Despite its brilliance, Dexter suffers from a unique narrative disease: . The show was strongest when Dexter hunted a single, brilliant "Big Bad" (e.g., the Trinity Killer, played by John Lithgow in Season 4, widely considered the peak of TV drama). However, each season had to end with Dexter preserving his secret.
The brilliance of the show’s setup lies in "The Code of Harry." Dexter was adopted by police officer Harry Morgan (James Remar), who recognized early on that young Dexter had a violent void inside him. Rather than trying to cure him—a futile effort in the show’s universe—Harry channels Dexter’s urges. The Code dictates that Dexter can only kill those who deserve it: murderers who have escaped the justice system. tv shows dexter