only happened when he jumps the gun on the kill.) This shows us that discipline is his greatest
characteristic which is exactly how we know that Dexter is the ultimate good. Because deviation from the code means the end of life as he knows it. So he’s not evil at all, right?
Dissecting
Dexter’s psyche is much more difficult than when he does it to his victims on
his table of death because we are blinded by Dexter’s wit, charm, and
respectable morality. At the same time
however, he is a killer. But what I’ve
come to understand and appreciate about this specific program is that we are
comfortable with that and love him for it!
We are confident that Dexter won’t stab us in the back because of his
incredible discipline and his murderous charm.
Word Count: 816
Based on the writing style of Christopher Ryan in THIS REVIEW
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