So, about that "Dexter" finale...

[Disney Ella]

I like "Miami Metro Learns Dexter is a Serial Killer." He worked so hard to keep it a secret, it would have been interesting to see his secret life unravel.

 

[Colleen27]

I certainly didn't expect a completely happy ending, but this was a little too depressing.

I'll go so far as to say I expected depressing. I expected Dexter dead in the end because his story was never going to have a happy ending - that would have been just as jarring as the way they ended it last night. But I expected something more satisfying and less bleak, a culmination of his character's development rather than a retreat.

My guess before last night was Hannah and Dexter dead, Deb left behind with Harrison. Full circle to when Harry found himself raising a child "born in blood" after a tragic loss.

 

[Robbi]

My husband and I kept saying, "Hannah should dye her hair."
During a hurricane evacuation, things get crazy, so Dexter taking Deb was not totally implausible.
I was glad Dexter made it through the storm. The whole series was not plausible really so this didn't bother me.
I did keep talking to the tv telling Dexter not to send Harrison with Hanna.
Pretty much, during the show, there were things that made you-well me- wonder whether Harrison was going to grow up to be a serial killer so maybe that's why it was written that he would go off with Hannah.
The ending gave me goose bumps when Dexter closed his eyes and then opened them with his killer look. It made me wonder if he would still follow the code.

 

[JRawkSteady]

Wow. I disagree with everyone here. I thought the ending was perfect.

Killing was an addiction for Dexter, and throughout the show, he is trying to gain his humanity so he can stop his addiction. But it's not that easy. Whether it is for vigilantism or vengeful reasons, Dexter will ALWAYS be a killer. He cannot help himself. So, in the end, he chose killing over his family. BUT he showed enough humanity to fake his own death, so his son would never have to see him who he really is and face those horrific demons.

Ever since Dexter started to gain this humanity, he started slipping...becoming more and more sloppy...lapses of judgement. It is that sloppiness that led to Deb's death. Leaving Harrison with Hannah can easily be attributed to the same thing...was it a good decision? NO! But it was HIS decision! And I believe the character would make it! Because he's in love.. honestly, for the first time. (I know we all wish he really loved Rita, but we know the truth...) We all remember our first loves, right? For the most part (with some exceptions) a HUUUGE mistake! But we didn't notice it until after it was over. So yeah...Dexter believed Hannah was the perfect person for Harrison... It was a decision he had to make...was it a good decision? NO! But it was HIS decision! And I believe the character would make it!

Finally, Deb's death... Dexter knows what his sister would want. She would NOT want to be stuck to a machine for the rest of her life...That is not the way Deb would want to "live." So he pulled the plug. But for some reason, this "burial at sea" is getting to everyone. I think there is this great irony to the situation. I don't find it to be especially disrespectful. Would Deb really want a group of people crying over her grave? Would she want to be pitied? Not really. I think Dexter was doing what he knows. He didn't want Deb to go through the system, get shoved in a hospital morgue, etc etc. He wanted what he thought was best for her (and honestly, himself as well)

Yeah, the last season had some flaws. Hannah should have been wearing a disguise... ... there was really no reason she shouldn't at all. But as a whole, I think this ending was as satisfying as it can get. Fans are going to complain no matter what at the finale. If he died, people would have been angry. If the force found out who he was, people would have been angry. There is no way to please a mob. I thought it ended brilliantly. Dexter is a monster. He always was a monster. And no matter how much he cares, how much he loves, how much he feels...he will always be a monster. Poetic.

 

[Myothername]

So many things wrong with this episode and this season.

Hannah, cut or dye your hair. Wear glasses. Wear frumpy clothes.

Hurricane coming and no waves? Really? And you can't see a hurricane out in the water like that like it was a big tornado or something.

Dockside service at a hospital? And a hospital that close to the water? Serioulsy?

The writers phoned it in this episode.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

I hated how it ended. I actually was hoping for a happy ending for everybody. I wanted Deb to survive to be with Quinn. I wanted Dexter to be able to move away with Hannah and Harrison and start a new life.

The fact that Dexter faked his death and abandoned Hannah and Harrison ruined it for me.

I am sad this series is over. It has been my favorite show for the last 6 years (that is when I started watching it) I am grieving for the loss.

Heck I am still missing Big Love from HBO. I hated when that show went off the air and Bill got killed.

And now to find out next season is the last season of True Blood. *sigh*

 

[Robbi]

So many things wrong with this episode and this season.

Hannah, cut or dye your hair. Wear glasses. Wear frumpy clothes.

Hurricane coming and no waves? Really? And you can't see a hurricane out in the water like that like it was a big tornado or something.

Dockside service at a hospital? And a hospital that close to the water? Serioulsy?

The writers phoned it in this episode.

We've seen hurricanes over the water like in the episode. I agree about the waves though.

 

[krcit]

I thought the last scene when he opened his eyes was AMAZING!!

 

[ChancesAre]

I agree with everyone that thought the finale fell flat and made no sense. I've been a loyal Dexter fan from the beginning and am truly disappointed in the lackluster ending.

To add to the list of head scratchers:

Elway knows that Harrison is with Hannah and they're heading to Argentina. With Deb dead and Dexter supposedly dead, isn't someone going to think "Where's Harrison?" Thus, prompting a massive search for the child? The super genius Dexter would have seen that one from a mile away and would have known that Harrison's future would more than likely end up in a "system" somewhere.

The way they had Deb acting in the nursery after Harrison was born was so out of character. Made me want to vomit.

What the heck was Masuka's long-lost daughter all about? That entire story line fell flat. I thought that would end up being of some significance somewhere.

Deb telling Quinn she loved him? Ummm, no, she loved Dexter. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Two things I liked about the final episode: Dexter's final grim look at the end. But, shoot, he could have given that look laying on a beach in Argentina somewhere.

Hannah stabbing Elway with the horse tranquilizer. Now that was Hannah's personality. But they buried her true personality under fluff all season.

Nothing else about the final season or final episode rang true at all.

I didn't expect the ending to be rosy and pretty, but I did expect it to stay true to the characters.

 

[zurgswife]

Didn't read the other responses. I have been a Dexter fan since day one!!! It sucked big big time there is no other opinion to have!!!

 

[Krista in MA]

I'm bummed. I haven't watched any of this new season but I've been following along with some message boards and stuff. From what I've read, this ending was horrible! I've disliked Hannah from the beginning of her relationship with Dexter and was sorry to hear she was back. I would have been so happy if Lumen (spel?!) had stuck around or made periodic appearances! I think I'm just going to pretend that the series ended last season, with Deb apologizing to Dexter and saving LaGuerta.

Poor Deb. She was my favorite (except for the creepy bro-mance revelation).

 

[snarlingcoyote]

My theory is that Dexter died, figuratively or literally, it doesn't much matter. This is his purgatory or hell. He's human now with human emotions, but sentenced to exist the way a psychopath would, just with full human needs for contact, for warmth, for friendship, for love, but unable to get any of it, and all of it in a place Deb told him to go for his own benefit.

 

[Christine]

I think there were a lot of flaws in this season as have already been pointed out. But I actually think that during this last season, Dexter did become "normal." I forget his exact words as he was narrating but he basically stated that he became like others but it hurt too and he didn't want it. I believe he chose to go back to his old ways and cut himself off.

I also think, in a roundabout way, this is what happened to him as a child. He cared for and loved his mother. She was brutally murdered in front of him so he cut himself off, became non-feeling so he didn't have to be hurt by love and loss again, and had this need to kill. I think the more Dexter attaches himself to someone the less able he is to handle normal emotion. He was getting there but too many bad things happened and he couldn't stand it. He sent Hannah and Harrison off so he couldn't taint them anymore and, I believe, he's gone back to the old Dexter.

I am not totally disgusted with what he did with Deb. I think the poster upthread was spot on about knowing Deb wouldn't want to be in the system.

 

[MissManda]

I have mixed feelings about the finale. I appreciate that it had a dark ending. It was a show about a serial killer, I would have been disappointed had it ended all on a happy note.

As with everyone else, I can't get over the stupidity of Hannah running around not trying to disguise herself at all. You know people are looking for you, at least try to blend in some.

I did enjoy seeing Hannah get the best of Elway. That was the Hannah we were introduced to last year.

I still have mixed feelings of Harrison being left with Hannah. I would have preferred Deb to live and to raise Harrison.

I am ok with Dexter living at the end, even if you have to suspend all reality to believe it. I can see his reasoning for isolating himself because he does feel that everyone he loves gets hurt/killed because of him. I wonder if we are supposed to believe that he staged his death or did he truly intend to die out there and somehow managed to survive by luck and he put himself in exile after that?

What bothers me the most is Deb. I really did not want her to die, but I can see why they did that. I just hate the fact that he dumped in her in the water like that. If Dexter had died there as well, I would have felt better about it. But no, he dumped her there and then left her. She didn't deserve that. She deserved a proper burial not only for herself but for those who loved her. There was no closure for the folks at Miami Metro at all.

Very mixed feelings about the ending.

 

[WDWBarb]

So many problems with it... too many to count. But putting on his kill shirt, "killing" Deb (I know, I know... it was inevitable but... wow) and then dumping her with the rest of his victims in the ocean?

That made me sick.

When I saw him in his kill shirt and in the boat, I was all like, "ooh... who's he going to kill?" and DH immediately replied, "Deb." I rolled my eyes and said, "RIIIIIGGGHHHTTT."

.... right.

I haven't enjoyed Dexter since Trinity (I can't remember which season that was ... 3? Maybe?) but I hung in there. Not all series pay off in the end and this was one of them.

 

[nicolita3]

I think one of the reasons he dumped her there was because he seemed to love to be out on his boat on the water and it was peaceful to him, it just so happens that he dumped bodies out there too...

 

[sookie]

Sorry to say, I laughed at several parts.

Dockside parking at the hospital? No one notices a guy wheeling out a patient to the boat? Hannah McKay STILL doesn't think of...ummm...maybe wearing a disguise?

Dexter trusting his son with Hannah? Please. At the end, I'm like "Harrison, don't take any ice cream from her!!!"

PLUS...now I have the Monty Python "Lumberjack Song" running through my head... "He's a lumberjack and he's ok..."

Hahahaha! I said the exact same thing - I was why like why the heck is she not at least cutting and coloring that hair? Jeebus!

I laughed really, really hard at that ice cream comment.

I wasn't surprised they killed Deb off if they were going to follow through on the Argentina plan, but if they weren't going to follow through - why kill off Deb?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

The hospital on the docks didn't even make me blink. I admit I've never seen one, but I've seen just about everything else with a dock. If you build right near the water and are a customer oriented business, why not? As a hospital, you'd get all the people who hurt themselves on the water (people with boats = people with insurance, after all) in to get themselves stitched back up.

In fact, it was kind of weird, a Walmart built in my home community right on a big bayou, but didn't build a dock. While we were all glad for the small businesses along the waterways, it was just funny that Walmart wasn't taking advantage of the situation. But they're not based coastally as a corporate entity, so I guess it didn't occur to them.

 

[skylizard]

I admit, at first I was really upset about the ending. I felt like a lot of the stuff didn't make sense. But, the more I thought about it, the more it did make sense. The show started with Dexter being a serial killer who only had one passion in life, killing. Over the years, he tried to find his "humanity" and be a normal person. He tried to have a family and love his wife, but couldn't. He ended up becoming a father, and yet never gave up killing.

Even during this last season, killing is what he truly wanted to do. He struggled with finding a balance between his family and his passion, but failed miserably. He couldn't have it both ways. And in the end, he knew he needed to walk away from his loved ones to get back to the root of who he is.

 

[FireDancer]

I admit, at first I was really upset about the ending. I felt like a lot of the stuff didn't make sense. But, the more I thought about it, the more it did make sense. The show started with Dexter being a serial killer who only had one passion in life, killing. Over the years, he tried to find his "humanity" and be a normal person. He tried to have a family and love his wife, but couldn't. He ended up becoming a father, and yet never gave up killing.

Even during this last season, killing is what he truly wanted to do. He struggled with finding a balance between his family and his passion, but failed miserably. He couldn't have it both ways. And in the end, he knew he needed to walk away from his loved ones to get back to the root of who he is.

True. You also have to remember that when he went against his instincts bad things happened. He had a chance to kill Trinity and didn't (the fall off the roof) and then Trinity killed his wife. He had a chance to kill Saxon and didn't and it got Deb killed. He was fooled by Travis Marshall and waiting to kill him exposed him to Deb and changed his relationship with her forever.

I like the ending but still think, despite the explanation by the producer, that him dying would have been better then living in exile.