So, about that "Dexter" finale...

[Robbi]

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.

Another bayou girl here and the hospital on the water made perfect sense to me.
I love being on the Lake and boating right up to the grocery store or restaurant dock.

 

[Myothername]

Couple of thoughts. The reason they were going to Argentina is there is no extridition treaty with Argentina so no need to worry about being brought back to the US.

The hospital on the dock still bothers me. Sure it would be convenient for a few people but not nearly enough to justify the cost or danger (hurricanes).

Did anyone else think when Dexter looked up in that final scene that he looked like Norman Bates at the end of Psycho?

 

[disneychrista]

I was pretty disappointed with this entire season. I purchased Showtime just so I could watch it (after watching the other seasons on DVD).

I would have much rather seen Dexter be "caught" by Quinn then this.

And according to the writers Dexter moved away from everything he loved, including killing...

 

[Nette]

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.

Ugh... story lines that have nothing to do with the plot and just evaporate annoy me to no end.

And what was with Batista after Dexter killed Saxton? He was all weird and out of character just letting it go... I'm having a lot of trouble getting past that.

 

[Arsenal1982]

Ugh... story lines that have nothing to do with the plot and just evaporate annoy me to no end.

And what was with Batista after Dexter killed Saxton? He was all weird and out of character just letting it go... I'm having a lot of trouble getting past that.

Didn't have a problem with that part.

1) Saxton killed a cop and one of Bautista's best friends. Although he wouldn't have personally killed Saxton, he sure wouldn't have a problem if someone else did it.
2) It was self defense although the video clearly showed that Dexter bent the guy's neck at the perfect angle to kill. Still self defense.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Couple of thoughts. The reason they were going to Argentina is there is no extridition treaty with Argentina so no need to worry about being brought back to the US.

The hospital on the dock still bothers me. Sure it would be convenient for a few people but not nearly enough to justify the cost or danger (hurricanes).

Did anyone else think when Dexter looked up in that final scene that he looked like Norman Bates at the end of Psycho?

A hospital on a major waterway in a metropolitan area where people muck about in the water a lot wouldn't attract a few people, it would attract a LOT of people. The largest scars on my body were all gotten when I was on a boat; I'm sure I'm not the only one.

And, I don't know where you're from, but if people didn't build things on the water because they were scared of hurricanes or hurricane damage, well. . .well, that just doesn't happen, honestly.

However, you got me curious to find out if any hospitals have boat docks, so I decided to look!

Very fun search, so thank you!

I found these three in the Middle Atlantic.

http://www.elih.org/CONTRIBUTIONS/Capital-Giving/Successful-Campaigns/Emergency-Dock

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20130718/NEWS03/707189894

http://www.oceanmedicalcenter.com/OMC/aboutus/OurHistory.cfm


There's also one in Florida that I found without too much trouble:

http://www.stuartmartinchamber.org/boating.asp

It sounds as though the hospital in Eustis Florida also was on the water until recently:

http://www.judykelley.com/eustis_real_estate.html

So then I thought, we have GOT to have some in Louisiana!

I found that the Houma City Dock is right across from the Houma Hospital. (Honestly, this doesn't surprise me any!)

https://activecaptain.com/quickLists/marina.php?name=Houma_City_Dock_Houma_LA&i=1116134350

If some of these other little towns in Louisiana that sit on high spots in the marsh had hospitals, they'd have boat launches, it would be unavoidable.

But no boat dock near a hospital in Miami that I can find. Still, none that I found in Miami are actually on the water. I'm not from Miami, so I can't really speak to it.

Now I want them to build a hospital boat dock at one of the hospitals where I'm from, except that it's several blocks from the water too, so that wouldn't work. . .drat it!

ETA: So I got a bright idea and looked at a map of Miami. D'oh.

Mercy Hospital, at least on Google Earth, looks to have a boat dock. Check it out!

 

[Nette]

Didn't have a problem with that part.

1) Saxton killed a cop and one of Bautista's best friends. Although he wouldn't have personally killed Saxton, he sure wouldn't have a problem if someone else did it.
2) It was self defense although the video clearly showed that Dexter bent the guy's neck at the perfect angle to kill. Still self defense.

Yeah I get that it was plausible... it was the WAY they did it. It just wasn't in character at all... and then the whole subject just got dropped. I don't know, that's just the thing that is standing out in my mind.

 

[Robbi]

Yeah I get that it was plausible... it was the WAY they did it. It just wasn't in character at all... and then the whole subject just got dropped. I don't know, that's just the thing that is standing out in my mind.

I took it as Batista and Quinn looked at it as a murderer attacked someone who worked with them. Cops stick together and Dexter was a semi cop. They didn't hear Dexter baiting Saxon. All they saw was Saxon attacking him and Dexter defending himself. He took out a serial killer-irony.

 

[denisem]

Yeah I get that it was plausible... it was the WAY they did it. It just wasn't in character at all... and then the whole subject just got dropped. I don't know, that's just the thing that is standing out in my mind.

Nette, you have to remember we're talking about Florida law enforcement here.

Seriously, I'm curious: if ya'll were disappointed by the ending, how would you wanted it to end?

I was really, really hoping the last season would have dealt with Miami Metro (primarily Quinn and Batista) discovering Dex's true identity via Quinn's previous suspicions, Batista knowing LaGuerta's theories and even go back into Doake's files. Delete Hannah totally. Go with the Vogel/Saxon subplot as filler, but ultimately ending in a manhunt for Dexter.

They could have still gone with the Dexter "suicide by hurricane" and becoming a lumberjack. Just would have been more satisfying to me to know he was discovered to be a serial killer.

It could have been a masterful ending (similar to Six Feet Under, for any of you who watched that) of a culmination of all Dex's friends/colleagues being "interviewed" as to their thoughts of discovering their "friend" was a serial killer. (C'mon...who wouldn't want to see Matsuka's reaction?!?!)

(Sadly, with Deb knowing about Dex's "dark passenger" via LaGuerta's murder, she had to die one way or another.)

Your turn!

 

[Colleen27]

Seriously, I'm curious: if ya'll were disappointed by the ending, how would you wanted it to end?

I expected it to end one of two ways - either Dexter was going to turn himself in to Miami Metro or he was going to end up dead. And either way it was going to be in the name of saving Deb, a final answer to the overarching question the show posed about whether or not he had enough humanity to truly love someone in a selfless way. Vogel and her theories about him seemed to be leading in that direction as well.

Hannah's return was a train wreck all around, I'd have skipped that entirely. Coming off of LaGuerta's death they had enough to work with in exploring the relationship between Dexter and Deb and how far he would go to protect her, even at the expense of his freedom/life.

But even if the outcome had been the same, I think it would have been enjoyable if it had flowed more naturally from the characters. To me, the writing on the final episode, and to some degree the entire last season, felt like the writers had taken certain outcomes off the table from the start and therefore had to force the characters to fit their vision rather than letting the characters drive the action. And that was at the heart of all the implausible little things that ended up as a season full of plot-holes and contrived twists rather than a conclusion consistent with the quality of the show up until this last installment.

 

[Colleen27]

Didn't have a problem with that part.

1) Saxton killed a cop and one of Bautista's best friends. Although he wouldn't have personally killed Saxton, he sure wouldn't have a problem if someone else did it.
2) It was self defense although the video clearly showed that Dexter bent the guy's neck at the perfect angle to kill. Still self defense.

I didn't have a problem with it either. To me, that went right back to Harry and the code - what cop hasn't thought about doing exactly what Dexter did to a monster like Saxon? To both Quinn and Bautista Dexter was a grieving brother, overcome with the loss of his sister, and of course both cops were feeling that loss as well. It made perfect sense that they'd accept the rather contrived self-defense situation and forgive/overlook the deliberateness of the act, because they didn't know Dexter for what he was and did know the truth of Saxon.

 

[skatalite]

Here's how I would've done the final season:

Hannah is the only villain. We don't even meet Evelyn Vogel or her son.

Hannah sends Dexter and Deb a strong message by poisoning the office they work in. No one dies, but everyone gets extremely sick. It's Hannah's way of saying, "I'm back and neither of you are safe."

Dexter begins his hunt for Hannah and they eventually come face-to-face. Hannah poisons Dexter but Dexter is able to kill Hannah before he dies.

Deb becomes Harrison's guardian.

Some time passes and Deb comes home to find blood all over her kitchen. She follows a trail and finds Jamie Batista stabbed to death in a bedroom, with Harrison holding the knife. Realizing he's exhibiting the same traits his father did, Deb becomes Harrison's Harry and that ends the series.

 

[FireDancer]

Seriously, I'm curious: if ya'll were disappointed by the ending, how would you wanted it to end?

I am not disappointed with the ending but the season as a whole did disappoint me. The whole time it seems like they went out of their way to add characters and small sub-plots that just didn't do anything other than make us guess at the ending. I hate that, it is trying to hard. Just have a good story and play it out like the other seasons.

I don't think Dexter should have been found out or caught. That possibility and story line was addressed and taken care of in season 2.

I would not have had Hannah come back, would have either actually played out a story line with Matsuka's daughter or not had her come back.

I would have centered the season around Deb and Dexter but had the Vogel and Saxon story line included because it fills in some blanks and it also patched up the trouble between them.

I would have had Dexter realize that he prefers the old him to the new him. He wants to just deal with the dark passenger and not have any of the humanity that he sought out. The finale would have been a murder suicide with Deb killing Dexter then herself.


All that being said, I did like the way it ended for the most part.