Dexter – Michael C. Hall Has it Right
by Jennifer Pitt
I know how most of you feel about the Dexter series finale. We all know, by now, how Michael C. Hall feels about how most of you feel about the final episode. I don’t feel the same way as either side, exactly, but here goes anyway.
Dexter is the only show I have watched premiere to finale while it was on the air. I am a fan of watching shows back-to-back, so I tend to get a little behind so I can catch up on my own (which admittedly, does not do much for a burgeoning writing career). I loved Dexter from the beginning; I know some years have been better than others, but I enjoyed all of the seasons on their own merit.
I have had my complaints over the 8 seasons, most of which have to do with the consistent inconsistencies of seasons 7 and 8, particularly in the beginning of season 7 – the main complaint being Dexter’s sudden expertise in all things forensic, and his apparent but unaddressed meteoric rise from blood spatter expert to all-around crime scene maven (they finally addressed it in season 8, episode 9 – “Why me? I’m just a forensic technician.”, which still does not clear it up for me).
That being said, I think that the series finale is getting a lot of unnecessary criticism. We need to take a minute to understand that it is exceedingly difficult to tie up 863 loose ends in 55 minutes – even Stephen King takes forever to tie up his strings. I always sympathize with writers who are facing a series finale because, literally, there is only this one last chance to make the fans happy.
I was more or less pleased with the way it all tied up. I would have preferred that Dexter go to Hannah and Harrison in Argentina, because he finally seemed to have rid himself of his ‘dark passenger’. When he had Saxon on the table and he surprised himself by realizing he didn’t even want to be there – when that moment used to be what he lived for – is the moment we have all, more or less, been waiting for since season 1 – the humanizing of Dexter. To have finally been cured of his need to kill, to be free of the Code of Harry, is what this whole journey was about. To finally be unfettered by connections that tied him to Miami was to be the climax of that journey, which should have ended with a nice, normal, cozy little life somewhere. Even though I wished for Dexter to be free from those ties, I was sad about Debra’s end; especially so because her end actually freed Dexter to pursue that cozy life.
So I was disappointed when that didn’t happen. Now, don’t misunderstand me: I was not disappointed in the episode itself. I have always stated that writing that makes you feel anything is good writing, whether it’s anger, joy, disappointment, euphoria, etc. I think the episode was very well written, for the intention it had and the point it was trying to get to.
The whole team, from the executive producers down to the lowliest of assistants, should be proud of what these 8 season have culminated in. I get that the conclusion is not to everyone’s taste, mine included, but that does not make it a failure or a bad finale.
I will miss the Morgans, the Metro PD, Masuka, Batista, and Quinn…..you all made my Sunday nights that much better.
To all the people who slammed the finale, and thus the series, without objectivity or any type of thoughtful analysis, Michael C. hall said it best:
