Dexter Morgan of the titular Dexter franchise captivated audiences with his charm, wits, and “strict” moral code. Played by Michael C. Hall, the character was a serial killer who only killed serial killers—for the most part, anyway—while trying to lead a normal life as a brother, husband, and blood spatter analyst. However, as the series progressed, it became increasingly obvious that Dexter wasn’t all that different from the criminals he killed.
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Release Date
October 31, 2010
With Dexter: Original Sin scheduled to come out this week, we decided to dissect Dexter’s crimes and overall character to see how he compares to the other villains of his series. Surprisingly, and disturbingly, Dexter might be the worst of the bunch.
10
He Racked Up Over 100 Victims
Over the course of the Dexter series, audiences watched Dexter commit numerous murders. Although an exact number of victims is hard to determine, there’s evidence to support that it was in the triple digits. By the end of the first series, he had just shy of 100 blood slides, which is already a huge amount on its own. However, that’s not counting the people he killed before he began taking trophies, nor the victims he had after stopping.
During the sequel series Dexter: New Blood, Dexter claimed that his kill count was in the 100s.
A Horrifyingly High Number
It’s difficult to compare the number of Dexter’s murders to those of other killers in the show, as the exact number of their own victims is largely unknown. However, the real-life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 people while the murderer Ted Bundy admitted to killing 30 (although it’s possible that, like Dexter, he had many more). We don’t bring up these numbers to make light of the real-world victims, but instead, to highlight just how horrifying 100+ murders would be.
9
He Killed His Own Family
Killing strangers, even other killers, is already a moral dilemma. But something a lot more straightforward in awfulness is the idea of killing family. Dexter has done this at least once, though there’s an argument to be made that he’s actually killed three family members. Although he does express remorse over each, it doesn’t undo these characters’ deaths, nor Dexter’s culpability.
It Runs in the Family
During season 1, Dexter’s brother Brian showed up and was revealed to be the Ice Truck Killer. After Brian attempted to kill Dexter’s adopted sister Deb, Dexter felt he had no choice but to kill him first. Although this was a fair line of reasoning (at least for the show), it must be pointed out that Hannah McKay, Dexter’s eventual girlfriend, poisoned Deb in season 7. While Dexter did get her arrested, he didn’t kill her, which suggests there might have been a different way to neutralize Brian without murder.
Later on in the series, it was revealed that Dexter’s adopted father, Harry, killed himself after seeing one of Dexter’s kills. Obviously, this decision was ultimately Harry’s, but he would not have made it if not for Dexter’s actions. Similarly, after Deb was shot and left catatonic, Dexter disconnected her from life support. This could be seen as a mercy killing, if not for the fact that Dexter was largely responsible for her winding up in this state in the first place.
8
The Sheer Number of Indirect Deaths He’s Responsible For
As mentioned earlier, Dexter technically killed Deb outright by disconnecting her from life support. However, he was also inadvertently responsible for her getting shot, which makes her fate even sadder. Similarly, although he didn’t kill Doakes or LaGuerta directly, he put other loved ones in situations where they felt they had no other option but to kill on his behalf. In short, death followed Dexter everywhere, even when he wasn’t trying to kill.
The Number Continues to Climb
If we add up all the deaths Dexter accidentally or indirectly caused, his total kill count is easily in excess of 150, if not 200. Worse, he was directly responsible for encouraging or creating several other killers, including Miguel Prado and Lumen Pierce.
Toward the end of New Blood, he even encouraged his son Harrison’s murderous tendencies, eventually forcing Harrison into a situation where he had little option but to shoot his father. Although Dexter might still be alive, Harrison certainly thinks he’s dead, and for a kid who already witnessed his mother’s murder and father’s abandonment, that’s going to leave a mark.
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7
He Abandoned the Family Members He Didn’t Kill
Dexter isn’t just a deadly killer but also a deadbeat dad. Sure, there were times in the series where he seemed like a good father, but none of these moments excuse his later decision to abandon his children. Of course, the first abandoned family member to come to mind is Harrison, which happened when Dexter was nearly caught and ran off to Alaska. But before that, he also abandoned his stepchildren, Astor and Cody, during the moment they needed him most.
Might Have Been for the Best
Viewers might argue that Dexter left Astor and Cody with their grandparents for their safety (and because Astor basically demanded it). As mentioned before, he doesn’t have the best record when it comes to dead family members, so these viewers might have a point. However, after inadvertently causing the death of both their biological parents and already putting them at risk due to Lila, we kind of feel he owes them something. Plus, when Harrison later tracks him down in Alaska, it’s shown that life without his father has been anything but easy.
6
Doesn’t Always Follow His Code
For a killer with a strict code, Dexter was pretty terrible at sticking to it. Over both the original series and Dexter: New Blood, he killed multiple people who, at least by his code’s standards, were undeserving. For example, during season 4, episode 7, he killed Farrow after mistakenly thinking he was a murderer. Farrow was a pretty terrible guy, but he didn’t kill anyone, which Dexter realized after Farrow’s assistant was arrested for the crimes instead.
Similarly, in season 5, he killed a man named Rankin out of anger. Then in season 7, he killed Hannah’s father, Clint, partially because the man was blackmailing him but largely because he’d been a horrible, cruel father to her. Again, none of these characters were angels, but they also weren’t fair game, based on his code. This shows Dexter was willing to bend the code when it suited him, or outright ignore it entirely.
How Many Other Innocent Victims?
In the same way that we don’t know Dexter’s exact kill count, we don’t know how many of the people he killed were actually guilty. Plus, we’re using Dexter’s own metric for guilt (or rather, “deserves to be murdered”), which is a moral dilemma all its own.
“Kill killers” sounds simple on paper, but some of those killers gave back to the community, had kids, or otherwise were more complex than just their worst deeds. Even Dexter agreed with this complexity, since a handful of times, he let the killers he’d planned to kill go. This makes Dexter’s killings a bit more complicated, as it implies that even some killers don’t deserve to die—and ultimately, it shows that Dexter was the one who got to decide.
5
He Regularly Tortures His Victims
Several times throughout the series, it’s shown that Dexter enjoys not just killing, but also torture. He menacingly takes out weapons to use on his victims, taunting them about their inability to escape. During the first episode, we see him slowly saw into his first victim’s head, while in a later episode he uses a chainsaw.
Additionally, he posts photos of his victims’ own victims on the walls, and while many seem unfazed or defend their actions, this is just the start of his psychological warfare.
Getting Inside Their Heads
Although physical torture isn’t off the table for Dexter, he usually kills his victims fairly quickly by stabbing them in the heart. However, the psychological torture he inflicts before death is much worse. For example, right before killing him, Dexter tells Miguel that he killed his brother, which must have felt like a hideous betrayal. He also wakes up the Castillos so that they can see one another bound and terrified before he goes ahead with his murderous deed.
Beyond torture, it’s hard to find a reason why Dexter needs his victims to be awake before killing them. While it can be argued that he does this in order to show people the “real” him, why does that “real” him matter? Is he proud of this “real” him, or does he simply enjoy the terror this “real” him can cause? Maybe he simply wants the killers to get a taste of their own medicine—or to see “the light leave their eyes,” as suggested by a Dark Passenger-version of Brian—but it seems equally likely that this whole ritual is an excuse for him to lord his power and moral superiority over others.
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4
He Collects Sick Trophies
Many serial killers collect trophies from their victims, and Dexter is no different. The fact that he gathers these blood slides shows that the kills are something he looks back on fondly. While the trophies don’t make Dexter any worse than the series’ other killers, they symbolically imply that he isn’t any better.
The Type of Trophy Matters
Dexter’s blood slides are one of the gorier, more intimate trophies out of all the main killers. Zach Hamilton took photographs, Miguel took rings, and Hannah took her victims’ miscellaneous possessions. Dexter, however, took a piece of the victims themselves.
Most likely, this particular trophy was chosen since Dexter’s a blood spatter analyst and because he was “born in blood.” But it’s still a deeply personal and unique part of a person to take, which makes it far more disturbing.
3
He Commits Numerous Crimes Besides Murder
Many serial killers commit crimes outside of murder, even when they’re very young. During Dexter’s childhood, Harry first discovered his murderous tendencies after learning that Dexter had killed several animals. Later, he’d also commit arson to try and cover up some of his killings, steal a car, and kidnap various victims. Technically, faking his death at the end of the series was also a crime (which is honestly fitting, since many viewers felt the final episode was a crime itself).
Part of a Pattern
Murder is the worst of Dexter’s crimes, but it’s also part of a larger pattern of wicked deeds. Between his manipulation, trophy-collecting, torture, and other lesser crimes, he’s just not a great guy to be around. But what makes this so much worse is that he’s convinced other characters (and audience members) that he’s worth rooting for.
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2
He’s a Master Manipulator
Being good at manipulation doesn’t inherently make someone a villain, but when your entire life is a lie, multiple times over, it’s not a good sign. In Dexter’s case, nearly every action he ever took was in the service of seeming normal or convincing someone of something false. For instance, he originally married Rita to better disguise himself and his crimes. He later lied to Deb’s face about committing murder as she literally caught him in the act.
Even Fooled Himself
Dexter is so manipulative, there’s reason to think he’s fooled himself over the years. For instance, he constantly calls himself a monster, but he’s seemingly fine with his murders thanks to Harry’s code. It’s obvious the code doesn’t work and that Dexter has killed (by his own definition) innocent people. And yet, rather than try some other code or turn himself in, Dexter apparently decides that killing murderers is a noble act, one that he’s doing not just for himself, but others.
Although it can be argued that killing these murderers resulted in a net positive, the idea that Dexter committed the murders for anyone other than himself might be the biggest lie yet.
1
He Thinks He’s Better Than His Victims
All the entries above show how Dexter isn’t much different from the criminals he hunts. However, there is one way in which he stands out, for the worse: he thinks he’s better than them.
As he tells Miguel in season 3, he considers all his victims to be “unchecked versions” of himself, not realizing that most of them follow codes just like he does, only with different rules. Miguel says his own victims deserved to die and that he’s like Dexter, only for Dexter to vehemently argue he’s not. According to Dexter, he’s different than (i.e. better than) his victims because, unlike them, he knows he’s a monster. But knowing he’s a monster doesn’t make him less of one, it just gives Dexter an excuse to pretend.
Believes (or Pretends to Believe) His Kills are Justified
As previously said, Dexter often calls himself a monster, but instead of a confession or expression of remorse, he seems to be saying it as an excuse. In his mind, monstrous tendencies can’t be changed, they can only be funneled toward a specific purpose. For this reason, he believes there’s some good in his actions, since he’s ridding the world of other monsters.
We’re not here to debate whether killing murderers is justified, but rather, to point out how that justification makes murder (of all kinds) so much easier. Dexter isn’t a “better monster” just because he has a code; if anything, he’s worse because he thinks he’s better, which makes it easier for him to do anything in service of himself, and then defend his actions as if they had to happen, or were in service of others.
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