10 Totally Unnecessary Deaths In Horror TV Shows
2. Brian Moser - Dexter
Dexter's high concept is that Dexter Morgan, a Miami police forensic technician, is actually a violent psychopath trained by his policeman foster father to channel his murderous urges solely towards criminals who the system has failed to punish.
It was always a strange choice to make for Dexter's debut season, introducing the protagonist alongside Brian Moser, the Ice Truck Killer, as his primary antagonist.
Ideally a first season would establish the character, his MO and the life he leads before bringing in a potential game changer to upend everything. Introducing Dexter's older brother, also a serial killer, to set up conflict within the premise of the show is season two, season three material.
The reason for this was that the show was adapting the first novel in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Now, there's nothing really wrong with a storyline showcasing two siblings facing off: it's been done a lot, but it's still a powerful trope. However, in the novel Brian lives - yet in the season one finale, Brian dies.
Not only does the early introduction of Dexter's murderous brother rob the storyline of some of the disruptive, dramatic impact it would have had if it had occurred after the show had time to find a rhythm, but Brian's early demise then robs the show of anything interesting that might have come up with the sibling rivalry dynamic - a dynamic which was the only reason for the character's existence in the first place.