Where to begin.
So for the first 3 seasons of Dexter I was completely in love. The storyline had me hooked from the word go. A forensic worker at Miami Metro who also has an alter ego as a serial killer. But only to kill those who have done bad or killed wrongfully before.
Although a tad farfetched, the writing of it all made you forget about any flaws or loopholes in the plot. Vigilantes make the best Protagonists.
Although a tad farfetched, the writing of it all made you forget about any flaws or loopholes in the plot. Vigilantes make the best Protagonists.
After a series of heart stopping moments that genuinely had me on the edge of my seat, i started to wonder how long the charade would last and how many times would Dexter slip through the net and get away with more and more shenanigans.
Personally, i felt the show dry up slightly. A couple seasons passed which all had quite significant events and exciting moments but it wasn't fresh anymore and it became a little predictable. But i stuck with it and I'm glad i did, because generally all the series ended on a cliffhanger for the next one to take over from and they all came good in the end.
Now, onto the finale itself.
I want to make it clear that I don't hate the finale. Some of it i think was rather poetic and for that the credit will be given in due time.
The whole episode is a (pardon the phrase) roller coaster of emotion. I guess it all depends on how you view Dexter. For me, in one way i wanted to have a happy ending. For Hannah, Harrison and himself to run away and live a happy life together. I felt Dexter is owed that much from all the shit he has been through. But then does he? All the shit he has been through is self inflicted and that is where the other half of me wanted a vicious and dark ending.
So it begins with Dexter finding out about Deb getting shot and Saxon getting away. This means Dexter has to go back to the hospital to see how Deb is getting on. All appears fine and if I'm being honest, i was sure all was going to be fine with her too. She tells him to leave and she will visit him etc.. so he does and he goes back to his business. He still needs to take care of Saxon so he sends Hannah and Harrison off together and Dexter promises to meet them later on. He then learns that Deb has had a stroke and basically she has become a vegetable. Meanwhile, Saxon has been caught and Dexter ends up killing him with a pen during a sit down meeting between the two that has been video taped. Gets away with it via Self Defence. Hannah gets caught by the Detective whose name i can't remember right now. El-something. But she pulls out a horse tranq and deals with him that way. A nice swerve on the now obvious Poisonous tea route. A nice touch might i add that she drinks the tea as she leaves. A kind of "fooled you" to the audience by the writers. Dexter then goes back and kills Deb. Well, takes her off life support.
This is now the climax of the whole show and by this point my brain is going in circles trying to forecast the ending.
So he takes her body to his boat where he is going to seemingly dump her along with the other dead criminals he has butchered and dumped. When i was watching it i physically said"what so no funeral for the fallen police officer that died a hero!?". Now in hindsight, i realise its a bit more than that. Dexter is responsible for her demise and he feels he has to get rid off her. So now, surely the only fitting way for this to all end is for him to drive into the incoming hurricane in the sea and go down together, brother and sister, he can no longer live without having her around, which would also add another layer onto the "i love you" statement he whispered in her ear as he pulled the plug. But no, he picks her up and casts her into the sea. To sink or be eaten. Dexter then phones for a last word with Hannah and Harrison. He says something like," i will love you forever"to his son. So we now know he is going to let himself be killed by the storm. What a great way to end our main characters life. By a big fucking wave.
So thats it, Dexter is presumed dead as his boat is found in pieces with "no known survivors". Then we see Hannah and Harrison at a nice wee cafe. She learns about Dexters death and after a few seconds of apparent sadness they go for ice cream… I wish i was kidding about that as well.
Fade to black.
Fade to black.
BUT WAIT!
There is another Scene!? Did Dexter survive!?
A scruffy man climbs out of a truck. He walks away to his apparent home and sits at a table. We now see that it is Dexter. He is looking thin and worn and has a beard. He has a look out the window, then closes his eyes. The camera closes in on his face, he opens his eyes looking dead in the camera and the screen fades to black.
THE END.
Now, so much of my/the entire Dexter fan base's time has been invested in the show and all the characters in it and after watching it and also writing about it again here, i can't say i have ever felt less satisfied about something.
The question that was always on peoples minds, or at least on my mind, was "When will he get caught?". I genuinely had it placed in my head that somehow, there was a loose end that he had forgotten and it would unravel slowly and inevitably, his genius and precision would have been found out. So when the finale started to wind down i couldn't help feeling very underwhelmed. I wanted him to go down with his sister, i feel like it would have tied it up nicely. A nice symbol of their relationship. They couldn't live without each other and they also couldn't die without one and other. Then when he tossed her overboard and gave himself up to the storm i couldn't help but shake my head in disgust. This isn't how Dexter should die!
I then toyed with the idea that he might still be alive, so when that final scene faded in, i was hoping for at least a link or a hint that he has gotten in touch with Hannah and Harrison. That would have eased that part of me that hoped for a bright future.
I then toyed with the idea that he might still be alive, so when that final scene faded in, i was hoping for at least a link or a hint that he has gotten in touch with Hannah and Harrison. That would have eased that part of me that hoped for a bright future.
So to learn that he is both alive and alone still hasn't clicked in my mind as something that works. I don't think it ever will. I guess you could view it as a punishment to himself. But other than that, i don't know.
Im still a bit gutted by it all actually. I feel like there are other things to mention but i won't take anymore time over it. Thats a good hour or so.
Not going to spell check or anything either so apologies to all the grammer nazis.
