Dexter Morgan was the villainous protagonist of the Dexter TV series. A serial killer who satiates his urges by killing criminals, Dexter was also not above murdering innocents when they come close to discovering his true identity or are just unlucky.
What makes him sympathetic?[]
- His mother was killed when he was only 3 years old. This incident messed him up and lead him to have sadistic urges and to desire to kill people.
- He genuinely loved his adoptive father, Harry, and follows his ideology an even avenges his death.
- Even though Dexter is a serial killer, he follows Harry's Code and targets only criminals. This is his way to satiate his sadistic urge to kill without hurting innocent people.
- Dexter genuinely loves his adoptive sister, Debra, protects her from his brother and tell her "I love you!" in her last moments.
- He genuinely loves Rita, marries her and the two of them have a son, Harrison.
- Rita is killed by another serial killed and Dexter is left to live with remorse that he could have prevented her death.
- Dexter genuinely loved his son, Harrison, and is concerned about his future. He wants him to become a better person than him and not become a serial killer.
- Sometimes Dexter wishes to simply lead a normal life and not be a serial killer. However, he can't control his urges to kill and so he needs to satisfy them.
- After Dexter kills an innocent man because he had been enraged, Dexter is devastated because he had broken his Code, which shows that he has a sense of honor.
- Dexter helps out a woman named Lumen Pierce, who had been raped by a gang of psychopaths. The two of them track down the gang and kill them.
- He develops a genuine friendship with another killed named Brother Sam.
- Dexter takes Zach Hamilton under his wing and is proud of him when he lives by the Code.
- His relationship with Debra is strained after she had discovered that he is a serial killer.
- Dexter starts a romantic relationship with Hannah McKay and the two of them plan to move to Argentina with Harrison.
- In the end, Dexter fakes his own death because he believes that he must protect the people he loves in his life. He then moves Pacific Northwest, works as a lumberjack and stops his killing spree.