At Least There's a Code

We've been watching episodes of Dexter lately. One after the other. It's become an addiction. A show that leaves you hanging, wondering all day what will happen next until you can finally come home from work and play a few more episodes. In the last week and a half we have burned through nearly 2 seasons and it's been a whirlwind.

The amazing part is this: You end up really liking a serial killer. It goes against every moral fiber of my being. This man kills people, because he can't help it. But he has a code of ethics, so that makes it ok right? His conscience prevents him from killing anyone undeserving of such an end. His victims are murderers; bad people that our lawful justice system fails to find or lock up. Our hero ... right? Is Dexter the dark defender, protector of the unprotected; the innocent? Even still, it disturbs me. To know there can be such a dark place in a person (his dark place grew in him at the age of three, after watching his mother get chain-sawed to death and then marinating in a pool of her blood for two days before he was found.) That's enough to attract evil demons; to rewire an otherwise innocent mind. It made me wonder how many real serial killers start their lives out in such a horrific manner. Are they really just born without feeling and human connection? Or does something so deep and disgusting cause it? I find the psyche of the human mind fascinating. Abnormal Psych was my favorite class in college. How can one person have a twisted beginning to life and turn out "normal," while another person has the perfect childhood but still ends up living in shadow? What Dexter developed into almost seems justified. Almost.

This show toys with my emotions; my beliefs. What's right and what's wrong, and where are the lines drawn? Or is it more of a gray area? Whatever it is, it has me feeling so sorry for Dexter. For what he became, for the good person he really is despite his unconventional "need." It's a weird, heavy unnatural thing to feel. Thank heavens this is all a bit of fiction. I can just chalk it up to excellent writing and supreme acting ... right?