Dexter shows in the eponymous series that he tries everything to hide his true self. One of his colleagues has not bought this from the start, but why is that?
What kind of series is Dexter? The series Dexter is a book adaptation about the fictional character Dexter Morgan, who works as a blood specialist in the homicide department. Secretly, Dexter is a serial killer who kills criminals to quench his thirst for blood. In addition to the 8 seasons of the original series, there are:
- Dexter: New Blood (2021): Continuation with 10 episodes
- Dexter: Original Sin: Dexter’s backstory as a spin-off
- Dexter: New Beginning: Continuation of New Blood
In the series, Dexter almost always manages to hide his actions or secretly catch new criminals. However, in the first season, there is Sergeant Doakes, who has never liked Dexter and suspects him from the start. At first glance, Doakes seems like a pretty bad colleague, but if everyone had listened to him, the series would have ended quickly.
Doakes always suspected that Dexter was hiding something
Why did Doakes know something? Even though Dexter always tries to hide things perfectly, Sergeant Doakes realized from the start that something was off with Dexter. Doakes initially comes across as a pretty unfriendly colleague. He didn’t just dislike Dexter; he seemingly hated him deeply.
As YouTuber DexterTime explains in a YouTube video, Doakes reacted questioningly to many statements. Dexter’s understanding and fascination with murder and blood always seemed suspicious to him. But he seems to be the only one. Even after he tells his former partner that something is wrong with Dexter, she ignores it. Only Doakes realizes that Dexter is playing a façade.
But it’s not just because Doakes finds him weird
. In the series, Dexter is often seen instinctively recognizing other serial killers. This seems to be the case with Doakes as well. Doakes has killed many people throughout his career. This is also an important plot point in Season 2.
Doakes, as a former member of a special unit, has dealt with disturbing things. Dexter himself calls him a killer in Season 2 and compares himself to him. While Doakes cites his job as a reason for killing people, Dexter cites his own code of only killing criminals. DexterTime assumes that Doakes can recognize this, just as Dexter recognizes other killers (via YouTube).
In the books, James Doakes is the character Albert Doakes. In there, Dexter even assumes that he has a Dark Passenger
that expresses itself in his willingness to commit violence. The Dark Passenger
is essentially the urge to do what one does.
Even though Dexter is the (anti)hero of the story, much suffering could have been avoided if he had been arrested. Not only because people close to him would have survived. Dexter has often manipulated investigations, causing the department to take longer to solve cases.
As viewers, one may rightly ask why no one noticed anything. Doakes’ handling of his suspicion was probably a bit rough. However, if you try to see the series a little more realistically, it is rather strange that throughout the series hardly anyone suspects Dexter.
- Dexter is constantly missing at work, claiming he must go to a crime scene, but that could easily be checked.
- In Season 2, Agent Lundy mentions that Dexter had faulty blood analyses in the past.
- With several people who have been killed, Dexter had public contact and no one questioned it.
- In some cases, Dexter is the incredible blood expert and in others he is not.
- He regularly makes evidence disappear.
From season to season, it becomes increasingly implausible, but that probably doesn’t ruin the fun of the series. Especially Dexter’s feigned charm can often save him. If you’ve already seen Dexter, you might find an alternative in this list: 5 series like Dexter
