Masuka is one of these characters on Tv that most people love. He is ethnic, he is funny and likable without being a walking stereotype, like Fez for example.
Really enjoyed your take on dexter. I'm a behavior analyst , so I look at it from a very different point of view than the psychoanalytical freud/jung philosophy. I have thought for years that dexter is mischaracterized as a psychopath. He is not a psychopath at all. Instead, I believe that dexter suffers from an extremely severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder wherein his fixation is on the act of killing. To be a psychopath, Dexter would need to be very lacking in his sense of morality and conscience. This isn't the case, however. Dexter's conscience is just different from ours. What a person views as "right and wrong" is heavily influenced by the culture they grow up in. Dexter, however, was taught from the time he was a child not that killing was wrong but rather that he would have to kill and there was nothing he could do about it. The "code" harry taught dexter is his conscience. Were dexter truly a psychopath, he would not experience nearly the degree of guilt that he does in situations that require him to violate the code. Example: the #1 rule of the code is "don't get caught" but even when caught by doakes, dexter couldn't bring himself to kill him. A psychopath would have easily reasoned that killing doakes would honor the first rule and done it without question. Obviously its a TV show and not a real person but if it were, I would consider Harry's constant "training" of Dexter to have been the true cause for what he became.
I thought he is more of a sociopath. Wasn't the difference between psycho- and sociopaths that the first is innate and the second is caused by experience? Given what happened to him as a child, he could be the latter and thus still have some "residual" empathy, you know what I mean?
@@wannabespartan3838 If you ask 100 psychologists the difference between psychopath and sociopath you will get 100 different answers, its not truly defined. Anyone in that category is clinically considered an "antisocial personality"
I agree. Well thought out. He had immense guilt murdering an innocent man in season 4, the BDSM Photographer. A psychopath wouldn’t feel that. I think he has Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder with traits of Schizoid Personality Disorder since he hallucinates Harry (now Deb) so much.
@@DragonIsNotASlave I don't think he actually hallucinated Harry or hallucinates Deb. I think it's a visual representation of Dexter's thoughts/conscience in an easy to digest form of Harry and Deb as physical manifestations.
I can see where you’re coming from. I think Dexters problem began as some sort of severe PTSD from witnessing his mother’s murder. Then Harry and Vogel turned him into what he is and now he’s living in this groove he can’t get out of. (Spoiler) He was able to stave it off for a whole ten years but inevitably he fell off the wagon. It is a compulsion, it’s an addiction, it’s like an itch he gets in the back of his mind. There’s really no way to stop it at this point. I
Dexter didn’t just watch his mom get cut up with a chainsaw which is why he cuts people up. The character had to sit in the container filled with body parts and blood for a decent amount of time
@@brometheusthefirstbro4302 Nah they cut her into pieces, so he just took his own variation of it. But it does make it easier on him haha. Also they mention at some point that the ice truck killer does it to impress Dexter cuz that’s the way he cuts them too
If you liked Dexter I HIGHLY recommend Hannibal series that ran on NBC. That show was filled to the brim with beautiful imagery and wonderful character relationships.
Hannibal was really a great series. For me it was the most disturbing series I’ve ever saw. There are few to none relieving or happy moments. It was really hard to watch more than 2 episodes at a time, because of the constantly pessimistic and nihilistic atmosphere. But I really liked the show.
yeah I've watched it and it is damn good from cinematography to acting to character development everything is praiseworthy. Mads Mikkelson has become my obsession!! In terms of show it's a tough pick but for me Dexter is better than Hannibal because Dexter has both humour and suspense but still every episode has a happy ending which makes it interesting whereas Hannibal has only KILLING EATING KILLING EATING!!
Hannibal scared the crap out of me. I don't scare easy either. Mads Mickelson was perfect in that role. It's really too bad Dr. Strange wasted him on a throw away villain. He would have been a great Dr. Doom.
@@sethrogen6577 he as a character is real yes. he may not be a real person but the psychology can still be fascinating. i’m not fuckin 9 years old, i know what i said. so there’s no need to be a douche bag.
I’m convinced that’s what happened. Harry’s a policeman and his thinking only rolled down one path. He thought Dexter had no other choice and his future is determined and the best he as a father could do is ‘wield’ that future. In reality he just made sure his son will become a serial killer and convinced Dexter he had no other choice. The whole dark passenger being inescapable and driving Dexter to kill definitely came from Harry’s convincing Dexter that’s all what Dexter is. Also, while watching I thought the creators meant for this to be obvious. I remember getting so angry at Harry bc he just put that into his son’s head and kept pushing and pushing that that’s the only truth. Felt so sorry for Dexter, he was raised with no way out.
well there's also the argument that dexter was always gonna become a serial killer but with Harry intercepting and teaching him the code it prevented him from just killing innocents from the beginning like what we saw with Zack Hamilton is season 8 that's how dexter would've ended up like without the code reigning him in
He absolutey did Its clear that harry was the real villain of the show He took a child with trauma who needed to be taught coping mechanisms and instead taught him to be a killer and convinced him that his dark side was some kind of uncontrollable mystical force Instead of just trauma like it was
The way the writers killed her and how she died is so stupid the only reason Dexter wouldn’t leave was to take out Saxon then he gets his chance then says fuck it I’ll leave him to Deb and because of that she dies like 🤦🏻♂️
@@JohnSmith-wh2ob It's an American series, they are typically overly dramatic. It has stupid cliché plot points you can smell from a kilometer away and you can already see where the plot goes. It's not that bad though, and sometimes it even circumvents expectations.
@@icebox1954 The books the series is based on (written by Jeff *Lindsay* :) ) was way better, because of the very dark humour, but also because book-Dexter truly *enjoys* killing and takes his time torturing his victims before he lets them die. Not all that American so called moral bs and quest to become (more) human like in the tv series. Big negative for me of the books however, is that in the end almost *everyone* turnes out to have some sort of "Dark Passenger" like Dexter, which makes him not the unique person he was, and the stories get stupid.
I've seen what trauma can do to a person's mind for good and evil. On the evil side of things, my friend and at one time fireteam member left the military and a few years later after trying and failing to get help he, he killed himself and his kids, his wife, all of them. His trauma won, and we all suffered because we didn't help him. Others can't hurt a fly to save their own lives on the exact opposite side of things like myself. I've seen enough of my friends kill themselves and it had the butterfly effect where I've become overly protective over family and friends. Trauma and choices have lasting effects, all we can do is try to do the best we can with what we got and to love and cherish one another. Sorry to talk about such dark things, it's almost Remembrance Day and hearing you talk made me think deeply about my own experiences and, I thank you for giving me the idea to take the time and reflect on things. Cheers from Canada.
Sorry to hear that you've experienced so much trauma both directly and indirectly. More must be done to help those suffering as well as dealing with mental health on their own. Too many suffer in silence.
I would say that if you know someone suffering trauma there is only so much help you can give. Even with regards to therapy if a client isn't willing to put the work in then there's very little a therapist can do. You can be there to support them but ultimately, it is their responsibility to help themselves. And sometimes thing happen such as what you describe and it isn't anyone's fault.
I urge you to watch the show Hannibal. If Dexter gives you glee from serving justice to those who have done evil. Hannibal shows you that you are equally able to commit such attrocities
The pair have a youth trauma in common Dexter witnessing his mom's gruesome killing and Hannibal forced to eat his younger sister in WWII but is it destined to be aspd related that is the question whereas Dexter was forced to be what he is ( a indoctrinated doctrine of Harry's code or later the dark passenger ). In Hannibal's case it is a code of survival and the addiction not being able to stop so they can be seen equally as consumed by their traumatic early life experiences
@@santi_super_stunts2573 Its okay to dislike something. I disagree though it wasnt garbage. Its not supposed to be action packed its a slow methodical burn with philosophical discussions and intensely dark characters
The terrifying thing about the show was he was doing all that killing while working with the police. People fail to realize that some of the most well-known serial killers lead normal lives.
This is exactly why BTK caused the FBI to have to reevaluate the way they profiled serial killers. And yes Season 4's villain Arthur Mitchell was indeed a nod to BTK.
Dexter says that he chose his new location because there was no temptation. It's easier to control his urges when he isn't exposed to his triggers (aka, other killers). So, like an addict, free will does come into play, but there are a mountain of psychological and chemical processes to climb in order to exercise it. The fact that Dexter struggles (for the most part) to kill innocent people speaks a lot to how he can be conditioned to channel his darkness or lack of empathy. This means it was always possible for Harry to raise him in a manner that was just as honest, but steer him away from violence and toward other outlets. And therapy.
Choice is an illusion, Dexter did not "choose" to live remote, he was determined to do so. Sure, Harry was a huge impact for Dexter to become who he is, and same goes for Harry's upbringing, and Harry's parents only raised him that way because of their upbringing. The point being, we don't actually make any choices, it's just an illusion. When you are given a "choice" your entire neurology, childhood, environment, every idea that was put into your brain, determines what you will "choose". From every observable fact known to man, there is no proof or hint that choice exists, but plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Exactly. He could clearly see back then that even with violent tendencies Dexter cared about his family and clearly had feelings. Probably too many instead of too few, until he got desensitized due to the insane level of violence he had to start committing to appease the father figure that he trusted implicitly to a clear fault. If he could convince him not to kill innocents, he could convince him to join fucking boxing or something for god's sake. There are ways of letting steam out other than dismembering people. Feeding trauma isn't helping, it's making sure the kid has a miserable, tortured life (in the highly unlikely case he doesn't end up in prison for life)
@@stillnotchill2560 parents shape parents that shape other parents. It's a vicious cycle to the point where our entire civilization is infected with a myriad of behavioral and emotional dysfunctions and mental illnesses that perpetuate themselves through generations and centuries in ethereal cocktails of genetic traits and life experiences with nobody being the wiser. It's kinda crazy how we've been addressing and cataloging physical ailments forever, but we're just very recently in human history starting to dissect and alter and try to optimize the specific logistics of our inner workings
Harry is to blame for what Dexter has become. He was a frustrated cop fed up with the justice system and criminals walking free. He used his 'fucked up' son as instrument to channel his own frustrations
Why did Brian become a serial killer, then? He was admitted and treated by psychiatrists and therapists. And unlike dexter, he wasn't raised and taught by evil Harry. Why did he become a serial killer?
Speaking of the show itself, and I can't stress it enough, Deb got a ridiculous amount of hatred. I like her character me personally, she's like an audience in a meta sort of way
To those of you that haven’t seen Dexter yet, I advise that you watch it and get ready for one of the most mind boggling series that ever existed. When I mean mind boggling, I mean having to think about every single thing that Dexter does and the characters around him too. Dexter is a great series, and I am so glad that it has returned, because I wanted to see Dexter continue to evolve, as he did say in the current new season in the first episode. I’m glad that Max is stumbling upon a lot of the awesome TV shows, video games and movies that I love and became a fan of.
@@clxwncrxwn I guess you are one of those who prolly doesn't watch porn either. Not everything has to mean lewd and gruesome. Sometimes its a work of art. And some other times its a architectural piece that lets you plan your own life and analyze other's lives in a way you normally would be banished to even think about. I have a medical condition which I cannot talk about because it involves "blood" but Dexter gives me a picture of what I can expect to see ahead. You saying that you do not want to watch Dexter because it glorifies serial killers shows how narrow you and people like you must think. However, I don't blame you. That thinking has been cherished in the womb of our society. Sometimes I cannot feel myself . Its those times that I watch the first season of Dexter.
@@manas4288 Yeah we get that. In jungian terminology, bloody movies, porn, art etc... are basically functions as tools, surfaces for your projections so the consciousness can recognize and integrate otherwise unconscious shadow material into ego. Fetishes and perversions for example are harmless, but an untamed shadow is making you disturbing and evil. The problem with Dexter is how it achieves audience to identificate with Dexter. Everyone around him is a fool, seriously. All characters are dilettants, weak, idiotic, dumb NPC-s. Some of them are serial killers. We follow a freaky guy, and how he massacres mentally disabled Hobbits. It's the context! So if you've already identified yourself with the character as you "hinted" it's important for you to know that the subject of identification is not the oberman, beyond good and evil, above society. On the contrary! So If you're not living amongst Hobbits, or teletubbies I suggest stop with this infantile fantasizing.
@@Alex-hu5eg I am sorry but i think I told you that I have a psychological condition which involves blood. I think I can understand it more. And as i said I'm too embarrassed to talk about . But if you really want to know then I'm sure you will like Dexter's problems more than mine. And it is you who perceives people around Dexter as fools not I. I'd say it is infantile to force your judgments and perceptions onto people who have contradicting one's.
I've always seen free will as something like an animal in a pen, where free will (the animal) always has a certain "range" with which to express itself (the pen)--i.e. the circumstances of one's life. Of course, it's not absolute, as there certain exceptional individuals who can expand the boundaries of the pen, and there are others for which the pen can seem like a prison that shrinks with every passing year. As well, there are things like limiting beliefs and learned helplessness that can artificially limit the pen size, and those who assert that the pen does not exist at all, and that anything is possible through something like willpower, though those tend to be the aforementioned exceptional individuals. It's not a perfect theory, but I've found it a useful illustration to the phenomenon.
IMHO freewill & determinism is more like a spectrum and a hierarchy. From what you had mentioned it would make sense that our circumstances will play a role in our lives. Personally, I believe our perception is the deciding factor on how we shape our lives and by extension the world around us. That's why when it comes to what we watch and experience it's best to control our emotions and think about things. David Icke was big on the power of perception claiming that it can determine our future which is why we get bombarded with ideas that seem to be detrimental to our wellbeing and progression. The barriers put up make it easier to control humans if they have a firm grip in the collective beliefs of the people. Now as for the hierarchy view, we humans are much higher on the order compared to the animals. As for the animals, they are more free than the rocks and plants. This is due to power. Power=freewill. Due to our ability to innovate we have been able to out perform the animal kingdom, thus we dominate the earth today. Now if there are beings with more freewill than us then they have to be somewhere beyond the stratosphere in space. Who knows though, but that my 2 cents! 😄
I never truly believed dexter was as much of a psychopath as he , Harry and the psychologist believed. We slowly see his show a variety of emotions over the series , I had always assumed the show would end with him realizing he does feel real emotions and he wasn’t faking. I thought that’s what was being hunted with him knocking out ritas ex husband , sadness over Deborahs death , falling in love.
@@santi_super_stunts2573 Not precisely. They can be taught right and wrong, they just can't empathize with people. You see a person being hurt and your mind feels that pain as if it were your own. Sociopaths can't experience that. Possibly because trauma has blocked that part of the psyche. Psychopaths go deeper. They actively hurt others in order to gain power. It's all still really just guess work for psychologists.
@@mikethehunter5212 yeah like he only knows what “right” because of what harry taught him what “right” was. At the end of the day I’m not a psychologist just some guy on TH-cam . I just thought it being a show that clearly isn’t very realistic they would take the Hollywood approach to being crazy. Like Vader becoming good after having killed actually children literally dismembering them.
@@santi_super_stunts2573 Believe it or not, Vader is often a case study on Borderline Personality Disorder. Fiction often imitates life. It can exaggerate things, but it can still be used to study the human psyche. After all, it's the human mind that creates these stories.
personally I don't think Dexter is scary but the show does an amazing job with their action scenes. like the scenes with lumen and that guy when he was chasing her, or when he tried to kill Arthur Mitchell. all of those were amazingly done scenes and just as nerve wracking like you were there irl with them too
What I found disturbing in the books was when Dexter accidentally killed the wrong person, was his ability to quickly do an, "oh well" like you do when you break a cup or plate.
That would be a true sociopath. No remorse at all. Dexter in the show has instances where he feels bad for breaking his Code. The one exception being the child molester of course.
The books are much different than the show - the books are more supernatural o guess you could say The Darl Passenger is an actual entity that gets inside a person when they experience severe trauma as a child Cody and astor themselves have dark passengers in the books and when dexter loses his for a time becomes all bawly and boohoo-ey about everything - The alien passenger essentially suppresses their emotions and drives them to kill
Fun fact: For some reason I could relate with Dexter when I was watching it years ago and his whole dark passenger . Turned out I have a split personality .Found it around 7 months ago.
I dunno. I enjoyed Dexter and I'm glad he's back! I'm a normal, average lady, who has never engaged in violence in my life, but thought this was a great show. Mainly because he's played by the amazing Michael C. Hall, who is super mega talented! This is the guy who sings and dances on Broadway! Not scary.
I’m not the only one who think Dexter constantly lies to himself, right? It’s like Harry has convinced him that he can’t ever feel anything so Dexter accepted that. But he clearly does feel cause he’s expressed emotions on multiple occasions
Yes, it's very obvious to anyone who is actually paying attention. Too many people say they are fans of the series, yet characterize him as a cold-blooded monster. Dexter is an unreliable narrator, especially when it comes to the conception he has of himself.
@@CarissaMurphyI noticed when watching the show you can see him doubt himself and try to convince himself otherwise that he feels like over Reta dying and then in new blood all he cared about was Harrison and how much he loved Reta but he was never willing to let himself fully give into those feelings causing him more issues then good he probably could became a whole new person who also didn’t have to put Deb through what she went through and on top of it I noticed towards the end of the show before new blood that he started to kind of lose it a little bit it’s a good show but there could have been a lot more they could have done with Dexter and the feelings he has towards things he lies to himself a lot and doubts himself to much
Seeing the name Daniel Licht setting up the music, I gotta watch this. He scored Dishonored and I am in for it. Also, great video Max. As much as I want to support you on Patreon, I am poor as a rat.. so I will just keep on watching and liking your videos. Keep up the amazing videos!
I got a reply from Max, from an amazing TH-camr! Hah! Please, more of these type of videos Max. I am and we are really enjoying the dive into the rabbit hole of the mind.
Dexter's score is one of the best things about the series. It's solid all the way through, and it perfectly encapsulates the contrast between sunny Miami and the dark subject matter of the show.
I watched Dexter long before I played Dishonored. In the first game, there’s this sound similar to being noticed, almost like jingle bells but lighter, designed to put the player on alert. I was rewatching the show and somewhere in season 3 that same sound played when Dexter was riding his boat and I INSTANTLY knew. I had to pause the episode and google and yes! It was Daniel Licht! Extremely recognizable. Not a bad thing, but I find it amazing that’s how I knew he wrote for both the game and Dexter.
Honestly, the enemies that he would fight would probably be a representation of the people he killed and or a monsters that represents his mental and personal life
I see what Max is trying to do here, but, from what I see, they just messed up the character in later seasons. Also, people would not be against someone like Dexter in real life. We saw it happening before, not in the same scale, of course.
Into this new season I think that there were a lot of things that came with his 10 year hiatus. It wasn’t just Hanna but his love for Deb and her loss, his realizing Harrison was better off without him and that his entire life was uprooted because of his actions. So that’s enough but if you think about it from his point of view he knew he had to hide and he realized the gamble wasn’t worth it but it was going to eventually catch up to him.
11:30 I maintain that Dexter had over 20 years of the code. Which the purpose of the code as Vogel stated was to teach him empathy by faking it till he made it. Until eventually he made it.
I have known a few people like Dexter and most of them either end up in prison or joining the army. Ultimately I think that while you don't get to choose your upbringing and your predispositions, you do get to choose how to react to them and how to move forward.
Choice is an illusion. You're neurology, upbringing, environment, everything, this is what leads to "how you react". Your reaction was no choice, it was determined. Even if you believe in souls, you did not choose your soul. But whatever helps you sleep at night I guess.
@@stillnotchill2560 I disagree. You do have choices but they exist within a framework of genetics, environment etc. It's like playing a game. You don't get to choose the rules or how many pieces you have. But you do get to choose where those pieces go and even whether you want to play or not.
Personally, I've always found the debate between Fatalism and free-will a little shallow.
If the universe is non-deterministic, our will itself is still _heavily_ influenced by things outside its control. Things like: our genetics, our past, our emotions, our general disposition, the state of our environment, the actions of others, what information we have access to, the law/authority figures, our level of self-actualization and the broad chaos of the external world. Hell, when you think about it, rationality itself acts as a voluntary limitation of free will. At the same time though, if the universe is deterministic, then it's a kind of determinism that is utterly indistinguishable from total non-determinism. This is because of our inability to see the future and the fact that our choices (at least the ones we're capable of making) would inherently align with, and depend upon, our already predetermined history. In the end, I believe it's actually a mistake to even conceive of these things as being mutually exclusive opposites in the first place. There's no _functional_ difference between them. Functional truth is one of the most underrated concepts in the modern day.
I mostly agree with you. But at the same time, free-will and determinism are always mutually exclusive, at least within the capacity with which we can understand these concept; we can either choose or we don't. There is no in-between. Unless we see it as a transcendental concept, that is. Personally, I believe the universe is completely deterministic if we are to believe that physical laws have existed since the beginning of our universe and had remain the same till today. Everything can be traced back to the very beginning state of the universe, and everything is a causal effect of that state, changing only according to the laws of the universe. On the other hand, functionally or rather practically, it is better to believe that we have a choice to a certain extent. Otherwise, people will self-justify themselves for their crimes or action, without taking any sort of responsibility, which is rather horrifying. Therefore, I personally think it is best to know that our universe is 100% deterministic but to live as though we have a free-will to a certain extent. This will help us to look back at our past mistakes, take responsibility and to correct our own character and at the same time, accept that many things are still outside our control
This is wrong. There's a massive fundamental difference between them. If free will exists, we should punish rapists, murderers and the like, with absolute impunity. If determinism is correct (which appears to be the case) we should understand that psychopaths we're going to be that way, based on their neurology, upbringing, environment, etc, and punishment should be considered differently, as to only deter future harms from other psychopaths onto society. Punishment should not be viewed as a way to inflict suffering on the one who committed the crime, because it was determined they would behave this way. If free will exists, they would 'deserve' the pain of punishment because they had the 'choice' to harm, or not, and decided to harm or offend. These concepts really are polar opposites, and the difference functionally matters in our society in several ways. This doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to improve ourself and make what we 'feel' are the best 'choices' for our lives, but also recognize that you were always going to make that 'choice', before you were even born, or before any of your ancestors were even born.
@@cookiesoup8687 yes I agree people should be held responsible for their offenses against society, but we should not treat punishment as a way to inflict suffering, it should only be used as a tool to reduce further occurrences of the particular harmful action that they took. It's the difference of putting a murderer in jail to deter further murders, and putting them in jail or giving them death sentence so they "get what they deserve". The intent is fundamentally different, and one of these views is significantly more results oriented. If the punishment does nothing to prevent or reduce the amount of said crime, it should be adjusted. We fail to do this in society, because we focus more on inflicting 'revenge suffering' on the offender. Even though they were predetermined to behave this way.
@@griffon2-6 and oc both of you look for my comment I don't like flatearthers either but their just missed informed and scared or murders(my comment has the reason) but they are still human and its things like this that make people hate each other and it's sad I just want to help don't get mad Get consumed in the fire of hated but Don't attack people attack the problem Flatearthers: peoples not understanding: problem Their education system failed them:reason
@@whitedarkness3679 no one is getting mad i hope, just because we are all humans doesn't mean everyone assign same value to individuals life, or subscribe to some non existent universal moral code tho, people murdered each other for a lot longer than not, on some levels murder can be a survival tool and helped evolve humans and build civilizations, there can be plenty of good reasons to kill each other, most doesn't require hate
I just finished dexter myself and I saw a lot of emotion in the character. There was a lot of growth too mentally. there was no stagnation in his mentality, there were some limitations that seemed child like but overall, they wanted to humanize him. I heard that this last season may change this concept, pull us away from him and I hope so.
Dexter doesn't scare me, he is by far the most lovable and relatable serial killer. He is not a psychopath, because he still feels emotions like empathy for his sister, his son, his wife and his girlfriends throughout the series. He despises child murderers/rapists and feels guilty when he kills the wrong person by accident. This makes me believe he is more of a sociopath than a psychopath. Don't forget he is a monster, but he could be a whole lot worse. Brilliant show.
@@yungtooli Oh my God, he's putting Harrison in the wrong path and he can't see that, he fantasies with Harrison being like him but Harrison isn't like him, the Dexter from Miami always wanted his son to have a normal life, and he did the opposite in the last episode, it looks like he doesn't care the well being of his son he's selfish. That's the reason I think he's losing his mind.
Finally, a good video essay on the series in my recommended! I must admit that indeed it has moments that disturbed me more than most of the horror movies (despite being a superfan of the show). The most crucial example is Dexter's first full flashback to murder of his mother in the container in the episode Seeing Red. I was okay watching that in my early 20's, but since then there was a shift with my PTSD that actually suggests I happen to remember some trauma from very early childhood (the most likely suspect is surgical intervention I had when I was days old, which is unusual but since I happen to have memories from being 2 years old, I might have subconscious memories from earlier) that was very similar. Because in my current state that scene hit me like a freight train and effectively derailed the rewatch, stalling me for weeks. I had an experience like this, too. Dexter is not a psychopath, per se, he has a psychopathic-like deformation from that initial PTSD that just left him a wreck (that happens from time to time; emotions are there, but are put into a box where they're reduced to subconsciousness). I can recognize that with immense relatability due to having a few PTSD's myself from different ages, despite I'm on the opposite side of spectrum and have more empathy than many people. Some symptoms just hit too close to home when you see this series. The tragedy is that Vogel and Harry were dead wrong about Dexter, so now the more emotion he regains the more he has to fight with whatever they've constructed out of him. If you want something like this, but a more hopeful version, I can't recommend The Pretender from 1996-2001 enough. Main protagonists of Dexter and this show enter a very similar state of mind through polar opposites because Jarrod in The Pretender is like a near-perfect empath, but they both have urges they satisfy by dealing with crimes that fell through the cracks. Jarrod is mostly non-lethal though, which is amazing.
I think the New Blood series provides an answer to if Dexter has free will as Harrison rejects his father and murderous tendencies. Also, the scariest thing to me in the show was the 2 (i believe) times Dexter killed the wrong guy and essentially shrugs his shoulders and moves on.
I don't think Dexter is a psychopath at all. i think he was socialized into developing psychopathic tendencies by Harry and the Doctor. he was nurtured into it. I think that's why he developed the concept of the dark passenger, because it isn't innate to him. it's like an implanted organ you need to take medication to avoid rejecting. Dexter constantly rationalizes his darker impulses to both justify them but also to convince himself that they're entirely his.
@@artvandalay2736I believe he felt guilt, for creating another version of himself. But, I agree why take yourself out? Why not mold, Harrison to be a better version of himself. Like wtf? Now, he will have 0 teacher to help him through. Whatever psychosis he will, eventually develop. I doubt, we will see another spin-off with how Harrison deals with his first murder. And, losing his father and mother... As well, as his stepmom. That would make, a truly dramatic and exciting series. Would Dexter make, small appearances like Harry and Deb did. Just an idea.
Dexter was an excellent show up until Hannah showed up. I feel that's when the show completely died. It had been steadily declining since season 5, but it still retained what made is special, and that was the commentary. Loved Dexter's monologues throughout the seasons. I feel like near the end they were less and less compelling (and even less quantity too, I feel) and it's all around the time Hannah appears. New Blood was amazing again, and then the final episode... I have conflicted feelings. Will you make a video about New Blood?
@@JakeKoenig What? You didn't buy the premise that a Police Chief in a small, rural town who had a serial killer right under her nose for 20 years and didn't have a clue but this police chief was was the one who figured out that Dexter was the BHB based on finding a horse tranquilizer that he never used in Miami? Or that Dexter meets Harrison in the woods, begs him to get in the jeep so they can start over in CA but then pivots on a dime and begs Harrison to kill him? You didn't find those plots viable? Neither did I.
Dexter might be neurodivergent in other ways but I think it’s pretty clear by now he’s not a psychopath. He suffered from early and severe PTSD. He held that trauma that his preadolescent brain couldn’t come to grips with. Probably he just wanted to understand death so he killed animals. This worried Harry so he got in touch with Vogel. Vogel convinced Harry that Dexter was a psychopath because something about hammer and nails and so they developed the code. Dexter then learned to cope with his trauma by killing people.
Dexter is one of kind show. Just like Twin Peaks. If you try to understand it, If you try to feel the whole thing... You gonna enjoy it. If you are watching to pass some time... Go for the 100, Lucifer, Game of thrones(it was garbage) whatever... Dexter is just a masterpiece, just like this video. Thank you for making this!
Season 1 of GoT is actually so superior to any season of Dexter and most TV shows but yeah other than that it was pretty garbage but still enjoyable until it became really terrible around season 5.
Dexter made some choices tthat proves he is in control and can stop his desire for killing like not killing hannah and zack and dr vogyl son and not killing for 10 years but the fact that he enjoys taking human lifes no emotions no thinking twice or fear or disgust proves that dexter chose to be a monster at his own freewill he said "i know iam a monster"
His character is a twisted human being. He's not oblivious and truly in control and all he has is as morbid joke as it would sound his urges are the same as addictions with how it's represented so he's got that one itch he can't scratch coz he was thought proper self preservation and cover his tracks and how to avoid them. He can stop his urges but it stresses him out and killing pretty much relieves him of stress so it's a really strong stimulation so the need to kill is like a happy place for him and his code is just a way for him to help society knowing full well he's a menace so the imagination here is him killing the menace of society absolves him in his own eyes so he doesn't succumb to his DARK PASSENGER and go full Ted Bundy just doing it whenever he feels like it which is stupid which is why he's a proper serial killer and you'd be surprised how many proper serial killers exist that never got caught. Edit: Don't google it, serial killers that never got caught. Very sad thing to look up so save yourself the room in your head for happier thoughts :D coz this will live rent free there. Viewer discretion advised.
I never thought Dexter was scary. Messed up, yeah. But you made me rethink it, and boy did it give me chills. It is pretty damn scary!! Great video. Really made me think.
Honestly I have always felt the same thing that you quoted his Dr stating, at least in regard to that "anomalies" in certain psyche's of humanity are moreso gifts that go against the perceived societal norm and cause great waves in that society, for better or for worse. I don't romanticize mental disease and abnormalities especially as one with a few diagnosed myself, but I just haven't ever seen certain stigmas and such as warranted. Sure, you can have a case of a schizophrenic going ballistic under a psychotic episode and hurting people, but this doesn't mean that someone else dealing with the same thing is going to have the same outcome. It's all as complex as the human mind itself and generalizing just further alienates and demonizes. Like you conclude about the overall shift in the ideas behind the show, we do indeed all encounter forks in the road where we are able to make a choice. Though one may make the "wrong" one, another well inevitably choose otherwise.
Great video! Would love more Dexter content to devour. Especially in regards to the later seasons, I'm very glad to see someone who can appreciate what those seasons brought to the table. The myriad of ways they mirrored Dexter and presented him with familial opportunities definitely played a part in keeping my interest. Watching new blood now and I just want more dexter.
Dexter is an amazing series, but I couldn't help but wonder why we seem to be content with Dexter being the moral authority of taking ones life over another as being good. I believe it does stem from the internal evil(as Jung said) we have in all of us. Some of us know we have it and are able to control our inhibitions. Others arent capable of even "going there" because they are either too naive or lack critical thinking. Dexter is fascinating to us because he is neither of these people, but yet we are willing to accept his actions as a moral executioner for the good of society. The reality is many of the murderers Dexter killed may have had the same terrifying childhoods as him, did but they chose a different moral path.
The most terrifying thing about Dexter is the fact everyone wants to call him a Vigilante… he’s not he kills people for his own pleasure not because it’s the morally right thing to do, he was just trained to do it to other killers because his dad felt if someone has to die let it be a murderer then he brainwashed Dexter
@@saintoflastresorts2272 well, and unlike Dexter Barry does NOT have a drive to kill. He only started killing due to his PTSD and discharge from the military due to what happened in Koregal. Also his shit Uncle was only there for him and saw someone to exploit as Barry is so utterly broken and listless in season one he doesn't care about much til he takes the Chechnya gang job to kill that actor and hence discovers a new path. He could act! He could give up his killing life. He could be with that bich from his acting class. Dexter on the other hand doesn't have that. He savors and pretty much gets off on killing. Barry is a killing machine powered by PTSD.
Doing something good with bad behavior. This is my life. So he is completely relatable and never is he scary. One of the best character builds in all of TV shows.
An interesting video, especially when talking about the Id. I am curious about if this lack of control is a delusion or just some kind of excuse from how he is a serial killer.
One thing i think people dont talk about enough is that he had to Sit for three days in his mothers blood without food or water extremely dehidrated many start to go crazy when dehidrated being só young forced to look at all this blood for só long should have made him crazy and delirious at least until he eats and drinks
I think people like Dexter use this kind of rethoric in order to water down the severity of their dark "passenger". Whether psychopaths like it or not, they can't wish away what they innately are by pushing their trouble aside as "demons", or in this case a dark passenger. I'd put my bets on the fact that they wrote this premise in for that exact reason, to give Dexter some kind of moral justification for his actions.
The most horror I've felt in a piece of media as of late has been watching the UK version of the Utopia TV series, zoo wee momma the implications in that show are good.
On multiple occasions throughout the series, Dexter Tries to quit or at least Cut back on his dark tendencies and finds others doing the same. Now, obviously Dexter never truly succeeds in his attempts to quit, but in the process he applies, or is taught strategies on how he Could quit. But he never internalises any of these or attempts to combine them for greater effect. What bothers me is; Dexter made a concerted effort Not to truly examine the way his addiction worked or how he could fight it best, and he was never really confronted with that, but I guess thats all just water under the bridge. Unless some Serious Retconning occurs, Dexter can never be what it was before. The theme that actually Drove the story of Dexter was the effects that Dark Secrets have on people we care about. Over the course of the series, Dexter made mistakes and began running low on family, and then he ran out of secrets to keep from what was left of them. Now, there's no possible problem he could have that he wouldn't be able to solve with a knife or a quick road trip to another corner of the world.
Then where does the killing begin and the killer end. He who lives by the sword dies by the sword, by cutting the tongue of a snake we create another. Evil is a fire that catches anyone who engages with it.
Yeah honestly this dude is like the Mozart of his craft and that might be an understatement. It's understated in the fact that some people may not see at first glance how absurd it is that actors like him can not only completely become indistinguishable with the characters they're portraying, but also switch it up at any point in time as well as act so meta that the audience will even forget what is real and what is not.
Have you read the novels? He's not that scary. He's a good hearted guy. He means well. He just feels insensitive towards his surroundings. That clearly fades once he has a child. Then, the new show, has him chasing after Harrison, to make sure he doesn't leave town.
dont get why people say he's scary. he offers no threat to you're if your not a killer. even if he doesn't have sensitive thoughts right away, every episode he learns to communicate better and i feel actually ponders if that is what he is feeling. because he is self aware. i feel like he does enjoy the connections he has.
@@GotoMaki4Micah technically speaking he's no threat if you aren't a killer who has repeated your crime and are likely to do it again. As there have been times he tried to show mercy to those who only initially killed once, giving them the chance to not repeat their actions.
Some of my favorite dilemmas in this show stem from Dexter's either (very rare) accidental killing of innocents, endangering of innocents through his actions, and intentional killing of innocents out of self-preservation. I think the question of "Is a killer serial-killer morally distinguishable from a serial killer?" (especially when at least some of their reasoning for their vigilantism is selfish and obsessive) is really intriguing and (mostly) well portrayed here. Unfortunate it had a similar quality track record to game of thrones though...
the best point of comparison is the false positive failure rate of the death penalty. Our own justice system has a rate at which it miscarries justice upon the innocent and sometimes that means executing innocents. If dexter’s rate is comparable or lower than trial by jury then frankly the question becomes one of whether we can accept such a failure rate at all (ie if execution is acceptable as a punishment). I’d say the flaw in this ofc is that Dexter has no accountability. The problem with this vigilantism is precisely that there is no assurance to the public that Dexter’s activities are furthering any notion of justice or righteous vengeance. All within a utilitarian moral framework naturally. If we took Kant’s categorical imperative you could probably argue that Dexter’s actions cannot be universalizable any more than any other killer’s and so there is no moral distinction.
But at least Dexter has a great new season to complete it now! Providing they stick the landing in the final episode... Doubt we'll ever get that with GOT.
First off it’s just a show.. an Amazing well written and great actors to portray the characters .. but it’s a show. Second the story alludes to Dexter being they way he is because of what happened to him and his mother, the reason Harry tried Sri safe Dexter not only through adopting him, but also through not institutionalizing him, but through helping him channel his tendencies and Not Het Caught is because Harry was Directly responsible for putting Dexter’s mother and him in the situation to begin with. Dexters Mother Was Harry’s CI and he was having an affair with her, and he used her to get close with the drug cartel to get information on them to bust them. She was found out so they brutally murdered her. This is also why we get Harry a cop , someone with a code of his own going against that code and teaching Dexter how to use it for something good. Because he carried the guilt of turning Dexter This way to begin with .
And since Harry initially served as Dexter's moral compass along with the code, it's also why Dexter viewed his actions as being that of a protector of sorts, although in a somewhat warped way of protecting society for whatever his motivation was. And what's more he initially and mainly targeted those that the justice system legally had their chance to process and put away, but blew it. And lastly, unlike reality the character of Dexter never let the court of social media or public opinion sway his attempts to vett a target. However I think as he began to evolve, the flaws of the code either became more apparent or exhibited less channeling control over Dexter.
Good video. One of the issues with saying 'psychopathy is incurable' (which is the view of Hare and others) is that it effectively removes any incentive for the patient to seek (or participate in) clinical or behavioral assistance. As others have said, it may even provide a convenient hand-wave away for them to deny all responsibility.
Perhaps. But some psychopaths are literally born with differences in their brain that makes them physically incable of getting better. They can maybe learn coping techniques, but there is no cure. Sociopaths on the other hand has their lack of empathy stem from trauma, so you can treat that for sure. (I know that clinically they are all called aspd, but this is a distinction that even professionals make because it affects what treatment they can get) If you take a CT scan of a psychopaths brain you can actually see the differences
What a coincidence. I just finished watching Redo of healer. It's an anime very similar to Dexter. The main character of this anime is being raped, tortured and treated like complete garbage by those who were supposed to be his allies and the whole show revolves around him getting revenge on them in the most sick and brutal ways possible. And yet his just for revenge is justified at least in part. Those people who he kills or incapacitates were all murderers themselves.
9:20 I can't believe they are making a sequel with Christian Slater playing Harry. One of the biggest hang ups i saw was Dexters father leaving him in the dark about his older brother Brian. Resurrection seems promising 2025
Say what you want about the writing but the characters on this show were phenomenal Dexter is one of the most intriguing fictional characters ever made and the last one I’d want to cross paths with
I disagree, I don't think Dexter would be so hated in real life. He literally kills people who harm innocent people. Are we gonna sit here and act like we wouldn't all be behind a Vigilante going after Pedophiles?
There was a real life vigilante he went to jail for smashing pedos in the head with a. Hammer. Many people want him out of jail and call him a hero and support him. No doubt would people feel the same if dexter was real.. and he essentially is with in this real life vigilante
@@TheVioletBunny Dexter would and has tried killing innocent people if it meant him getting caught when he was a kid he harmed animals for pleasure he's actually a monster just like the ones he kills. What would happen if Dexter got caught and wasn't able to kill bad people anymore? What would he turn into? Who knows. Either way it's a liability all Dexter has to do to make his actions at least somewhat acceptable on a moral level is just not do the whole messed up ritualistic killing but he has to he literally gets off on it and that's pretty messed up. That's what makes Batman's actions okay he generally avoids killing if he does kill it's absolutely and 100% necessary he doesn't do what he does because he enjoys it and he would never think to kill Commissioner Gordon because he wants to arrest the Batman. That's the difference between Dexter and a more idealistic vigilante like Batman.
Pressure of making a choice NOW in situations where you know your judgement will probably fail you was honestly more terrifying than any amount of gore.
Dexter isn't terrifying at all, unless you're a murderer. He only kills other murderers. Everyone else in the world has nothing to fear from him. Did you actually watch the show, Max?
You clearly lack the understanding of how people like Dexter really work. I can assure you that if you were to meet Dexter, find out that he is a killer that he would find a way to kill you regardless if he had to, no matter whether you fit his code or not.
The only terrifying thing about Dexter is that Vince Masuka didnt get his own spin off.
Oh god no 💀
I think you meant to say the most terrifying thing about Dexter is Masukas inability to get bitches
He wasn't that good
@@TH-camCommenterYo and that wasn’t the point of his character. He always felt like the writers wrote him in after watching the American Pie series.
Masuka is one of these characters on Tv that most people love. He is ethnic, he is funny and likable without being a walking stereotype, like Fez for example.
Really enjoyed your take on dexter. I'm a behavior analyst , so I look at it from a very different point of view than the psychoanalytical freud/jung philosophy. I have thought for years that dexter is mischaracterized as a psychopath. He is not a psychopath at all. Instead, I believe that dexter suffers from an extremely severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder wherein his fixation is on the act of killing. To be a psychopath, Dexter would need to be very lacking in his sense of morality and conscience. This isn't the case, however. Dexter's conscience is just different from ours. What a person views as "right and wrong" is heavily influenced by the culture they grow up in. Dexter, however, was taught from the time he was a child not that killing was wrong but rather that he would have to kill and there was nothing he could do about it. The "code" harry taught dexter is his conscience. Were dexter truly a psychopath, he would not experience nearly the degree of guilt that he does in situations that require him to violate the code.
Example: the #1 rule of the code is "don't get caught" but even when caught by doakes, dexter couldn't bring himself to kill him. A psychopath would have easily reasoned that killing doakes would honor the first rule and done it without question.
Obviously its a TV show and not a real person but if it were, I would consider Harry's constant "training" of Dexter to have been the true cause for what he became.
I thought he is more of a sociopath. Wasn't the difference between psycho- and sociopaths that the first is innate and the second is caused by experience? Given what happened to him as a child, he could be the latter and thus still have some "residual" empathy, you know what I mean?
@@wannabespartan3838 If you ask 100 psychologists the difference between psychopath and sociopath you will get 100 different answers, its not truly defined. Anyone in that category is clinically considered an "antisocial personality"
I agree. Well thought out. He had immense guilt murdering an innocent man in season 4, the BDSM Photographer. A psychopath wouldn’t feel that. I think he has Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder with traits of Schizoid Personality Disorder since he hallucinates Harry (now Deb) so much.
@@DragonIsNotASlave I don't think he actually hallucinated Harry or hallucinates Deb. I think it's a visual representation of Dexter's thoughts/conscience in an easy to digest form of Harry and Deb as physical manifestations.
I can see where you’re coming from. I think Dexters problem began as some sort of severe PTSD from witnessing his mother’s murder. Then Harry and Vogel turned him into what he is and now he’s living in this groove he can’t get out of. (Spoiler) He was able to stave it off for a whole ten years but inevitably he fell off the wagon. It is a compulsion, it’s an addiction, it’s like an itch he gets in the back of his mind. There’s really no way to stop it at this point. I
Dexter is by far the most interesting show I've ever watched
Bates motel is a good show . In that show they made Norman Bates likable.
@@gandalainsley6467 seen it, really like that one as well.
@@gandalainsley6467 Bates motel is underrated af
@@leonthesleepy yes it definitely deserves more attention then it got
@@adolfomclovin7082 that's anime
Dexter didn’t just watch his mom get cut up with a chainsaw which is why he cuts people up. The character had to sit in the container filled with body parts and blood for a decent amount of time
for 3 days
And there were more people killed at the same time too, not only his mom.
I never actually thought he cut people due to his trauma, i thought he did it to better dispose of the bodies
@@brometheusthefirstbro4302 Nah they cut her into pieces, so he just took his own variation of it. But it does make it easier on him haha. Also they mention at some point that the ice truck killer does it to impress Dexter cuz that’s the way he cuts them too
His brother Bryan was with him but I don’t remember why he also wasn’t adopted by Harry
If you liked Dexter I HIGHLY recommend Hannibal series that ran on NBC. That show was filled to the brim with beautiful imagery and wonderful character relationships.
Hannibal was really a great series. For me it was the most disturbing series I’ve ever saw. There are few to none relieving or happy moments. It was really hard to watch more than 2 episodes at a time, because of the constantly pessimistic and nihilistic atmosphere. But I really liked the show.
yeah I've watched it and it is damn good from cinematography to acting to character development everything is praiseworthy.
Mads Mikkelson has become my obsession!!
In terms of show it's a tough pick but for me Dexter is better than Hannibal because Dexter has both humour and suspense but still every episode has a happy ending which makes it interesting whereas Hannibal has only KILLING EATING KILLING EATING!!
sooo good
1000% yes
Hannibal scared the crap out of me. I don't scare easy either. Mads Mickelson was perfect in that role. It's really too bad Dr. Strange wasted him on a throw away villain. He would have been a great Dr. Doom.
dexter does not disturb me, i’m fascinated by his psychology
He is too likable to be truly disturbing. I also find him super fascinating.
It’s a tv show. The writing can be fascinating but he is not real
@@sethrogen6577 he as a character is real yes. he may not be a real person but the psychology can still be fascinating. i’m not fuckin 9 years old, i know what i said. so there’s no need to be a douche bag.
@@sethrogen6577 no need to be a douchebag Debbie downer
@@sethrogen6577 no duh
When I watched the show, I couldn't help but feel Harry pushed Dexter into his life.
True
I’m convinced that’s what happened. Harry’s a policeman and his thinking only rolled down one path. He thought Dexter had no other choice and his future is determined and the best he as a father could do is ‘wield’ that future.
In reality he just made sure his son will become a serial killer and convinced Dexter he had no other choice. The whole dark passenger being inescapable and driving Dexter to kill definitely came from Harry’s convincing Dexter that’s all what Dexter is.
Also, while watching I thought the creators meant for this to be obvious. I remember getting so angry at Harry bc he just put that into his son’s head and kept pushing and pushing that that’s the only truth. Felt so sorry for Dexter, he was raised with no way out.
@Ramon FutureWSM S9?
well there's also the argument that dexter was always gonna become a serial killer but with Harry intercepting and teaching him the code it prevented him from just killing innocents from the beginning like what we saw with Zack Hamilton is season 8 that's how dexter would've ended up like without the code reigning him in
He absolutey did
Its clear that harry was the real villain of the show
He took a child with trauma who needed to be taught coping mechanisms and instead taught him to be a killer and convinced him that his dark side was some kind of uncontrollable mystical force
Instead of just trauma like it was
The only thing that held him back for 10 years was his love for Deb - and the guilt he feels for her death.
The way the writers killed her and how she died is so stupid the only reason Dexter wouldn’t leave was to take out Saxon then he gets his chance then says fuck it I’ll leave him to Deb and because of that she dies like 🤦🏻♂️
@@JohnSmith-wh2ob It's an American series, they are typically overly dramatic.
It has stupid cliché plot points you can smell from a kilometer away and you can already see where the plot goes.
It's not that bad though, and sometimes it even circumvents expectations.
@@icebox1954
The books the series is based on (written by Jeff *Lindsay* :) ) was way better, because of the very dark humour, but also because book-Dexter truly *enjoys* killing and takes his time torturing his victims before he lets them die. Not all that American so called moral bs and quest to become (more) human like in the tv series.
Big negative for me of the books however, is that in the end almost *everyone* turnes out to have some sort of "Dark Passenger" like Dexter, which makes him not the unique person he was, and the stories get stupid.
@@Keyboardje Damn.
@@JohnSmith-wh2ob The last episode was truly terrible. Then they ruined it again with the end of New Blood
I've seen what trauma can do to a person's mind for good and evil. On the evil side of things, my friend and at one time fireteam member left the military and a few years later after trying and failing to get help he, he killed himself and his kids, his wife, all of them. His trauma won, and we all suffered because we didn't help him. Others can't hurt a fly to save their own lives on the exact opposite side of things like myself. I've seen enough of my friends kill themselves and it had the butterfly effect where I've become overly protective over family and friends. Trauma and choices have lasting effects, all we can do is try to do the best we can with what we got and to love and cherish one another. Sorry to talk about such dark things, it's almost Remembrance Day and hearing you talk made me think deeply about my own experiences and, I thank you for giving me the idea to take the time and reflect on things. Cheers from Canada.
Sorry to hear that you've experienced so much trauma both directly and indirectly. More must be done to help those suffering as well as dealing with mental health on their own. Too many suffer in silence.
@@donniedarko2815 you’re a loser.
I would say that if you know someone suffering trauma there is only so much help you can give. Even with regards to therapy if a client isn't willing to put the work in then there's very little a therapist can do. You can be there to support them but ultimately, it is their responsibility to help themselves. And sometimes thing happen such as what you describe and it isn't anyone's fault.
@@donniedarko2815 you gotta be joking
Holy shit! I'm so sorry
I urge you to watch the show Hannibal. If Dexter gives you glee from serving justice to those who have done evil. Hannibal shows you that you are equally able to commit such attrocities
I second this. Hannibal was great.
Was gonna comment it but Yes I feel like most people overlook the TV show for the movie!
The pair have a youth trauma in common Dexter witnessing his mom's gruesome killing and Hannibal forced to eat his younger sister in WWII but is it destined to be aspd related that is the question whereas Dexter was forced to be what he is ( a indoctrinated doctrine of Harry's code or later the dark passenger ). In Hannibal's case it is a code of survival and the addiction not being able to stop so they can be seen equally as consumed by their traumatic early life experiences
Hannibal was garbage. Idk why , I thought I would like it but it was just eh. The episodes felt like snail pace
@@santi_super_stunts2573 Its okay to dislike something. I disagree though it wasnt garbage. Its not supposed to be action packed its a slow methodical burn with philosophical discussions and intensely dark characters
The terrifying thing about the show was he was doing all that killing while working with the police. People fail to realize that some of the most well-known serial killers lead normal lives.
(;
This is exactly why BTK caused the FBI to have to reevaluate the way they profiled serial killers. And yes Season 4's villain Arthur Mitchell was indeed a nod to BTK.
Dexter says that he chose his new location because there was no temptation. It's easier to control his urges when he isn't exposed to his triggers (aka, other killers). So, like an addict, free will does come into play, but there are a mountain of psychological and chemical processes to climb in order to exercise it. The fact that Dexter struggles (for the most part) to kill innocent people speaks a lot to how he can be conditioned to channel his darkness or lack of empathy. This means it was always possible for Harry to raise him in a manner that was just as honest, but steer him away from violence and toward other outlets. And therapy.
Choice is an illusion, Dexter did not "choose" to live remote, he was determined to do so. Sure, Harry was a huge impact for Dexter to become who he is, and same goes for Harry's upbringing, and Harry's parents only raised him that way because of their upbringing. The point being, we don't actually make any choices, it's just an illusion. When you are given a "choice" your entire neurology, childhood, environment, every idea that was put into your brain, determines what you will "choose". From every observable fact known to man, there is no proof or hint that choice exists, but plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Exactly. He could clearly see back then that even with violent tendencies Dexter cared about his family and clearly had feelings. Probably too many instead of too few, until he got desensitized due to the insane level of violence he had to start committing to appease the father figure that he trusted implicitly to a clear fault. If he could convince him not to kill innocents, he could convince him to join fucking boxing or something for god's sake. There are ways of letting steam out other than dismembering people. Feeding trauma isn't helping, it's making sure the kid has a miserable, tortured life (in the highly unlikely case he doesn't end up in prison for life)
@@stillnotchill2560 parents shape parents that shape other parents. It's a vicious cycle to the point where our entire civilization is infected with a myriad of behavioral and emotional dysfunctions and mental illnesses that perpetuate themselves through generations and centuries in ethereal cocktails of genetic traits and life experiences with nobody being the wiser. It's kinda crazy how we've been addressing and cataloging physical ailments forever, but we're just very recently in human history starting to dissect and alter and try to optimize the specific logistics of our inner workings
Harry is to blame for what Dexter has become. He was a frustrated cop fed up with the justice system and criminals walking free. He used his 'fucked up' son as instrument to channel his own frustrations
Why did Brian become a serial killer, then? He was admitted and treated by psychiatrists and therapists. And unlike dexter, he wasn't raised and taught by evil Harry. Why did he become a serial killer?
Speaking of the show itself, and I can't stress it enough, Deb got a ridiculous amount of hatred. I like her character me personally, she's like an audience in a meta sort of way
Deb got hatred? Why?
@@bsatyam people found her extremely annoying
@@philobrien8920 she was annoying as shit in season 7 and other moments in the show but overall I still liked and rooted for Deb
@@JohnSmith-wh2ob Is season 7 the time when she mourns LaGuerta? Cause even I'll admit that did get pretty annoying.
Unlike William Shatner, the gal who plays Deb never graduated from the James T. Kirk academy of overacting.
To those of you that haven’t seen Dexter yet, I advise that you watch it and get ready for one of the most mind boggling series that ever existed.
When I mean mind boggling, I mean having to think about every single thing that Dexter does and the characters around him too.
Dexter is a great series, and I am so glad that it has returned, because I wanted to see Dexter continue to evolve, as he did say in the current new season in the first episode.
I’m glad that Max is stumbling upon a lot of the awesome TV shows, video games and movies that I love and became a fan of.
Nope I don’t like to glamorize serial killers even fake ones
@Mt. WHATITDEW No, it’s Season 9, and a continuation of the show.
Dexter ten years later.
@@clxwncrxwn I guess you are one of those who prolly doesn't watch porn either. Not everything has to mean lewd and gruesome. Sometimes its a work of art. And some other times its a architectural piece that lets you plan your own life and analyze other's lives in a way you normally would be banished to even think about. I have a medical condition which I cannot talk about because it involves "blood" but Dexter gives me a picture of what I can expect to see ahead. You saying that you do not want to watch Dexter because it glorifies serial killers shows how narrow you and people like you must think. However, I don't blame you. That thinking has been cherished in the womb of our society. Sometimes I cannot feel myself . Its those times that I watch the first season of Dexter.
@@manas4288 Yeah we get that. In jungian terminology, bloody movies, porn, art etc... are basically functions as tools, surfaces for your projections so the consciousness can recognize and integrate otherwise unconscious shadow material into ego. Fetishes and perversions for example are harmless, but an untamed shadow is making you disturbing and evil. The problem with Dexter is how it achieves audience to identificate with Dexter. Everyone around him is a fool, seriously. All characters are dilettants, weak, idiotic, dumb NPC-s. Some of them are serial killers. We follow a freaky guy, and how he massacres mentally disabled Hobbits. It's the context! So if you've already identified yourself with the character as you "hinted" it's important for you to know that the subject of identification is not the oberman, beyond good and evil, above society. On the contrary! So If you're not living amongst Hobbits, or teletubbies I suggest stop with this infantile fantasizing.
@@Alex-hu5eg I am sorry but i think I told you that I have a psychological condition which involves blood. I think I can understand it more. And as i said I'm too embarrassed to talk about . But if you really want to know then I'm sure you will like Dexter's problems more than mine. And it is you who perceives people around Dexter as fools not I. I'd say it is infantile to force your judgments and perceptions onto people who have contradicting one's.
I've always seen free will as something like an animal in a pen, where free will (the animal) always has a certain "range" with which to express itself (the pen)--i.e. the circumstances of one's life. Of course, it's not absolute, as there certain exceptional individuals who can expand the boundaries of the pen, and there are others for which the pen can seem like a prison that shrinks with every passing year. As well, there are things like limiting beliefs and learned helplessness that can artificially limit the pen size, and those who assert that the pen does not exist at all, and that anything is possible through something like willpower, though those tend to be the aforementioned exceptional individuals. It's not a perfect theory, but I've found it a useful illustration to the phenomenon.
IMHO freewill & determinism is more like a spectrum and a hierarchy. From what you had mentioned it would make sense that our circumstances will play a role in our lives. Personally, I believe our perception is the deciding factor on how we shape our lives and by extension the world around us. That's why when it comes to what we watch and experience it's best to control our emotions and think about things. David Icke was big on the power of perception claiming that it can determine our future which is why we get bombarded with ideas that seem to be detrimental to our wellbeing and progression. The barriers put up make it easier to control humans if they have a firm grip in the collective beliefs of the people. Now as for the hierarchy view, we humans are much higher on the order compared to the animals. As for the animals, they are more free than the rocks and plants. This is due to power. Power=freewill. Due to our ability to innovate we have been able to out perform the animal kingdom, thus we dominate the earth today. Now if there are beings with more freewill than us then they have to be somewhere beyond the stratosphere in space. Who knows though, but that my 2 cents! 😄
Your pen analogy makes quite sense; imo, it reconciles some of the points of determinism with those of free will. Thanks for your comment.
I never truly believed dexter was as much of a psychopath as he , Harry and the psychologist believed. We slowly see his show a variety of emotions over the series , I had always assumed the show would end with him realizing he does feel real emotions and he wasn’t faking. I thought that’s what was being hunted with him knocking out ritas ex husband , sadness over Deborahs death , falling in love.
I mean psychopaths and sociopaths aren't completely emotionless
@@ryanthereaper5032 the show heavily implies so. That they feel no real emotions and do not know right from wrong
@@santi_super_stunts2573 Not precisely. They can be taught right and wrong, they just can't empathize with people. You see a person being hurt and your mind feels that pain as if it were your own. Sociopaths can't experience that. Possibly because trauma has blocked that part of the psyche. Psychopaths go deeper. They actively hurt others in order to gain power. It's all still really just guess work for psychologists.
@@mikethehunter5212 yeah like he only knows what “right” because of what harry taught him what “right” was. At the end of the day I’m not a psychologist just some guy on TH-cam . I just thought it being a show that clearly isn’t very realistic they would take the Hollywood approach to being crazy. Like Vader becoming good after having killed actually children literally dismembering them.
@@santi_super_stunts2573 Believe it or not, Vader is often a case study on Borderline Personality Disorder. Fiction often imitates life. It can exaggerate things, but it can still be used to study the human psyche. After all, it's the human mind that creates these stories.
I loved Dexter from start to finish. He has so many layers. He shows a lot of growth throughout the show too.
yea besides the ending of new blood 🤣
I am so glad that Dexter is back. I have started to watch the series again before I start the new season. Enjoy everyone!
Holy sh!t! I didn't know Dexter was back! Thanks for this. It's something I can't miss.
(Hopefully, it's not woke.)
@@Hynotama it’s really good so far no wokeness
@@Hynotama It’s well written and directed so far. New director I think, and it seems more like a movie now.
Sad
@@MySomberNights and now it's over what a bad ending
personally I don't think Dexter is scary but the show does an amazing job with their action scenes. like the scenes with lumen and that guy when he was chasing her, or when he tried to kill Arthur Mitchell. all of those were amazingly done scenes and just as nerve wracking like you were there irl with them too
What I found disturbing in the books was when Dexter accidentally killed the wrong person, was his ability to quickly do an, "oh well" like you do when you break a cup or plate.
I'm curious as to how different the show is from the books.
That would be a true sociopath. No remorse at all. Dexter in the show has instances where he feels bad for breaking his Code. The one exception being the child molester of course.
@@impartialthrone2097 There are books??? I need to read those
@@calliesdandelions only thing I know about the books is that Dexter's brother is around a lot longer. Doesn't die early on like in the show.
The books are much different than the show - the books are more supernatural o guess you could say
The Darl Passenger is an actual entity that gets inside a person when they experience severe trauma as a child
Cody and astor themselves have dark passengers in the books and when dexter loses his for a time becomes all bawly and boohoo-ey about everything - The alien passenger essentially suppresses their emotions and drives them to kill
Fun fact: For some reason I could relate with Dexter when I was watching it years ago and his whole dark passenger . Turned out I have a split personality .Found it around 7 months ago.
It's like a universal indicator, since I have increased empathy, PTSD and depressive episode. It hits all of those chords, as well.
@@PictureProductStudio me 2 ptsd and being weird and always in your thoughts people like that relate heavily o dexter
To
@Despize Perform There’s a lot of testimonies online and a lot of research. You can always check there if you’re interested in knowing more ^^
I dunno. I enjoyed Dexter and I'm glad he's back! I'm a normal, average lady, who has never engaged in violence in my life, but thought this was a great show. Mainly because he's played by the amazing Michael C. Hall, who is super mega talented! This is the guy who sings and dances on Broadway! Not scary.
I’m not the only one who think Dexter constantly lies to himself, right? It’s like Harry has convinced him that he can’t ever feel anything so Dexter accepted that. But he clearly does feel cause he’s expressed emotions on multiple occasions
Yes, it's very obvious to anyone who is actually paying attention. Too many people say they are fans of the series, yet characterize him as a cold-blooded monster. Dexter is an unreliable narrator, especially when it comes to the conception he has of himself.
@@CarissaMurphyI noticed when watching the show you can see him doubt himself and try to convince himself otherwise that he feels like over Reta dying and then in new blood all he cared about was Harrison and how much he loved Reta but he was never willing to let himself fully give into those feelings causing him more issues then good he probably could became a whole new person who also didn’t have to put Deb through what she went through and on top of it I noticed towards the end of the show before new blood that he started to kind of lose it a little bit it’s a good show but there could have been a lot more they could have done with Dexter and the feelings he has towards things he lies to himself a lot and doubts himself to much
Seeing the name Daniel Licht setting up the music, I gotta watch this. He scored Dishonored and I am in for it.
Also, great video Max. As much as I want to support you on Patreon, I am poor as a rat.. so I will just keep on watching and liking your videos. Keep up the amazing videos!
It's all good, my man. Watching and liking the video helps out a lot and it's free. :D Stay yellow, my man.
I got a reply from Max, from an amazing TH-camr! Hah!
Please, more of these type of videos Max. I am and we are really enjoying the dive into the rabbit hole of the mind.
He also scored Silent Hill: Downpour and it was dogshit
Dexter's score is one of the best things about the series. It's solid all the way through, and it perfectly encapsulates the contrast between sunny Miami and the dark subject matter of the show.
I watched Dexter long before I played Dishonored. In the first game, there’s this sound similar to being noticed, almost like jingle bells but lighter, designed to put the player on alert.
I was rewatching the show and somewhere in season 3 that same sound played when Dexter was riding his boat and I INSTANTLY knew. I had to pause the episode and google and yes! It was Daniel Licht! Extremely recognizable. Not a bad thing, but I find it amazing that’s how I knew he wrote for both the game and Dexter.
Dexter is one of the most fascinating and entertaining shows I've ever seen.
What if dexter got a letter to silent hill regarding about his sister. How would he survive and how much mental torture would he go through.
Dexter would liver punch pyramid head
Honestly, the enemies that he would fight would probably be a representation of the people he killed and or a monsters that represents his mental and personal life
And the final boss is gonna be his father Harry or the Darkman
That was kinda what Downpour was driving at...
I see what Max is trying to do here, but, from what I see, they just messed up the character in later seasons. Also, people would not be against someone like Dexter in real life. We saw it happening before, not in the same scale, of course.
true many people supported a serial killer who killed rapist and criminals riots broke out when he was arrested perdo something
0:20 cry of fear mentioned rahhh 🦅🦅🦅🦅
Good game :D
Pyrocynical
Into this new season I think that there were a lot of things that came with his 10 year hiatus. It wasn’t just Hanna but his love for Deb and her loss, his realizing Harrison was better off without him and that his entire life was uprooted because of his actions. So that’s enough but if you think about it from his point of view he knew he had to hide and he realized the gamble wasn’t worth it but it was going to eventually catch up to him.
That’s interesting can you give out more details? Is it diagnosed?
11:30 I maintain that Dexter had over 20 years of the code. Which the purpose of the code as Vogel stated was to teach him empathy by faking it till he made it. Until eventually he made it.
I have known a few people like Dexter and most of them either end up in prison or joining the army. Ultimately I think that while you don't get to choose your upbringing and your predispositions, you do get to choose how to react to them and how to move forward.
Choice is an illusion. You're neurology, upbringing, environment, everything, this is what leads to "how you react". Your reaction was no choice, it was determined. Even if you believe in souls, you did not choose your soul. But whatever helps you sleep at night I guess.
@@stillnotchill2560 I disagree. You do have choices but they exist within a framework of genetics, environment etc. It's like playing a game. You don't get to choose the rules or how many pieces you have. But you do get to choose where those pieces go and even whether you want to play or not.
@@stillnotchill2560 congrats u just described a choice .-.
@@stillnotchill2560 I agree
@@brandonatchison4769 Go read 'Free Will' by Sam Harris.
Personally, I've always found the debate between Fatalism and free-will a little shallow.
If the universe is non-deterministic, our will itself is still _heavily_ influenced by things outside its control. Things like: our genetics, our past, our emotions, our general disposition, the state of our environment, the actions of others, what information we have access to, the law/authority figures, our level of self-actualization and the broad chaos of the external world. Hell, when you think about it, rationality itself acts as a voluntary limitation of free will.
At the same time though, if the universe is deterministic, then it's a kind of determinism that is utterly indistinguishable from total non-determinism. This is because of our inability to see the future and the fact that our choices (at least the ones we're capable of making) would inherently align with, and depend upon, our already predetermined history.
In the end, I believe it's actually a mistake to even conceive of these things as being mutually exclusive opposites in the first place. There's no _functional_ difference between them.
Functional truth is one of the most underrated concepts in the modern day.
That was expertly said.
Extremely well said and pointed out! My thoughts - more or less. Mad respect, bro.
I mostly agree with you. But at the same time, free-will and determinism are always mutually exclusive, at least within the capacity with which we can understand these concept; we can either choose or we don't. There is no in-between. Unless we see it as a transcendental concept, that is.
Personally, I believe the universe is completely deterministic if we are to believe that physical laws have existed since the beginning of our universe and had remain the same till today. Everything can be traced back to the very beginning state of the universe, and everything is a causal effect of that state, changing only according to the laws of the universe.
On the other hand, functionally or rather practically, it is better to believe that we have a choice to a certain extent. Otherwise, people will self-justify themselves for their crimes or action, without taking any sort of responsibility, which is rather horrifying.
Therefore, I personally think it is best to know that our universe is 100% deterministic but to live as though we have a free-will to a certain extent. This will help us to look back at our past mistakes, take responsibility and to correct our own character and at the same time, accept that many things are still outside our control
This is wrong. There's a massive fundamental difference between them. If free will exists, we should punish rapists, murderers and the like, with absolute impunity. If determinism is correct (which appears to be the case) we should understand that psychopaths we're going to be that way, based on their neurology, upbringing, environment, etc, and punishment should be considered differently, as to only deter future harms from other psychopaths onto society. Punishment should not be viewed as a way to inflict suffering on the one who committed the crime, because it was determined they would behave this way. If free will exists, they would 'deserve' the pain of punishment because they had the 'choice' to harm, or not, and decided to harm or offend. These concepts really are polar opposites, and the difference functionally matters in our society in several ways. This doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to improve ourself and make what we 'feel' are the best 'choices' for our lives, but also recognize that you were always going to make that 'choice', before you were even born, or before any of your ancestors were even born.
@@cookiesoup8687 yes I agree people should be held responsible for their offenses against society, but we should not treat punishment as a way to inflict suffering, it should only be used as a tool to reduce further occurrences of the particular harmful action that they took. It's the difference of putting a murderer in jail to deter further murders, and putting them in jail or giving them death sentence so they "get what they deserve". The intent is fundamentally different, and one of these views is significantly more results oriented. If the punishment does nothing to prevent or reduce the amount of said crime, it should be adjusted. We fail to do this in society, because we focus more on inflicting 'revenge suffering' on the offender. Even though they were predetermined to behave this way.
Debra could have just walked away and let Dexter do his thing with Lagerta lol. There was zero need for her to traumatize herself by killing Lagerta.
Actually that's a good point.
@@darksideofevil13 In the book, Laguerta was killed in front of Debra, yet she didn't mind. Brian killed Laguerta in the books
@@sattwikghoshclass12section19 Yeah I heard she was quite the bitch to Deb in the books. Still a bit weird Deb didn't care at all.
@@sattwikghoshclass12section19 Dexter brother? That’s interesting
@@JamieLeach-ce1cv Yeah and he also appears in later books, Dexter is Delicious and Dexter is Dead
That enjoyment I get every time Dexter kills a murderer is similar to the enjoyment I get from Supernatural each time they kill a diffrent monster.
Look for my comment I think you may need it
id sleep like a babe, knowing there's Dexter out there that kills every flatearther he finds, they are worse than supernatural monsters tbh ;d
@@griffon2-6 and oc both of you look for my comment I don't like flatearthers either but their just missed informed and scared or murders(my comment has the reason) but they are still human and its things like this that make people hate each other and it's sad
I just want to help don't get mad
Get consumed in the fire of hated but
Don't attack people attack the problem
Flatearthers: peoples
not understanding: problem
Their education system failed them:reason
@@griffon2-6 whats wrong with flat earthers? who are they hurting?
@@whitedarkness3679 no one is getting mad i hope, just because we are all humans doesn't mean everyone assign same value to individuals life, or subscribe to some non existent universal moral code tho, people murdered each other for a lot longer than not, on some levels murder can be a survival tool and helped evolve humans and build civilizations, there can be plenty of good reasons to kill each other, most doesn't require hate
Dexter is essentially Alex from "A Clockwork Orange"; tamed by the system (or in his case, the father) to serve the system (in his case, the good).
Dexter was one one the best and twisted shows I ever watched, thank you Max Derrat for covering Dexter and explaining it 👍
Have you been watching the new season? It's so satisfying to be with Dexter again, he's such a fascinating character.
I just finished dexter myself and I saw a lot of emotion in the character. There was a lot of growth too mentally. there was no stagnation in his mentality, there were some limitations that seemed child like but overall, they wanted to humanize him. I heard that this last season may change this concept, pull us away from him and I hope so.
I'd rather have a guy out there like Dexter taking out the bad guys who got away with it
Dexter is only scary, if you're the kind of person he'd hunt for.
Tell that to all the innocent people he got killed lol.
.....Is this the monster that you keep telling me about?
Trust me, when you meet the monster, you'll know....
Dexter doesn't scare me, he is by far the most lovable and relatable serial killer. He is not a psychopath, because he still feels emotions like empathy for his sister, his son, his wife and his girlfriends throughout the series. He despises child murderers/rapists and feels guilty when he kills the wrong person by accident. This makes me believe he is more of a sociopath than a psychopath. Don't forget he is a monster, but he could be a whole lot worse. Brilliant show.
Watch the latest episode, I love Dexter so much but he is a psychopath, and apparently he lost his mind now.
@@norm-bb3bb what ep?
@@juanquintero8103 Dexter New Blood episode 9
@@norm-bb3bb how did he lose his mind? he’s putting harrison on the right path with teaching him how to take out the trash
@@yungtooli Oh my God, he's putting Harrison in the wrong path and he can't see that, he fantasies with Harrison being like him but Harrison isn't like him, the Dexter from Miami always wanted his son to have a normal life, and he did the opposite in the last episode, it looks like he doesn't care the well being of his son he's selfish. That's the reason I think he's losing his mind.
Finally, a good video essay on the series in my recommended! I must admit that indeed it has moments that disturbed me more than most of the horror movies (despite being a superfan of the show). The most crucial example is Dexter's first full flashback to murder of his mother in the container in the episode Seeing Red. I was okay watching that in my early 20's, but since then there was a shift with my PTSD that actually suggests I happen to remember some trauma from very early childhood (the most likely suspect is surgical intervention I had when I was days old, which is unusual but since I happen to have memories from being 2 years old, I might have subconscious memories from earlier) that was very similar. Because in my current state that scene hit me like a freight train and effectively derailed the rewatch, stalling me for weeks. I had an experience like this, too.
Dexter is not a psychopath, per se, he has a psychopathic-like deformation from that initial PTSD that just left him a wreck (that happens from time to time; emotions are there, but are put into a box where they're reduced to subconsciousness). I can recognize that with immense relatability due to having a few PTSD's myself from different ages, despite I'm on the opposite side of spectrum and have more empathy than many people. Some symptoms just hit too close to home when you see this series. The tragedy is that Vogel and Harry were dead wrong about Dexter, so now the more emotion he regains the more he has to fight with whatever they've constructed out of him.
If you want something like this, but a more hopeful version, I can't recommend The Pretender from 1996-2001 enough. Main protagonists of Dexter and this show enter a very similar state of mind through polar opposites because Jarrod in The Pretender is like a near-perfect empath, but they both have urges they satisfy by dealing with crimes that fell through the cracks. Jarrod is mostly non-lethal though, which is amazing.
I think the New Blood series provides an answer to if Dexter has free will as Harrison rejects his father and murderous tendencies.
Also, the scariest thing to me in the show was the 2 (i believe) times Dexter killed the wrong guy and essentially shrugs his shoulders and moves on.
This show is like multiple psychological case studies displayed by actors over and over.
I don't think Dexter is a psychopath at all. i think he was socialized into developing psychopathic tendencies by Harry and the Doctor. he was nurtured into it. I think that's why he developed the concept of the dark passenger, because it isn't innate to him. it's like an implanted organ you need to take medication to avoid rejecting. Dexter constantly rationalizes his darker impulses to both justify them but also to convince himself that they're entirely his.
Also remember when Harry made him watch a guy die in an electric chair?
@@emberdragon4248Then he deletes himself like a coward after seeing what he created
@@artvandalay2736I believe he felt guilt, for creating another version of himself. But, I agree why take yourself out? Why not mold, Harrison to be a better version of himself. Like wtf? Now, he will have 0 teacher to help him through. Whatever psychosis he will, eventually develop. I doubt, we will see another spin-off with how Harrison deals with his first murder. And, losing his father and mother... As well, as his stepmom. That would make, a truly dramatic and exciting series. Would Dexter make, small appearances like Harry and Deb did. Just an idea.
So, why did Brian become a serial killer?
Nope. He absolutely was. He would have been running with Brian if not for Harry.
Amazing video, it even gave me a few more ideas about something I'm working on, thank you
I saw this video in my feed and thought “ummmm it’s not?”
season 7 is mad underrated, there just wasn't a major big bad
It was Isaac, he just died to quick cause the actor had other obligations.
Dexter was an excellent show up until Hannah showed up. I feel that's when the show completely died. It had been steadily declining since season 5, but it still retained what made is special, and that was the commentary. Loved Dexter's monologues throughout the seasons. I feel like near the end they were less and less compelling (and even less quantity too, I feel) and it's all around the time Hannah appears. New Blood was amazing again, and then the final episode... I have conflicted feelings. Will you make a video about New Blood?
Saying that "New Blood was amazing" pretty much kills your credibility on any other opinion you'll ever have.
@@JakeKoenig What? You didn't buy the premise that a Police Chief in a small, rural town who had a serial killer right under her nose for 20 years and didn't have a clue but this police chief was was the one who figured out that Dexter was the BHB based on finding a horse tranquilizer that he never used in Miami? Or that Dexter meets Harrison in the woods, begs him to get in the jeep so they can start over in CA but then pivots on a dime and begs Harrison to kill him? You didn't find those plots viable? Neither did I.
Maybe it is all free will ultimately. But I'd say that some are more desperate than others to feel balanced.
Dexter might be neurodivergent in other ways but I think it’s pretty clear by now he’s not a psychopath. He suffered from early and severe PTSD. He held that trauma that his preadolescent brain couldn’t come to grips with. Probably he just wanted to understand death so he killed animals. This worried Harry so he got in touch with Vogel. Vogel convinced Harry that Dexter was a psychopath because something about hammer and nails and so they developed the code. Dexter then learned to cope with his trauma by killing people.
Dexter is one of kind show. Just like Twin Peaks. If you try to understand it, If you try to feel the whole thing... You gonna enjoy it. If you are watching to pass some time... Go for the 100, Lucifer, Game of thrones(it was garbage) whatever... Dexter is just a masterpiece, just like this video. Thank you for making this!
Season 1 of GoT is actually so superior to any season of Dexter and most TV shows but yeah other than that it was pretty garbage but still enjoyable until it became really terrible around season 5.
@@Lin_Eileenlol any day dexter over that shitty show
Lucifer was shit only bcs of bad writing. Chloe was the worst
Dexter made some choices tthat proves he is in control and can stop his desire for killing like not killing hannah and zack and dr vogyl son and not killing for 10 years but the fact that he enjoys taking human lifes no emotions no thinking twice or fear or disgust proves that dexter chose to be a monster at his own freewill he said "i know iam a monster"
His character is a twisted human being. He's not oblivious and truly in control and all he has is as morbid joke as it would sound his urges are the same as addictions with how it's represented so he's got that one itch he can't scratch coz he was thought proper self preservation and cover his tracks and how to avoid them. He can stop his urges but it stresses him out and killing pretty much relieves him of stress so it's a really strong stimulation so the need to kill is like a happy place for him and his code is just a way for him to help society knowing full well he's a menace so the imagination here is him killing the menace of society absolves him in his own eyes so he doesn't succumb to his DARK PASSENGER and go full Ted Bundy just doing it whenever he feels like it which is stupid which is why he's a proper serial killer and you'd be surprised how many proper serial killers exist that never got caught.
Edit: Don't google it, serial killers that never got caught. Very sad thing to look up so save yourself the room in your head for happier thoughts :D coz this will live rent free there. Viewer discretion advised.
I never thought Dexter was scary. Messed up, yeah. But you made me rethink it, and boy did it give me chills. It is pretty damn scary!! Great video. Really made me think.
Honestly I have always felt the same thing that you quoted his Dr stating, at least in regard to that "anomalies" in certain psyche's of humanity are moreso gifts that go against the perceived societal norm and cause great waves in that society, for better or for worse.
I don't romanticize mental disease and abnormalities especially as one with a few diagnosed myself, but I just haven't ever seen certain stigmas and such as warranted. Sure, you can have a case of a schizophrenic going ballistic under a psychotic episode and hurting people, but this doesn't mean that someone else dealing with the same thing is going to have the same outcome. It's all as complex as the human mind itself and generalizing just further alienates and demonizes.
Like you conclude about the overall shift in the ideas behind the show, we do indeed all encounter forks in the road where we are able to make a choice. Though one may make the "wrong" one, another well inevitably choose otherwise.
Great video! Would love more Dexter content to devour.
Especially in regards to the later seasons, I'm very glad to see someone who can appreciate what those seasons brought to the table. The myriad of ways they mirrored Dexter and presented him with familial opportunities definitely played a part in keeping my interest. Watching new blood now and I just want more dexter.
Dexter is terrifying because he got like 3 hot girlfriends while being an autistic psychopath.
The only thing terrifying about dexter is the capacity in which producers can take a great story and completely destroy it
Yea season 5 onwards kinda dipped, I did like a few of the later seasons, but they are nothing compared to the first 4 seasons.
Dexter is an amazing series, but I couldn't help but wonder why we seem to be content with Dexter being the moral authority of taking ones life over another as being good. I believe it does stem from the internal evil(as Jung said) we have in all of us. Some of us know we have it and are able to control our inhibitions. Others arent capable of even "going there" because they are either too naive or lack critical thinking. Dexter is fascinating to us because he is neither of these people, but yet we are willing to accept his actions as a moral executioner for the good of society. The reality is many of the murderers Dexter killed may have had the same terrifying childhoods as him, did but they chose a different moral path.
I’ll never forget how emotionally scarred I was after the end of S8…
It was simply unbelievable.
Dexter is a MASTERPIECE
If you haven't yet tried it, I think you'd really like Lost in Vivo. It's like Cry of Fear, but with a harder Silent Hill bent.
I think the blood theme instrumental on Dexter is one of the best instrumentals I’ve ever heard on the show the violent in the back is so beautiful
The terrifying part is it is realistic, plus he could be your next-door neighbor and you wouldn't even know.
The most terrifying thing about Dexter is the fact everyone wants to call him a Vigilante… he’s not he kills people for his own pleasure not because it’s the morally right thing to do, he was just trained to do it to other killers because his dad felt if someone has to die let it be a murderer then he brainwashed Dexter
Dexter is a great show.
Barry is another great show.
Barry is a more balanced show plus it has Hank.
@@saintoflastresorts2272 well, and unlike Dexter Barry does NOT have a drive to kill. He only started killing due to his PTSD and discharge from the military due to what happened in Koregal. Also his shit Uncle was only there for him and saw someone to exploit as Barry is so utterly broken and listless in season one he doesn't care about much til he takes the Chechnya gang job to kill that actor and hence discovers a new path. He could act! He could give up his killing life. He could be with that bich from his acting class. Dexter on the other hand doesn't have that. He savors and pretty much gets off on killing. Barry is a killing machine powered by PTSD.
I like the series dexter and the fact that it's inspired by similar events is all the more terrifying
My dad put me onto Dexter and I love it great show and it feels so real and relatable
Doing something good with bad behavior. This is my life. So he is completely relatable and never is he scary. One of the best character builds in all of TV shows.
Dexter never really disturbed me. The Hannibal show on the other hand...
I'm so glad the your initial curiosity of Dexter's free will was in play it's an amazing thing to discuss
Without Harry Dexter would be no better than ordinary serial killer. Brian didnt have Harrys guiding hand and look what happened to him.
I thought my favourite ever was Breaking Bad .
But since I started watching Dexter, I found myself watching it more repeatedly.
An interesting video, especially when talking about the Id. I am curious about if this lack of control is a delusion or just some kind of excuse from how he is a serial killer.
You just reminded me about just how much I need to rewatch this show
One thing i think people dont talk about enough is that he had to Sit for three days in his mothers blood without food or water extremely dehidrated many start to go crazy when dehidrated being só young forced to look at all this blood for só long should have made him crazy and delirious at least until he eats and drinks
I have watched this series about 20 times….it’s probably my favorite show that isn’t animated
Becoz he is played by Mike C Hall who plays scary really well.
The dark passenger is exactly that; a passenger. Dexter is behind the wheel.
I think people like Dexter use this kind of rethoric in order to water down the severity of their dark "passenger". Whether psychopaths like it or not, they can't wish away what they innately are by pushing their trouble aside as "demons", or in this case a dark passenger. I'd put my bets on the fact that they wrote this premise in for that exact reason, to give Dexter some kind of moral justification for his actions.
The most horror I've felt in a piece of media as of late has been watching the UK version of the Utopia TV series, zoo wee momma the implications in that show are good.
As I got older I became afraid of less things
,or more brave as the time went by .
Nice video!
On multiple occasions throughout the series, Dexter Tries to quit or at least Cut back on his dark tendencies and finds others doing the same. Now, obviously Dexter never truly succeeds in his attempts to quit, but in the process he applies, or is taught strategies on how he Could quit. But he never internalises any of these or attempts to combine them for greater effect.
What bothers me is; Dexter made a concerted effort Not to truly examine the way his addiction worked or how he could fight it best, and he was never really confronted with that, but I guess thats all just water under the bridge.
Unless some Serious Retconning occurs, Dexter can never be what it was before. The theme that actually Drove the story of Dexter was the effects that Dark Secrets have on people we care about. Over the course of the series, Dexter made mistakes and began running low on family, and then he ran out of secrets to keep from what was left of them. Now, there's no possible problem he could have that he wouldn't be able to solve with a knife or a quick road trip to another corner of the world.
We need people like Dexter! Too much trash around.
Then where does the killing begin and the killer end. He who lives by the sword dies by the sword, by cutting the tongue of a snake we create another. Evil is a fire that catches anyone who engages with it.
It's all down to Michael C Hall he is a terrific actor a genius at his craft
Yeah honestly this dude is like the Mozart of his craft and that might be an understatement. It's understated in the fact that some people may not see at first glance how absurd it is that actors like him can not only completely become indistinguishable with the characters they're portraying, but also switch it up at any point in time as well as act so meta that the audience will even forget what is real and what is not.
Creating a super-hero from a series killer, What a genius idea.
Have you read the novels? He's not that scary. He's a good hearted guy. He means well. He just feels insensitive towards his surroundings. That clearly fades once he has a child. Then, the new show, has him chasing after Harrison, to make sure he doesn't leave town.
dont get why people say he's scary. he offers no threat to you're if your not a killer. even if he doesn't have sensitive thoughts right away, every episode he learns to communicate better and i feel actually ponders if that is what he is feeling. because he is self aware. i feel like he does enjoy the connections he has.
@@GotoMaki4Micah technically speaking he's no threat if you aren't a killer who has repeated your crime and are likely to do it again. As there have been times he tried to show mercy to those who only initially killed once, giving them the chance to not repeat their actions.
With Dexter you are good, as long as your not a douch or a killer.
Some of my favorite dilemmas in this show stem from Dexter's either (very rare) accidental killing of innocents, endangering of innocents through his actions, and intentional killing of innocents out of self-preservation. I think the question of "Is a killer serial-killer morally distinguishable from a serial killer?" (especially when at least some of their reasoning for their vigilantism is selfish and obsessive) is really intriguing and (mostly) well portrayed here. Unfortunate it had a similar quality track record to game of thrones though...
It never sat right with me how easily he killed laguerta tho. I mean he couldn’t even kill doakes and doakes was a textbook asshole.
the best point of comparison is the false positive failure rate of the death penalty. Our own justice system has a rate at which it miscarries justice upon the innocent and sometimes that means executing innocents. If dexter’s rate is comparable or lower than trial by jury then frankly the question becomes one of whether we can accept such a failure rate at all (ie if execution is acceptable as a punishment).
I’d say the flaw in this ofc is that Dexter has no accountability. The problem with this vigilantism is precisely that there is no assurance to the public that Dexter’s activities are furthering any notion of justice or righteous vengeance.
All within a utilitarian moral framework naturally. If we took Kant’s categorical imperative you could probably argue that Dexter’s actions cannot be universalizable any more than any other killer’s and so there is no moral distinction.
But at least Dexter has a great new season to complete it now! Providing they stick the landing in the final episode...
Doubt we'll ever get that with GOT.
@@santi_super_stunts2573 technically he didn't kill laguerta, deb did and dexter looked as surprised as laguerta was, by the choice she made.
@@geoffreyfletcher6976 bruh he was in his kill outfit. He was gonna do it himself if deb didn’t arrive
Hahaha i just started watching the newest episode and your video popped up! gotta watch it after
First off it’s just a show.. an Amazing well written and great actors to portray the characters .. but it’s a show. Second the story alludes to Dexter being they way he is because of what happened to him and his mother, the reason Harry tried Sri safe Dexter not only through adopting him, but also through not institutionalizing him, but through helping him channel his tendencies and Not Het Caught is because Harry was Directly responsible for putting Dexter’s mother and him in the situation to begin with. Dexters Mother Was Harry’s CI and he was having an affair with her, and he used her to get close with the drug cartel to get information on them to bust them. She was found out so they brutally murdered her. This is also why we get Harry a cop , someone with a code of his own going against that code and teaching Dexter how to use it for something good. Because he carried the guilt of turning Dexter This way to begin with .
Interesting
And since Harry initially served as Dexter's moral compass along with the code, it's also why Dexter viewed his actions as being that of a protector of sorts, although in a somewhat warped way of protecting society for whatever his motivation was. And what's more he initially and mainly targeted those that the justice system legally had their chance to process and put away, but blew it. And lastly, unlike reality the character of Dexter never let the court of social media or public opinion sway his attempts to vett a target. However I think as he began to evolve, the flaws of the code either became more apparent or exhibited less channeling control over Dexter.
Our life events determine who we are in so much as we internalize those events and adapt or fail to.
Good video.
One of the issues with saying 'psychopathy is incurable' (which is the view of Hare and others) is that it effectively removes any incentive for the patient to seek (or participate in) clinical or behavioral assistance.
As others have said, it may even provide a convenient hand-wave away for them to deny all responsibility.
Perhaps. But some psychopaths are literally born with differences in their brain that makes them physically incable of getting better. They can maybe learn coping techniques, but there is no cure.
Sociopaths on the other hand has their lack of empathy stem from trauma, so you can treat that for sure.
(I know that clinically they are all called aspd, but this is a distinction that even professionals make because it affects what treatment they can get)
If you take a CT scan of a psychopaths brain you can actually see the differences
I never thought he was terrifying. I always thought Dexter was a breath of fresh air.
What a coincidence. I just finished watching Redo of healer. It's an anime very similar to Dexter. The main character of this anime is being raped, tortured and treated like complete garbage by those who were supposed to be his allies and the whole show revolves around him getting revenge on them in the most sick and brutal ways possible. And yet his just for revenge is justified at least in part. Those people who he kills or incapacitates were all murderers themselves.
That is not similar to Dexter at all lmao
9:20 I can't believe they are making a sequel with Christian Slater playing Harry. One of the biggest hang ups i saw was Dexters father leaving him in the dark about his older brother Brian. Resurrection seems promising 2025
If you like this TV show you need to go see the tv show called you
Say what you want about the writing but the characters on this show were phenomenal Dexter is one of the most intriguing fictional characters ever made and the last one I’d want to cross paths with
I disagree, I don't think Dexter would be so hated in real life. He literally kills people who harm innocent people. Are we gonna sit here and act like we wouldn't all be behind a Vigilante going after Pedophiles?
Dexter would absolutely be admired and praised by at least half the US.
There was a real life vigilante he went to jail for smashing pedos in the head with a. Hammer. Many people want him out of jail and call him a hero and support him. No doubt would people feel the same if dexter was real.. and he essentially is with in this real life vigilante
@@TheVioletBunny Dexter would and has tried killing innocent people if it meant him getting caught when he was a kid he harmed animals for pleasure he's actually a monster just like the ones he kills. What would happen if Dexter got caught and wasn't able to kill bad people anymore? What would he turn into? Who knows. Either way it's a liability all Dexter has to do to make his actions at least somewhat acceptable on a moral level is just not do the whole messed up ritualistic killing but he has to he literally gets off on it and that's pretty messed up.
That's what makes Batman's actions okay he generally avoids killing if he does kill it's absolutely and 100% necessary he doesn't do what he does because he enjoys it and he would never think to kill Commissioner Gordon because he wants to arrest the Batman. That's the difference between Dexter and a more idealistic vigilante like Batman.
Pressure of making a choice NOW in situations where you know your judgement will probably fail you was honestly more terrifying than any amount of gore.
Dexter isn't terrifying at all, unless you're a murderer. He only kills other murderers. Everyone else in the world has nothing to fear from him. Did you actually watch the show, Max?
You clearly lack the understanding of how people like Dexter really work. I can assure you that if you were to meet Dexter, find out that he is a killer that he would find a way to kill you regardless if he had to, no matter whether you fit his code or not.