I’ve been a big fan of Showtime’s Dexter since a friend recommended the series to me during the summer months. After getting hooked on the pilot episode, I quickly ate up seasons one, two and three, relishing every episode for its amazing cast, beautiful photography, and its, erm, killer script. I’m going to share with you some of my thoughts, covering a bit from each season, but I’ll leave out the specifics so as not to offer any spoilers.

Season 1

The first season does a great job of introducing the star of the show, the world he inhabits and the secret he keeps. The show uses a saga format, blending each episode into the next, giving the viewers a personal and engrossing experience throughout. The parts of the first season that I enjoyed the most were the little moments where Dexter tries to blend in as an ordinary, quiet forensic specialist amidst a group of overzealous cops trying to find killers who are just like him. There’s also quite a few comedic moments, which helps to lighten the otherwise dark and grizzly nature of the show.

Season 2

Season two starts with a bang that’s so loud you’re basically guaranteed to watch all 13 episodes after the opening scene! In stark contrast to the first season, Dexter’s sophomore outing begins at a much faster pace. With the kid gloves off, the reserved, careful plodding of the first season’s storyline is completely abandoned for a much faster velocity. A host of new characters are swiftly introduced and many interesting interactions take place.

Some people have remarked that season two loses some of the first season’s purity, but others protest that the quicker pace is simply a natural progression if you view both seasons as one continuous storyline. Seen in this way, the first season does a great job of setting things up, with the second season allowing the fireworks to really light up. Opinions aside, season two is a wild ride with Dexter being attacked from all angles. Often it feels like he’s juggling chainsaws on top of a house of cards; you really begin to feel that at any moment his web of lies, cover ups and murders will come crashing down upon him.

Season 3

Season three has just completed, and I can say that they’ve returned the series to a style and pace more reminiscent of season one. Because of this, I initially felt that the writers had burnt themselves out, as not much was happening and some segments were – dare I say – boring. But as the pieces were being set and the story began to unfold, I realized that they were simply focusing on a cleaner storyline with less subplots and characters to muddle things up. In doing so, they’ve created a highly polished product that I think is unparalleled on television today. The level of acting, directing, and script writing is nothing short of phenomenal.

In retrospect, season three seems to assume that you’re already a fan of the show; they don’t compromise their method of storytelling by forcing cheesy moments and injecting meaningless action. The result is a deeper and more believable world for Dexter to inhabit. Sometimes I stop and think about how every character, relationship and setting is geared towards creating this reality. Eventually, you really begin to feel as if Dexter’s secret is your secret.

Are you a fan of Dexter? What’s been your favorite season or moment so far?