Dexter
Season One Review
“My
name is Dexter. Dexter Morgan. I don’t know what made me the way
I am, but whatever it was left a hollow place inside. People fake a
lot of human interactions, but I feel like I fake them all. And I fake
them very well. And that’s my burden, I guess. I don’t blame
my foster parents for that. Harry and Doris Morgan did a wonderful job
raising me. But they’re both dead now. (Pause.) I didn’t
kill them. Honest.”
Thus states
Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) at the beginning of the pilot episode
of the self-named Showtime series that recently made its debut on sister-company
CBS. While Dexter, at its most basic level, follows the life
of a serial killer, the series is more a psychological study of a classic
socially-inept and emotionally-void character struggling with fitting
into society as well as “doing the right thing” despite
his murderous tendencies. Dexter works by day as a forensics expert
for the Miami Police Department, specializing in blood-splatter analysis;
by night, however, he hunts down the criminal elements of the Florida
community who have found a way to escape justice and exerts his own
punishment by ritualistically killing them.
This makes
Dexter more vigilante than serial-killer, although a murderous one nonetheless.
He follows what he refers to as the “Code of Harry,” which
amounts to both making sure his victims are “deserving”
of their fate as well as taking the necessary precautions to prevent
being caught. Dexter thus plays judge, jury and executioner, and his
death settings are shrouded with evidence of the acts of his accused,
from newspaper clippings of their crimes to photos of their victims
to the consequences of their actions.
“Preparation
is vital,” Dexter offers in a voice-over. “No detail can
be overlooked.” And none are. Rubber sheets are duct-taped to
the walls and floors to collect the blood that’s about to be spilled.
His intended victims are stripped naked and strapped onto tables with
plastic. All items are then removed to eliminate any evidence of his
actions, including the dead bodies, which are chopped into disposable
pieces, placed into garbage bags and dumped deep into the Atlantic Ocean.
Ironically
enough, it was his foster father Harry (James Remar) who set Dexter
on his current path. A former Miami cop, the elder Morgan rescued a
young Dexter from a crime scene, the details of which are both mysterious
and elusive. He also realized his adopted offspring’s “defect”
early on when he caught Dexter killing animals, which is revealed to
viewers through the use of flashbacks. It is a later flashback, however,
involving a teen Dexter, where we truly understand Harry Morgan’s
influence on the actions of the adult version.
“Maybe
we can do something to control it. Use it for good.” Harry tells
Dexter of his urges. “Son, there are people out there who do really
bad things. Terrible people. And the police can’t catch them all.
Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“You’re
saying they deserve it,” young Dexter responds.
“But
of course you need to learn how to spot them,” the elder Morgan
continues. “How to cover your tracks. But I can teach you.”
And teach
him he does, not only in the ways of the criminal mind (Harry’s
police department experience and instinct assists in that regard), but
also in the ways of society. While Dexter is indeed “hollow”
inside, he hides it well, coming across to the vast majority of people
in his life as likeable, charming and even charismatic. He may be lost
when it comes to relationships and human interaction, but as Dexter
“fakes” his way through life he also strives to not only
“fit in” but understand as well, and eventually even grows
as a human being.
Dexter
likewise excels at his day job, displaying an ability to both read “the
story” that blood splatters tell, as well as the psyche of the
criminal mind. In the pilot episode, for instance, he is asked to interpret
the crime scene of a double murder believed to be drug related. He instinctively
discovers, however, that while the dealer was quickly knifed, the female
buyer was more leisurely killed, leading to the conclusion that the
murderer had a relationship with her; ultimately it is an ex-lover arrested
for the crime as opposed to a rival drug gang.
Despite
its subject matter, Dexter also displays a wry sense of humor.
In his often voice-over dialogues, Dexter reflects on the world around
him and how he fails to relate. When he takes his girlfriend Rita (Julie
Benz) out for crab legs, for instance, he reflects, “Needless
to say I have some unusual habits, yet all these socially acceptable
people can’t wait to pick up hammers and smash their food to bits.
Normal people are so hostile.” In another episode he encounters
an emotional Rita and is uncertain how to comfort her: “I can
kill a man, dismember his body and be in home in time for Letterman,
but I don’t know what to say when my girlfriend’s feeling
insecure.” And in regards to the flirtations of his boss, Lt.
Maria Laguerta (Lauren Velez), Dexter has a rather simplistic reaction,
“And I thought I was creepy.”
Although
all of the above elements make for an intriguing television series,
the first season of Dexter goes a step further by having the
title character face his past as well as his evolving emotions as a
human being, all while tracking a fellow serial killer that he both
exhibits an admiration for as well as an apparent connection. To reveal
too much would be a crime in-and-of-itself, but suffice it to say that
Season One is a journey of self-discovery and life-direction, even if
Dexter is indeed a “monster.”
It will
be interesting to see how Dexter plays out on CBS. Although
graphically speaking the series is no more gruesome than many episodes
of CSI, there is a profanity element, especially in regards
to Dexter’s “foul-mouthed foster sister” Debra (Jennifer
Carpenter). More significantly, the network is not known for character-driven
dramas like Dexter, instead showing a penchant for cookie-cutter
forensic dramas in the CSI vein. In this sense, the recently
resolved strike by the Writer Guild of America—the catalyst for
airing the already produced Dexter—may prove beneficial
to Viacom-owned CBS by expanding its content, not only with Showtime’s
Dexter but the saved-from-cancellation Jericho as
well. If these two shows can catch on with viewers, the network could
evolve from “America’s Most Watched” to “America’s
Most Inventive,” a true benefit to any fan of quality television.
February
18, 2008
