Let’s just go over this waste of a forced debate (but before I start, I just wanna let you know that it’s okay to have favorites, but sometimes you can’t have an opinion on objective facts):

#Character writing

We start with how well-written are the MCs, and I don’t think that this is even a comparison:

Dexter Morgan is a morally grey, complex main character whose character consists of structured thematic progression, moral tension, richer duality and actual good internal conflict/self isolation. He’s not just a killer with a voiceover, he’s a man struggling with a desire to connect, to feel, to be a normal human. Joe thinks he’s struggling, but he justifies every act as “love.” That’s not real conflict, that’s delusion. Dexter knows what he is. Joe pretends he doesn’t.

Joe Goldberg is literally derivative of Dexter. The first book literally came out a year after the original Dexter show ended. Clyde Phillips helped early You with internal monologue structure—literally making it Dexter-lite. Both have internal monologues, dark pasts, a double life, a mentor (even though we don’t really see much of Mr. Mooney), but simply, Joe Goldberg is essentially what happens when you remove Dexter’s code, add social media, and throw in some romantic satire.

Dexter Morgan has internal conflict has ethical tension with depth, evolves season to season, has an ambiguous, code-based morality, consists of symbolism that has strong visual/literal themes, his writing quality is multi-layered & complex and it’s legacy is influential & genre defining. Joe Goldberg? Surface-level excuses, loops behavior, is self-serving & incoherent, symbolically largely absent, qualitatively entertaining, but repetitive and legendarily derivative of Dexter Morgan.

#Intelligence

This category is actually so laughable that it convinces me that *some* 𝒀𝑶𝑼 fans might actually be dumb, I’m sorry. I mean, it’s not that hard to not confuse slick presentation with actual intelligence. Don’t confuse main character bias with genius. He street-smart, manipulative, sometimes clever with improvisation, and literary, but not logistical. Dexter operated under police scrutiny. He was literally pre-med. Joe? Got caught by Peach (and pissed in a jar, leaving evidence for the cops at the same time 😭), got caught by Delilah, literally >!got arrested!<, he’s not intelligent.

He’s a consistent miscalculator. Leaves behind some evidence, kills impulsively, gets emotionally involved, he is actually trash when you look at him. He THREW THE DAMN WEAPON HE NEARLY KILLED PEACH WITH JUST A COUPLE OF FEET AWAY! Dexter on the other hand? He’s calculated, meticulous, planned, deliberate, premeditated, literally trained to get away with his kills. Sure, he makes mistakes, but not everyone is perfect, you know?

Joe is actually a fraud when it comes to intelligence. He is not Dexter-level intelligent, even in his prime? He’s fraud-checked by Original Sin Dexter. *Some* 𝒀𝑶𝑼 fans tend to: confuse reading books with IQ, ignore Dexter’s deeper, strategic mind, be misled by narration and vibe (even though Dexter’s also a narrator himself, smh), focus on Dexter clips while haven’t even seen the actual show and think big words = big brain considering some of them are immature teenagers. I know that the Dexter fanbase have a fair share of immature teenagers, but 𝒀𝑶𝑼 teens are on another level when you actually look at them both.

#Physicality

Now, honestly, I’ll tell you the truth. I am a power-scaler myself, but comparing 2 street tiers like Dexter Morgan and Joe Goldberg is honestly trash. Shows like Dexter, You, Hannibal, Mindhunter, even Breaking Bad — these are psychological thrillers, not shonen anime or superhero sagas. The second someone starts “power scaling” characters like Dexter Morgan or Joe Goldberg, they’ve already missed the point of these characters and their worlds. These aren’t power fantasies. They’re character studies. They’re about: Inner conflict, obsession & identity, social facades & moral ambiguity. There’s a reason you don’t see “feat compilations” for Norman Bates or Patrick Bateman. Because you’d look insane writing, “Bates’ stealth stat is S-tier — managed to sneak Marion’s body to a swamp undetected!” Like, come on. These aren’t stats — these are themes.

However, in this case, 𝒀𝑶𝑼/Joe Goldberg fans take it too far. Some of them actually believe that Joe Goldberg is a “small building level threat” physically, and honestly, it’s just too far. Joe Goldberg gets tackled by teenage girls. He can’t even catch up to Peach! And don’t even get me started on Reagan Lockwood. Dexter Morgan is literally trained in advanced jiu jitsu. He understands grapples, chokes, takedowns, and control — all core to his kill rituals and self-defense. We’re done here.

#Getting away with serial killings

I don’t think we’ll really need a while to get past this. Dexter’s method involves a controlled environment: plastic everywhere, plastic wraps, trash bags, every kill is thoroughly prepared and calculated. Joe is carried by absolute supernatural luck. He didn’t even check whether he killed Candace or not! He just saw her unconscious and buried her. Also, the cops in 𝒀𝑶𝑼 are lazy as hell. Before you get the same idea with Dexter, we’re watching from Dexter’s POV, not Miami Metro’s POV. To the other cops, Dexter is just a really skilled forensic scientist, not the bay harbor butcher. Also, are we just gonna forget about Doakes? Quinn? LaGuerta (even though it was an ass-pull, still not worse than the ass-pulls in 𝒀𝑶𝑼 (especially season 2))?

When he killed Benji, he burned the body, but played with fire and got absolutely lucky. When he was burning the body, 2 campers were walking by, and Joe met them, but he literally asked them whether they want to camp with him. When they said no, it was luck at its finest. Peach? Made it look like a suicide. Smart, but still off. Elijah? Literally pushed him off a bridge in a public area, but they need to keep Joe for 4 more seasons! So it goes unnoticed. Beck? Inconsistent. If Joe gets away with a lot of stuff because he looks good, they should place the same logic with Beck. She is played by Elizabeth Lail for Gods sake. If it were consistent, everyone would be googling her, but NOPE! We need 4 more seasons of 𝒀𝑶𝑼. They just said “Guinevere Beck, an aspiring young blondie who tragically passed. So sad. Moving on.”

Now we move on to Season 2: the season where they tried taking the Dexter approach (and fail). Let’s continue: Jasper. He disposed of his body by putting it into a meat grinder, smart. However: The Henderson thing? Absolutely ridiculous. Joe now has a bag filled with Henderson’s stuff. Some of the items had blood on it, then Officer Fincher stops him… and he only notices the limited edition headphones. Wow. What an officer. On top of that, he THEN gets a sort of awakening and puts 2 & 2 together, realizing that Joe might be a killer through the phone with Delilah. “Oh wait, he was gonna throw away stuff with a limited edition headphone in it, which belonged to the same man who died, that person must’ve killed him!” Like, what?

Then we’re in Season 3, and honestly, his kills are so forgettable in this season. All I remember is Love Quinn, and that was good. Cutting off your own toes, framing it all as a suicide and moving to Europe is smart. All his kills in Season 4 got carried by dissociation, however. Now we’re in Season 5. Bob? Fake camera (because Joe just had to get lucky) and of course, casually makes it look like a suicide. THEN he finally gets caught when he kills Clayton on live (finally), but that’s how he get’s caught? And Dane? HE LITERALLY KILLED HIM ON THE STREET! That’s it! He went out of his car, stabbed Dane (somehow, no one was there when it happened) and he doesn’t even dispose of it! Then the cop and he finally gets jail time. Trash as hell.

#Their shows

Now this is the big debate, and a one-sided one as well. Dexter is *narratively* better than 𝒀𝑶𝑼 ever dreams to be. Every season in Dexter explores new psychological and ethical dilemmas. From the burden of living a double life, to legacy (Harrison), to spiritual emptiness (Trinity), to addiction (Dark Passenger), the themes evolve and deepen. 𝒀𝑶𝑼 repeats the same structure: Joe stalks girl → manipulates girl → kills people → “feels bad” → rinse and repeat. Even in Season 4’s twist, the dissociation idea wasn’t earned — it felt gimmicky, not organically developed.

I’ll just keep continuing: Dexter is structured around investigative arcs, symbolic antagonists, and the Code of Harry which anchors Dexter’s entire arc. His slow unraveling is deliberate, and every choice has consequences that carry across seasons. This show gradually changes — learning emotions, relationships, even love and fatherhood. The conflict between his monster and his mask creates internal tension that’s consistent and layered. It also has seasons where Dexter might be caught, exposed, or lose someone real. Every action has stakes — Rita’s death changed the show forever.

𝒀𝑶𝑼 however? Loosely plotted. Major events often happen because the writers need them to, not because they naturally build up. Joe doesn’t evolve — he just reacts to each new obsession with a slightly different outfit. It’s also inconsistent. One moment he’s reflective, next he’s murdering for “love.” His character flip-flops not because he’s complex, but because the show doesn’t know where to take him after Season 2. Also, Joe never really faces long-term consequences. Even when caught, he escapes or resets. It undermines tension, which makes the show feel hollow by Season 4. Sure, he got caught in Season 5, but it was just horribly built-up and due to absolute trash plot armor.

Dexter is an original, genre-defining psychological thriller with moral ambiguity at its core. 𝒀𝑶𝑼 is derivative — it exists in Dexter’s shadow and owes much of its identity to Dexter’s blueprint. It’s that simple. You can prefer 𝒀𝑶𝑼, but it will never be narratively near the depth & complexity of Dexter.

This is one of the most forced debates ever.

This comparison has gotten seriously out of hand, and I believe that it’s time to address it