Dexter:' Season 4, Episode 1

One of the most interesting things about Showtime’s “Dexter” is how the serial killer drama has humanized the “monster.” Dexter Morgan has always been an unrepentant mass murderer, never hesitating to slay killers that meet the demands of his personal “code.” Part of the lingering fascination of Michael C. Hall’s performance is difference between Dexter’s ruthless true self and his placid, cheerful-to-a-fault public face.

It may be more noticeable if you’ve watched previous three seasons in a couple of months, rather than years since the show’s 2006 debut, but Dexter’s emotional palette keeps expanding. Initially he dated Rita (Julie Benz) because, as the ex-wife of abusive drug user and a single mother of two, she seemed too “damaged” to put many demands on him. For Dexter, a girlfriend was simply a beard, part of his masquerade of normalcy. At first…

Over the years, he’s become more deeply attached to Rita, her step-kids and his sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter). Season 4 opens to find Dexter ensconced in suburbia as a husband, homeowner and father to a newborn baby, Harrison — clearly named after his late father, Harry (James Remar). The new season will put to test just how monstrous Dexter remains. Will his sociopathic compulsions consume his middle-class ideal? Or will he split time as family man and murderous crusader, making the show sort of like “Desperate Housewives” with the occasional fetishistic execution, dismemberment and body dump?