For quite some time now I’ve been an avid consumer of television and the many different types of entertainment it produces. From the more cheerful sitcoms to the darker narrative focused dramas, I always do my best to vary my experiences. For anyone who hopes to not only critique, but someday write shows, variety is key. So when I pick out what show I’ll delve into next, I’m not only looking at what genres American networks produce, but what a multitude of creative folks from around the world are pouring their hearts into. One thing I’ve noticed is there are always similarities, but one comparison in particular intrigues me more than any other.
Showtime’s Dexter, and Mad House’s, Death Note.
Firstly, you might be wondering what the hell either of those two things are, especially Death Note. For starters, they both follow serial killers who attempt to reserve their homicidal tendencies for other criminals. Dexter is an American live-action drama centralized around Dexter Morgan, a blood-splatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police. He’s normal enough and well liked by his peers, but has an unusual nightly pastime. He ritualistically hunts and kills other serial killers. As the show develops, Dexter struggles with his humanity and the concept of whether his is an act to keep suspicious gazes away, or if he truly can stop his urges and become “normal.”
Death Note is a Japanese anime which follows brilliant Tokyo high school student, Light Yagami. Light has a strong sense of justice and apathy for the world. One day he comes across a mysterious book known as the Death Note. Within lies a list of rules on its sinister purpose and use. The Death Note allows those who posses it to kill anyone they so choose in any manner desired, provided they know their name and face. When approached by the Death Note’s owner Ryuk, a god of death, Light decides to make use of this new found powers by exacting justice upon the world, and taking his “rightful” place as god.
From here on out I’ll do my best to avoid major show-ruining spoilers. If I do approach such territory, I’ll be sure to give fair warning.
What I love most about Dexter is the expertise by which actor Michael C. Hall portrays the dark anti-hero. On occasions he is given free range over Dexter’s kill room and handles it with such a creepy and believable intensity which breaks down the fourth wall and drags you in. Through the first fours seasons Dexter tries to find the balance between work, family, and pleasure, but it’s far tougher than it sounds. Concepts of love, friendship, and other everyday human emotions- which used to seem so alien- are now finding a way into his life. Sadistic and intelligent killers attempt to thwart Dexter at every turn; intentionally and unintentionally forcing him to revert to his murderous ways. This all ends in the fifth season though. Well, at least the quality in which it is handled. After what was a perfect opportunity to wrap-up and go out with a bang, Showtime decided to forge on through a fifth season, then a sixth, a seventh, and finally an eighth.
A friend of mine made a very good point once. He said they had written themselves into a corner with the finale of the fourth season. It was such a defining and climatic moment, which by all logical thought should have lead to the end. In forcing the show to go on, Showtime would never be able to top themselves in regards to world shattering revelations until they made the most obvious and only choice left. Everything in between the fourth season and sixth season finales felt purposeless. Plotlines were dropped, characters became aimless, and new additions lacked creativity. Threats would arise, Dexter would quell them and then move on with no real sense of change.
Light, like Dexter, is one of my most beloved characters. He’s an off-putting- no scratch that- he is the most repulsive “protagonist.” The depth of his corruption is beyond words and left me wondering how in the world I found myself rooting for such an awful being. I narrowed it down to two things: intelligence and charisma. The way in which he manipulates the Death Note and all of those around him to unwittingly help his cause takes a level of intellect which makes the viewer feel they are playing catch up. When you do figure out what Light is up to, it’s a thoroughly rewarding time as you begin to realize how awful he truly is. He’s the perfect evil, if there is such a thing. Just when you think he can’t top his last wretched act, he does so with a sinister smile on his face.
The one department Light exceeds Dexter in by miles is character development. Which is funny considering Dexter goes on for eight seasons, and Death Note a mere 37 episodes. Dexter’s struggle to become human starts off great but quickly goes down the tubes as the writers carelessly throw every aspect of humanity at him without any real thought. Light, well, let’s say the Death Note doesn’t do him any wonders. Episode by episode, it corrupts and twists him into a shadow of his former self. The transition from high school student who had the world at his fingertips to the beast that is Kira was painful to see. Light consistently tosses away any chance for a human connection. He sees those he once loved and those who loved him in return as nothing more than a means to an end.
Prior to the fourth season Dexter’s development is fantastic. He really does begin to shift his views on what the possibilities of his life are. It’s a smooth transition from beast to half-man. After the fourth season however, he doesn’t change a whole lot. At least not in a believable manner. For example, in the sixth season the idea of religion is forced upon him like an overly pushy door-to-door preacher. But by season’s end, it’s as if the idea of religion had never even occurred to him.
While Death Note doesn’t boast nearly as large of a cast as Dexter, they are still top-notch. Firstly, there is L: the shadowy detective working with the police to take down Kira. In actuality, L is the type of person you would suspect to be Kira, not the supposedly kindhearted and charismatic Light. Even so, as the plot thickens his humanity shines through, albeit twisted. In these moments he becomes nearly as enjoyable to watch as Light, and I was left conflicted by this. Who do I root for? Light is clearly vile but at the same time thrilling to watch, and in a way his goals are noble. Then there’s L, an anti-hero, but still the hero. The result is not that of your typical cat and mouse chase like every other show involving a detective and killer. No, it’s more like a chess match between two prodigal champions. As they tactfully engage one another the viewer becomes the spectator of some long fabled matchup. It’s unpredictable, engaging, and downright genius entertainment.
While Death Note is highly dependent on Light and L’s interactions, there is a still a terrific supporting cast. Ryuk is an all-around treat to watch as he tags along with Light, cackling all the way. Misa, who is introduced down the road, is a brilliant twist on the genki girl caricature. Alas, no show is perfect. While the core cast is terrific, I do wish some of the later introductions had a bit more fleshing out, but their lack of characterization does serve a purpose. Really, it’s a minor offense which does Death Note a favor in the end.
Remaining on the topic of supporting characters, Dexter has numerous great long-term and temporary faces. There are three in particular, who stand-out amongst the rest: Doakes, The Ice Truck Killer, and Trinity. I’ll get to Doakes later but for now let’s discuss Dexter’s serial killer adversaries. ITK was my personal favorite. The way he played games with Dexter’s head and didn’t reveal himself until the most opportune moment was enthralling. He knew what Dexter was hiding and attempted to draw him into his plan with subtle and cryptic messages. Then there’s Trinity. A future Dexter perhaps? Our beloved protagonist slyly moves into Trinity’s life in hopes of learning how he manages to balance work, family, and his dark desires. What Dexter finds is a revolting shell of a man who will stop at nothing to satiate his murderous thirst.
Then there is Sgt. James Doakes. Despite being surrounded by Miami’s homicide department practically every day of his life, Dexter has been able to put up a facade capable of fooling all but Doakes. While the hard-nosed sergeant originally comes off as the stereotypical tough-guy detective, there’s more to him than meets the eye. With his brash and crass skillset, Doakes harasses Dexter more and more, all the while becoming increasingly suspicious. The way the two of them try to constantly one up each other no matter where they are or who they are with creates an interesting dynamic culminating in an intense finale..
Now for some more in-depth thoughts on how the two shows handle their respective serial killers, and why Death Note does it better. To Dexter's detriment, they paint him as the good guy. He’s relatable to the everyman in that he’s a working stiff who loves his family. Even his one inhuman fault is painted in a favorable light. Dexter kills other killers just like Light kills other criminals. The difference is you get to know the criminals Dexter kills. Their often made out to be horribly vicious killing machines. That’s not so with Death Note. You rarely meet any of the criminals. The intimate focus is directed towards the cops, investigators, and other innocents put to the book. For this I appreciate Death Note more. It was so unique in that it’s a show following the antagonist. They don’t sugarcoat things and try to make him overly-relatable. Light Yagami is the most unique “protagonist” in all of fiction, plain and simple.
Okay, now it’s time to discuss the endings of both shows. Yes, this means I’m about to spoil the both of them, but I’ll do so one at a time. First up, Death Note.
You know those moments forever ingrained into your memory that no amount of mental bleach will ever disperse? That’s Death Note’s finale, and for all the right reasons. In fact there has only ever been one moment to have compared to the way Death Note made me feel. Said moment is the infamous Red Wedding scene from Game of Thrones. Pretty high praise right? While Death Note may not have been as big of a twist, it gave me the same gut feeling the Red Wedding did but multiplied. Disheartening, depressing, conflicting, and disturbing are just a few apropos terms. It also caused quite the revelation in my mind, one which made me question my own morals. Shows do this from time to time, but not to this degree. Throughout the entirety of Death Note I felt uncomfortable, but it was in the closing minutes where this sensation boiled over. I had grown to love the character of Light so much so that seeing him die such a humiliating death was excruciating. If I could be made to feel such a way by the most foul an revolting character, how would I handle such a situation in real life? What if someone I truly cared for had become the Light Yagami of our world? What would I do? Would I turn against them in disgust? If Death Note taught me anything it’s that the choice would not be an easy one.
The way in which Light dies is what truly makes it though. After besting L several episodes earlier, in a Game of Thrones level twist, Near seemed like a pawn in comparison. There was no way Light was going to lose. These were not only my thoughts, but that of Light’s. I had grown arrogant just as he had and we were both in for a shock. Near would indeed defeat Light and in the process drag the self-proclaimed god down. Light didn’t simply die. He begged and pleaded. He jumped from one panicked strategy to the next, desperately trying to find a way out. Yet it would be all for naught. Light would not perish as a god, nor even a man, but as an animal.
DEATH NOTE SPOILERS OVER.
Alright Dexter, your turn. Good luck, you’ll need it.
When the final season began my faith was slowly returning. Pacing and subtly had reintroduced themselves to some degree and there was a potential for an enjoyable ending. Yet as the season dragged on it became increasingly clear this would not be the case. Now I didn’t care whether Dexter lived, died, or was imprisoned: so long as it was a quality ending. By the ninth episode I had this feeling, or rather the lack there of one. There was no tension. Dexter would soon end and the season was building up as if it was just another 12 episodes of filler like the previous few seasons. As the final episode played out numerous negative thoughts crossed my mind. Not just the fact that Dexter had inexplicably walked out the front door of a hospital with Deb’s body, or even survived driving his boat directly into a hurricane. It was this strange nagging sense. The end had cheated me. After apparently dying a poetic death, Dexter is revealed to be alive and living as some sort of lumberjack. Showtime had revealed their true colors, and their President’s desires to keep Dexter going in some manner had been fully revealed. There was zero artistic integrity. Dexter ended just like it had existed for the last four seasons: forced, and I won’t be the least bit surprised if there is some sort of spin-off.
SPOILER WARNING OVER!
At this point it should be fairly obvious which show I enjoyed more. While Dexter once reigned supreme on my list of favorites, it eventually became the Ozymandias of television. Then there‘s Death Note which would do much more than surpass an average piece of entertainment like Dexter. While nothing is perfect, Death Note ventures dangerously close. There is no show I will so readily suggest more than the tale of Light Yagami. In fact, of the several people who I've been able to coerce into viewing Death Note, not a single one has described it as anything less than amazing.
So I’ll leave you with this. Watch Death Note, you won’t regret it.
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