Although not socially acceptable, I must admit I have a deep, dark divulgence that I must share; I love television. While my true devotion will always lie with the written word, television never fails to provide a delicious distraction designed to root you in place for hours. While several series have been held near and dear to my heart, my most recent dalliance has been derisively, deranged Dexter. I had previously seen an episode of the show but it left me dreadfully disillusioned with the concept as a whole. It was not until Flip practically double dog dared me into watching it and again delved into the dark and dangerous world of Dexter, that I discovered the brilliance within.
Dexter is a likable Miami police blood spatter analyst by day but is reveled to be deeply defective when he secretly moonlights as a serial killer. His well meaning foster father recognizes his deliciously dark depravity early on and diverted dastardly deeds into a positive channel ruled by a strict moral code. He taught Dexter to use his deadly, destructive impulses to rid the streets of miscreants who have otherwise slipped through the fingers of justice. While killing does double duty of vigilant justice and quieting the Dark Passenger, Dexter is always sure to do his due diligence to ensure guilt before delivering death, doom, and destruction.
While the each week's plot is either Dexter dumbing down his keen insight into the mind of other serial killers or fixing the damage done by his healthy kill appetite, the show's brilliance lies within the character development of dear demented Dexter. Dexter's internal monologues makes the show. While showing the gulf between his everyday actions and his disturbing devious inner landscape, it is delightfully well written. The monologues depict the profile of an actual sociopath, devoid of emotions except his obsession with death and dying. The writer's weave words into a poetic picture perfectly painting the dramatic difference between keenly self-aware Dexter and those around him. Here are examples of Dexter's sub-human thought processes:
- Dexter: Most people have a hard time dealing with death, but I'm not most people. It's the grief that makes me uncomfortable. Not because I'm a killer. Really, I just don't understand all that emotion, which makes it tough to fake. In those cases, shades come in handy.
- Debra: I'm real proud of you for coming, bro. I know you hate funerals. How are you holding up? Dexter: I'm managing. - No, I'm not. Keeping my face pinched in sorrow for two hours is a real chore.
- Dexter: I like to pretend I'm alone. Completely alone. Maybe post-apocalypse or plague … whatever. No one left to act normal for. No need to hide who I really am. It would be … freeing.
- Dexter: Sometimes I wonder what it would be like for everything inside me that's denied and unknown to be revealed. But I'll never know. I live my life in hiding. My survival depends on it.
- Dexter: I remember when life was easy. When the only question I worried about was who's next. Now it's: How can I dodge my "protective detail"? What should I do with my "hostage"? These are not easy questions.
- Dexter: But if you play a role long enough, really commit, does it become real? Could I become real?
- Dexter: Here I am, paradox personified. Taking life, creating life.
- Dexter: Today I wake up, kiss the wife-to-be, feed the step-kids-to-be, dress myself in the usual pants, shirt … and pretense.
- Dexter: There are few milestones in life that evoke a stronger response than our final act: death. What was once moving, speaking, killing, and threatening becomes nothing but an empty vessel, which is not so different from how I've always felt.
- Dexter: We all have secrets. In that way, I'm just like everyone else – sorta.
- Dexter: Harry was right. I thought I could change what I am, keep my family safe. But it doesn't matter what I do, what I choose... I'm what's wrong. This is fate.
Despite dramatic content and a supporting cast that is never safe from dropping dead due to Dexter's playmates, Dexter is a quality show that one can become invested in. Self-aware, self-effacing, and self-depricating Dexter will not only win your heart but will have you day dreaming your own dreary, dull, and drab life could be spiced up with a simple kill shirt, a roll of plastic wrap, and a hand-held 800 megahertz bone saw. Happy viewing!
