# Have We Got Any "Dexter" Threads? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-got-any-dexter-threads/455982 "2008-07-10T15:18:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-got-any-dexter-threads/455982/21 "2008-07-11T11:10:59Z")
[QUOTE=DangleYourModifier] I think it’s hilarious. I’ve always assumed it’s a black comedy. If it’s supposed to be a serious drama (which I’m sure it isn’t) then it’s even funnier. His sister, though, has to be one of the most annoying people on television. [/QUOTE] Don’t take it personal, Deb pisses everybody off, but like Dexter, she also grows on you in series two…just give her a chance to worm her way into your affections! 😛 And “Yes”, it definitely IS a black comedy. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-got-any-dexter-threads/455982/22 "2008-07-12T00:20:27Z")
i agree with those who say tv-dexter isn’t a true sociopath. his big brother rudy? that fellow is nearly pictured in the textbook. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-got-any-dexter-threads/455982/23 "2008-07-13T14:39:11Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Silence of the Lambs is a great movie, but you’re not rooting for the killer in that one. Hannibal is an abomination. And I can’t see Psycho as rooting for the killer either. In any case, you’re speaking as if I’m trying to codify some kind of general critical law; I’m not. I’m simply trying to describe my own reaction to this one particular piece. [/QUOTE] No, I understand you’re not laying out a hard and fast rule here, I was just curious as to how you felt about other examples. I do think that “Psycho” manipulates us into rooting for the killer, with such moments as when Norman sinks Marian’s car into the swamp (although at that moment we don’t know he’s the killer). > [@lissener](#): > > Batman doesn’t kill people, AFAIK. Certainly not as the specific goal; there may be some delf-defense corpses along the way. Your comparison would be apt if, every time Batman caught an evildoer, he took him back to his cave, tied him to a table, and cut him into little pieces. Otherwise, the comparison doesn’t work. You’re misunderstanding the comparison. What he’s saying is that Batman’s refusal to kill the Joker makes Batman ethically culpable for the people the Joker goes on to kill. If Batman (who back in the day did carry a gun and kill people) had put a bullet through the Joker’s skull in 1940 then the next 68 years worth of the Joker’s murders wouldn’t have happened. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-got-any-dexter-threads/455982/24 "2008-07-13T19:48:07Z")
Semi-spoilers follow. To those of you who think Dexter’s apparent sociopathy and his other attributes logically conflict, you’re missing a big part of the character. He’s not a sociopath, but he believes he is. The narrator is unreliable when he’s analyzing himself. He’s certainly disturbed and has problems, but his father steered him into believing he was an unreedemable sociopath and shaped his world view. He thinks that his difficulty in interacting with people and having to try to fake normal emotions is evidence that he’s a sociopath, but he’s clearly developed real feelings for some others in his life and doesn’t fully acknowledge it. This isn’t vigilante or revenge porn like some suggested. If it was, they’d spend a lot more time getting us to hate the victims. Sometimes the victims are barely fleshed out at all - in the first episode, for example, he kills someone that was a child molester, but almost no time was spent actually fleshing the guy out so we could feel like he got his comeuppance. Several victims barely had any screen presence. The series also leads you to believe at times that Dexter doesn’t really care that he’s killing bad guys - he just needs to kill, and his father steered him into doing it in a productive and relatively safe way. But at other times (the imaginary parade at the end of season 1) he clearly believes himself to be doing society a service. But again, this looks through the lens of an unreliable narrator who doesn’t fully understand himself - would he kill regardless of who deserved it had he not been trained that way? Would he kill at all? Does he think he’s doing good, and how much does that factor in his behavior? The character and show are a lot more complex than you’re giving credit for. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-got-any-dexter-threads/455982/25 "2008-07-13T19:54:26Z")
Oh, and to the OP: > **['Dexter' on Showtime? (Open spoilers - lots of 'em)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=390327)** > > I haven’t got Showtime but I’ve seen a couple commercials for this new series. Not sure if it’s premiered yet. Apparently the premise is that he is a serial killer but he works for the police to solve crimes? They’re playing it all cute, that he’s... > **[Dexter 11/05/2006 (SPOILERS)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=395089)** > > So, I guess the kid saw Jesus Christ killing a woman? “Thou art dead, bitch!” That didn’t strike anybody as odd? > **[Dexter on Showtime thread (SPOILERS)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=396221)** > > There was a thread for last week with a few posts in it. I figure with the low traffic one thread on this show may be enough. I am really enjoying this show and like the actor playing Dexter. He changed totally from his character on Six Feet... > **[Dexter: New Season Begins Sept. 30](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=436961)** > > As mentioned in this MSNBC article the show Dexter is returning to Showtime on September 30th. If someone had ever told me I would like a show, and root for, a man who is a serial killer, I would have said they are crazy. But Dexter defies most... > **[Dexter - Season 2 Premier](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=438576)** > > SEASON 2: EPISODE ONE - “It’s Alive!” After killing his brother, the Ice Truck Killer, at the end of last season, Dexter now finds himself unable to kill again. He certainly wants to, and in fact needs to, but he is unnerved by feelings he can’t... > **[Dexter 13 Oct \*OPEN SPOILERS\*](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=440284)** > > Probably one of my favorite Dexter episodes ever. The whole Dexter-as-an-isolated-Borg-drone shtick was beginning to wear thin with me. He needs to be careful though. Once you start feeling things… > **[Whoa Doggies! Dexter 10.21 (Spoilers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=441066)** > > Ok, so who didn’t squeal when we saw who was in bed with LaGuerta? > **[Dexter - 10/28 "The Dark Defender"](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=442018)** > > There are spoilers here, so if you didn’t watch yet, go away! What an episode! To my mind the best one of the season. Can’t believe Dexter didn’t slice and dice his mothers surviving murderer. The view of Lila in the motel room was impressive. ... > **[Dexter 11/4/07](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=442896)** > > Wow… another great episode… I thought for sure Maria was going to just tell Doakes to play along with leaving Dexter alone but she was fairly adament about it. I doubt Doakes will play along. I wonder if Dexter will find out something about Doakes... > **[Dexter 11/11/07 -- open spoilers](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=443742)** > > Well, this episode sets things up nicely for an excellent finale. Anyone know how many episodes are left this season, or if the writers’ strike will affect the show? Dexter played Doakes beautifully, but damn, is Dex going to have to kill him to... > **[Dexter 11.18 - "I'd love to eat your toast."](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=444703)** > > Deb has some serious daddy issues! This episode played out pretty much the way I thought it would, oddly. I’m just glad to see Dexter come around and see things the way they are as far as Lila goes. > **[Dexter 11/25/07 - open spoilers](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=445498)** > > Okay, how’s Dexter going to get out of this? It’s still going his way, kinda. He can use Rita’s phone call as his excuse for sneaking out. Doakes waylays him, forces him on the boat and to the cabin to help with disposal of the latest victim. But... > **[Dexter 12.2 (Open Spoilers and stuff)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=446358)** > > Whoa! Did we see Harry’s story coming back to wrap itself around Dexter? I guess we saw glimpses of this back in the episode where Harry called Dexter a ‘Monster’ but this twist is something really new. And scary. It looks like Lila is even worse... > **[Dexter 12.9 - Wide Open Spoilers and Theories](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=447145)** > > I save the Dexter previews for Sunday morning so I can raise my own excitement for the day’s episode and enjoy making my theories about what they mean and where it’s all going. This morning’s trailer has Dexter talking to Doakes in his cage and he... > **[I got my Dexter DVD's!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=448803)** > > I don’t subscribe to Showtime, and with all the rave’s I’ve heard about Dexter, I’ve ordered Season One on DVD. I read the first book a few years ago, and loved it. My DVD’s came today! :happy dance: I’ll be watching Dexter for a good part of the... > **[Showtimes' Dexter and his New Code](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=449573)** > > I came late to the finale thread and can’t seem to get anyone to explain/opine on the New Code for next season. I guess the old code was to kill criminals who were clearly threats to society as a whole. Is the new code that he’s going to focus on... > **[Dexter Finale (12/16/07) \[open spoilers\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=448091)** > > Wow. Wow. Great finale. I just knew Lila was going to get it in Paris. The post card was genius. > **[Dexter: Starts On CBS Sunday Night 2/17](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=455647)** > > For those of you who have not seen this fantastic show on Showtime, here is your chance. Season One is scheduled to be shown at 10:00 PM (EST and PST) on CBS on the next 12 Sundays. Granted, the language will be cleaned up, but they have promised to... ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-got-any-dexter-threads/455982/26 "2008-07-14T15:25:01Z")
[QUOTE=SenorBeef] The character and show are a lot more complex than you’re giving credit for. [/QUOTE] I’ve been saying this (per the threads I’ve now burned off most of the morning re-reading) for months now. ---
**Author:** ![Mumio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@Mumio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mumio)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-got-any-dexter-threads/455982/27 "2008-07-14T16:21:42Z")
Best show I’ve seen in years bar none! I can’t wait for season 3 to start. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-got-any-dexter-threads/455982.md?page=1)