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| “ | Son, there are people out there who do very bad things. Terrible people. And the police can't catch them all. | „ |
| ~ Harry Morgan to his son. |
| “ | When I'm gone I won't be able to stop you from being who you are. Sooner or later you'll need to do it. Just remember our lessons. | „ |
| ~ Harry to Dexter. |
Harrison "Harry" Morgan is the overarching protagonist of the Dexter franchise.
He is the adoptive father of the show's titular protagonist, Dexter Morgan, and his sister, Debra Morgan. He is also a retired and widely respected Miami Metro Police Department detective, and a close friend of Lieutenant Tom Matthews. Harry initially found Dexter as a young boy at a crime scene, covered in blood in a shipping container after witnessing the brutal murder of his biological mother with a chainsaw by a group of drug dealers. He and his wife Doris adopted Dexter, vowing to raise him beyond the trauma he had experienced.
Harry recognized and voiced concern about Dexter's potential for violence and sociopathic tendencies, so he developed a unique moral code to channel Dexter's urges. Known as "The Code," "Harry's Code," or "Code of Harry," it's two main rules were not to get caught and to only kill those who deserve it: other murderers who had escaped the legal system. In effect, Dexter was molded into a vigilante serial killer.
Harry also trained Dexter in police work, gunmanship, and his specific code of conduct. He taught Dexter how to appear normal, control his emotions, and blend into society while managing his impulses. Though deceased by the time the series begins (he appears in flashbacks) due to committing suicide after witnessing and regretting Dexter's depravity first-hand, later covered up as a heart failure, Harry continues to have a profound psychological influence on Dexter. Dexter often converses with a hallucination of Harry, who serves as his moral compass and inner voice of strategic guidance throughout the series, though he is routinely disavowed.
He was portrayed by James Remar, who also played Ajax in The Warriors and Raiden in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. In Original Sin, he is portrayed by Christian Slater, who also played Mark Hunter in Pump up the Volume, Will Scarlet in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Riley Hale in Broken Arrow and voiced Pips in Ferngully and Jet Fusion in Operation: Rescue Jet Fusion.
Personality[]
Harry tends to be very practical and logical, often making his decisions based on what he believes will lead to the best outcome, usually for his son, his daughter, and for the "greater good," even if it means bending moral or legal boundaries. He is fundamentally a problem-solver who approaches Dexter's condition as a challenge to be managed rather than a pure moral dilemma. This is evident in his creation of "The Code" to channel Dexter's urges in a way that minimizes harm to innocents while also protecting his son. Harry is deeply protective of Dexter (and Debra). His efforts to guide Dexter reflect a genuine desire to shield him from discovery and societal consequences after discovering him in his initially horrific condition.
However, his attitude can be a bit abusive, ruthless, and controlling: he consistently drills the idea into Dexter's head that he is simply a monster at heart, and that the only path for him is to channel his urges and hide who he truly is. He also refuses to let him be honest with and connect with his sister Debra for most of his childhood, fearing that it could ruin their relationship and put her at risk. This also made him quite neglectful of Deb while focusing his attention almost always on Dexter.
While he is questionable, Harry still consistently demonstrates a strong sense of honor and standards. Not only does he emphasize that Dexter should not cause harm to innocents, he also expresses regret for how he encouraged his son to treat killers, as he was horrified upon witnessing Dexter dismember a body, later noting in a conversation that the victim was still human and that nobody deserved to be chopped up and put in garbage bags. He also expresses how it did not make him feel good to have taken a life by gun in the line of duty in "Poppin' Cherry," even though it was necessary. In general, Harry seems to carry significant internal guilt about his methods of raising and "creating" Dexter, and even ended up killing himself over it.
Despite this set of standards, Harry still compromises them occasionally: in some situations where Dexter finds himself in a tricky position, Harry makes it clear to him in his hallucinations that the number 1 rule of "Don't Get Caught" takes priority over the rule that forbids harm to innocents. He also expresses a legitimate desire for vigilante justice for killers who have escaped legal consequences, such as Nurse Lady, going beyond simple self-preservation for him and his son.
Harry is also a very intelligent individual. Not only was he a highly respected and dedicated member of Miami Metro's police department, but through his developed code and the way he guides Dexter in his hallucinations, he consistently shows problem-solving, strategic, and analytical skills that sometimes rival those of Dexter himself, which often help Dexter think about situations or his opponents more clearly. Beyond strategic guidance, Harry also takes on the role of a wise mentor and moral voice of reason for Dexter, both while he was alive and posthumously in his mind, where he tries to encourage Dexter to make the right decisions both for himself and others. He is quite perceptive of human nature and psychology, even if he may have missed the mark in fully evaluating and understanding Dexter.
Biography[]
TBA
Trivia[]
- Clancy Brown was originally considered for the role.
- Brown would later portray Kurt Caldwell in Dexter: New Blood.
External Links[]
- Harry Morgan on the Dexter Wiki
- Harry Morgan on the Villains Wiki
- Harry Morgan on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
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 Heroes
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Morgan Family
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