Dexter

Season 1: A small, kind and addictive audience scam that looks terribly radical, but is actually just a black-humor throw-down of many accepted clichés. Dexter is not nearly as dark a figure as he would like to be - in fact, he quite obediently conforms to audience expectations and does not embark on the thin edge of ethics – inevitably, Doakes' "post-war" revenge on the Haitian criminal is much more problematic than his rampage. Who would want to judge that adorable darling (the teddy bear my girlfriend dubbed him to be)? Dexter entertained me in the first season, despite the relatively early revelation of who the ice truck killer is and what the deal is with him and the main protagonist. The weird feeling is compensated by excellent actors and perhaps even better written minor characters. And I really enjoy Dexter's family life. I'm not saying that more could not be gotten out the character of a murderous sociopath with a reputation as a great guy, but what the creators have made works and entertains. (09/13/2010)

Dexter is a series that relies on a charismatic character, and we have not seen this type of interesting serial killer with such a well-constructed and audience-appealing nature since the days of Doctor Lecter. The series has everything - tension, crimes, intrigues, passions, perversions, well-written typified characters, and a series of unexpected twists. It's a top-notch, cleverly structured commercial product that earns points primarily due to the atmosphere and Dexter's internally detached ironic commentary. Do you like cool entertainment, provocation, and deviation from the mainstream, but at the same time nothing that is profound and hard to digest? Give Dexter a watch. That is, assuming you don't mind the moral relativization that goes very far in the series. To understand, Dexter is a psychopath and a serial killer who is fortunate enough to work as a forensic investigator for the Miami police, and from his position, he has a unique opportunity to hide his tracks, regardless of his intimate knowledge of police methods. Apart from the two mentioned minor flaws, Dexter is a nice guy with good manners and a carefully maintained appearance, who sincerely serves the purpose of becoming normal, starting a family, and overcoming his handicap. At least he still adheres to the code - torturing and killing exclusively those who deserve it, i.e., criminals and immoral people. To make it even easier for the viewer, they are generally unsympathetic people, additionally shown in unfavorable situations - simply characters that you won't miss and won't sympathize with. Dexter's battles with underworld opponents are as thrilling as the knowledge that Dexter is treading on dangerous ground within the police district, and the screenwriter occasionally exposes him to dangerous tests. Granted, from a psychological standpoint, the concept of the character is absolutely nonsensical, and the resolution of the first season is insultingly stupid, or as if it was something out of a crazy parody. The successful plot is constantly recycled in all the seasons, and the series ends in the most banal way just when the audience is tired of it and its ratings are declining. Overall impression: 60%. (08/16/2017)

Dexter definitely isn’t like the classical crime shows there were so many around at the time when it aired. Of course, it isn’t, it was supposed to be different and it was. And that was the very reason why I started watching it. However, I stopped after season three because I was no longer enjoying it and it took another five years before the series was over, which forced me to get back to it and finish watching it, so that I could post an objective review here. I have to admit that I was really excited about Dexter. Finally, there was a show that was original and unconventional. It doesn’t happen often that you would root for a serial killer, but so be it. But as time went on, I kept noticing the show was pretty repetitive. It was no longer original. In the end, I have to say that the series ended quite well. I’ve seen better, but also much worse series finales. And this will definitely be one of those I will never forget, which is good. You can clearly see that everybody has only one karma. I don’t want to spoil it for you so I will leave it at this. I think that a four-star rating is pretty appropriate. If it was a bit shorter, I wouldn’t mind at all, but it’s clear that the authors were forced to drag it on a bit. (01/29/2014)

The series has definitely become one of my favorites, although it’s true that I missed the old Dexter in the last two seasons - a cynical and emotionally empty narrator. It was his sense of humor, so dry that you shouldn’t use open fire in the vicinity, which perfectly complemented the great suspense and action. The amazing atmosphere was supported by an excellent score. Although I’m not a huge fan of this music genre, it fit here perfectly. (07/02/2019)

At a time when the word "series" is becoming almost an annoying concept, from the depths of inconspicuousness comes a stylish blockbuster that is three levels above its contemporaries. Dexter - the absolutely divine Michael C. Hall - will wrap anyone interested in his adventures around his finger with his cynically black-humored look into the soul of a cold-blooded killer who wears a police badge around his neck. The series then radically changes its image after this brilliant maneuver into a detective story that will make the viewer taut as a string, to reveal, piece by piece, more secrets, the discovery of which not only brings no relief but also, through its subtlety, leaves the audience in a state of total consternation, from which it only wakes up when the credits of the last episode roll. After the end of the first season, I can safely say that in the current flood of series, Dexter is among the very best! There are certainly things to criticize in the subsequent seasons (the predictable crime storylines, underdeveloped characters, lapses in logic), but Dexter's reflections on life (the fantastic flirtation with religion and faith in the sixth season) are simply incredible and keep pushing the series forward. Unfortunately, the final eighth season is something that shifts the series into the science fiction genre, written by the screenwriters of a family soap opera. The development of the main character was fascinating until someone rubber-stamped the creators' approval of Dexter's lobotomy. (12/21/2006)