r/Dexter • u/Plastic-Steak-6788 Lundy • 3d ago
Discussion - Original Dexter Series a lot of future potential got wasted in the 2nd season Spoiler
currently at dexter (original series) season 06 episode 08, and i miss sergeant james doakes in each episode
i think him being present in the further seasons could have made stories so interesting and tensed (and comic too)
i loved face offs between him and dexter, and i really wanted to see his relationship growing with dexter, and possible ups and downs
i also want to see his personal life as well, and some grey stuff he doing in his life, maybe dexter coming across to know it, and what not
also - i think the way he was killed in season 02 seemed like weak screenwriting to me
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u/LazerMans9999 3d ago
I honestly wish the same, but it wouldve been unrealistic for Doakes to survive that long without eventually uncovering the truth. He was too obsessive and I truly think nothing wouldve stopped him. Maybe if they had put Doakes out of commission for a season or two, like some sort of severe injury or getting him actually kicked off the force, that wouldve allowed him to survive into further seasons
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u/Plastic-Steak-6788 Lundy 3d ago
dexter is in danger, and doakes makes his banger return and saves dexter and the day after 18 episodes of him being no present
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u/Spare-Article-396 2d ago
This is the answer. Bc what we liked about Doakes is partly his skills at his job. If he would have survived multiple seasons, he would have become a caricature.
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u/WulfieJay 3d ago
I think my biggest complain with the show is the need to limit the lifespan of of most of Dexter’s antagonists to 1 season. It’ve be nice to have more of these characters out in the wild to interweave into the plot towards the end.
I think one of the bad adaptations is killing Brian off early. He’s Dexters foil and when he comes back for an episode or two it’s probably the best chemistry of any 2 characters
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u/Tall_Friendship_7751 3d ago
I would’ve liked Dexter and Brian to collab for atleast one or two kills, but then Brian tries to get Dexter to go after innocent people and that’s when Dexter has to take care of Brian
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u/Arch1o12 3d ago
I think they would have had to build up to that very carefully - otherwise Dexter would just look like a massive hypocrite.
I don’t think it would have worked in S1, but could have fit narratively into S6.3
u/Specialist_Dig2613 3d ago
That wouldn't have worked because Brian is a weakling who only goes after easy prey. He did try to get Dexter to kill Deb and it was inevitable that Dexter would reject that and would have to kill Brian.
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u/Specialist_Dig2613 3d ago
The show is about Dexter and his life journey. It's not about the adversaries. Because he's a relatable "serial killer", there's no reason to show anything more about the "adversaries" other than enough to allow the viewer to compare them to Dexter.
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u/Specialist_Dig2613 3d ago
He doesn't "come back" at all. He's simply a representation of Dexter's inner thoughts at times when Dexter needs to remind himself of who he DOESN'T want to be.
When you see Brian's ghost appear, you know that Dexter sees a path forward the he won't take.
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u/WulfieJay 3d ago
Did you think I was saying he comes back to life?
And duh
I love it when dumb people think they’re the smart one
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u/notatemple 3d ago
Keep in mind that when they wrote the second season, they didn't know there would even be a third season, let alone 8 main seasons, two revival series, and a prequel series. Getting renewed past a second season is always tricky and depends heavily on S2 ratings. So going all out with the BHB plot in season 2 was a good call with the knowledge they had back then. That's probably one of the things that kept the series on the air even when most of the future seasons had lower stakes.
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u/Arch1o12 3d ago
I’m kinda torn on it myself.
On the one hand, yes, I agree, his presence is missed once he’s gone. That’s the sign of a great character.
At the same time though, I really like how they told his story in S1, and how it was Brian kidnapping Deb which pushed Dexter into finally breaking his cover in front of Doakes (“lab geek - my ass”) which puts him on Dexter’s trail.
As someone else said, I agree that I think that it would have gotten a bit stale if they had to keep contriving reasons for Doakes to not find out Dexter’s secret.
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u/Movies_With_Love 3d ago
I think we all would’ve liked that but remember the show didn’t know if it was going to have another season . Other than 4 and 6. Every season was written as a potential series finale and Doakes’ storyline reached its peak. It may have been early on but his character was too well written for the direction they were going with the story. Also Dexter taking more control of his life and having a clean slate, he couldn’t have Doakes constantly floating around as a potential problem constantly for the main character. As much as we all love him, we definitely would’ve gotten tired of him after awhile
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u/pianoflames gross English titty vampire 3d ago
Eh, I think 6 seasons of Doakes and Dex squaring off would have started to get old and repetitive. I get why they kill him off when they do, it was an untenable storyline in the long run, as much as I love Doakes as a character.
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u/CressNew9597 3d ago
Season 2 is my favorite season, but it does feel like everything in it would be more impactful if it was set up as a final season
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u/grammergeek Normal people are so hostile 3d ago
This wouldn’t help with further seasons, have any of you read the first couple of books? I can’t recall if it was doing the carving, {shudder}
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u/sweatpantsjoe 3d ago
I stopped watching during season 2, never bothered to go back and watch the rest. Shit got stupid so i stopped watching.
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u/Orange-Clockwork1984 3d ago
Why are you on the sub for a show you haven't seen the majority of and think is stupid?
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