Well my friends, a spectacular season of television has come to a pretty spectacular close. Just like season one, last night’s finale of Dexter did not disappoint. Rather than rushing through the events to tie it all up or throwing us some cliffhanger, the finale was beautifully paced, slowly wrapping up all the storylines with Bay Harbor Butcher-like care and patience. And I must say, though I have espoused many a prediction about the finale, at one time or another, I’m pretty sure I predicted every single major event (anyone want to look back at some old posts and verify?) That’s why they call me The Docta! (note- no one calls me The Docta yet, but I’m hoping that if I say it enough, people might start calling me by that moniker.)
So, for the last time in 2007, let’s break down a tremendous episode of television’s finest drama:
1. Doakes/La Guerta — So we knew Doakes was toast (get it?!), but there was a bit of debate as to how this might go down. I was a little surprised at how quickly the writers moved to finish this storyline, and in hindsight, I maybe would’ve liked this to happen a bit later in the episode, even if it cut in to the Lila/Dex plot more. At any rate, Doakes had to die, and Lila being the one to finish him off, while totally saving Dexter’s ass in the process, was a smart move. By this point in the season, we know Dexter loathes Lila, and that she is dangerously close to getting herself sliced into neat little pieces. But by having her step in as his guardian angel, we couldn’t be sure how Dexter would react (well, I mean, I knew he would kill her, but I’m speaking from the general “we”). Would Dexter find a way to coexist with Lila, after he owed her so much? Anyway, back to Doakes– though we knew Lila would kill him once he said the magic words (“Dexter Morgan!”), I really liked their exchange. And being the Special Ops badass he is, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had somehow found a way out of that cabin alive. But, he didn’t and instead, he had a cabin blow up in his face. Nice. Once his charred remains were pulled from the water (“we’ve got a floater!”), I loved watching Musaka in action, doing his job well for once, identifying Doakes’ ravaged torso.
But what I really, really appreciated, unexpectedly, was LaGuerta’s reaction to Doakes’ death. Normally, LaGuerta can be a distraction from the main action, an emotional, somewhat unnecessary supporting character, but actress Lauren Velez’s work here was absolutely first rate. Her emotions were so acute, so painful, and so specific, I couldn’t help but feel for her. With an episode so chock-full of plot resolution and action and excitement, leave it to the geniuses behind Dexter to always find a way to keep the show emotional and, more importantly, human. I thought the scene in which Lundy gives LaGuerta the news was heartbreaking.
2. Lundy/Deb — Wrapped up nice and neat. No more Lundy, no more multi-gen romance. But I must say I found Deb’s willingness to drop (almost) everything for Lundy to be very sweet and endearing. She is 100% emotion– all reaction, no thought, and I enjoyed watching her get swept up in her strong love for Lundy. And then it was over. Perfect. Look for Deb to restart the quest for love next season.
3. Rita & the kids — Here’s one thing I didn’t predict correctly — rather than target Rita, who luckily wasn’t at home, Lila tried to murder Astor and Cody. Brutal, but necessary. I think the writers wanted to be positive that every audience member would align against Lila at this point, so they could kill her off without anyone complaining. Once she messed with the cute kids, there was no way we weren’t going to support The Butcher in taking one more life. Glad to see Rita, Dex and the kids reunited. They make a handsome family, and it was very sweet to see how happy the kids were to have Dex back in their lives. Narratively, this aspect of Dexter is crucial– without Rita and the kids, Dex has very little to lose and very little to keep him human. This relationship makes him vulnerable, which makes him more susceptible to danger (good for the narrative) and more relatable (good for viewers).
4. Dexter — LOVED the play on the opening theme song. I thought that little sequence was clever and fun, albeit a tad out of place and an abrupt shift in tone. I also LOVED Dexter’s final voice-over, about how the code was no longer Harry’s but his, The Master, an idea brought to life. Other things I really liked: Dexter’s fake reunion with Lila. This scene was written perfectly. Lila was just happy enough at Dexter’s news to make me feel a little bad for her…but not enough that I didn’t want Dex to jam a knife into her pale little stomach! Mwa ha ha! I thought Lila’s portrait of Dexter was very cool/creepy, and really captured the dark energy within him.
Aaaand that’s it. I’m sort of out of things to talk about. Is this a finale of Lost proportions? Hellll no. But I do prefer this approach to something like the season two finale of Weeds. With Dexter, every plot point is firmly and neatly resolved. This situation doesn’t create much anticipation for the next season and it requires that the finale itself be devoted to action, as every story must come to an end. But what this finale does do is allow season three to start with a clean slate. Season three of Weeds, for example, had to spend the first 4 or 5 episodes cleaning up the mess from the season two finale. Dexter will face no such problem and instead, can jump right in to a brand new narrative arc starting in episode one. I like each season of television show to shift, to focus on a new story, to develop. By making a Butcher-like clean cut here, the writers are ensuring that next season is free to be whatever they want it to be. Dex is a devoted killer again. What changes will he make in his lifestyle? Who will be the big threat to his happiness, now that Doakes is gone? Will Laguerta pick up the torch? Will Dex get cocky and slip up? Will he find out some new secret from his past?
All in all, a solid finale. Not mindblowing, not crappy, but very good. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the season as a whole. I don’t think it was as good as season one, but few shows improve drastically in their sophomore year(especially this year– 30 Rock, FNL, Heroes anyone?) because their first seasons are just so damn good! Has this show peaked? Maybe. There are no more Darkly Dreaming Dexter books from which to draw upon, so the writers really have carte blanche for next year. Can they turn this wide-open opportunity into a huge leap forward? Or will the freedom prove too daunting and cause the writers to collapse under its considerable possibilities? Who knows. What I do know is that the chance of another show filling the new Dexter void on my Tivo is slim to none. I have been entertained, engrossed and enraptured by this one-of-a-kind series and its awesome will surely be missed…until season three!
Grade: B+
Season: A-
waiting for your comments…as last year, no cliff hanger….everything was cleaned up….good, but not great…first scene was the most suspenseful, thought that the body might have been the guy that dex killed and that dokes might have miraculously lived…sad to see dokes go..a good character…not sad to see lundy go, he and deb were annoying, or at least she was annoying around him. i was surprised to see dex in france, although the segway was a bit rought…thought that the episode had ended…what about next year….has maria really given up her quest to prove dokes innocent….rather than reforming, dex has been empowered…what will he do now?
I can’t help but wonder if the show has peaked too early.
I thoroughly enjoyed the finale. I wondered if they purposely tied up loose ends in case it wasn’t renewed? In any case, the prospect of starting Season 3 with a clean slate is exciting, too.
I actually never saw Season 1 and am just starting it now so I’m excited I get more “new” Dex.
I did like Doakes in the end and sorry to see him go, but oh-so-happy Lila is history. I agree with 1stcuz1cer in that Deb was annoying around Lundy, but I liked the rough segway to France. I, too, thought it was over and was quite disappointed that Lila hadn’t been dispatched…yet. To me, the last scene was equally as exciting as the first scene. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait half a year for 3rd season!
good comments…also loved the play on the opening scene, showing that he got his mojo back…am surprised that you are so taken with deb…find her acting to be juvenile…agree that rita and the kid make dex human and serve as his anchor…also grade this a b=…love the show, but still has not approached six feet under…
Thanks for the comments everyone! A few things:
1. Nate — I sure hope the show hasn’t peaked too early, but you never know. Dexter is in the same boat as shows like Prison Break or The 4400– there is a plan for the first two seasons, but after that point, everything becomes created on the fly, as shows don’t know if they’ll be renewed until they actually are. Can the writers at Dex come up with the original material necessary to take Dexter to a new level? Only time will tell. But if Prison Break and The 4400 are any indication, it’s not looking good.
2. Dying4Dex — There is definitely going to be a third season. Look for it to start at the same time this past season did (early October, right?)
3. 1stcuz — Glad you appreciated the post. And I know, I know, I need to watch Six Feet Under. I’m racing through Rescue Me right now. As soon as I finish that, its on to the funeral home.
Media Maven, I’ve enjoyed your posts and comments on Dexter this season as I’ve found them posted at sho.com/dexter. I see that you’re going to dive into the “Six Feet Under” series soon-my favorite show of all-time. I’d be interested to hear what you think of it! Perhaps you should write some posts about it?
Thanks so much, Paul! Glad you’ve been enjoying the blog. I’m going to get in to Six Feet Under at some point, but I usually don’t do posts focused on any material that isn’t new. I won’t talk about a movie past opening weekend, and I won’t talk about an episode of tv unless its during the week it aired. So while there might not be any Six Feet Under devoted posts, everything I watch is fair game when it comes to reference and discussion.
Wow, you folks know your stuff…I just started watching Dex this fall with “on Demand” ….was able to watch all logged episodes within about a week and a half and caught up to the current stuff. Man this is a great production…I’m cheering for the man even though I know it’s wrong, erh what he’s doing…the characters…Doakes, Maria, Deb, Lundy and Rita…WOW!!! The season finale was prefect writing…no lose ends…a lot of drama at the start…Dex get freedom…and the Casper Brit gets her just reward!
Hey, it’s all fictional …I hope:-)
media maven…am now essentially w/o a show….need advisment on current series to get into…prefer cable as i can use ondemand and cath up fast…am blowing through californication…what to do next…
Thanks for the comment, Mike. Welcome to our world!
And 1stcuz1cer– new show. Hmmmm. Well, the first show I always rec is Arrested Development, a.k.a. God’s gift to comedy. But if you’re looking for a recent cable show, I’d say any of the following: Weeds, Extras, Rescue Me, Mad Men, Rome– whichever of those you can find On Demand, go for! If you give me some more specific criteria, I can advise you further. There’s nothing I like better than turning someone on to a new show!
What became of Lila’s body? Were they not in France? Dexter certainly did not transport the body with him through customs. Will this be a lead into the story line of season three ? I absolutely loved the finale and found the final scene to be Shakespearean.
The stare that Lila gave Dexter as he plunged a knife into her heart. Great
I firmly believe that season 2 is way too early to do any kind of opening credit rehash. I guess maybe it can be funny or nostalgic for loyal viewers of a show after a while, but Dexter started a year ago. Yes, Dexter waking up and getting ready for his day was what he was doing, and also is the opening credit theme. nice connection. except that it happens every day. why, this time, do we see it as the opening credits. this scene actually caused one of my “viewing partners”, lets call him dave, to ask “is this because of the writers strike?” im afraid the Dex producers are getting a little full of themselves, after all this internal mental wrangling we had all season, all this grand scale thinking we are privy to inside Dex’s head. I thought the finale was by far the most poorly paced episode of Dexter ever. Yes, it had two great killing scenes. But the first was 4 minutes into the ep and the 2nd came after I thought the ep was already over. the rest of it was non-drama involving Dex getting arrested, something we knew wouldn’t happen, and the tearful decisions Lundy and Deb make — which she just forgets about and makes a snap judgment to ditch Lundy and stay because Dex’s ex-girlfriend’s kids are missing? All the build up, and thats how it ends. Thanks for dedicating so much time to it when it clearly wasn’t even that important to the central character involved. Although when i’m Lundy’s age, if any of you deb-looking ladies want to come hang out ill be down. Not to mention the shot at the end where each character was wearing a different flourescent colored shirt and the brightness was turned up about 8 times. We get it, Dexter is happy. But why? His code is ruined. I find it odd that he doesn’t feel guilty about killing Doakes, a completely innocent man whose convictions were just as strong as Dexter’s, and whose convictions were also aligned with the law. But wait, you say, Lila killed Doakes. In the words of Michael Bluth, did she? Dex resisted arrest, assaulted, kidnapped, held captive and abandoned Doakes. He repeatedly said he was going to kill him. He was rushing out to the cabin because…1. he was going to kill doakes or 2. he was going to release Doakes, NOT sedate him (if the cops got there and found him sedated it would ruin his frame job) and then get away without Doakes beating his ass, hoping the cops catch Doakes and not him. Dexter was clearly going to kill Doakes, and is completely the reason he died, yet now he is the “master of the code” and feels all happy and full of real people feelings? I love Dexter, but lets just say I was expecting much more from the finale.
Thanks for the comment Freaktard. I LOVED the moment where Dex killed Lila. You’re right; the look they exchange was intense and awesome. Don’t worry about her body though. It was simply a detail they didn’t have time to show during the episode; it won’t be related to any events of season 3, i can assure you.
And Greg, sorry you were so disappointed by the finale, but I don’t think you’re totally accurate with some of your analysis. Deb didn’t just make a snap decision to choose Dexter’s ex over Lundy. As Lundy predicted, Deb can’t help but be a cop. She would never choose her own personal comfort over saving the lives of any stranger, let alone her brother’s surrogate children. I didn’t find her decision to be jarring or out of place at all, and in fact, thought it was very much in character.
As for Doakes and the code, whatever Dexter planned to do, it doesn’t matter — he did not kill Doakes, and thus the code is intact. And yes, Lila killed Doakes. I don’t see how there could be any confusion there. Dex is master of the code because he was almost caught a million times and escaped completely unscathed. He has embraced his inner killer, but has found a balance between the killing and his more human emotions, like his love for Deb, Rita and the kids. This whole season was about Dexter figuring out who he really is– by the end of the finale, Dex was finally comfortable in his own skin. He took Harry’s Code, which left no room for happiness and love, and made it his own.
Hi folks,
I hate television. But I love Dexter. I don’t remember EVER so looking forward to the next episode as much as I have for Dexter.
Because I watch TV so little – I did not realize that this was the season finale.
I thought this eposide was excellent. Not perfect. But excellent. One of the scene that sticks with me is the scene in France. Dexter has Lila on the couch and she is looking up at him – and the look in her eyes. Normally, she just looks through people. On the other hand, Dexter, even though he is “acting” the majority of the time – when he is with Rita (or his other friends/associates), he is sincere, caring, human. In this final scene, the roles were reversed. He was totally without emotion when it came to that final moment with Lila. And she seemed to be totally human to the point where I felt REALLY sorry for her. But I’m thinking to myself – well, he simply has to do it. There’s just no other option.
It was the look in her eyes (Jaime Murray) just before Dexter dispatches her that sticks with me. It was so real – I still can’t get over it.
I think the acting on this show is some of the best I have ever seen – and I am referring to all of the actors. (other than the guy who played Lundy’s boss lol – never liked that guy). When I watch this show, I really do feel like I am there. These people are all believable to me.
No matter what…I am looking forward to next season.
Hey Joker– thanks for your words! Totally agree with almost everything you say– don’t know that I believe people like Dex and Lila truly exist, but I think their acting is tremendous just the same!
Does anyone know when the new season starts – someone said October, is this true and also, when does Dex 2 come out on DVD – only started watching it several episodes ago but bought season 1 and can’t stop watching these episodes over and over. I need to see what happened in season 2 – and who is Lundy?
Hey Dex Fan,
Lundy is a main character from season 2. Season 3 is supposed to start in October, but with the strike still going strong, who knows? As for the DVD’s, season 1 was released in August, so I’m guessing season 2 should be the same. If you need a Dexter fix now, find a buddy with Showtime and watch Season 2 while it’s still On-Demand!
Heya MM. Seems to be another Dex Fan posting. I’ve posted to a few of the other Dexter blogs by you.
Well, I do agree that the season was wrapped up as expected, but I think the writers strike had some impact on the last season. As warsh had mentioned, it seems rushed. Not only that, this last season seemed like a rough outline of the script, as opposed to the normal fine polish that the other episodes seem to have received. Normally I’m applauding the writers of the series because of the plot, dialog and other aspects that all work together quite well.
But IMO, the final episode seemed to be lacking the brilliant polish of previous episodes. The acting was good, but it seems like it could of used another whole episode to wrap it all up. Either way, I felt a bit let down by Season 2′s finale.
I’m still stoked for the next season though, but I mainly want to get back to Dexter with the polish I’ve come to expect from the series. Either way, I can’t complain too much, it’s the only episode so far that didn’t leave me rabid for the next… which isn’t too bad considering how far away the next episode is.
Oh.. and there is still one little tid-bit left to carry over from Season 2 -> 3. LaGuerta is not going to just roll over and let Doakes be framed as the Bay Harbor Butcher.
Just a fix.. “Not only that, this last *season* seemed like a rough outline of the script, as opposed to the normal fine polish that the other episodes seem to have received.”
That was supposed to be episode, not season.
Hey DexFan (the original, I know, don’t worry!),
I know what you mean about the finale, though I’d like to tweak your explanation a bit. I don’t think it suffered from a lack of polish, nor do I think the strike impacted it in any way. I think the writers accomplished exactly what they set out to do in exactly the amount of time they had hoped to do so. But I think that, as you say, it was a bit rushed– I think by the time the finale rolled around, they had so many lose ends to cleanly resolve that it became a bit of checklist– Lundy/Deb storyline? check. Doakes? check., etc.
As for next season, I think LaGuerta’s breakdown and funeral fund was the writers’ way of ending that storyline. I don’t think LaGuerta is going to push the issue. I think the writers had a clear desire to finish every single story so they could start totally fresh next season. At least that was the impression that I got.
Thanks for your comments!
Thanks for the post