Hello, Dexter. I think I love you.
Which, considering it's a show all about a serial killer trying to make it in "civilized society", is pretty massive. Because I'm not generally a fan of shows where you're supposed to dislike the main character (the main reason I gave up on "The Sopranos"). And I'm still not. Somehow Dexter manages to make the serial killer likable. Despite everything, I find myself pulling for him. When it looks like Dexter is going to get caught/killed/exposed, I'm on the edge of my seat hoping he wins in the end.
I think there are two things the show does, and does well, that keeps me in this frame of mind: (1) They are very good at protecting Dexter, making sure that, even while his character pushes the envelope of accepted behavior, he never crosses the line; (2) They don't insult my intelligence by ignoring or sugarcoating the implications of what Dexter does, what he is.
Protecting Dexter:
The very first episode I ever saw was season three's "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". In it Dexter kills a pedophile targeting the daughter of his girlfriend. The show makes it very clear that the guy is actively hunting young girls, that he's done this before, that he'll do it again. Reducing the story down to the strictest sense of good and evil, Dexter is clearly on the side of good. Dexter, himself, sets it up as two predators battling over a cub (using his internal monologue to great affect, as usual), with Dexter as the protective lion and the pedophile as the invading hyena.
The episode beautifully juxtaposes the way these two men hunt. The pedophile's attention is caught by the young girl, which in turn draws Dexter's attention to him. The pedophile, ignoring Dexter's warning (see! Dexter gave the guy a warning! that's a noble play right there!), tracks the young girl. So Dexter is forced (see! he's just doing what he has to do!) to track down the pedophile in turn. It's a battle of predatory skills and Dexter wins. And you want him to win. No one likes a pedophile.
Even while Dexter clearly relishes the chance to hunt down a man and then kill him, even while he makes it clear that he's not doing this out of mere necessity because he so enjoys this sort of thing, I'm drawn into hoping Dexter succeeds in his task. And I like the fact that Dexter is shown to be a bigger badass than the pedophile ever could be. (That happens a lot, actually. Dexter drops his "lab geek" persona and puts on his killer game-face and takes down someone clearly evil and I like it.)
And the show helps me maintain that frame of mind by taking care of their character. They carefully play down Dexter's sadism: he loves the moment of the kill, but the kill itself is quick and neat. Sure he mind-games his victims before killing them, but not for too long and generally more in the service of bringing down their evil, evil arrogance to normal human levels than pushing them into the dirt. And we're made to know that the victim really is a bad guy. Guilt is established without a shadow of doubt (much harder in the real world, but very possible within this world, especially with Dexter being such a genius in the forensics department), and nothing is shown to garner any confusing sympathy. No extenuating circumstances or feelings of deep remorse to suggest maybe death is a rather harsh punishment here.
Basically, Harry's "Code" not only gives Dexter a structure to operate in, it gives the audience an excuse to like Dexter. Even while he's telling us we really, really shouldn't. Which cleverly leads into point number two.
Please, don't insult me:
The thing is, though, Dexter is a killer. Sure, no one likes a pedophile. But are we really expected to think it's cool for people to run around killing them all willy-nilly? In case the answer to that question might be a semi-qualified "yes" (well, only if we're really, really sure, etc.), the show introduces us to a passionate and principled defense attorney. Everyone deserves their day in court, she points out. Dexter takes that right away from the people that cross his path to feed his own need. That's not actually a good thing.
And it's the show that points that out! I very much love that. Because it's the sort of thing I'd have thought about eventually. Once the shiny entertainment part had stopped, anyway. And the ethical implications would have niggled. But by not ignoring it, by encouraging the niggling, the show tells me it wants me to think about this sort of thing. They're not just about the shiny.
Dexter himself is fairly honest about what he's doing. He's a killer who enjoys killing and a good portion of his "Code" is about covering his own ass. The show makes that all clear. I do think there's a certain coyness to it (the more Dexter protests his own monster-dom the more I look for ways he's not a monster), but I still appreciate that the show doesn't ignore the implications. (For one, I've often thought ignoring these sort of ethical implications ignores good story opportunities. So yay, for Dexter. *g*)
So, long story short? I've got a new show addiction. :)
Oh! Bonus points! The supporting characters are awesome; there's a bit of a team-vibe going on within the police precinct; the brother-sister relationship is also awesome (Debra is ♥); and! it takes place in Miami! :D
I think there are two things the show does, and does well, that keeps me in this frame of mind: (1) They are very good at protecting Dexter, making sure that, even while his character pushes the envelope of accepted behavior, he never crosses the line; (2) They don't insult my intelligence by ignoring or sugarcoating the implications of what Dexter does, what he is.
Protecting Dexter:
The very first episode I ever saw was season three's "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". In it Dexter kills a pedophile targeting the daughter of his girlfriend. The show makes it very clear that the guy is actively hunting young girls, that he's done this before, that he'll do it again. Reducing the story down to the strictest sense of good and evil, Dexter is clearly on the side of good. Dexter, himself, sets it up as two predators battling over a cub (using his internal monologue to great affect, as usual), with Dexter as the protective lion and the pedophile as the invading hyena.
The episode beautifully juxtaposes the way these two men hunt. The pedophile's attention is caught by the young girl, which in turn draws Dexter's attention to him. The pedophile, ignoring Dexter's warning (see! Dexter gave the guy a warning! that's a noble play right there!), tracks the young girl. So Dexter is forced (see! he's just doing what he has to do!) to track down the pedophile in turn. It's a battle of predatory skills and Dexter wins. And you want him to win. No one likes a pedophile.
Even while Dexter clearly relishes the chance to hunt down a man and then kill him, even while he makes it clear that he's not doing this out of mere necessity because he so enjoys this sort of thing, I'm drawn into hoping Dexter succeeds in his task. And I like the fact that Dexter is shown to be a bigger badass than the pedophile ever could be. (That happens a lot, actually. Dexter drops his "lab geek" persona and puts on his killer game-face and takes down someone clearly evil and I like it.)
And the show helps me maintain that frame of mind by taking care of their character. They carefully play down Dexter's sadism: he loves the moment of the kill, but the kill itself is quick and neat. Sure he mind-games his victims before killing them, but not for too long and generally more in the service of bringing down their evil, evil arrogance to normal human levels than pushing them into the dirt. And we're made to know that the victim really is a bad guy. Guilt is established without a shadow of doubt (much harder in the real world, but very possible within this world, especially with Dexter being such a genius in the forensics department), and nothing is shown to garner any confusing sympathy. No extenuating circumstances or feelings of deep remorse to suggest maybe death is a rather harsh punishment here.
Basically, Harry's "Code" not only gives Dexter a structure to operate in, it gives the audience an excuse to like Dexter. Even while he's telling us we really, really shouldn't. Which cleverly leads into point number two.
Please, don't insult me:
The thing is, though, Dexter is a killer. Sure, no one likes a pedophile. But are we really expected to think it's cool for people to run around killing them all willy-nilly? In case the answer to that question might be a semi-qualified "yes" (well, only if we're really, really sure, etc.), the show introduces us to a passionate and principled defense attorney. Everyone deserves their day in court, she points out. Dexter takes that right away from the people that cross his path to feed his own need. That's not actually a good thing.
And it's the show that points that out! I very much love that. Because it's the sort of thing I'd have thought about eventually. Once the shiny entertainment part had stopped, anyway. And the ethical implications would have niggled. But by not ignoring it, by encouraging the niggling, the show tells me it wants me to think about this sort of thing. They're not just about the shiny.
Dexter himself is fairly honest about what he's doing. He's a killer who enjoys killing and a good portion of his "Code" is about covering his own ass. The show makes that all clear. I do think there's a certain coyness to it (the more Dexter protests his own monster-dom the more I look for ways he's not a monster), but I still appreciate that the show doesn't ignore the implications. (For one, I've often thought ignoring these sort of ethical implications ignores good story opportunities. So yay, for Dexter. *g*)
So, long story short? I've got a new show addiction. :)
Oh! Bonus points! The supporting characters are awesome; there's a bit of a team-vibe going on within the police precinct; the brother-sister relationship is also awesome (Debra is ♥); and! it takes place in Miami! :D