Does Dexter Encourage Fans To Sympathize With Serial Killers?

Serial killers are often glamorized in the media due to their enormous fascination with their psyche, justification of their motives, and revolting backstories. A serial killer is essentially a person who commits a series of murders over time, following similar to identical patterns in their methods to receive some emotional and/or physical gratification. What follows these horrible, real-life tragedies are stories influenced by true crime enthusiasts, and often inspires horror genres and fictional crime shows.

One of television’s most recognized fictional serial killers is Dexter Morgan. The show Dexter has gotten a lot of recognition regarding its anti-hero protagonist. His character is unlike your typical heartless serial killer. Dexter has a set of rules that control his behavior (to an extent). He only kills dangerous, corrupt people who typically harm or kill others themselves. These sets of rules guide him on his journey to murder with a purpose.

Some fictional serial killers have received a surprising number of positive support from fans; despite being known for literally killing people, fake serial killers, much like real-life serial killers, interest people to a potentially abnormal level. But what makes fictional serial killers so engrossing is the look into their lives and what makes them do what they do: their tragic pasts, toxic upbringings, or possible mental disorders. Do killers with tragic pasts like Dexter Morgan advocate for viewers to sympathize with their motives?

Who Is Dexter Morgan?

Dexter follows an outwardly average awkward man, Dexter Morgan, who lives a seemingly honest life working as a blood splatter analyst for Miami Metro Homicide. He works alongside his sister Debra Morgan, a detective at Miami Metro who yearns to be as good a detective as their father Harry once was. He has a good reputation as reliable and hard-working among his peers, making him appear likable to everyone in his life. But no one knows Dexter’s dark secret: he’s a serial killer.

From the first episode, the audience is aware of Dexter’s true identity as a serial killer. The series depicts him as a vigilante, only killing people who harm or kill others themselves. But Dexter himself had confirmed in his own inner dialogue that he’s always had the urge to kill, long before he decided how to orchestrate his murders by fitting his opinion of evil. These despicable people have to fit a certain standard: the code of Harry.

Because Dexter somewhat has a conscience and rules put into place about who he deems “killable” and “un-killable,” fans tend to use him as an example of a serial killer who murders for the greater good, making him essentially the hero. However, that perspective brings a bit of controversy to his character as a whole. Was he meant to be relatable to the audience and loved by fans, or was his character intended to be an example of a man with psychological issues?

Dexter’s Morality

Adopted as an infant, Dexter spent most of his life as a “Morgan.” Regardless of not being biologically related to his sister, Deb, and his parents, Harry and Doris Morgan, he has always been considered just as much a part of the family as any of them. Deb has noted on multiple occasions how not sharing DNA has never made a difference in their bond. In fact, Deb is very comfortable making her own morals and opinions known to Dexter, whether he’s looking for them or not.

Despite their close relationship, Deb doesn’t fully understand who Dexter is. The only person who ever lived to know Dexter’s secret from the beginning of its manifestation was his father, Harry Morgan. Harry watched as Dexter grew into a young man with a lot of dark tendencies. Harry witnessed his son ravel in his emotionless identity crisis when he was just a young kid. After Dexter had confessed to killing animals, including a neighbor’s dog that kept his mother up at night, Harry started coaching him in order to redirect his murderous tendencies towards people that fit his idea of evil.

Harry’s Code

After being taught everything he knows from his father, Dexter would use his dark passenger (his murderous alter ego) to kill only by Harry’s code. Although Harry never approved of his son’s murders, he didn’t want to see his son rot in jail or, worse, kill an innocent. Thus became the serial killer that is Dexter Morgan: a killer with consciousness.

Since passing away, Harry is represented in the series as his actual conscious. Like a guardian angel, Harry appears to Dexter in his times of need. Whether it be a bad feeling, a hard decision about his next victim, or just some relationship advice, Harry is there in spirit (literally speaking) to give his son some peace of mind. The code of Harry hasn’t always been as reliable as Dexter had hoped after his father died and was no longer able to guide him through his choices step-by-step physically.

However, he always makes do, even if he has to rely on his own decision-making. Viewers enjoy Dexter’s morality because it keeps him level-headed and more respectable if he only kills those he finds fit. Having a conscience has made it easier for fans to feel like they can better understand his mentality and even empathize with his decision-making, considering most of his victims appear a lot worse than he is.

Dexter’s Empathy

Dexter Morgan is not only lucky to have a loving sister but also a great relationship. At the beginning of the series, he has a girlfriend named Rita Bennett, who, by season three, goes by Rita Morgan. In the beginning, he finds Rita’s emotional baggage and lack of sexual interest appealing due to his own demons and lack of interest in physical relationships. Rita also has two great kids who adore Dexter named Cody and Astor, making him feel normal and a part of a real family.

Eventually, Rita moves on from her past by pushing her abusive ex-husband completely out of the picture, making her a more confident version of herself. This newfound confidence even fuels her desire to be physically intimate with Dexter. At first, Dexter is put off by Rita’s new urges, but with time, he grows to enjoy himself, learning along the way he doesn’t despise sex as much as he once thought. Rita is another character that teaches Dexter without him even knowing.

He never knew he could possess certain emotions such as love, excitement, joy, etc. before Rita had come into his life. Over time, he grows immensely close to Cody and Astor, taking on the role of their dad before officially becoming a part of their family. Sadly, it takes Rita’s character dying later on in the series for Dexter to shed real tears, knowing he could also possess the emotion of sadness and feel the weight of loss crush over him.

How Does The Show Make Dexter Relatable?

What makes a character easy to sympathize with is their way of connecting to the audience through relatability. Dexter is a lot more than just a serial killer to fans. He’s also a dad, a brother, a friend, and a husband.  He can even unintentionally be funny at times. At Miami Metro Homicide, he has a few friends that look out for him and keep him grounded.

A Killer’s Company

Detective Angel Batista is one of Dexter’s greatest friends in the series. Their friendship may not seem entirely close at first, but Batista always has his back right from the start. Any time James Doakes, the sergeant at Miami Metro, doubts Dexter’s character and gives him a hard time, Batista backs him up. Later in the series, their relationship grows to a point where Dexter genuinely cares for him. Even though he never understands why Batista claims to be his best friend, he eventually admits they are closer than he once thought.

Relationships like Batista’s keep Dexter’s character seemingly genuine and appeal to his softer side beneath all that inner darkness, thus giving fans a motive to connect with him. Like Batista, another character that claims to know him and consistently has his back is Vince Masuka. Masuka is the Miami Metro’s head forensics investigator. Because of his and Dexter’s ties to forensics, they tend to spend a lot of time together in the department sharing information and comparing notes.

Without his knowledge, Masuka has been a major help with some of Dexter’s past murder schemes. Masuka has even unintentionally given him a heads-up regarding cases that could’ve linked Dexter to some of Miami Metro’s evidence. Masuka may not try and connect with him as much as Deb or Batista, but he’s always there for him, whether it be for an unwarranted piece of advice or a filthy joke.

Inside The Killer

Another reason why Dexter fans seem to sympathize with his character despite his actions is his narration throughout the show. Fifty percent of the series is made up of his inner monologue. With this insight, we get to tag along through his scarring realizations and moral contemplations on right and wrong, and even see the human behind the façade of a man who claims to have no feelings.

It doesn’t take long for fans to realize Dexter isn’t as dissociated as previously mentioned. At first, he uses his friendships and relationship to be perceived as a normal man, not one anyone would ever suspect being a killer. Dexter is convinced he is incapable of real emotions, so he does what he can to appear normal. But over time, he grows to openly care for his girlfriend, their children, and all of the other people in his life supporting him.

Before the birth of Dexter and Rita’s son, Harrison, the only children he was ever exposed to were Cody and Astor, Rita’s biological children. And before he’s ever referred to as “Dad,” he was already unconditionally loved and accepted by them both, forcing the role of fatherhood on him prematurely. Fans have even watched him break his own code to protect his kids from a predator with some disturbing pictures of Astor on his computer. Most parents would agree they’d do anything to protect their children, which is no different than Dexter’s mentality in the heat of the moment.

At first, Dexter believes he’s different from everyone else, regardless of his dark passenger. He’s often mentioned how he doesn’t understand how people can converse with one another so effortlessly. He never truly understood how to fit in without pretending to. Many viewers find this relatable, wondering if everyone feels this way at times. His feeling of solitude and lack of intimacy are some of the most frequently mentioned reasons why fans empathize with him.

Still A Man, Still A Murderer

There is a pretty large stigma surrounding violence in television. The controversy itself goes as far as saying that some people’s minds cannot process violence the same way that someone with no undiagnosed mental illnesses can. Some critics believe crime and punishment in television can severely influence impressionable individuals, especially children. Most available resources advise parents not to expose children to extreme graphic violence too young if it has lasting impacts on their development with cognitive thinking.

Dexter is an example of a show considered to be unsuitable for anyone under the age of eighteen years of age. Regardless of all the characteristics viewers find redeeming about his character, he still gives audiences a horror-packed series full of guns, violence, mutilation, murder, suicide, nudity, and so much more than not all viewers find so relatable. Dexter’s character may be a loving father and dedicated civil servant, but deep down he still craves the feeling of hurting people to release his inner demons.

Most people would agree that this is the reason they don’t compare themselves to his character and don’t understand where his murdering logic comes from. However, it’s still hard to justify just how much of a redeemable character he is.

The Addiction

After eight long seasons, the series ended, leaving fans feeling empty from the routine of binging on their favorite fictional serial killer. Fans tend to use the word “addiction” when discussing their favorite shows as if they’re literally hooked on the amusement and fulfillment our favorite characters bring us. And sometimes, it really can be an addiction.

What makes Dexter appeal to some fans is the use of addiction in the show. What was used as a metaphor for Dexter’s killing became a reality for him in season two when he realizes his problem really is an addiction; he can’t stop killing. Dexter contemplates his power of control, making him relatable to viewers who can understand not having that power themselves.

A Dark Past And An Inconclusive Future

As a child, Dexter was found by his father, Harry, in a pool of blood- his mother’s blood. Thus triggering the trauma that created Dexter’s urges. His brother Brian Moser (who appears in season one as “Rudy”) was also found in the pool of blood. It was assumed Harry didn’t adopt Brian for likely being more mentally scarred than Dexter was from the incident.

After Brian poses as Deb’s boyfriend, Dexter discovers Brian’s true identity as the recent serial killer Miami Metro was in pursuit of, and as his brother. Brian kidnaps Deb hoping to lure Dexter into meeting at their deceased biological father’s home. There, Brian has Deb wrapped up in a plastic wrap, the same M.O. Dexter uses when killing his victims.

Trying to convince Dexter to kill his own sister to become bonded with him, Brian pushes him, almost killing Deb. Dexter contemplates his connection to his blood-rated sibling, trying to justify allowing him to live as the only person who sees Dexter for who he truly is and who is not afraid of this identity. In the end, fans were impressed by Dexter’s willingness to save his sister and ultimately ended the Brian Moser chapter the only way he knew how: his dark passenger.

Although he may have considered some of Brian’s points, he cares for Deb more than he once thought. Through the series, after seeing him become more in touch with his feelings, even Harry’s ghost admits he was wrong to think Dexter was completely incapable of emotions. This leads him to ponder who he really is and what else he’s capable of.

Should Fans Idealize Or Even Sympathize With Serial Killers?

Fiction or non-fiction, building a case for serial killer to be a hero is deemed wrong in our society, whether or not they may only be killing to protect others. When it comes to our anti-hero’s dark passenger, it’s easy to connect with his character: the loner who doesn’t fit in with a secret he prefers to keep to himself.

To put it frankly, no serial killer should be put on a pedestal. Some people kill, beyond the psychological aspect, to gain gratification, which sometimes includes being remembered. Although Dexter’s character might make great television drama, he’s not someone to hold to high standards. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t love Dexter as a series. Dexter Morgan is a complicated character who is truly loved but should only get so much recognition as the protagonist in his own story.