Dexter - Part 5

[Compi716]

Honestly, I've been really hating Dexter these last couple of episodes. It's somehow gone from one of the better shows on TV to a weird soap opera. Harrison saying lines like, "I want Hannah to be my mommy" and the reveal of the killer are shockingly lame.

There better be a damn good payoff at the end, because I don't want one of my favorite shows to end on such a whimper.

 

[squeekness]

I know what you mean. For me this has been the worst season so far, like they don't know what they are doing with it or how to end it. It certainly doesn't have the same intensity as Breaking Bad which is also ending.

 

[BatLobster]

Oh come on, are you serious? A character that didn't even exist at the beginning of this season, had like maybe 13 seconds of screen time before now isn't out of left field?

I'm just saying...it wasn't left field to me because I deduced it after last week's episode. With Zach ruled out, by default he became the prime suspect for Cassie's murder. The fact that he lied to Quinn about ever seeing Zach raised another huge reg flag to me too. And by extension, Cassie's killer would be the prime suspect to be the real Brain Surgeon. "Left field" to me is something that you can't predict because it comes out of absolutely nowhere. They played fair here. It was easy to figure out if you looked at all the evidence. The real surprise to me was that he was Vogel's son.

Screentime doesn't matter. On a show like Dexter or anything following a mystery formula, everyone's a suspect...especially new (creepy Ryan Gosling-looking) faces.

I know what you mean. For me this has been the worst season so far, like they don't know what they are doing with it or how to end it. It certainly doesn't have the same intensity as Breaking Bad which is also ending.

This season is worlds better than Seasons 5 and 6 IMO.

This "they don't know how to end it" talk is nonsense though. People act as if they just wrote one script at a time with no consideration for what comes next when that's not how any TV show works. The whole season is mapped out before any scripts are written. They have a definite direction they are going with this, the only question is if it'll be a direction people can get on board with or not.

Scott Buck told Michael C. Hall how the show would end when they were shooting the last episode of Season 7 FYI.

 

[Dr. Remy Lebeau]

Absolutely nothing has happened that has warranted 9 episodes (roughly 7.5 hours of programming) of build up IMO. Zack's dead, the brain surgeon stuff was seemingly all done...

To me this has done a Chuck. It had one story going going for it (brain surgeon), then halfway through it suddenly ditches that for another (Zack) then one final storyline is brought in to round off the show with a character that has come out of ******* nowhere (Saxon). All done in possibly the most unfocused season out of the whole show. The one season which should only really have had one central focus.

I have more faith in the writers than that. You have a show that has run for 8 years. To end such a show you need to do something that makes sense for the characters and honors the entire run of the show. This task is tricky for this particular show since its about a serial killer. Generally someone like this needs to be punished in the end. If they're planning on not punishing him, then there has to be some really clever and convincing justification for it. Thus, all the story pieces that have been established throughout the season are somehow all laying the groundwork for what should eventually be a very satisfying end for the show. This is my take on it and I'm sticking to it. Patience!!!

 

[georgec]

Am I a bad person for thinking this show is awful now? I mean, I knew it during 5 and 6 as well but was willing to see things through before making final judgments. Season 7 rekindled some hope before regressing in the back half.

I love seasons 1, 2, and 4. 3 isn't bad, but it's a step down from the priors. What the hell happened to this show?

 

[Deserana]

I have more faith in the writers than that. You have a show that has run for 8 years. To end such a show you need to do something that makes sense for the characters and honors the entire run of the show. This task is tricky for this particular show since its about a serial killer. Generally someone like this needs to be punished in the end. If they're planning on not punishing him, then there has to be some really clever and convincing justification for it. Thus, all the story pieces that have been established throughout the season are somehow all laying the groundwork for what should eventually be a very satisfying end for the show. This is my take on it and I'm sticking to it. Patience!!!

I get what you mean. I just don't personally see it. As a final season this should have had one clear story IMO instead it has been jumping from plot point to plot point with no solid structure.

As someone said earlier yes the season was structured. Doesn't mean it can't be a mess. For me that is exactly what it is. It's had so many sub-plots Quinn promotion, Masuka, Deb's agency, Cassie/Dex date, Zack, Quinn hunting Zack, Vogel's notes, Hannah's return, Hannah's pointless husband... it just constantly jumps. Heck even some scenes seem shoved in at the last second and awkward.

I'm all for being patient. But that shouldn't mean 9 episodes of 12 in a final series. I know people are probably becoming bored with the comparison but Breaking Bad took possibly around 3/4 episodes to hit its stride in S5, since then it has hid the ground running.

I don't want to still see Deb/Hannah eating salad. In a final season IMO this late in the show shouldn't have time to fit that in. But they fit in 4/5 pointless scenes again.

 

[Travesty]

I hope the end shot is of Deb and Hannah sharing a salad.

 

[Liam_H]

I don't think the Deb/Hannah scene is entirely pointless, they want to show Deb warming up to Hannah. So she actually approves of her and Dex being together. Though its happening way too quickly.

My problem is that the Dex/Hannah relationship just does nothing for me. I love Strahovski but I really wish she(her character) was never on this show.

 

[BatLobster]

I think most people are just harsh on this show now because they overrated it in the first place. It's always been a "B" show to me. It's relied on some cheesy devices like an overabundance of narration and Harry to get its ideas across from the very beginning. Somewhat out of necessity due to the nature of the show, but these things are not the mark of great, subtle writing. It's part character study, part networky crime show. It's its own funky mix of the two. Always has been.

I just go easy on it because I never had the highest expectations for it. I've stayed with it over the years because it's entertaining, twisted and has an insanely watchable lead in Michael C. Hall. It's never been a brilliantly written show IMO. Moments of brilliance, yes. But even in its prime it was never consistently brilliant. It's always been "guest of the week" style writing where each season is kind of its own thing with a new supporting character as the focus. It's never been this cohesive overarching thing that I guess we all were hoping it'd be somehow. There are broad strokes to the overall progression, but it's never been a show where every little detail pays off in the most unexpectedly dramatic and poignant ways. Each season is its own thing, and this season definitely seems to be like a hodgepodge of a lot of various Dexter-isms, plus some new stuff. I kind of enjoy that aspect of paying tribute to the show in the final season.

There's no doubt about it...9 episodes in and my mind has yet to be blown. I expected all the cards to be on the table sooner, and they have waited a bit too long to set everything up IMO. But it's not this abomination of television that people are making it out to be, not by a longshot. It's not THAT far off the mark for Dexter standards. Of course, if the ending fails to have any impact whatsoever and it's all for nothing, then I'll agree with the critics. Until then, there are still the final 3 episodes of this series to watch and judge.

 

[TheBat812]

Amen. The reveal of the brain surgeon was not much more left field than the Rudy reveal in s1. Dexter has never been a top tier show in writing, it's the character/performance/feel (thanks A LOT to the brilliant score/cues) of the show that's always been captivating to me.

It hasn't been an entirely graceful final season, but the ideas are certainly there for me.

 

[BatLobster]

Amen. The reveal of the brain surgeon was not much more left field than the Rudy reveal in s1. Dexter has never been a top tier show in writing, it's the character/performance/feel (thanks A LOT to the brilliant score/cues) of the show that's always been captivating to me.

Spot on. I've always said that about this show. It's unique in that it actually has great recurring motifs in the score that are haunting and really effective when used for certain moments.

 

[antsman41]

God this show is bad...

I don't care about anything that comes out of Hannah's or Vogel's mouths.

This show is literally Days Of Our Lives starring Dexter.

We're only shy of incest or a random baby... but, Mazuka has that covered.

Also, as bad as 5 and 6 were; both had better actors than any ****heads in this one. Ala, Ray Stevenson, Edward James Olmos, even Johnny Lee Miller and Julia Stiles.

 

[The Demon's Head]

Am I the only one that finds it amusing that all of Vogel's patients turned out to be serial killers?

Did she even help a single one of them?

 

[antsman41]

No, she sucks... lol

I hope this

Spoiler

hurricane

kills everyone.

 

[BatLobster]

What hurricane? The courtesy of spoiler tags would nice for those of us who haven't read them. I know most people are throwing this show under the bus entirely now, but at least have some common decency and don't spoil things for the people who don't want to be spoiled.

 

[antsman41]

Seriously, this show isn't worth spoilers...

Not only was that info in two writer interviews, it's been on last night's promo, and a podcast interviewing a cast member.

 

[BatLobster]

Okay, fair enough. I didn't listen to the podcast and I purposely don't watch the upcoming promos. I just got back from vacation so I'm a bit behind on what's out there.

Sorry, I've got my guard up after I had something else spoiled for me that I didn't want spoiled. If the ending ends up being bad, I'd rather coming to that conclusion on my own by watching the show, not being influenced by something bad sounding in the spoilers. Execution does matter with these things. If you told me how Jesse would find out about Brock before I saw it last night, I'd say it sounds super lame. (And no for the love of God...I am not comparing the two shows, yes BB is infinitely superior, yada yada).

And the point is...it's fine if one doesn't think the show is worth being unspoiled for, but some people still are trying to enjoy the last season as much as possible. I am just opposed to unwanted spoilers on principle. I understand that in this day and age it's harder and harder to avoid them though.

 

[Reek]

Seriously, this show isn't worth spoilers...

at this point why are you even watching?

Sorry but I find it a bit irritating and really going too far saying stuff like 'This show is terrible.' 'This show is just crap.' 'Why even watch it?' etc etc.

its not nearly as bad as some of you are making it out to be, sure it isn't blowing my mind, and I'm not satisfied with the final season... but acting like its the worst show ever is really ignorant.

that being said, this season is kind of sucking by what I expect of Dexter. is it the worst thing I've ever seen? no. But I'm just not understanding how this season is getting more hate than any other season. I guess because its the finale...

 

[BatLobster]

Yeah, it's gone hyperbolic at this point. It's almost as overstated as all the recent Ben Affleck hate.

 

[Liam_H]

Question to anyone out there who cares to answer...What are you most interested to see resolved or what character are you most invested in by this point etc. We only have three episodes left and it should be fairly obvious what direction they are going in unless they keep adding more plot points.

I only really care about one thing right now, Debra. The rest I'm just indifferent to.

 

[Reek]

Question to anyone out there who cares to answer...What are you most interested to see resolved or what character are you most invested in by this point etc. We only have three episodes left and it should be fairly obvious what direction they are going in unless they keep adding more plot points.

I only really care about one thing right now, Debra. The rest I'm just indifferent to.

Astor.

 

[Reek]

Deb... and Dex in a fashion. but Deb really. and I think thats how its meant to be.

 

[The Demon's Head]

It's the final season, and most people expected some high stakes, and a sense of a dark end-game, instead of what we've been getting.

Lost's final season got a bad rep, but it's miles better than this season of Dexter.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I think most people are just harsh on this show now because they overrated it in the first place. It's always been a "B" show to me. It's relied on some cheesy devices like an overabundance of narration and Harry to get its ideas across from the very beginning. Somewhat out of necessity due to the nature of the show, but these things are not the mark of great, subtle writing. It's part character study, part networky crime show. It's its own funky mix of the two. Always has been.

I just go easy on it because I never had the highest expectations for it. I've stayed with it over the years because it's entertaining, twisted and has an insanely watchable lead in Michael C. Hall. It's never been a brilliantly written show IMO. Moments of brilliance, yes. But even in its prime it was never consistently brilliant. It's always been "guest of the week" style writing where each season is kind of its own thing with a new supporting character as the focus. It's never been this cohesive overarching thing that I guess we all were hoping it'd be somehow. There are broad strokes to the overall progression, but it's never been a show where every little detail pays off in the most unexpectedly dramatic and poignant ways. Each season is its own thing, and this season definitely seems to be like a hodgepodge of a lot of various Dexter-isms, plus some new stuff. I kind of enjoy that aspect of paying tribute to the show in the final season.

There's no doubt about it...9 episodes in and my mind has yet to be blown. I expected all the cards to be on the table sooner, and they have waited a bit too long to set everything up IMO. But it's not this abomination of television that people are making it out to be, not by a longshot. It's not THAT far off the mark for Dexter standards. Of course, if the ending fails to have any impact whatsoever and it's all for nothing, then I'll agree with the critics. Until then, there are still the final 3 episodes of this series to watch and judge.

Well, I guess I disagree that Dexter is a B show, or was always so. There's some really great writing in the series, especially those first two seasons. It's really wasn't until season 6, to me, where we just had truly horrible writing. I've never felt the standards was as low as you seem to imply here.

Amen. The reveal of the brain surgeon was not much more left field than the Rudy reveal in s1. Dexter has never been a top tier show in writing, it's the character/performance/feel (thanks A LOT to the brilliant score/cues) of the show that's always been captivating to me.

It hasn't been an entirely graceful final season, but the ideas are certainly there for me.

The stuff with Brian was different. He had been introduced for a little while if I recall, and it wasn't written as a twist so much as a natural reveal that went with the pace of the show. It all made a lot more sense than this random guy who had, up to this point, had literally no impact on anything and no real presence in the story. It reminds me, in a way, of an old episode I watched of Murder, She Wrote a long time ago. It got to the final reveal of the episode of who the killer was, and it was a character we had literally on seen one time in the episode in the background of a scene in the bar. This is pretty much a slight step up from that.

Honestly, I think all the stuff with Vogel and the Brain Surgeon killed this season in a way. It's not that it has been bad per say, but all it did was set up a bunch of stuff and helped give it a feeling of a standard season and at the same confused the whole thing. I've said it before, but I do think the best thing that should've been done is just start with Hannah reappearing and flesh out this situation with her husband, and kind of go from there and have it hand in hand with Deb's struggle.

 

[Deserana]

There's no doubt about it...9 episodes in and my mind has yet to be blown. I expected all the cards to be on the table sooner, and they have waited a bit too long to set everything up IMO. But it's not this abomination of television that people are making it out to be, not by a longshot. It's not THAT far off the mark for Dexter standards. Of course, if the ending fails to have any impact whatsoever and it's all for nothing, then I'll agree with the critics. Until then, there are still the final 3 episodes of this series to watch and judge.

I don't think this show is awful. I mean I still tune in everyweek to see what happens and you just don't do that with an awful show. I could just look at a recap online the day after if I wished. I do however think this is bad for Dexter standards. Even the poorer seasons of the show had a focus.

Season 1: Ice Truck Killer
Season 2: Bay Harbour/Lila
Season 3: Miguel/Skinner
Season 4: Trinity
Season 5: Lumen/Jordan
Season 6: Travis/Deb
Season 7: Hannah/Deb

Yeah there always subplots but those were essentially the focuses. In this season (the one IMO that should have the MOST focus on something) it just tiptoes around everywhere. You could say Vogel but she drifted away for a little while and became pretty insignificant, Zack came in midway through and is now done, Deb's issues are pretty much done, Hannah entered not too long ago, the brain surgeon disappeared for a long time. A plot comes in then is dispatched just as quick.

Now you may think I'm expecting too much and I am. It's the final season. But the main reason is that the writers have had a helluva long time!!! They knew midway through season 7 that this would be the final season. It's not like they were practically finished with S8 and the network dumped the "cancelled" tag on them. They have had time to plan out, structure and create a story that naturally builds and builds to a natural conclusion fitting not finishing just a season but the entire show. To me this feels like none of those things have happened.

If this was still episode 4/5 then yeah I'd admit that maybe I'm being hasty. But there is three episodes left. Can I be blamed for wanting more? I don't see anything coming that will make me think "yeah this conclusion was worthy of 9 episodes of build up".

And by the way this is all coming from someone who enjoyed every season other than 3.