He most certainly is.
It could be said he does the right thing for the wrong reasons, which would make him an Anti-Hero or Sociopathic Hero, but he often does the wrong thing for the wrong reasons as well.
No matter how well he rationalizes it to himself (and the audience) he has tampered with evidence to let guilty men free, killed innocent people, and indirectly caused many innocent deaths because of his "hobby." If he was doing it for the right reasons then I think that you could make an argument, but as-is, he's definitely a villain protagonist. A bit more heroic than most examples, but still an example (Tropes Are Flexible and all).
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I replied in the discussion page for Villain Protagonist.
You've got roaming bands of armed, aggressive, tyrannical plumbers coming to your door, saying "Use our service, or else!"
The Dead Man Dancing
Is Brother Sam really a Magical Negro? While Dexter seems to respect him he doesn't really follow his advice. Also, Brother Sams's flock is mostly black and hispanic street types. And he's not really folksy. His wisdom doesn't come from the fact that he's black, it come's from the fact that he's a man with a dark past who was able to overcome it in a way Dexter doubts that he can.
I feel like he's more just a mentor that happens to be black, rather than a true Magical Negro.
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What does everyone else think about Brian Moser? A bloody violent sociopath? Somewhat caring brother? Or something more?
Personally, I loved the relationship between Dexter and Brian, and the character has always struck me as very interesting, but I was wondering what other people thought about him?
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Re: Lila and her character appeal. I realize the actress is (supposed to be) irresistible to heterosexual men (I'm female & hetero), but as a character she grated on me right from the first. Over-done sexy voice ("Jussssssst lengtheninnnnng aaaaall yur words makes it so sek-syyyyyy..."), pushy, egocentric and seems to use the same smirking smile 50% of the time. When she was for a moment not putting on the "sexiest thing alive" show I could actually take her serious as a character, but I can think only of one example: when she was contemplating the artwork she burned in the end. It doesn't help that she uses the same over-sexed style in pretty much any character I've ever seen her in. With the same hand-reaching-for-remote-control effect on me.
How does that work for male (or not-so-straight female) tropers?
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The thing with Lila is that she was SUPPOSED to be overly sexy. As a sociopath, she doesn't have the same knack for human interactions like we do — so she copies and fakes what she sees others do. Lila seems to be using her sexuality to as a disguise and to blend in better.
In canon, Angel is shown being irritated with Lila's obsession with Dexter — only interested in her for the sex. Confidence can be very attractive, and Lila's actress is hardly ugly.
Does anyone else find Deb ridiculously unattractive? I am not picky when it comes to women, but she is just way too skinny. Add to the fact that she takes the tough chick thing way too far, I find it hard to believe she's been able to screw five different guys over five different seasons. (Rudy, Gym Guy, Lundy, Anton, and Quinn).
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It's subjective. She was good enough for Michael C. Hall, and clearly he could have any shorty he wants. Besides, five guys in five years? I've had sex with more guys than that and I'm basically straight.
Is Dexter truly a doom magnet? what would have happened had he never existed? This is the discussion from the main page:
- How would the lives of the characters have played out without Dexter around? Deb would've gotten more attention, Harry wouldn't have killed himself, Rita would likely still be alive... And a whole host of other things.
- Debatable — wouldn't Rita still be harassed by her abusive ex, Harry still a canoodler, and Deb now alone in the world, etc? Not to mention, there would be a lot more murderers around...
- Oh, trust me, I support Dexter 100% in his work, regardless of his reasoning. But being harassed by your ex is better than not being alive. And the same thing with Harry, with a bit different wording. Though I love "canoodler," I admit. Deb would still be alone, but she would perhaps have been a stronger person with less daddy issues. (Which is not to imply that she's not made of stern stuff, but she doesn't bend. She just breaks.) She might even be capable of healthy, stable relationships. Doakes would still be alive unless he died in the line of duty, and then he'd probably be remembered a bit differently. La Guerta wouldn't have had to deal with losing
twothree close friends so close together. Etc. - Doakes would have been laid off for being mentally unstable, discharging firearms into unarmed or surrendering subjects. Arrest, or suicide, comes soon after given his personality. Rita likely would have been killed by her ex who isn't really her ex if she ever tried to stand up to him, or would have spent her life in constant fear if she didn't. Harry would have killed himself for a different reason, the hopeless depair he was experiencing in his final days about criminals being let go on technicalities. Laguerta wouldn't have Angel, and would witness first hand (going by the shows timeline) two of her close friends revealed to be psychopaths (Miguel Prados actions were gonna happen either way, he's that kind of person. All Dexter really taught him was how to cover his tracks). Debra, well, we can't exactly say definitively how the character would have turned out as an only child, but presuming she'd definitively be better off? Bit of a stretch.
- Not that I meant to start a huge thing, but...my reasoning was thus: Doakes was pretty much protected by La Guerta, as mentioned further down the page. Without Dexter giving him the "fucking creeps," he'd have more room to be a dick before her tolerance ran out. So it's difficult to accurately discern his fate, really. It's been mentioned that Deb really only became a cop to get Harry's attention, so it's not entirely unreasonable to assume that, without Dexter taking up all of his time, she'd have been better off. As you say, it's not set in stone, but it doesn't seem such a terrible stretch. Regardless, perhaps I should've put this on the WMG page instead...clearly my reasoning was note quite as sound as I'd hoped. Apologies for inspiring (and contributing) so much natter.
- While it is very unlikely Harry would have killed himself for a different reason, he would still have died without Dexter around to prevent the nurse from intentionally giving him a morphine overdose.
- On the other end of the scale, there would be roughly 70 killers (give or take a dismembered body or two) on Miami's streets right now if Dexter didn't do what he does. As he wondered after speaking with Lundy about killing and what does and doesn't justify it, how many more innocent people would have died if he hadn't stopped those killers?
- The only person who we could think would be better off and not hurting people for it would be Masuka. Without Dexter to completely overshadow him, he might have laid off the need to act like a pervert all the time to get people's attention. But when the only way you don't make life better is when a friend of yours is less of a sleazeball, I think you can step away from the railings, George
- Oh, trust me, I support Dexter 100% in his work, regardless of his reasoning. But being harassed by your ex is better than not being alive. And the same thing with Harry, with a bit different wording. Though I love "canoodler," I admit. Deb would still be alone, but she would perhaps have been a stronger person with less daddy issues. (Which is not to imply that she's not made of stern stuff, but she doesn't bend. She just breaks.) She might even be capable of healthy, stable relationships. Doakes would still be alive unless he died in the line of duty, and then he'd probably be remembered a bit differently. La Guerta wouldn't have had to deal with losing
- Debatable — wouldn't Rita still be harassed by her abusive ex, Harry still a canoodler, and Deb now alone in the world, etc? Not to mention, there would be a lot more murderers around...
Something that's been bugging me about the page quote of Villain Protagonist. The title character of Dexter is described as a Villain Protagonist through the quote, but he's not listed as one either on this page or the series page.
The point is — can Dexter objectively be called a Villain Protagonist? He is a serial killer, but he only kills murderers who have escaped the law. He does it out of bloodlust, but he also allows himself to believe that he is a vigilante. He also deeply cares about his family, friends, and coworkers. All in all, this character really skirts the line between this trope, Sociopathic Hero, Anti-Hero, and Anti-Villain.
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