3. The Code
Like knights of old, Dexter lives his life by a strict moral code. Throughout the series that code has been bent and broken, but who among us hasnt cheated on our diet now and then? Watching Dexter live by this code is one of the reasons we like the character, but one of the most interesting thing is how the code lets us forget and/or pretend what Dexter really is. When a skydiver jumps out of a plane, the only reason they wear a parachute is to keep them from smashing into the ground so they can get back up in the air and experience free fall again. Dexter doesnt follow his code of not killing innocents because of some altruistic moral center. He follows it because it gives him the best chance of staying out of prison and allows him to continue killing. It makes us uncomfortable to call Dexter a monster, but that is exactly what he is. It is also a great testament to the character that facing what he really is makes us uncomfortable. But just think, without Dexters code, how many more people would have died over the years if he was as lazy as the other fictional killers out there?