For those that don't know: Dexter is an hour-long show that plays on Showtime. (Dexter is played by Michael C. Hall, who I think does really well playing weirdos.) It's about a serial killer named Dexter, who works in Florida as a blood-spatter expert. He is a sociopath; he doesn't have normal human feelings, and is compelled to kill, but was raised with a moral compass that means he only kills those who kill.
Season 1: What an AMAZING season. We saw the first episode or two at a friend's house and went and bought it ourselves the next day so we could keep watching. Dexter is kind of witty and weird in his serial killer ways. You find out why he's so good at doing what he does without getting caught, you learn a lot about his past and how he grew up with a really great adoptive family. The storyline in this season is incredible. The only thing that frustrated me was Dexter constantly monologuing about how emotionless he was. Oh, one of the great things about Dexter - when he's spying on a potential victim, breaking and entering, killing, etc., he wears the same grey-ish shirt and green cargo pants. Me and Treland call it his "I'm-doing-bad-shit" outfit. Just one of his weird quirks.
5 out of 5 stars
Season 2: Oh my god did I hate this season. It was still great and we still watched it as fast as we could, but it was infuriating. Dexter constantly screws stuff up - murders, relationships, etc. A huge mess of a character gets introduced called Lila. I hate her. I don't want to say too much there because I don't want to give anything away. But seriously, I hate her. Another thing is that Dexter was so self-doubting all the time and it was really annoying. He was constantly screwing things up for himself and then doubting his skills and what he should do. One of the things that makes Dexter a good character is that he's so confident in his badness, so this was a disappointment. The end of the season was pretty good though, lots of twists.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Season 3: MUCH better than season 2, and just slightly less great than season 1. Dexter is finally back on track and much more self-assured than he was last season. His entire personal life seems like it's finally falling into place, and it becomes extremely obvious how "human-like" he is becoming. While he may not feel as strong emotions as we all do, it's obvious that he's feeling something. There wasn't quite as good of a storyline as season 1, maybe just because it was less suspenseful. But that was probably a good thing - I wasn't staying up until 4 am because I couldn't wait to see what happened next! And it left me eagerly awaiting season 4.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Really, I highly recommend this show. I read the book that the show was based on, Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsey. Ehh. Definitely not as good as the show, and I don't recommend reading it before you try the show out. It is essentially the first season in book form, but the plot is no where near as intricate. This show quickly became one of my all-time faves. Now go rent, borrow, or buy it and enjoy it as much as I have!
~Sarah