Dexter star Michael C. Hall reveals how Dexter Morgan has changed from the series birth to its final season, and the impact of Yvonne Strahovski’s character, Hannah McKay, on Dexter in season 8.

“I wouldn’t say the character is unrecognisable to me now, but it’s changed, I’ve changed.”

Michael C. Hall recently sat down with the Brisbane Times for an interview regarding the unfolding development of Dexter Morgan since the series’ inception to its current stage in season 8. Hall also went on to speak about the impact Hannah McKay has had, and that Dexter’s love life will be continued to be explored in season 8.

Hall commented, “When I first encountered the character [Dexter] I didn’t anticipate it going in so many of the directions it has gone. I wouldn’t say the character is unrecognisable to me now, but it’s changed, I’ve changed. If you do something this long inevitably the flow of your life and the flow of the character’s life, at least it will intersect at some point.”

Dexter is now in its eighth season, but in those eight years Dexter has changed an awful lot. He now seems to more involved with his own emotions, and has become a father for the first time. The loss of Rita was a humongous blow to Dexter in terms of his emotional stability, and was one of the first times we saw Dexter have a more human side to him. But Hall comments that it is his father Harry who really is the one behind Dexter’s nature.

Hall said, “I think Dexter is someone who is sold on the idea that he was a psychopath. His father didn’t use that language but when I think he taught Dexter “the code” he conditioned him to believe he was a monster. But I think there lives in Dexter an appetite for a more full-flowered sense of himself as a human being so I think we see himself at this point based with the difficult task of trying to reconcile his appetite for humanity and his monstrosity. I don’t envy him that work.”

Hall then went on to comment on the final two seasons of Dexter in the two-season story arc of seasons 7 and 8. Hall noted that the finale of season 6 has set the tone for both season 7 and 8 with “a new landscape facilitated” with Deb finding out about who her brother Dexter really is.

Hall noted, “There’s been a serial nature to this storytelling in each season in its self contained arc and I think when we made the commitment to do two more at the end of [season] 6, that coupled with the new landscape facilitated with Deb finding out about who her brother is left us in a place where we really felt the story owed it. Maybe it’s going to work out? And maybe, we’ll see…But it’s been invigorating in the seventh season and going on the eighth, to be as enthused about what’s being written and what the characters are going through as ever.”

But, one of the teases Hall gave in the interview was regarding the involvement of Yvonne Strahovski’s character, Hannah McKay. There has been a lot of rumours and speculation regarding Strahovski’s involvement, and as it stands, she has not been confirmed for season 8. Hall dropped some hints though about her status within Dexter.

“Well I think that’s a question that will take with us as we go into these final episodes, we’ll see. I think the possibility is alive in Dexter in terms of what he allows himself to hope for, at least at times. It’s a pretty complicated logistical landscape to get away with. All the wreckage left behind him at this point so, we’ll see.” said Hall.

What do you think about Hall’s comments? Do you find Dexter almost unknown to the Dexter you first met? And what about those cryptic comments regarding Yvonne Strahovski? We hope she will return for season 8 after such a great inclusion in the seventh season.

Dexter returns to Showtime on June 30.