Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Why Dexter Makes You Root For A Killer


This crazy Showtime series is all about a man named Dexter Morgan. He's your normal every day neighbor who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood splatter analyst. What's that? He shows up to crime scenes along with detectives and other law enforcement, and examines the blood to find out exactly what happened at the crime. Oh, and on the side he hunts down bad guys and kills them himself before cops can just throw them behind bars.

If you haven't seen this show, I suggest you hop on Netflix (yes, it's on there) and get to watching.

Through the many seasons, you become attached to Dexter. Before you know it you find yourself rooting for a killer. Hoping he doesn't get caught. Why though?

You feel bad for him.
He did watch a freaking murderer kill his mother when he was just a child, and then he was left sitting in her blood for several days. Have some empathy here people. He went through some bad shit. To top it off, when he finally did marry a nice girl and have a kid... A serial killer did the same thing to his wife. He killed her and left their kid sitting in her blood at home waiting for Dexter to find it all.

He kills the bad guys. It's The Code.
Dexter's adopted Dad, Harry, created a code for Dexter to kill by. Dexter had an urge to kill, and an obsession with blood after what he saw when he was a child. The two most important rules that are repeated throughout the show are to never get caught, and to never kill an innocent (There's plenty of others, but you'll just have to watch to find out). So, considering he has access to police reports, and plenty of blood tests... He easily is able to track down killers and find out if they are indeed a bad guy. Then Dexter takes care of the rest.

Again, the empathy.
Even through all of the things he does (that actually is kind of bad...right?), you feel bad for the guy. He can't have a normal life because it's too late. He's too deep into his life as a killer and can't turn back now. Dexter really grows on you as you watch the show. It's not his fault he's a monster. He deals with his dark side the only way he knows how to.

He has the cutest kid, and cares for his wife's kids.
Even after his wife's death, he still cared for and loved her two kids. His love for his own kid is so heartwarming as well.


I'm going to stop here, in fear of giving too much away for those of you who haven't seen this show. Just know, the writers of this show were quite genius. It's got that addicting murder mystery that everyone loves.... but somehow they manage to make the viewer fall for the killer.
Bravo.

Have you watched this show before, what do you think of it?