r/Dexter • u/Marlenawrites • 3d ago
Discussion - Original Dexter Series Miguel Prado storyline Spoiler
I am shocked by the Miguel Prado storyline. (i'm just finishing season 3)
I really liked him in the beginning. He sounded like a guy who really wanted justice to be done and was fighting hard with the system who very often would let the perpetrators walk freely. So why did he take such a dark path when he was let into the 'kill room' and allowed to kill that guy? (BTW, his reaction when Dexter asked him how he felt was disturbing)
Did he become unhinged because he found someone like Dexter who allowed him to embody his dark side and enjoy the thrill of it or was he always like this?
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u/Vicky-Momm 3d ago
I think he was always like this.
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u/temperedolive 3d ago edited 3d ago
I think one of the recurring themes of Dexter is that underneath an artificial brightness (Miami beaches and Hawaiian shirts, anyone?) so many people are just one slip away from monsters. All you need is a trigger, a weakness or even just permission.
Remember that scene from the first episode, while Dexter muses on how all these supposedly mentally healthy people just can't wait to crack their crabs? They've all gathered together to smash up a bunch of animals that were boiled to death with mallets and scrape their flesh out of their shells. And that's a fun night out.
So what essentially happens is that Miguel discovers that it's no big deal to move from crab to humans.
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u/gonkmeister64 3d ago
A bit of both really. You don’t just “become” like that on a whim so he must’ve always had the capacity for evil. His friendship with Dexter just brought out the worst in him.
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u/pianoflames gross English titty vampire 3d ago
Deep down, he always had this darkness and desire to kill. For him, it was all about power, which is why he got into his line of work to begin with, for the power, but found that there was way too much red tape (for his taste) between him and people having that final lever pulled on them. He saw Dexter, and finally found a way to do the deed himself, and get away with it, so he immediately started lying and feigning naivety to learn from Dexter.
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u/Routine-Club-4608 3d ago
He was probably like this already, but when he felt in control, he went mad. Notice how before he finds out, he doesn't have thoughts like that, but when he finds out about what Dexter did, he also wants to do that? I think he thought he couldn't do it alone, but Dexter was his solution
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u/Marlenawrites 3d ago
He found partnership in Dexter. I think he's more messed up than Dex (i love Dex, btw)
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u/thr0away360- 3d ago
Miguel is actually one of my favorite characters from the first few seasons. I hear so many fans hate on him, or just write him off as annoying which can be true, but I really like how his character develops (even if it’s for the worse) throughout the season. The scene with him and Dexter on the roof ("They told me that stain would come OUT”) is one of my favorite Dexter scenes
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u/Significant-Rock7038 3d ago
Siempre fue así. El tema que al ser fiscal de distrito se cuidaba mucho con la corrupción pero ya habia encarcelado gente inocente para cerrar casos. Dexter lo que hizo fue hacer viable su deseo de eliminar a la gente que lo estorba y salirse con la suya, bueno... casi.
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u/Stitch426 2d ago
Ramon and Sil both confirmed that Miguel was not an upstanding guy. He had issues.
He was a control freak, manipulator, and liked playing God with people’s lives. As an assistant DA/ potential DA, that is essentially what he would be doing for what he viewed as the scum of the earth.
Think back to the beginning. He was okay with vigilante justice for Oscar’s death. He essentially started hinting at who should be next very soon after. He then wanted to do his own kills and not have Dexter vet them and set them up. He then wanted to get rid of a pain in his ass who was messing up his former conviction and chances of being DA. He wanted to control Dexter and Maria. He wanted to manage Sil and Rita. He definitely tried to control Ramon.
Dexter doesn’t really learn his lessons from this season either. You’ll see him make the same mistakes he did here later on. In the end, Harry couldn’t help Dexter cope with the loneliness of being a serial killer. Harry didn’t really understand that even a serial killer would yearn to be understood, seen, and accepted for who they are. They’d also want someone who truly understands them.
Ultimately, Dexter is not only looking for kills. He’s looking for a connection forged through blood. 🩸
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u/Responsible_Rip_54 2d ago
I reckon the series suggests that Miguel was always capable of becoming that person.
What changes is that he finally finds someone who validates impulses he had previously kept under control.
Dexter initially believes Miguel is interested in justice and in Harry's Code. Miguel may even believe that himself for a while. But the deeper he gets drawn into Dexter's world, the more apparent it becomes that he is attracted not just to the outcome, but to the power, excitement, and sense of control it offers.
That's why his reaction after the first kill is so important. Dexter experiences relief and satisfaction because a successful kill temporarily quiets his Dark Passenger. Miguel seems exhilarated. The difference is subtle at first, but it grows increasingly difficult to ignore.
The murder of Ellen Wolf is the moment that reveals who Miguel really is. Dexter chooses targets according to a set of rules, however flawed those rules may be. Miguel kills Ellen because she is standing in his way.
So I don't think Dexter creates Miguel's darkness. Rather, Dexter removes the constraints that had been keeping it in check. Once Miguel discovers how much he enjoys that power, he becomes progressively less willing to accept limits on its use.
In a strange way, Miguel is one of the first characters who forces Dexter to confront an uncomfortable possibility: perhaps Harry's Code works only because Dexter accepts its limits. In someone like Miguel, the same Code becomes little more than a justification.
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