Asexual Representation: Is Dexter Morgan an Ace Icon!?

Transcript

Courtney: Hey everyone. Welcome to our second installment of “Asexual Representation.” My name is Courtney. I am here with Royce. Together, we are The Ace Couple.

Courtney: In our first episode of Asexual Representation. We talked about the show ‘Sex Education.’ Which is one that I often see discussed in...the asexual community. Ordinarily speaking, it is. Discussed pretty favorably in the...community. We had a bit of a controversial. Opinion. We didn’t think it was quite as good. As the online discourse. Would have you believe. But today. Our topic is gonna be, maybe, a little more interesting, because we’re gonna be discussing a show that. I rarely, if EVER, see discussed…

[laughs]

Courtney: ...in asexual circles. And, with the brand new season out. What better time, than now, to talk about. Our. Favorite. Psychopathic. Serial killer. Ace icon. Dexter Morgan!

Royce: Just to be clear. Yes, we are both aware of the problematic tendency for media to show villains. As also being ace, or trans, or something non-heteronormative, as a part of their villainous. Identity. Yes, that’s an issue. Yes, it’s very widespread. Also. Some of the ace lines from Dexter are...great.

Courtney: They’re SO great! No. This is the thing. This is why it makes it hard...to talk about. And this is probably why it doesn’t get discussed very often in the ace community. Because. It is so awful. We don’t want. A prominent. Representation, to be. A literal serial killer. That’s not what we want! And yet...

Courtney: We’re gonna read some of these lines for you. Because the very first season. Of. Dexter. Had us absolutely in stitches. Rolling on the floor, at...some of these lines. Which, I’m sure. There were allosexual people watching this show, who... Maybe they thought it was a little funny? But it probably didn’t resonate with them on the level that it did, for. Us. It just...got really, really, real sometimes.

Royce: I think that’s probably true. I assume we’ll talk about this more throughout the episode. But, these lines are heaviest. In the pilot. Itself. They continue through season one, and then this...speech pattern. This inner monologue, is sort of dropped. I think it’s because the show writers. Wanted to take Dexter. The antihero. And make him more relatable. To the widespread audience. And so they did that, by...giving him a girlfriend. Giving him sexual urges, and whatnot. Because...serial killer, alright, maybe some people can understand that. But not wanting to have sex? That’s just too [crosstalk][03:15] far.

Courtney: Too far! Too far.

[Courtney laughs]

Courtney: No. We will absolutely talk about that more, because... These specific lines aside. That are...hilarious. Perfect ace humor. Everything else is deeply, deeply problematic. There are several layers of problematic. Which we’ll get into. But first, I wanna have a little fun!

[laughs]

Courtney: Right off the bat. Less than 15 minutes in, to the pilot episode of Dexter. We already know. This man. Is a murderer. We’ve already seen his murder ritual. Every fan of Dexter will. Be well-acquainted with the...plastic wrap. And the blood slides, that he takes after making a cut on the right cheek of his victims, for a trophy. That’s the ritual. You see it repeatedly,we’re already well-exposed to that. They really have already dug in the...not just, “no empathy” psychopath. They really, really dig in the ‘I don’t have any emotions or feelings. What.so.ever.’ Which is also just...not. What. Psychopathy is? Or. ANY. Personality disorder, for that matter. We’re also getting into some. Severe ableism, also.

[laughs]

Courtney: So take all of this with a grain of salt. We know it’s terrible.

[Courtney laughing frequently throughout]

Courtney: Less than 15 minutes in. A woman from across a parking lot, winks. At Dexter. Just winks at him. And his internal monologue says, [low, brooding voice] “I wish she’d stop that. It’s one of those...mating rituals, which I really don’t understand.” It’s so good! Because I have absolutely had. That. Internal monologue before! Which, I don’t know if that’s just a ‘me’ thing. Or if that’s an ace thing. But when I do, in my head, think about general allo culture, and general culture of hypersexuality. I find it very amusing, to...talk about terms. Very much like that. [clinically] “The mating ritual.” “The endless pursuit of fornication.” Using overly...formal, and impersonal, language. Is...MY personal ace humor. This was. Way too good.

Courtney: Internal monologue aside. We also have. This really...clever juxtaposition, of...Dexter, with his environment, and the other people around him, as they’re actually conversing. He actually works, as we find out, in the...homicide department, of Miami Metro Police Department. And he’s...a blood spatter analyst. If any of you haven’t watched Dexter– should we say “spoiler alert” for Dexter? Do we need to say “spoiler alert” for a show that’s been out for, what, a decade at least?

Royce: I think that time has passed.

Courtney: [teasing] The time has passed!

[Courtney laughing frequently throughout]

Courtney: As soon as Dexter gets in to the police department, you are immediately exposed to this. Incredibly...bro-y...culture. Everyone. Has...a foul mouth. Everyone’s...really sexually open. People are making dirty jokes left and right. Even his sister– the one woman in a unit of men– is very much getting in on this bro culture.

Courtney: It’s so amusing, after already being exposed to this internal monologue, to see how he interacts with people. Not long after, someone says, “Ah, well. That woman, she wasn’t happy. She just needs to get laid.” And Dexter looks really confused, and not sure exactly what to say. So he just says, “Uhh. I guess.” My compliments to Michael C. Hall, as well, who plays Dexter. He’s a very good actor. He’s the reason, I think, why Dexter works– on any level?– as a character, in this otherwise. Really. Weird. Problematic show.

[Courtney laughing frequently throughout]

Courtney: I can even relate to that, on a certain level. I mean, I haven’t worked in a police department. I’ve worked in places that had a really...I guess I said bro-y already. Fratty? Culture. It feels more...like a frat house, than...an office. All of the managers are men, and they’re all friends, and...the culture gets really toxic, really quickly. Long ago, I...[posh voice] was a department lead at a banking call center. The management was overwhelmingly men. They would say SO many problematic things. It’s a wonder there weren’t any more HR violations!

Courtney: Being...a woman in that culture, I was very often...the receiving end of their really snide marks. Like, I am disabled, I would often come to work feeling...bad. Feeling...sick. Because I was. Every time, without fail, if I would...let on that I wasn’t feeling too well, it would be like, “Oh, are ya pregnant?” ‘Cause clearly, that’s the only reason why a woman could be feeling a little under the weather. If I was frustrated with something– no matter how justified it was– “Oh, is it your time of the month?” Things that people should never have to deal with, in a professional working environment. I’ve definitely been the woman, there.

Courtney: It does get really uncomfortable, when there’re a lot of sexual comments. But, in my case. Being the woman in that equation. There were a lot of sexual comments actually directed. At ME. Especially...off the clock, at the end of the day, if people go out...for drinks on a Friday together. Or, if there’s...an office party, and people are cutting loose a little bit. I would get. Inappropriate, sexual comments. Directed at me. I can only imagine that...if I were an asexual man, in that situation. And everyone just thought I was on board, with the bro thing. I would very much be like Dexter. I’d just be like...

[nervous stammering]

Courtney: “...Sure?!”

[laughs]

Courtney: Well. I would like to think I would be the kind o’ man who’d be like, “Hey, man. That’s not cool.” But, who knows? Who knows.

Courtney: Speaking of Friday nights, and cutting loose. The very next line that we get of Dexter’s internal monologue about his real feelings of sex, is really, really where it drives...it home. It’s never explicitly stated, “Dexter is asexual,” but this almost transcends ace coding. You talk about...queerbaiting. Or, queer-coded characters. This is...all but saying the word. You basically define it, outright. This is...just wild. He’s out, at the club. He’s walkin’ around, and he says, [low, brooding voice] “Friday night. Date night, in Miami. Every night is date night, in Miami. And everyone is having sex. But for me? Sex never enters into it. I don’t understand sex. Not that I have anything against women, and I certainly have an appropriate sensibility about men. But...when it comes to the actual act of sex. It always just seemed so...undignified. But I have to play the game. And, after years of trying to look normal, I think I’ve met the right woman for me.”

Courtney: Before we talk about the problems with the woman...

[laughs]

Courtney: ...that’s “right for him.” That’s so good! But really. At this point, with everything that has been explicitly stated, I don’t even know that you need the word “asexual.” They are clearly trying to make this character asexual. But the problem with this is...they did not write him to be an asexual character from the perspective of trying to give him depth. They wrote him as an asexual from the perspective of making him shallower. And dehumanizing him. They were really, really trying to dig in the antihero. The, “This man not only has no empathy, he has no emotions. At. All!” And they use sex, and sexual attraction, sexual urges, to be another thing. Like, ‘How. Weird! That this guy doesn’t have that! Clearly, he must be a monster.’ That’s horrible.

Courtney: I mean, from this perspective, too– with everything we’re presented with– you could very. Very obviously, make the leap that he’s not only asexual, but he’s also...aromantic. Because, ‘No feelings at all. No feelings means no romance. No sex. No love!’ That’s another really...problematic thing. There are genuinely people who think, if you don’t experience sexual attraction. Or if you don’t experience romantic attraction, or certainly, if you don’t experience both. You can’t love. You are soulless. You’re heartless. You are a monster. You are a psychopath. That is. The trope. That’s why...Dexter’s our PROBLEMATIC fave.

[laughs]

Courtney: I want. A character. That has this same internal monologue, but is...not a psychopath? Is that too much to ask for?

[laughs]

Courtney: It’s at this point that we are...acquainted...with. Dexter’s...girlfriend. Her name is Rita. He goes on to explain all of the horrible traumas she’s experienced. Including...sexual abuse, from her ex. Of course, she has experienced trauma, so now, she’s completely uninterested in sex. And Dexter says, “That works for me!” But now you’ve added this extra layer...of problematic. In, “Here are the two reasons why people wouldn’t be interested in sex. You have. Deep. Trauma. From your past. Or you’re a psychopath.”

Courtney: But...then the show decides, “You can only be psychopath [sic] if you have that deep trauma!” So it all comes back to trauma again, at the end. Because– we don’t know this yet, but spoiler alert!– Dexter had a traumatic childhood.

[laughs]

Courtney: And that’s why he is the way he is! The show really takes that, and runs with it, also. I think...is it...literally. Every single...killer we encounter, in this series. Has. Some level, of childhood trauma?

Royce: At least, most of them do. At least, the big. Season-long, antagonistic. Serial killers. Generally. Most of the time, if not always, have trauma. I’d have to see a list. There may be one or two exceptions

Courtney: There may be, but...it gets comical, honestly, as the seasons go on. Dexter is a serial killer, but he...only kills other serial killers. Or, he only aspires to kill other serial killers. So, we meet a lot of killers. And they all have trauma!

Royce: Yeah. Apparently Miami is where, basically, every serial killer in...the United States. Lives. [brightly] Or goes to vacation!

Courtney: Oh, yeah! They did have vacation killers at one point, didn’t they? I think there is... Which, again, the showrunners really...don’t. Give a fuck. About portraying mental illness in...ANY...reasonable light. Because I do recall one serial killer. ...probably? Having. Schizophrenia. I don’t know if they specifically use that word or not. They really pumped up the [spookily] “He is delusional. His hallucinations are telling him to do murders.”

[frustrated stammering]

Courtney: Not all serial killers are mentally ill.

[laughs]

Courtney: And not all mentally ill people. Are serial killers! What a concept.

Courtney: After we’re introduced to the...traumatized girlfriend who’s uninterested in sex, who is... That is the reason why Dexter has found her. He wants to appear “human.” He wants to appear as though...he’s a normally functioning human in society, with a normal range of human emotions. And in order to do that, he doesn’t want to have to have sex. So he picks. The traumatized woman.

Courtney: After we get past all that. The first season. Really understands. The comedic value. Of Dexter being asexual, in...a very sexual environment. There are little, subtle things that aren’t even necessarily dialogue, but it’s like, “I know that look. I see what you’re doing.” While he’s on his date, another murder has transpired, so he has to run off an’...do the blood spatter thing.

[laughs]

Courtney: One of the other cops– one of these super bro-y cops– says, “Who wants to work on a Friday night? I have my needs!” Dexter does not say a word, but gives him the most glaring, silent, side-eye.

[laughs]

Courtney: At that comment. Honestly, at this point, they might as well have Dexter being like, “Are sexual people okay? Are the allos okay?” You can almost sense those gears turning, at this point.

Courtney: At least that level of playing with the comedic nature...is not something I see in a lot of shows. Even the ones that do have clear ace representation. There IS a lot of humor to be found, in being an asexual person in a hypersexual world. There are some absurd situations that come about. And there’s a lot of humor there, if you understand it, and can do it well. They were SO close to being able to do that, here.

Courtney: By the end of the episode, Rita thinks ’Maybe I have healed enough. Maybe now is the time...

[laughs]

Courtney: ‘Maybe we can have sex now.’ Dexter comes over to her house, and she says, “I want you. I mean...” and just takes her robe off. Standing there, naked, in the middle of a fully-lit...hallway. They haven’t even gotten into a bedroom or living room. She’s just standing there, naked. And Dexter says, “Oh. Okay. Thanks!”

[laughs]

Courtney: Which is. So. Good! As much as I don’t want a serial killer to be the ace representation. There is...a really. Good. Metaphor there, for...just trying to fit in, in an allosexual world. There are SO. Many. Aces out there who can relate to...pretending to have a sexual interest, just because you think that’s what you’re supposed to do.

Courtney: But the best part is. A phone call interrupts them, and they do not end up having sex. Instead...one of her kids calls. And needs to be picked up early, from a sleepover. He’s like, “Yeah. Go. You need to be a good mom right now.” But it shows him coming home, to his own empty condo, and he’s like, “That was close!”

[laughs]

Courtney: Which was another point where, I started laughing so hard, we had to pause the show. Because I was missing the dialogue that followed. It’s just very refreshing. You don’t hear...any other characters talk or think like that, in any other show that I can think of.

Courtney: He really just ends it by, like, “I’ll admit that making out with Rita was interesting, but...if I don’t keep a lid on this, it could be the end of us.” He’s like, “No, this is gonna be a deal breaker, if she wants to have sex with me.” He starts conniving in his head, like ‘How can I make sure that we never have sex?’

[laughs]

Courtney: ’But I can’t let her know that I don’t want it, because THAT’S not NORMAL, and I have to blend in and be normal.” All of that, right outta the gate, is in the very first episode.

Courtney: This isn’t asexuality-related, necessarily, but to really drive home his lack of emotion, that they really try. To instill, in the first season. When Dexter introduces his sister, Deb, he says, “She’s the only person in the world who loves me. I think that’s nice. I don’t have feelings about anything. But if I could have feelings at all, I’d have them for Deb.” So he’s...outright saying, ‘I don’t even have feelings. For my sister.’ Which...changes, as the show goes on.

Courtney: First season is still great. There’re still several lines that...occasionally come out of nowhere, and really hit my asexual humor right in the sweet spot. There is, for instance. An episode, where the...major serial killer they’re hunting for that season is...chopping up bodies. And he leaves. A hand. Out on the beach. Just a severed hand. And Dexter goes, “Interesting hand job.” Because he’s like, ‘Oh, this is very fine work. I appreciate this fellow’s artistry, in his kills.’ And the cop next to him is like, “Heheheh, that’s funny!” And Dexter just goes, “It is?” I love that! It’s so good. His sister Deb starts dating someone, and...he invites her on a weekend trip. He says, “Will you cum with me?” but...she shows the text to Dexter, and Dexter just says, “He spelled come wrong.” Totally unironically.

Courtney: Those are all for the sake of humor, but there is one other line that really, really stuck out to me. This is the last one, and then...we’ll talk a little bit about the...progression of the show, and how they RUINED everything. This cop who’s really, really raunchy– a couple of them are exceptionally gross, in that sense– is...describing a very lewd sex act. Dexter’s internal monologue says, “Many times in life, I feel like I’m missing some essential piece of the human puzzle. This is one of them.” I think asexuals everywhere can actually. Relate to that!

[laughs]

Courtney: We’re not relating to...the fact that he’s a killer.

[laughs]

Courtney: Which is to...obviously say that. Asexuality, and lack of empathy, are not the same thing. Lack of empathy isn’t even the same thing as being a serial killer. It’s many levels deep. And yet, if you take. The lines out of context. They’re wonderful. They are very, very good.

Courtney: But then they start to do this really. Weird. Thing. With this character. Starting, probably, right after the first season ended. It’s a bit of a slow drip. They really try to...humanize...him. Even though they tried so hard to dehumanize him, right off the bat. The way they do that is interesting, because it starts with. MOSTLY taking away his internal...monologue. It’s still there a little bit, but he doesn’t have any of those funny, snappy comments. It doesn’t really have him ruminating on…“the human experience” that he doesn’t understand.

Courtney: I think the first thing they really do is give him an interest in sex. He and Rita do, eventually, fornicate. And...he’s fine with it. He’s chill. It’s whatever. He’s like, “Okay. I guess this isn’t...the worst thing in the world” but they don’t really. Give him a lot of explicit dialogue, that I remember, that’s like, “Yeah, I’m super into this!” yet. Until they put him in a...Narcotics Anonymous program. And he gets a...sponsor. Do you remember her name?

Royce: Lila.

Courtney: Lila...that’s right. Yes. Rita has a hunch that Dexter has a drug addiction. Because he’s out at all hours of the night, and disappears, and... He’s just doin’ a little murder. Not heroin. Funny, how that happens. But he enters this program to appease her. And meets Lila, his sponsor. Who...also ends up bein’ a serial killer!

[laughs]

Courtney: Because why not? He ends up cheating on Rita with her... They don’t overtly say that he has a sexual attraction to her, but it is...pretty heavily implied. You could still make a case for him still being ace, because of course, we know that ace people can have sex. And he’s also trying to...put on a facade for everyone around him.

Courtney: But...that’s really the beginning. Of a pattern. Where, in another season, they give him...a would-be victim, of a serial killer. Who...turns into a serial killer, and they do serial killing together, for a little bit. And they have a LOT of sex after they kill people.

[laughs]

Courtney: That becomes a very... Just like any other TV show. Where emotions are high. [mockingly] “My emotions are so high, I can’t do anything but have sex!” Which is something that I imagine Season 1 Dexter would have seen on TV and been like, “I don’t know why they’re doin’ that.”

[laughs]

Courtney: After the sex is introduced, they try to slowly introduce...emotions. And try to...rewrite over the fact that they explicitly said that he has none. In the first episode he’s like, “I’m fond of Deb, I think it’s nice that she loves me, but I can’t feel anything at all.” And...there are multiple times– across several seasons– where he has some sort of argument or falling out with Deb. And he is very much like, “No. I love you. Have you ever doubted that I love you?” The fact that. He says that. And seems genuine, but they’ve also...completely taken away his internal monologue by this point? We don’t have that confirmation, as an audience, that he’s...deceiving her in any way. And the emotions, with the new women he takes interest in romantically. And sexually. We have no reason to believe otherwise.

Courtney: After would-be-victim-turned-serial-killer’s like, “I’ve done enough serial killing. I’m gonna move on with my life.” Dexter finds...yet another serial killer to have sex with!

[laughs]

Courtney: It’s...really ridiculous! How. Many. Serial killers there are, in this show. He tries to kill a woman– Hannah, was it?– Yeah. He tries to kill a woman named Hannah, who’s a serial killer... Instead, he gets really turned on while he’s trying to kill her, so he...cuts her free of the plastic wrap, and they have sex on his killing table instead. And then they have a LOT of sex, for the remaining however-long...this series lasts. Because she’s there, right to the very last episode, for some reason.

Courtney: They even introduce a...psychiatrist, in...the last season. Who...was very much of the mind of, “Psychopaths DON’T have any emotion. Psychopaths CAN’T have real feelings for people.” Until he [sic] sees...Dexter, with this other serial killer woman. She, somehow, just looks at them. And can tell. That what they have is real. And true love. She has some lines of dialogue that are like, [breathily] “I never thought. That people like you, could have a real relationship. With something...real, behind your emotions, there.” It’s...very, very weird.

Courtney: A lot of people say that...

[laughs]

Courtney: ...the latter seasons of Dexter are not worth it anyway. This is...what they mean. Not only did they throw all of the ace coding out the window. It gets increasingly absurd, to the point where you aren’t sure if it’s...supposed to be taking itself seriously or not.

Courtney: I don’t know what’s worse – that they made the zero-empathy, zero-emotion, psychopathic serial killer...asexual. Or that they change their minds about that. I really don’t know what’s worse!

[laughs]

Courtney: Honestly, probably that they changed their mind. Like you said, Royce, I think...they were trying to humanize him. I think they thought that the “no emotion”...was played out. And they wanted the audience to be able to relate to him, in new ways, as they were introducing love interests. And, sexual interests

Courtney: They really tried to humanize him all around, and one of the ways to do that, was to give him...

[laughs]

Courtney: ...sexual urges! Which really shows. How. Show writers. View asexuality. It’s not favorably. They clearly still don’t get it. But there’s a little glimmer of hope, with the humor! I really want to see that humor. In more shows that actually portray. Asexuality. Better.

Courtney: ALL that. To say. Dexter had, famously– at least until Game of Thrones– the worst series finale. In the history. Of season finales.

Royce: Yeah, most people didn’t really care for Lumberjack Dexter all that much.

Courtney: No. They didn’t. They end the series with...Deb. Dying. He drives off into a hurricane in his boat, with her dead body.

Royce: Very small boat. Very big hurricane, mind you.

Courtney: Very small boat. He takes his son– Because he has a son now. It was Rita’s son. Rita got murdered, by the way! I’m sure if you made it this far, you’ve seen the show...

[laughs]

Courtney: So. Many. Murders. He sends his young son off with the serial...killer...woman. Who just poisons everybody. ’Cause he’s like, “You’ll be safe, kid! I’m just gonna drive off into a hurricane.” PRESUMABLY. To take his own life. ‘Cause it doesn’t look like that boat is gonna...hold up against a hurricane. But. The final scene shows him in a wintery– Where do you think they are? They’re in...Oregon, maybe? He’s got a big, bushy beard. He’s...choppin’ wood...

[Courtney laughs]

Royce: Yeah, he pops up in Oregon with a new identity– Paul Bunyan.

Courtney: And that’s the end of that! And...the world hated it. In fact, the world hated the beard. SO much...

[laughs]

Courtney: Royce, do you want to tell them of the joys of the Skittles Broadway musical, or shall I?

Royce: I’ll let you handle that one.

[Courtney laughing frequently throughout]

Courtney: So, I mentioned Michael C. Hall– the actor behind Dexter– is a very talented fellow. He truly is a triple threat. He can sing. He can dance. And– I didn’t even know about this until recently, and I actually am a Broadway person– in 2019, Skittles decided to do a very unconventional. Super Bowl ad...by producing a Broadway musical, called ‘Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical.’ Where they have Michael C. Hall, starring as himself. It is...SO. Funny. This wasn’t an actual commercial ad. They actually produced. The musical! You could, on that one day, go and see that musical on Broadway. And they even joked. About how bad the ending of Dexter was. By having Michael C. Hall, talking about how he’s going to kill his agent. For getting him this horrible gig. But...don’t worry. After killing his agent, he’ll just run away and grow a beard, so that no one will recognize him. It’s brilliant!

Courtney: Why. They decided. To make a brand new season of Dexter. In this, the year 2021. Is beyond me. But, they have done it. As of the release of this podcast, there is one episode out of the new season. It’s called “Dexter: New Blood.” We wanted to watch it, just to see. Because we had found out that it was the original...producer, behind the first four seasons of Dexter. Which are...widely known to be the best ones. Almost any Dexter fan you ask will say that it went downhill after the first four seasons.

Royce: Many say, that. The series should have just ended. At the end of the fourth season.

Courtney: I can’t say I disagree with that, either. But, they got the original...producer back, for this new season. It really seems like they just want to...make a better ending. ’Cause, at this point, I don’t know what more. Of a story, they have to tell. But we were ever-so curious to watch. This. New pilot. Because, hey! Maybe they bring back the ace coding! Maybe, with the original guy, with the original vision. Maybe they’re going to double down on that again. That would be great.

Courtney: Oh, no. The very first...dialogue that Dexter has with any real person, is being. Pulled over by a cop. Getting told to get out of the truck. And he gets patted down and searched. And...nope! Turns out, this is a sex thing. That cop is his girlfriend, and they just...do this, sometimes. Then they have sex in the back of her cop car. There’s at least one other time where he’s...trying to also initiate sex. They’re at a bar, at one point. He’s like, “Why don’t we get outta here so you can ‘pull me over?’” It’s like, alright. They just...forgot. That the first episode, of the entire series, ever happened. They forgot that the...whole first season. Happened.

Courtney: The first season is so tonally different from. Everything else. It’s...very sad.

[laughs]

Courtney: Dexter really, almost, could have been an ace icon. Albeit, a problematic one. But they decided that that was just a bridge too far, for their serial killer! Although. As horrible as this would be. Here’s a light spoiler for the first episode of the new season, if you haven’t seen it yet, and are going to. Dexter’s son finds him. Harrison is back, and he’s...probably somewhere around 16. This, canonically, does happen 10 years after he disappeared.

Courtney: Given the themes. Of the show... Dexter had his mother murdered in front of him, and he was like, [dramatically] “I was born in blood. That’s why I’m a killer.” Then Harrison, as a baby, sees his mother Rita. Die. And is [dramatically] “born in blood.” We never really got to see much of Harrison...as a little boy. But now we have him as a teenager. And, given what they do...with childhood trauma. In this show. I can’t decide yet if I’m willing to bet money that they’re gonna make him a serial killer, too.

[laughs]

Courtney: Or if they realize exactly how absurd it is, that everyone with childhood trauma becomes a serial killer. But we have been introduced to the fact. That Dexter’s new girlfriend. Has...a daughter, who is also about Harrison’s age. I think. It would be...so absurd, it might just be great. If Harrison absolutely, 100%, is a serial killer. And is also, 100%, absolutely asexual.

[laughs]

Courtney: ...but gets in a relationship, with his. Father’s, girlfriend’s, daughter. And has his own new...asexual, teenage boy...woes. Thanks, I hate it! ...it might be great. [exasperated] I don’t know! I don’t know what they’re gonna do with this. It’s such a weird series.

[laughs]

Courtney: We’ll just have to wait and find out. We’re going to be watching it.

Royce: [pained] Somewhat begrudgingly.

Courtney: It probably won’t be worth it.

Royce: If the rest of the season is anything like the first episode, they’re just rehashing, the...sort of shallow, tired tropes that the last few seasons of the series had.

Courtney: It was really quite boring.

[laughs]

Courtney: But, who knows? We’re in too deep at this point. We watched the entire run of Dexter, in preparation for this episode, [pained] just so we could talk about all the ace coding, and it was literally all in season one!

[laughs]

Courtney: We are well past the point of no return. Sunk cost fallacy. We HAVE to see this through to the end!

Courtney: If there’s...ANY ace commentary to be had, we’ll have a follow-up. Otherwise. We can just...never talk about Dexter. Ever. Again.