10 Disturbing Backstories Behind Your Favourite TV Characters
1. Dexter Morgan - Dexter
Of all the television characters who had a tragic backstory, Dexter Morgan's is the one that was detailed the most throughout the series. When he was three-years-old, he witnessed his mother's brutal murder by a drug dealer, whose weapon of choice was a chainsaw.
He was trapped in a pool of blood with his mother's corpse for quite some time before being rescued, and it was this event that planted the seed that would grow into his particular brand of sociopathy. He would eventually become the serial killer of serial killers, but that wasn't the only messed up thing about his upbringing.
After his mother's death, Dexter was adopted by Harry, a homicide detective who knew the details of his case. As he matured, Harry began to notice odd behaviors his son was showing, and they set off some red flags that suggested Dexter might become a serial killer.
To combat this, Harry decided to nurture Dexter's murderous desires by teaching him The Code of Harry, which pushed Dexter to victimize the guilty, making him into a vigilante. When Harry saw what Dexter had become, he committed suicide, leaving Dexter and his adoptive sister without his guidance.