To start, Mittell points out that complex TV narratives reject the need for plot closure, therefore allowing relationship and character drama to emerge from plot development, rather than the reverse that is found in soap operas (2006, p. 32). In Dexter, the plot development certainly drives the relationship and character drama. Dexter’s sister, Deb, remains a constant source of conflict until the next to last season, when she finds out that her brother is a serial killer. After this point, many facets of her character unravel, fueling her downfall and, ultimately, her death. Dexter’s character and relationships with other characters also depend on plot throughout the series, since many of his actions are carried out under the premise that he cannot be found out as a killer. For example, Dexter comes very close to getting caught in the second season, when a cop Dexter works with discovers his secret. In the first season, Dexter is framed as a predominantly “good” character, since he is the protagonist and is written in a way that garners sympathy from the audience. He possesses a will to do good and he chooses his “good” adoptive sister over his “bad” biological brother when faced with a decision to keep up his own version of a moral code or succumb to temptation. However, when Dexter is faced with the possibility of being found out, he acts in ways that would seem malicious or horrific if the audience had not already been primed to empathize with him in the first season. In order to keep himself safe, he frames the cop who was onto him, Sgt. Doakes, and Doakes ends up dying. All of these plot points serve to complicate Dexter’s character and his relationships with the rest of the characters, who were all friends with Doakes.