Dexter

In the books Debs knew almost from the start as she was witness to conversations between Dexter and the Ice Cream Killer. She seemed to take the same view of Dexter’s killings as Harry. Also Rita’s children were trainee Dexters but I guess that was a step to far for the tv series.
 
I've watched the final episode now. Look away if you are new to Dexter.

I think I see why people might be disappointed in the ending, but I also see why Dexter faked his death. He is protecting Harrison (and also Hannah if you really believe that she was just a victim of poor choices in husbands). For me, the ending made more sense than some of the earlier story-lines - I mean almost everyone knew about Dexter, but no one says anything. Oliver Stone/Daniel Vogel; could have used it as a bargaining chip. Joey Quinn knew but somehow forgot - Dexter also knew Joey was on the take, but that was years ago and couldn't be proved. There was a stack of evidence against Dexter but no one that was left alive could put it all together. It went from everyone knows, very quickly to everyone's dead. So, apart from some of the detectives coming over as very stupid, I didn't think the quality of the writing dropped. It had definitely run it's course though.
 
That was 2014. I can quite imagine him never wanting to ever play Dexter again back in 2014, but in 2025 or 2030, looking at his pension prospects and having a quite different view. We've seen revivals of some extremely old shows recently (with a very hit and miss record on those). Not killing off Dexter certainly left that door wide open. Whether it would be a good idea or not I couldn't say.

The 4th season was certainly the best and had the most shocking ending. Any sequel is very unlikely to beat that quailty. However, I think Better Call Saul is better than Breaking Bad, Star Trek TNG better than Star Trek and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads better than The Likely Lads, to name a few.
 
After all those sordid crimes, a new life far away from the police is a good end for Dexter. He deseves a 2nd chance.
 
1st four seasons were epic; some of the best TV ever created. After season 5, it degraded.

I hated that ending, especially when I heard they had an alternate ending where the viewer discovers Dexter's been telling his story while strapped to a gurney awaiting execution by lethal injection. That would have been the ending to save the show.
 
If the books have about his children becoming killers I suppose a series reprisal a decade or more down the line could have him somehow connecting with his family again and a similar story happening with the child. With some conflict on whether Dexter wants to pass on the "family business". Obviously his character would have developed over the years. Presumably Dexter doing less killing if he wasn't to get caught out at some point.

The story during wait for execution seems a rather grim ending alternative. The show often, not always, had a more light hearted style.
 
I think the John Lithgow series was easily the best and the series with Julia Styles and Jonny Lee Miller was probably the most forgettable.

Edit: And I'm with Mike on the ending, it was anti-climactic to say the least
 
Hmm, Mister Skeptical here again. As much as I would love to see Dexter again, this looks like another money grab by the studio. They have the original show runner on board, and Mr Hall, so hmm, we'll see. Walks off mumbling.
 
Excellent news! The early seasons will be hard to match but there must be potential for a good story in there.
 
From what I remember, didnt the book end really badly, where their was a group conscious for all serial killers?

I remember enjoying the earlier stuff then thinking what utter tosh the last one was.
 
With the news of the new series, and with time to kill whilst the fifth series of The Expanse is drip-fed to us (I love it, but I've lost all patience with watching things weeks to week, so I'm waiting), I thought I'd revisit Dexter. It was the first thing I ever binged (series 1-5, almost ten years to the day!), it was the first series that made watching weekly releases feel like a chore (series 6-7, when I should have been revising or finding a job...), and, as with every first, I cannot forget the finale... and the intense disappointment. In fact:

Lenny said:
So Dexter has finally finished. Although the sixth series didn't really grab me, I watched the seventh to see what would happen to the Deb/Dex relationship. And although the seventh series picked up when Yvonne Strahovski turned up, it was a real drag to get through, but I decided to stick it out and watch the eighth series because it was the final series.

I kind of feel like I've wasted my time.
Click to expand...

You know what? Past Lenny was, like, sooo melodramatic. I don't know if it's time, if it's the binge rather than week-to-week over three years, or if it's the thousands of hours I've since racked up training my TV muscle on shows of all qualities, but I actually really enjoyed my rewatch, and I'll even miss it (until series nine starts).

Sure, all of the flaws are still there (from the very first episode, too). I still don't give a toss about such-and-such's relationship woes, or thingy doing a workplace spin on 2020 politics, and, my word, the less about unexpected love interests the better. I still don't believe for a second the motivation behind any of the bonkers decision making. And I doubt even the combined pantheons of all the religions in the world could scrump up enough miracle dust to even half-ass an excuse for all of the convenience Dex is blessed with. But it all somehow comes together in a way that makes Dexter a watch that can merit tolerating the bad.

Almost every series surprised me in some way. Major arcs and big characters I hated, like Lila, or Miguel Prado's journey, actually made sense this time. I even get the finale. Well, I still don't get the last couple of minutes, but I get the episode. I get what they were trying to do and how we got to that point. It's almost as if a prerequisite for the show is to forget 99% of the detail but retain the memory of the disappointment of finishing your first watch.

In my previous "I've just finished Dexter..." post I made a comment about how I even enjoyed the Lost finale, as a way to illustrate how poor I thought this one was. On reflection, I'd probably put Dexter and Lost in the same boat - shows that got everyone talking, that should have ended much earlier, and that garnered so much bad will that they've become tarnished and held up as an example of what not to do. Two shows that suffered for their own hype. Two good shows. Go in to either safe in the knowledge that you're wasting ~90 hours, expecting the car crash of an ending, and you'll uncover what makes them worth it.

On that note, see you all in 2028 in the Game of Thrones thread.
 
Last edited:
Lenny said:
With the news of the new series, and with time to kill whilst the fifth series of The Expanse is drip-fed to us (I love it, but I've lost all patience with watching things weeks to week, so I'm waiting), I thought I'd revisit Dexter. It was the first thing I ever binged (series 1-5, almost ten years to the day!), it was the first series that made watching weekly releases feel like a chore (series 6-7, when I should have been revising or finding a job...), and, as with every first, I cannot forget the finale... and the intense disappointment. In fact:



You know what? Past Lenny was, like, sooo melodramatic. I don't know if it's time, if it's the binge rather than week-to-week over three years, or if it's the thousands of hours I've since racked up training my TV muscle on shows of all qualities, but I actually really enjoyed my rewatch, and I'll even miss it (until series nine starts).

Sure, all of the flaws are still there (from the very first episode, too). I still don't give a toss about such-and-such's relationship woes, or thingy doing a workplace spin on 2020 politics, and, my word, the less about unexpected love interests the better. I still don't believe for a second the motivation behind any of the bonkers decision making. And I doubt even the combined pantheons of all the religions in the world could scrump up enough miracle dust to even half-ass an excuse for all of the convenience Dex is blessed with. But it all somehow comes together in a way that makes Dexter a watch that can merit tolerating the bad.

Almost every series surprised me in some way. Major arcs and big characters I hated, like Lila, or Miguel Prado's journey, actually made sense this time. I even get the finale. Well, I still don't get the last couple of minutes, but I get the episode. I get what they were trying to do and how we got to that point. It's almost as if a prerequisite for the show is to forget 99% of the detail but retain the memory of the disappointment of finishing your first watch.

In my previous "I've just finished Dexter..." post I made a comment about how I even enjoyed the Lost finale, as a way to illustrate how poor I thought this one was. On reflection, I'd probably put Dexter and Lost in the same boat - shows that got everyone talking, that should have ended much earlier, and that garnered so much bad will that they've become tarnished and held up as an example of what not to do. Two shows that suffered for their own hype. Two good shows. Go in to either safe in the knowledge that you're wasting ~90 hours, expecting the car crash of an ending, and you'll uncover what makes them worth it.

On that note, see you all in 2028 in the Game of Thrones thread.
Click to expand...
I finally decided to start watching Game of Thrones, see what the fuss is about. Not a big fan. Its like listening to someone sing in just one note all the way through. Boring.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
N Dexter - Failing Harry's Rules General TV Discussion 1
D A Question about The Case of Charles Dexter Ward H P Lovecraft 8
Princess Ivy Dexter Book Discussion 10
Randolph The Case of Charles Dexter Ward H P Lovecraft 13

Similar threads


Back
Top