End of a serial killer

So, what was the last day of filming like and who will you miss the most from the cast?
Oh, gosh! The last day was — I mean, there have been such a series of lasts over the past couple of weeks. You know, different people had their last days at different times. But the very last day was, I don’t know, a combination of pride and sadness, wistfulness, and relief, and vague depression. It’s been eight years of all of our lives; cast, crew, and beyond, and there’s a collective sense of a major end, a major transition, but also a new beginning for all of us.

I don’t know. It’s hard to pick favorites among my cast mates, but I suppose the person with whom I’ve had the most significant journey, as a character, is Jennifer Carpenter and her  Deb character. They’ve been through so much and covered so much terrain and she’s been such an amazing scene partner through this entire process, so...

When Dexter started, you were the only serial killer protagonist of a TV series. Now with The Following and Hannibal, it’s like a trend… Do you think that in some ways Dexter influenced this trend, or is it maybe society itself, because often TV series' are influenced by society?
I think a general fascination, culturally, with serial killers has been around for a long time, as far as making them featured characters on television series goes. Maybe that is a trend that Dexter started. And if that’s the case, I’m okay with that. I’m proud of that. I do think Dexter remains a unique creation no matter how many other serial killers populate the airwaves.

We, as an audience, have really come to root for Dexter. Even though he is a serial killer, we still kind of want him to succeed. So are things going to end well for Dexter this season?
Well, I’m reluctant to say definitively that things are going to end badly or well for him, but I think you know he is someone who is discovering that he can’t really have his cake and kill it too, as it were. Sorry for the pun, but...
 
How different is the season going to be from what’s happened already, and with you, to look at it from a logical perspective?
I kind of see the show in two sections; the first four and the final four seasons I think. It’s not quite that cut and dry or that simple, but I think up until the time that his wife is murdered by his former victim, the Trinity Killer, Dexter maintains a sense of control, and I think he’s been really scrambling and reeling ever since Rita died, to regain a sense of control. I think the final two seasons, the seventh and eighth seasons, are the two seasons that follow the discovery that Deb makes at the end of six, and she finds out the truth about her brother.

And, we’re maybe seeing two sides of that dynamic playing out. In the seventh season, it was relatively speaking something that she seemed to be able to make room for, but with what happened at the end of the seventh season and Deb having to make the choice that she makes regarding Lieutenant LaGuerta, I think all bets are off in terms of her ability to be okay with who her brother is and the part she’s played in it. But I think we’re at a point now, at the end where we see Dexter really dealing with the fallout of his indulgence in these human relationships, while maintaining allegiance to his compulsion to kill. And, he’s discovering that those things really don’t seem to have the chance to co-exist in any harmonious way.

You said that Dexter’s audience is a silent passive accomplice, so how will you explain the voyeuristic quality of the TV show, especially now in times of YouTube or Vine?
I don’t know. I think the show obviously appeals to a broad base of people and appeals to different people for different reasons, so it’s hard to attribute the show’s popularity to just one thing. But I do think the subjective way in which the story is told is a big part of its appeal. I think people relish getting inside the head of a character who would, normally in a more objective presentation, be seen as monstrous or messed up, or crazy.

And, I don’t know that I can really explain exactly why the show has been as consistently and increasingly appealing to people over its life, but I’m certainly thankful that’s been the case. I think people really appreciate being given permission or given the invitation to identify with someone as complex, and dark, and arguably villainous as Dexter. And, it’s been fun to — I don’t know — to be the train conductor.

Dexter is a somewhat controversial show that has been linked to real-life murders, where the perpetrators have cited Dexter as an inspiration. And even though I personally think it’s ridiculous to blame TV for real-life crime, I was just wondering if these kinds of news stories have bothered you in any way?
Yes, certainly. I mean that’s a horrifying thing to hear. The last thing we — I mean I certainly don’t think of the show as a — something that advocates serial murder or invites people to do what Dexter’s doing. I don’t think there’s anything about the show that really suggests that his lifestyle is one that’s in the end particularly rewarding.

I imagine the show as a mediation on the nature of morality among other things, and the serial killing element, which is obviously fundamental, is also to my mind somewhat of a metaphor. But I guess all I can say about any report of someone who committed a crime and claimed to be in some way inspired by Dexter, I would suggest there’s someone who is probably looking for validation wherever they could find it and found it there. And, I’d like to believe that they could’ve and would’ve found it elsewhere and probably did.

But I mean my honest reaction to any account like that is that it’s upsetting.
Ultimately, I’d — I wouldn’t wish away the show. I think it’s done a lot more good than harm and brought a lot more pleasure than it has pain in the world. But the fact that it would give further license to someone who has the inclination to commit a crime like that is certainly not my favorite aspect of the show.

Did you take away any souvenirs from the sets?
Oh, well there are some more abstract blood spatter images in Dexter’s inner lab that some of the production people were going to frame for me. I’m not sure exactly where I’ll put them, but Dexter’s ID badge, that he wears whenever he’s at work, and the watch that I wore over the course of the eight seasons; I’m going to take those two things just because they were on my person and so much sort of a tactile part of my experience of playing the character.

Do you think you could actually put those pictures up in your house somewhere?
Yes, if I find the right spot. You know, maybe the basement bathroom.

Dexter Season 8 starts September 23, 10pm on Star World.