What if Dexter was made in the style of Breaking Bad? With the main character becoming more and more morally ambiguous and giving us focus on the terrible consequences of his actions on his family, friends, and community?
Dexter Breaking Bad-style
- Thread starter Joe Washington
- Start date
Much as I love Dexter as it is, I'd definitely love some more moral ambiguity - something I feel has been stripped away, if anything, as of late. When the show began, Dexter killed primarily to satisfy his compulsive, innate need to kill. The positive social effects in removing a criminal from the streets was more incidental. Now, since becoming more of a family man, his desire to kill seems to be primarily driven more by concern for the victims/potential victims of his targets, rather than simply to satisfy his own "dark passenger". It's been a subtle shift, but I feel it has taken away some of the ambiguity around Dexter as a character.
I've never watched Breaking Bad (though about 239587 people have told me to start), so I can't comment there.
I've never watched Breaking Bad (though about 239587 people have told me to start), so I can't comment there.
Interesting comparison. I would have thought the two shows were pretty similar in their uncompromising approach and antihero protagonist. And they are similar, compared with most other shows on TV but yeah - Breaking Bad sugar-coats things less, taking the approach that Walter's real motive isn't to just to provide for his family but to break free from the milquetoast life he's lead. The cancer was just how the story kicked off. Now he's had a taste of the badass life, and he's not going back!
And of course Walter doesn't have Dexter's excuse of mental illness. He's a perfectly normal guy who knows right from wrong, and he's deliberately choosing wrong, which makes him far worse than Dex. (And considering he was responsbile for getting a whole planeload of people killed, his body count may actually be higher than Dexter's!)
I've been somewhat disappointed the way Dexter has softened up over the past two seasons. The Dark Passenger is still in evidence, but far too well under Dexter's control. I want to see that control snap.
And of course Walter doesn't have Dexter's excuse of mental illness. He's a perfectly normal guy who knows right from wrong, and he's deliberately choosing wrong, which makes him far worse than Dex. (And considering he was responsbile for getting a whole planeload of people killed, his body count may actually be higher than Dexter's!)
I've been somewhat disappointed the way Dexter has softened up over the past two seasons. The Dark Passenger is still in evidence, but far too well under Dexter's control. I want to see that control snap.
I bet the Rita in a Breaking Bad version of Dexter would have been pulled the thread behind Dexter's lies quicker than Dexter's Rita like Skylar did with Walter's lies.
Dexter started out so morally ambiguous that to do the story Breaking Bad style would kinda be going backwards.
But there's supposed to be a rogue-cop show called Justified starring Timothy Olyphant debuting soon. It looks like it's going to be more of a mindless macho vigilante romp than I'd prefer, but I suppose they could give it a Breaking Bad twist, where we start out thinking we're supposed to root for this guy but as the story goes along, we become less and less sure about that.
But there's supposed to be a rogue-cop show called Justified starring Timothy Olyphant debuting soon. It looks like it's going to be more of a mindless macho vigilante romp than I'd prefer, but I suppose they could give it a Breaking Bad twist, where we start out thinking we're supposed to root for this guy but as the story goes along, we become less and less sure about that.
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