Dexter is a fairly popular TV show that centers upon the main character (Dexter) who spends his days hunting down and killing serial killers. While there’s plenty of drama and mystery along the way, this really is the main premise. Due to this, it’s natural that many characters ultimately meet their fate in the end.

But, it’s not just Dexter’s victims who end up kicking the bucket, it’s also a plethora of main characters. In this sense, at least for me, the show is quite controversial in how it’s executed. However, in a long-running TV series, it’s somewhat refreshing for plot armor to be somewhat disregarded (except for Dexter, of course).

At the same time, there’s a fine line between the willingness to kill off characters and simply killing off too many of them. For my liking, this show falls more toward the latter. To explain why, let’s take a look at some of the characters who wound up deceased.

Paul Bennett

Alright, so many wouldn’t consider Paul Bennett a main character. Yet, in the first season, he played an integral role in the story. He was a constant thorn in the side of both Dexter and his love interest, Rita Bennett. To keep a long story short, he ended up dying in prison after almost proving that Dexter was the one who landed him there.

This death wasn’t too bad as Paul came off as an antagonist the entire time. So, in my book, it was totally acceptable.

James Doakes

Look, the makers of the show had no other choice here. They either reveal Dexter as a serial killer or kill of Doakes in some fashion. But, when he died, a part of the show died. The dynamic of Dexter and Doakes throughout the first two seasons was sorely missed in the later seasons.

They tried to replace him, but there was only one Doakes. Again, however, everyone involved in making the show was handcuffed at the point of his death. In my mind, yet again, they did make the correct call here.

Frank Lundy

This one stings to this very day. Frank Lundy is arguably my favorite character in the entire show. While he only made an impact in two seasons, his impact was grand. His death just felt unnecessary and, for me, it’s when the show began to go downhill quickly. The first half of season four (with Lundy) is much better than the second half (without Lundy) if you ask me.

He added a special dynamic to the show and while his death wasn’t without logical reasoning, I still feel it could’ve been avoided.

Rita Morgan

Rita Morgan (she changed her name after she married Dexter) was arguably the third most vital character in the entire show (behind Dexter and Debra Morgan). When I first watched the conclusion of season four, I was convinced that her death never happened. I watched each and every episode that followed waiting for her reappearance.

Ultimately, though, it never happened. This death right here is the one that fans of the show will remember most. Not only did Rita die, but the relationship Dexter had with her kids faded over time. Rita and her kids kept Dexter real and while a few love interests followed, they were shallow in comparison. Why, why did they really need to kill off Rita?

Maria LaGuerta

Honestly, this may be the most random death in the entire franchise. I will openly admit that I always strongly disliked Maria LaGuerta as a character. She was self-centered, manipulative, and looked like an iguana (sorry, see, I don’t like her). But, her death kind of just happened.

She became to understand who Dexter really was and got killed for it. I didn’t lose sleep over this one, but I can see if it rubbed some people the wrong way.

Debra Morgan

The finale of Dexter has received harsh (I mean harsh) criticism over the years. In all honesty, it’s tough to conclude a show like this. Yet, killing Debra was probably not the answer. Sure, it got the message across that everyone Dexter loved ended up getting hurt. But, it just fell flat.

To me, the show should’ve ended with Rita finally understanding what Dexter truly was. Instead, we got Debra’s death and Dexter faking his own death.

Yeah, I think they killed too many darn characters in this show. Looking back, Deb, Rita, and Lundy should’ve never died. The others were understandable, but that’s just my humble opinion.

Delayed yet again

Game developer Naughty Dog released a statement last week revealing the game’s release date has been delayed yet again. Originally scheduled for release on February 21st, 2020, Naughty Dog initially needed more time to work on the game before it was ready, knocking the release back until May 29th. Many of us were waiting with bated breath, pre-orders organized.

Then Naughty Dog announced that:

“…due to logistics beyond our control, the game can’t be launched as planned, leaving the release date TBD.”

Their statement on Twitter continued:

“We’re hoping that this won’t be a long delay, and we’ll update you as soon as we have new information to share.”

Coronavirus to blame

Although plenty of other 2020 releases have faced delays (Doom Eternal and Cyberpunk 2077, I’m looking at you), this is the first game to be officially delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, discounting Iron Man VR. Naughty Dog admitted the game isn’t finished yet, but that they were on track for the release date, so it’s likely that the practicalities of printing and shipping physical copies are to blame right now.

Sony explicitly blamed the coronavirus pandemic for the problem, saying:

“The global crisis is preventing us from providing the launch experience our players deserve.”

So, when will we get to meet Ellie again in The Last of Us Part II? No word yet, but I’m hoping it will be later this year, before the launch of the PS5!

It was a rough night, and I needed to unwind so I logged into Netflix and clicked on “Striking Vipers,” and that was the beginning of my Black Mirror craze. The episode opens our eyes to technology, homosexuality, homophobia and stereotypes.

It also looked into the ability of social media to make it easier for people to lead double lives.

Two of the male characters played the video game together and virtually, despite one of the them choosing a female player, would engage in coital activities.

The married one found it quite difficult to come to terms with his sexuality in real life, making him resent his friend for ‘awakening’ those feelings in him.

Social Media Approval

Yet another Black Mirror episode entitled “Nose Dive” continually showed that social media forces people to lead fake lives.

Throughout the show, we can see how fake the protagonist is, to the point of attempting to master a fake laughter that would be considered “classy” to the people with higher ratings.

The episode shows us the extent to which people portray fake online personas to mask their sad, empty, and destructive lives. It was an eye opener for me since I’ve also minimized sharing too much on social media.

The technology that binds us on the interwebs can easily be used as a tool for even further destruction.

Such cases have led to people, especially young girls, committing suicide simply because they didn’t receive enough interaction on their social media.

Is it really worth it to lose your authenticity over validation from online strangers?

Judging People

With the online fakeness and false curation, you realize that:

“Social media will have you envying someone you should actually pity.”

That quote is from a tweet that went viral on Twitter and I came across it, at a time when I needed it the most.

In “Nose Dive,” for example, the protagonist loses everything and she even goes down to almost a 1-star rating, but she does not refrain from judging other people.

Authenticity is, in fact, the only key to ensuring that people do not strive to lead fake lives behind their computer or phone screens.

I live by Anthony Bourdain’s quote which states that:

“Once your reputation is ruined, you can live life freely.”