Dexter 10 Biggest Differences Between The Show & The Books
Dexter: 10 Biggest Differences Between The Show & The Books
Without the restrictions of television, the Dexter books get much darker than the Showtime series– but just how different are they?
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The showtime series Dexter was so fantastic and seemed like a totally original concept for TV, but it was actually based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. The author did write several books in the series, but season one of Dexter pretty closely mirrors that first novel.
That said, there were some marked differences. The book was actually far more morbid than the series, if one can believe it. And the show took some creative liberties to translate the story better for the small screen.
Without the restrictions of television, the Dexter books get much darker than the Showtime series– but just how different are they?
10 Dexter And The Tamiami Slasher
The Ice Truck Killer is the main antagonist of the first season, and on the show, Dexter keeps finding mutilated dolls in his home as someone is clearly trying to send him a message. In the book, the Tamiami Slasher (the basis for the Ice Truck Killer) is far more forward in their first encounter.
Dexter is driving around Miami when he spots a refrigerated truck and decides to follow it when all of a sudden the driver tosses a severed head into his car. While this is adapted in the show, it’s not Dexter’s first major encounter with Brian Moser.
9 When & How LaGuerta Dies
Maria LaGuerta does eventually die in the series, but she has a much larger role that lasts several seasons. In the book, LaGuerta, first name Migdia, is far more of an enemy to Deborah than she is on the series. She discovers Deborah being held by Brian (The Tamiami Slasher/Ice Truck Killer) who is trying to convince Dexter to come with him.
When Dexter refuses to kill Deborah (spelled Debra on the show) because of his code (and because, in some weird way, he does love his sister), Brian kills LaGuerta instead. Which Dexter actually okays so he & Deb can escape.
8 Dexter Was Colder, More Detached
In the books, Dexter is exactly who one would think a serial killer would be. Cold, calculating, cruel, completely devoid of emotion, and possessing zero empathy for others. He was totally detached from humankind.
By contrast, the Dexter on the show was far more relatable. He came across as socially awkward and a bit weird, but it was clear he had affectionate feelings for some people even if he didn’t quite understand them.
7 Debra’s Personal Life
The show writes Deb as a career-focused woman who, on the one hand, wants to find love. But on the other, is so deeply married to her job that she really has no time to date nor to dedicate to a relationship. In the books, she is less hard on herself and has a steady boyfriend who eventually gets her pregnant, after which she gives birth to a son. Fans of the show couldn’t possibly have imagined Debra being written with a child. It wouldn’t have worked for the on-screen version.
6 Brian’s Storyline
Brian’s storyline is drawn out much longer in the novels. While he doesn’t become a romantic interest for Debra in the books, he does reveal his true identity to Dexter and tries to get his brother to join him in his cruel world. In the show, he dies by the end of the first season. In the books, however, Brian lives and, as noted, Dexter offers LaGuerta as a sacrifice in order to save Debra. In fact, he’s a part of the story right to the end of the final novel in 2015.
5 Sergeant Doakes’ Fate
One of the most jarring differences between the book and the series is what happens to Sergeant Doakes. On the show, he has a sneaking suspicion about Dexter for some time, following him around because he knows something’s up. When things come to a head, he ends up getting killed by Dexter’s obsessive girlfriend Lila.
In the book, the sinister serial killer Doctor Danco completely mutilates Doakes, keeping him alive with only the parts of him that are essential for life. That means his tongue and limbs are removed. Dr. Danco continues to torture Doakes’ torso-only body for quite some time as he pleads to simply be killed.
4 Kyle Chutsky/Quinn
In the book, Debra’s partner is Kyle Chutsky, the man with who she has a relationship and ends up fathering a child with. In the show, she doesn’t really have a partner until we are introduced to Joey Quinn. She does end up having a relationship with Quinn, but he is very different than how Chutsky is described and Debra & Quinn split before the end of the series. Chutsky is also supposed to be big and muscular whereas Quinn was lanky and thin.
3 The Dark Passenger
Both the show and the book talk at length about Dexter’s Dark Passenger, the force that causes his urges to kill that he can’t ignore. In the series, it’s clear Dexter has a mental illness and he’s very likely a psychopath. That Dark Passenger is, of course, a part of him.
In the book, while it’s up for interpretation, the Dark Passenger is described almost like a mythical or spiritual creature that actually appears in front of Dexter. Maybe that’s how he sees it. Nonetheless, there’s a supernatural feel from the book descriptions that is not present within the show.
2 The Kids
Astor and Cody are Dexter’s step kids and Rita’s biological children from her previous marriage with an abusive man. They had been through and seen a lot. But for all intents and purposes on the series, they appear to be pretty normal children. However, in the books, Dexter notices Dark Passengers in them and secretly works to try & teach them Harry’s Code so they don’t end up going on murdering sprees.
1 Everything After Season One
While Jeff Lindsay authored several books in the series after Darkly Dreaming Dexter in 2004– including Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter in the Dark, Dexter by Design, Dexter is Delicious, Double Dexter, Dexter’s Final Cut, and Dexter is Dead– only the first season actually followed the story of the books.
The rest of the seasons completed diverged from the novels, but for the main & other supporting characters as well as the plot’s original concept.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dexter-show-books-biggest-differences/
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