A killer usually pays for his crimes. What has Dexter Morgan paid for? At the end of the 96th and final episode of the series, Dexter’s off being a lumberjack somewhere, Deb is dead, and Hannah and Harrison are living their own lives. Everything has changed, but at the same time, it hasn’t.
Let’s back up a bit. The episode is structured around Dexter’s attempts to get out of Miami, but not before he ensures the safety of Deb and the death of Oliver Saxon. Deb has been shot and is laying in a hospital bed, Dexter and Hannah are in the airport, and Saxon’s on the loose. After Dexter gets the call about his sister’s situation, he immediately rushes back to help her.
Now, this is certainly a promising plot to model the episode around, as the Deb-Dexter relationship has always been the central relationship of the show. However, instead of really honing in on the two of them, we have some contrived tension in the form of Oliver Saxon to deal with; this guy somehow kills someone in broad daylight, holds a veterinarian hostage, and enters the hospital by means of a distraction: cutting off the vet’s tongue. If this isn’t silly enough, Dexter later kills him with a pen, and Batista and Quinn study it, ask a few questions, and move on. This really is emblematic of the whole show, isn’t it? No one ever suspects Dexter, and if they do, he always gets away with it. Also, people are idiots.
It’s maddening, really, considering Season 2 explored that path with Doakes. Even that season ended with a Dexter win, though, setting up the next six years of wheel spinning. So here, after Dexter dispatches Saxon, he returns to a now deteriorating Deb that has no chance of ever living a normal life again. This is such an interesting turn of events, as Dexter has to grapple with the moral value of letting her live. However, it turns out to be just another attempt to vindicate him, making him out to be some sort of hero that is absolved of all sins. The thing is, he’s not!
Anyway, he rides off into the ocean, dumping Deb’s body into the watery grave of his former victims and disappearing. Hannah’s left with Harrison, a boy who is now free to grow up without the influence of a serial killer father. I suppose it’s a decent act, but at its core, it’s just another attempt to escape.
Deb’s death is supposed to be a traumatic one that hits Dexter at his core, causing him to reevaluate his life (which should’ve happened a while ago). However, he doesn’t need to do anything except run away. It’s an easy way out for the writers, and I can only lament at the waste of potentially great storylines: Vogel, the fallout over LaGuerta’s death, and the cracking down of the law. Frankly, it’s not surprising that the show would limp off into the sunset. I just wish that the writers had pushed aside the emphasis on the supporting cast, cut the middling storylines, and really told the story of Dexter Morgan the way it was supposed to be told? This, though? This is not it.
Grade: C-
Other thoughts:
-What’s the point of Masuka and his daughter this season?
-The final shot is of Dexter sitting at a table, pondering the choices he’s made. Or, he could be thinking about what he’ll have for dinner. Who knows?
-How does a hospital hallway go from completely empty, save for a couple of killers, to full of cops in 2 seconds?
-Still, I’d like to compliment Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter. They do the best they can, and they’re both excellent actors.
-Hannah’s storyline with Elway is unnecessarily stupid. First of all, there has to be a ton of plot contrivances to even get to that scene on the bus. Second, who cares about Elway?
-Quinn isn’t all that insufferable in this episode, actually.
-The flashbacks are weird. It’s just a way to show HOW MUCH DEXTER HAS CHANGED!
-Where’s Astor and Cody?
-Deb needs her own bench.
-The CGI hurricane is laughingly terrible. You know what would make it better? Sharks.
-Jamie shows up.
-Thanks for reading, guys. It’s been frustrating, yet enjoyable, covering this show, and I will always maintain that it used to be incredibly entertaining television. It’s a shame it had to turn out this way. You can also check out my Dexter retrospective, which takes a look back at the series as a whole. Thanks again.
Credit to Showtime and Dexter for all pictures. I own nothing.
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