What A Way To Start: ‘Dexter’ Season 1 Review

Introduction

There’s always that one TV show that first got us interested in TV. Like, the kind of TV where you binge multiple episodes in a day, search for fans who agree with you, try to get everyone to watch your favourite TV show and get a little too invested in the show.

That was Dexter for me. A show that made me really care about TV because it could be really really good.

When I first watched it, I watched a lot of it on my phone and it was quite the experience. I devoured this series. I was very late to the party so I was aware that the show really went to crap after the fourth season and the ending was a joke but I still decided to give it a go and it was worth it.

When Dexter’s Good, it’s really good

Dexter is a crime-drama about blood spatter analyst, Dexter Morgan, who investigates murders with Miami Metro Police Department and moonlights as a serial killer. We follow his life, his adoptive sister Debra Morgan, his colleagues, and his love life.

The show has a total of eight seasons but the fourth season is ideally where anyone watching should stop. That’s not to say that the later seasons are all bad, they just don’t live up, they have some good . They undo everything the first few seasons did and really, season 4 has an ending that makes the story feel complete.

So. For this rant. I’ll be focussing on the first four glorious seasons. This article is going to be part 1 of 4 or 5, I haven’t decided yet.

Dexter season 1 has some of the best writing in a TV show, in terms of how efficient it is. Episode one of the show is a perfect episode of TV. The writing is tight. It gives you all the information you need and it sets up all the characters of the show as well as the big mystery for season 1.

Dexter Morgan

Season 1 is wonderful. The editing is great, there’s just the right amount of cheesiness and we see the character of Dexter brought to life by Michael C. Hall who embodies the character to terrifying perfection. The portrayal of Dexter is the main draw of this series. Dexter is a serial killer, but he only kills bad guys, he’s clever, he follows a code, he genuinely cares about his relationships. He has a sense of humour, he’s good at what he does, Dexter is complex. And none of that would have translated to the screen had it not been for the way the character is acted.

The performance has nuance, it makes you want to root for Dexter despite the fact that he’s a murderer and season 1 embodies that with Dexter learning new things about himself. It’s such a brilliant season that doesn’t mess around or waste time.

We also spend a fair bit of time with Debra, Dexter’s adoptive sister played by Jennifer Carpenter. Deb is foul mouthed and still trying to make a name for herself and finding her place in Miami Metro. She’s hardworking and eager, she’s the only real relationship in Dexter’s life for a very long time. Debra starts right from the bottom and we see her learn and grow throughout. As the series progresses she establishes herself as one of the strongest characters in the show.

She also comes off as the most human of all the characters in the show. She cares deeply, especially evident in the first season.

The Mystery of Season 1

The mystery in season 1 is just so creepy. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and even when you know who the killer is (which is not left to the finale and gives us enough time to get to know the character) there’s so much to explore. The killer also has a personality.

Season 1 is just so good. The writing, the characters, the way these characters change and develop, it’s all just so well done.

I also really appreciated the editing here. They don’t always make bold choices but when they do it really sets the tone.

Season 1 is really the foundation of the series with events of this season having repercussions down the line. It’s such a thrill to watch it because it sets the tone for the rest of the series and it holds up surprisingly well even after all the years.

The Vibes

In my rewatch of the series this year, what I noticed was how carefully Dexter sets everything up. It builds on itself and it rewards the audience for paying attention.

Special mention to the title sequence and the soundtrack that give the show its identity. Dexter’s tense music is its personality. The sounds of Miami make the city feel as much a part of the show as New York is to How I Met Your Mother. The score overall is particularly immersive. It’s essential to the soul of the show. Dexter without creepy background music isn’t Dexter at all.

However, sometimes I think we often overlook just how strong of an aesthetic identity the show has. It uses cheese to elevate the show from any ol’ cop show to something that’s a lot more thoughtfully constructed. The blood is red to an alarming degree, the language is crude, the humour is distasteful and the main character does despicable things and the show is better for it.

Right from season 1 even the baddies each season have a style, something distinctive, something that translates well to a screen. Particularly true in seasons 1 and 4. (season 6 also technically count here but I will be ignoring that because by that point the storytelling made the show near unwatchable. Nowhere near as bad as season seven’s Russian mob plot but I’m getting carried away here.)

The show makes for a fantastic re-watch as well, it lets you really absorb those striking visuals since the first time around you’re too occupied with the story. Season 1 rewards you for re-watching, but it’s also obvious that the show was aired weekly because certain facts and events are repeated over and over again. This can be a little frustrating but since most of this is done through Dexter’s inner monologue it’s not so bad.

The show isn’t flawless and I still cringe at Dexter calling it his ‘Dark Passenger’ but I’ll forgive that.

Conclusion

Re-watching this show all the way from season 1 breaks my heart because of the legacy this could have had. It could have been considered one of the best shows ever, one of those instant recommendations. And I suppose, for a brief period in the late 2000s, it was. But to watch a show build itself such a strong foundation and then implode on itself is devastating. I feel for the creators, actors and everyone else who was involved in the production of the early seasons because they almost made something great. Something unmissable.

But that’s something we’ll get to later, for now, it’s all about the glory of season 1. A season of TV that acts as a perfect set up. A beginning so well written that it led to seven more seasons and a spin-off a decade later.