Dexter Morgan

Living... in Miami, Florida with his wife, Rita, and her two children from a previous marriage, daughter Astor and son Cody. Before he met Rita, Dexter lived much of his life alone in his apartment and now struggles with giving up his bachelor life. 

Profession... forensic blood spatter analyst for the Miami-Metro Police Department. And he really can't get enough of the gore at work. In his free time Dexter is a serial killer, creating his own blood spatters. But it's not as bad as it sounds – Dexter only targets other murderers who have eluded the justice system.

Interests... killing. From an early age, Dexter felt the urge to kill because of an inner voice he calls his “Dark Passenger” that instructs him to harm others. But from the ethical code taught to him by his adoptive father Harry, he learned to channel this urge constructively and do right morally by killing only for justice. To protect himself, he kills methodically and keeps his serial killing a secret. As he describes his father’s teachings, “Harry was a great cop here in Miami. He taught me how to think like one; he taught me how to cover my tracks. I'm a very neat monster.”

Relationship Status... married to Rita. But it's mostly a guise. Dexter is not interested in romance and mostly feels like their life together is a way to appear as a normal guy in the face of his abnormal habits. However, he does love her in some capacity or at least would be devastated if his behavior affected her in any way.

Challenge... dealing with his inner turmoil. Dexter feels wholly detached from the people around him, claiming to be completely empty inside with no conscious or emotions. It makes it hard for him to function socially, but he has a lot of practice coming off as normal. As he puts it, "People fake a lot of human interactions, but I feel like I fake them all, and I fake them very well. That’s my burden, I guess.” 

Personality... detached, emotionless, intelligent, methodical, and violent. If you can get past his murderous nature (and that’s a big “if”), it is clear that he does feel protective of his wife, children, and family, planning all of his moves so no harm will come to them. In other words, he’s a caring serial killer.