Netflix Thriller Series Turns Serial Killer Into Twisted Antihero

Dexter follows Miami forensic technician Dexter Morgan, who works for the Miami Metro Police Department and moonlights as a serial killer who hunts down other killers he feels have escaped the justice system’s grasp. His vigilantism is fueled by his own internal bloodlust, which his foster father tried to redirect in a slightly more altruistic direction.

The series gets a lot of mileage out of Dexter trying to balance his normal life with his dark side, with each season getting a primary antagonist that challenges Dexter in different ways.

Dexter is a very watchable show with a formula that works pretty well and performances that elevate it to “prestige” TV status. Anchoring the cast is Michael C. Hall as the titular killer, whose measured and gripping performance manages to get you attached to Dexter even if you don’t necessarily agree with his methods. But there is one big downside to know before you decide to dive into the series – things go pretty downhill after the show peaks in Season 4.

To be fair to Dexter, when the show is good, it’s really good, but when it’s bad, it’s almost egregiously bad. Fortunately, the first four seasons are an easy recommendation, so at least you don’t have to skip around in the story if you want to only watch the good seasons. Season 4 is especially memorable as John Lithgow flips his warm and comforting screen presence on its head to portray the most terrifying killer in the entire show.

While it’s good to see a good show get popular, Dexter’s popularity may have been its ultimate downfall as it dragged on too long for its own good. If the series had wrapped things up in a satisfying manner in the season after the Lithgow season, it could have gone down as a top-tier TV show, but unfortunately, the latter seasons really drag down the bell curve. It also ends with one of the worst finales of all time, only making the later season watching more painful.

Still, the Dexter fanbase is pretty strong, as the backlash for the finale was so strong that the series was brought back with a miniseries nearly a decade later to give fans a more satisfying ending. Dexter: New Blood doesn’t necessarily end things perfectly, but it’s way better than the ending that fans were left with back in 2013. Now there’s also a prequel series on the way that follows a younger Dexter during his early career at Miami PD.

REVIEW SCORE

Overall, if you’re not a TV show completionist or you don’t mind watching a few seasons of bad TV, Dexter is worth the watch. If the show had ended in Season 4, it could be a four-star or five-star show, but it didn’t. If that doesn’t bother you, you can check out the series on Netflix now.