Dexter Morgan
From Dexter Wiki
| CHARACTER | ||
| Dexter Morgan | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| First appearance | 1x01 "Pilot" | |
| Last appearance | Recurring | |
| Reason | ||
| Age | early 30s | |
| Profession | Bloodspatter analyst Vigilante | |
| Status | Alive | |
| Portrayed by | Michael C. Hall | |
Dexter Morgan is a sociopathic serial killer who targets other serial killers. During his day job, he works as a forensic blood spatter analyst with the Miami Metro Police Department. He is the biological son of Laura Moser and Joe Driscoll, as well as the biological brother of Brian Moser (aka the Ice Truck Killer).
Dexter is the adoptive brother of Debra Morgan, and the adoptive son of Harry Morgan, a police captain who taught him to survive using the Code of Harry. Dexter has developed a detailed method of killing that has allowed him to evade detection.
Dexter was the true Bay Harbor Butcher, although Sergeant James Doakes was framed for the crimes.
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[edit] Personality
Dexter considers himself emotionally divorced from the rest of humanity; in his narration, he often refers to "humans" as if he is not one of them. Dexter makes frequent references to an internal feeling of emptiness, leading to many youthful attempts to "feel alive" (this was used more in the shows than the books). Dexter claims to have no feelings or conscience and that all of his emotional responses are part of a well-rehearsed act to conceal his true nature. He has no interest in romance or sex and he considers his relationship with Rita to be part of his "disguise." In the show he shows considerably more attachment and fondness for Rita than in the books. For example, in the first season he is afraid to have sex with her because he might lose her as a result; in the books he seems to view her more as a pet.
There are chinks in Dexter's emotional armor, however. He acknowledges loyalty to family, particularly his dead foster father: "If I were capable of love, how I would have loved Harry." Since Harry's death, Dexter's only family is his sister, Debra Morgan, Harry's biological daughter. At the end of the first novel, Dexter admits that he cannot hurt Debra (and in an episode comically repeats in his head "I will not kill my sister" as she leaves his apartment a complete disaster when living with him) or allow Brian to harm her because he is "fond of her." He also appears to care more for Rita than he admits.
Dexter likes children, finding them to be much more interesting than their parents. The flip side of this affection is that Dexter is particularly wrathful when his victims prey on children. In Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter realizes that Rita's son Cody is showing the same signs of sociopathology as Dexter himself did at that age, and looks forward to providing the boy with "guidance" similar to that which Harry provided him; in his way, he sees Cody as his own son.
This also gives him a reason to continue his relationship with Rita who, as of Dearly Devoted Dexter, he is engaged to because of a misunderstanding. In the beginning of the third book, it has been shown that Cody is not the only one with dark impulses, as both children pressure Dexter to teach them. Dexter has come to accept his role as stepfather to both children very seriously in Dexter in the Dark, albeit in his typical fashion. For example, while on a stakeout, he begins to wonder if Cody had brushed his teeth before bed and if Astor had set out her Easter dress for photo-day at her school. These thoughts distract him while he is waiting for an intended victim, which thoroughly annoys him.
Animals don't like Dexter, which can cause noise problems when Dexter stalks a victim who has pets. He is quoted as once having a dog who barks and growls at Dexter until he is forced to get rid of it, and a turtle, which hides in its shell until it dies of starvation rather than have to deal with Dexter.
[edit] Early Life
Dexter is a son of a drug addict Laura Moser and criminal Joe Driscoll and had a older brother Brian. At the age of three Dexter's mother was killed by drug dealers with a chainsaw and both Dexter and Brian spent couple of days in container with their mother's dismembered body. Dexter was picked up by Harry Morgan, the first cop who got to the crime scene. [citation needed]
Harry later adopted Dexter and he became part of the Morgan family, which included Harry's wife Dorris and daughter Debra. [citation needed]
Seeing his mother die had made Dexter a sociopath and he began killing animals at small age. Harry noticed it and decided to help Dexter to control his violent impulses by teaching a code that allowed Dexter to kill only people who deserve to die: murderers. Dexter's first victim was Mary, a nurse who killed her patients with overdose and was about to do the same to Harry. [citation needed]
Since then Dexter has killed at least 37 people including Mary, Juan Rinez, Alex Timmons, Gene Marshall and Cindy Landon.
[edit] Season One
During Season 1 Dexter is seemingly living an ordinary life while reality unknown to anyone he is a serial killer.However things are about to change as another serial killer known as the Ice Truck Killer begins to terrify Miami and learns Dexter's real identity.
[edit] Season Two
38 days have passed, but Dexter is still mourning about his brother's death. He hasn't killed anyone either, because sergeant Doakes is trailing him. When the opportunity arises Dexter discovers that he can't kill anymore. Furthermore some treasure hunters discover Dexter's underwater cemetery and an experienced FBI agent comes to Miami to hunt Dexter down.
[edit] Season Three
Everything is going well for Dexter both in his relationship with Rita and his double life. However when Dexter kills someone he didn't intend to kill things soon change. ADA Miguel Prado brother of Dexter's newest victim becomes interested in him and Rita discovers that she is pregnant.
[edit] Notes
- Dexter amuses himself with puns about his serial killing, at significant risk to himself. He bought animal tranquilizers using the name Patrick Bateman, the serial killer from American Psycho. He also named his boat Slice of Life.
- Dexter takes virtually no countermeasures against leaving digital trails and electronic evidence. He frequently takes phone calls at or near the site of a kill. He also performs searches on potential victims and associates using his work computer. It's shown in Season 3 that at least some of these searches are logged; Miguel Prado discovers that Dexter searched for info on his brother Oscar Prado, and later that Maria LaGuerta searched for info on him as well. He also left Rita's GPS device in her minivan, which allowed Lila to track down Santos Jimenez's Everglades cabin and discover an imprisoned Sergeant Doakes as well as Dexter's secret life as a serial killer.
- The young Dexter was played by Dominic Janes, while a teenaged Dexter is played by Devon Graye.
