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Analysis of 'Dexter'

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Analysis of 'Dexter'
The Emotional Capabilities of a Killer

Dexter Morgan, star of Showtime's hit series 'Dexter', is a good guy serial killer who works for the Miami police department during the day but kills bad guys at night. Besides working with the police department and killing, he also has friends and a family including a wife and kids. So where does his hobby of serial killing bad guys fit into his life? How does he balance it all without being caught? Gary Strauss touches on this in his article, 'Dexter aims for emotional development', by asking the question, “Can an emotionally stunted serial killer deal with love, intimacy, and friendship?” Strauss gathers information by interviewing a few characters from the series before the third season was about to premiere. From this short interview we can see that there is a new theme for this season, and the seasons to come, and that theme is what emotional capabilities does a killer posses. From this article it seems that Strauss is excited to see how Dexter balances his two lives and also believes that he is emotionally capable of doing so.
Strauss's article is a bit dated since the show just finished its seventh season and is continuing with an eighth this summer. Since this article, Dexter as a character has continued to grow emotionally in many ways and while the audience sees Dexter's dark side, and are thrilled by it, they also fall in love with Dexter the family man. By the end of the third season Dexter is married with a new baby on the way and he shows the audience how important his family really is to him but he never stops killing. His killing leads to consequences for not only himself but also for his family that he loves so much.
Unlike most murderers on television shows Dexter is very well-liked by viewers. An article in Psychology Today touches on why audiences actually like this serial killer. As viewers we know the secrets that Dexter keeps from him family but we also see the genuine relationships he has worked

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