9 Awful TV Characters We're Supposed To Root For

Maybe this is a bit too obvious of a choice, particularly given the show's initial conceit of Dexter's whole "killing people who deserve it" thing was intended to come off as ambiguous at best, and patently sadistic at worst.

But over time, the show became less interested in exploring the moral implications of a forensics technician tracking down and murdering serial killers who fell through the cracks of the criminal justice system. Instead, it started positioning Dexter as an infallible hero whose rapidly escalating "habits" are brought into question only with occasional - and quite brief - visits from Ghost Harry.

The structure of the show made it almost impossible to root against Dexter. Doing so in any given season would mean, pretty much by default, that you either wanted to see a known serial killer get the better of Dexter, or you wanted him to get caught, thus devastating his family and friends.

But at what point do you stop letting an actual, diagnosed psychopath continue rampaging through the city of Miami? Is it after his little hobby inadvertently costs the life of innocent people? Because that's happened multiple times. Or is it after he directly murders innocent people? Because he's done that, too.

Dexter's not a hero. And eventually, they stop trying to make him an anti-hero. But they never stopped trying to make us root for him.