Rating: 
As I’ve written many times, season six was pretty awful, but it was arguably worth it for that cliffhanger in which Deb walks in on Dexter doin’ his thang to poor Travis Marshall. It was a truly great cliffhanger because it promised to bring the series into that final frontier that’s been looming over the show since the second season – Dexter being caught.
Season seven has done a mostly solid job of fulfilling that promise which held such potential for authentically exciting story-telling because it mostly kept those stakes dangerously high. Right up until this episode the audience had plenty of reason to think Dexter would at last find himself in a corner from which he couldn’t slink away. But now Dex is more or less back to square one as is usually the case.
After six years of watching Dexter always narrowly escaping whatever danger in which he found himself, at the beginning of this season he had to directly confront his worst case scenario, something which would certainly yield some unavoidable consequences. The thing is, the big revelation that her brother is a very successful serial killer has affected Deb way more than it has Dexter. Watching these siblings navigate through those murky ethical waters has been handled satisfyingly well, but Deb really has been the star of this process; she’s the one who’s had to readjust and re-evaluate her entire life whereas Dex has really just been in a perpetual state of, “Soooooo you’re not gonna arrest me, right?”
Despite learning how to really open himself up (only to be hurt that much more deeply) to Hannah, and finally (although also suddenly) accepting that his Dark Passenger has just been an elaborate method of compartmentalizing his homicidal urges, what the audience can objectively and concretely pin down as to where Dexter’s head is at is too up in the air for a show titled Dexter.
Awkward…
I mentioned in my last review that things had been arranged so that Dexter would have to either discredit or kill LaGuerta if he refused to run away or surrender. Dexter did refuse surrender and retreat and successfully discredited LaGuerta, but despite this she still had warrants signed by a judge to search Dexter and Debra’s homes as well as subpoena their cell phone’s GPS records which would show their locations at the time of the fire which covered up Travis Marshall’s final resting place. Okay, even though that whole GPS thing sounds like bullshit, if it did go through, wouldn’t it still be just as circumstantial as all the other evidence LaGuerta had on the two of them? And also, LaGuerta mysteriously disappearing isn’t going to keep those warrants from being carried out, are they? I guess we just have to assume that since the Miami Metro Police Department on Dexter is absurdly incompetent, killing its captain is an acceptable way to wrap everything up.
Or maybe not. Maybe at the beginning of the final season next year Dexter and Debra will have to work really hard to not have to answer for LaGuerta’s disappearance. But I’m not holding my breath. I think that might be the bane of Dexter – the fact that Dexter can just manipulate the shit out of any crime scene with no more difficulty than shoplifting from a poorly secured bodega. Because of this, there’s no reason to care when Dexter’s in trouble – we know he’ll get out of it.
Without a consistently realistic and believable setting in which Dexter exists, his actions have no consequences and therefore there’s no motivation to keep watching. I’m afraid that Deb and Dexter’s murder of LaGuerta may be the show’s moment of jumping the shark.
Don’t get me wrong; Deb walking in on Dex and choosing to kill LaGuerta rather than arrest her brother was a huge moment (again, for Deb more so than the show’s actual protagonist) and it absolutely solidifies the siblings’ newfound tragic bond, but it doesn’t really add anything new to the equation. Deb’s been entrenched in having helped cover for Dexter’s crimes several times throughout the season; this is just the last nail in the coffin.
This season has been building up to its final scene and I just don’t think it was enough of an ending on its own to justify the rest of the season as a complete whole. Maybe next season will deal with the consequences of LaGuerta’s death really well, but historically Dexter doesn’t really do consequences – it does build-up and supposedly shocking climaxes, but then it’s always skipping on the resolution. I think that’s why I wasn’t really satisfied by the episode; there was no real ending – Hannah escaped from police custody (in a really unbelievable way) and is now just out in the world possibly plotting revenge or not, and yeah, Deb killed LaGuerta, but aside from a slow motion walk through a New Year’s Eve party we have no sense of what that really means.
I began this review by mentioning how the show’s terrible sixth season is almost forgivable because of the awesome cliffhanger ending; the seventh season has had an almost opposite trajectory – it started off really strong and kept the momentum going until it began to falter after Isaak’s death and has since struggled placing a ton of importance on the performance of its finale, which wasn’t so much weak as it was sloppy. Season seven has been a fun ride and its final scene certainly is exciting, but its logistics don’t make much sense and it makes me think the next season will either rely entirely upon it or once more just hit the reset button – either way I’m less excited than I thought I’d be.
If you’re as slightly disappointed by this finale as I am then this fan-made video of clips from the entire series set against some beautiful music might tide you over until we watch Dexter and Debra clean up their mess next year.
P.S. – I’m glad Angel survived long enough to see his retirement, BUT HOW IN THE HELL IS QUINN NOT FIRED AND/OR DEAD? Ugh.
Also, as much fun as it was seeing Erik King reprise his role as Sgt. James Doakes in some flashbacks this episode, I feel like they didn’t achieve the effect they attempted. I did, however, find this wonderful little gem –
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22 Comments
Oh please. You write reviews professionally, and you don’t know how to use the term “Jumping the Shark” appropriately? Of course, it is a matter of opinion, but I think Rita’s death was the Jump the Shark moment, as in it was the highest point of the series, and nothing can live up to it, just like when The Fonz jet ski jumped over a shark on Happy days, the root of the term.
Sheesh, what a negative nancy. I suspect you are more disappointed with the episode because you had certain expectations that are coloring your views. For example, you were convinced that Isaak was the most compelling and interesting character in this season (possibly true), and therefore with him dead, the season can only go downhill from there. You convinced yourself, therefore it became true. But if I remember right, weren’t your reviews of the few episodes following his exit pretty positive? Similarly, you mentioned multiple times that you wish to see this season end with dexter on the run. Is most of your disappointment with this episode possibly stemming from the fact that they chose not to go with your preference for the storyline?
Anyway, I have enjoyed your reviews all season and I think this season was far better than what we’ve seen lately. A few really action packed episodes including this last one, like the days when dexter got in a car crash and couldnt find one of his bodies. I do agree on the pointlessness of season 6. I liked the Lumen stuff, and at the end of that season deb said “now that this is all over” and dex was like “now that what’s all over?” – this was foreshadowing that she was onto him but wow it took a whole season to get there!
Also, what do you mean they didn’t achieve the affect they were going for with doakes. I enjoyed this backstory and usually enjoy anything involving that character, but what exactly did you think they were going for and how did they not achieve it? It was about dexter not doakes, but it was cool nonetheless IMO.
I prefer the term, Debbie Downer ;) You are right though, I was disappointed (maybe overly so) because my expectations weren’t met, but despite the fact that I did think Dex on the run would make for a logical, exciting final season, that wasn’t the only outcome with which I would have been satisfied. It’s funny you’d say my expectations ‘colored’ my review because while that may be true, I’m actually a HUGE Dexter fan/apologist and I didn’t want THAT to color my review.
I did give the more Hannah-centric, post-Isaak episodes mostly positive reviews because they were mostly solid and I actually appreciate the season having the balls to not drag out the Isaak arc longer than necessary, plus, I wanted the ‘Hannah as the new love interest’ to really mean something and before the finale it looked like Hannah would amount to more than just another broken heart, but that’s the thing — so much of the season’s arcs depended on the finale and after it came and went Hannah’s in particular fell really flat. And I think we can all agree, even if we generally enjoyed these episodes, that they didn’t work quite as smoothly as the first half of the season.
It means a lot that you’ve enjoyed my reviews this season; I do hope to provide fans with entertaining/thought-provoking companion pieces. I agree that this season, despite its debatable weaknesses, was leagues beyond seasons 3 and 6. That season 4 episode when Dex couldn’t find the body he hid was really fun. And I’m always glad to hear when people at least didn’t hate Lumen and season 5. I don’t specifically remember that line from the finale (“What’s all over?”), but I’ll take your word for it. That could have been a neat little nod to what was coming, but again, when an episode (or worse — a whole season) bets its success on the promise of something that has yet to come to pass, it’s a bad sign; but enough about the dreaded season 6.
As far as the Doakes scenes go, I just felt like they were a bit contrived, that they tried too hard and too late to grant legitimacy to LaGuerta’s investigation, something else I feel couldv’e been handled better.
Joe,
well done and thank you for all of your hard work reviewing this season of Dexter, you did an excellent job. I know that it is impossible to cover everything in an appropriate format with these things, but I think you missed some things – or perhaps there were some things that stuck out for me in this episode.
The acting, from all of the main characters, was very good indeed. I guess I’m referencing Dexter, Deb and Hannah, but it was really top stuff. The ‘Dex’ scene that stuck out for me was when he has Estrada on the table and the camera was only focused on Dex. I don’t exactly know why they did this but I really enjoyed the perspective this provided. Although ‘Debs’acting has been off the scale this year – as it was in season 4 – the scene I enjoyed was between her and Hannah in the court room, when they were both squaring off to each other. It felt pretty intense to me hearing them both hiss at each other.
I liked the fact that Dex sorta pulled the wool over our eyes with his self executed framing. As the first quarter of the episode progressed I suspected it may have been a dream of some sort, and I was very surprised to find out what had actually transpired – very clever stuff indeed.
Having some more background concerning ‘Dexoakes’ was cool. It was sort of nice to see that they started off as (I guess) friendly co workers and it all got a little out of hand when Dex let the mask slip a little bit too far. It felt very nostalgic to see the old office with the old blood pictures on the wall and how they all pretty much looked the same. Deb, from what I remember, looked exactly the same.
I know you have reservations about how elegantly Dex always gets away with things in this program, and the climax of this season is an example of this, but I loved the final 5 mins of this season. Again Deb’s acting was incredible, but more than that I was actually very, very sad in the outcome of what happened. Although it could be argued that Dex perhaps knew that Deb wouldn’t kill him, so it was sheer manipulation, I’m open to the possibility that he actually wanted Deb to shoot him too…this makes me think about the overall theme of this season, which I think is choice. I think I said this in a previous comment too, but the final scene of this episode confirmed that for me. Although there are certainly other themes here too, such as love, this is still the overriding one for me. Deb chose to kill LaGuerta and maintain dexters life/living/lifestyle.
All of these things were also alluded to in Dexters ending monologue. He mentions making / breaking rules and these defining who we are….I also think that he subtly hints towards the ‘end game’ of the whole show. I predict that the final season will be a ‘Deb vs Dexter’ storyline, perhaps with the inclusion of Hannah in there somewhere. I also thought that the final scene when they were both walking through the party looked really beautiful. Jennifer Carpenter looked amazing and the whole thing was shot really well.
However, although I perhaps enjoyed this episode a lot more than you did I still find plot devices such as the cctv footage and the gps telephone thing a little too far fetched and a little bit ‘throwaway’, if that makes any sense. Had we known about them earlier on I would perhaps be more convinced!
Chris
Actually Chris, I agree with a lot of what you say here and enjoyed some of the same things. However, we DID hear about the surveilance footage that mike had ordered before he was killed. They cleverly had that mentioned without much fanfare, then later had mike killed off, and everyone forgot about it. But I remember now that I was thinking back then, watch out for this new guy because he seems to be onto something. I guess killing him off is a good device for making the audience forget about his plans.
No Name, my bad. I got to admit that I dropped the ball on that one a little. I’m yet to confirm it…but you saying this does remind me of it actually! Again, my bad.
Ah, Chris, you’re the bestest, thanks for always being so thoughtful and considerate!
I wish it were impossible to cover every aspect — then I wouldn’t have to feel so guilty when I don’t do so, but I just don’t have the energy/time.
The acting on this series has, IMO, always been pretty consistently great from its main cast so I tend not to emphasize it unless there’s some really stand-out scenes, but Jennifer Carpenter has been doing an especially impressive job this season in particular — did you catch that little interview clip with Scott Buck when he mentioned how it wasn’t scripted when Deb immediately ran over to LaGuerta’s body? Carpenter improvised it :)
I was too focused on the larger structure of the episode in my review to smoothly include the little details I liked so I’m so glad you mentioned how effective it was that the camera was kept on Dexter’s face even when Estrada was speaking during their scene at the end — usually TV tends to focus the camera on whoever’s speaking to keep us poor, dumb television audiences (notice the sarcasm) from becoming confused so I was really happy to be able to actually watch the character in whom I’m most interested during such a pivotal moment.
Also, the court room scene between Deb and Hannah was a serious highlight. Hannah’s bit about hypocrisy was scathing and I loved it.
Admittedly I was a tad confused by Dexter’s frame job as I didn’t immediately understand what had transpired — were those photos from Dex’s boat? The dumpster outside his building? When was “last night”? But upon a second viewing I finally got it all and I actually really liked that it was a bit of a surprise since we didn’t see Dex actually do any of this. It’s one of the few times the show has successfully showed INSTEAD of told.
I did think the one flashback when Doakes saw Dex’s mask slip worked pretty well, and seeing Deb in her blues with bangs and a ponytail again was a fun bit of nostalgia, as was the old office, as you mentioned. On the whole though I think these flashbacks were a bit of a reach, something to compensate for the flimsyness of LaGuerta’s arc.
I don’t think Dex knew Deb wouldn’t kill him. I think, just as Hannah was when she told Dex, “Do what you gotta do,” he was genuinely ready to possibly meet his end. Therefore I wouldn’t call that moment “sheer manipulation” on his part; I would say though that it was an instance of real vulnerability, something Dex had recently worked on. I agree Dex might’ve even partly wanted to be killed. At this point Dex isn’t ready to give up, but you know he’s been profoundly stressed and I could see how Dex could see being killed by Deb as finally being unburdened and be a huge relief to him. Deb’s choice absolutely was a great moment, but as I mentioned, it’s weird that Deb’s kinda been the star of all this when the show is called Dexter.
I agree the Deb vs Dex with a dash of Hannah idea is what the final season appears to be hinting toward. But I wasn’t as into that last scene of them slow-mo walking through the party. I thought it was cheap, no matter how gorgeous Jennifer Carpenter is.
I actually enjoyed the episode on a personal, subjective level much more so than my review lets on and that’s because I try my best not to let my reviews become completely opinion-based rants. But like you, the little details like the GPS thing, Hannah’s magic fake seizure substance, and the clearest, most advanced gas station surveillance on the planet really kept me from embracing it more confidently.
I’m pretty torn on this episode. I think it’s because I find it so frustrating to see so much potential in the show and then watch it not quite reach the grand hopes I hold for it.
I disagree that Dexter almost never sufferer any consequences about what he does. I think the biggest example is that Rita died because of his both hindering the police from catching him and him not killing him in time.
Also while yes he is never caught and arrested or even come under suspicion for what he does he is still suffering consequences, through what he is doing to his sister. He is destroying her just like Harry destroyed him by teaching him to be a killer instead of getting help. The price he will pay is making Deb a killer like he is.
We have already seen foreshadowing of this when she shot a perp in the line of duty, which helped get her lieutenant rank She said she felt nothing. When earlier this season the killer who likes to hunt his pray in his house maze, like the Ancient Greek story of the Minotaur she said she felt glad Dexter killed him. Then she demanded that Dexter kill Hannah. Now she has killed an innocent person for her. She has totally compromised herself and now is a killer. Dexter sees this and knows he is responsible. That is the greatest consequence even more so than being arrested and convicted and thrown in prison. He has destroyed his sister. Harry knew he destroyed Dexter so he killed himself. Maybe that will be the end of Dexter? He will be his own final victim because he will realize what he has done to the one who loves and cares for him the most?
One other thing: I don’t find it at all far fetched that a gas station has surveillance. They do all the time in real life. Just like bodegas do. And your whereabouts are tracked by GPS on your phone and police cars do have them so it was totally realistic for LaGuerta requesting warrants for them. Seriously, if the police has probable cause for something they think you did they can get a warrant for your phone and find out where you have been for x number of days.
Really great thoughts on how Dexter has gradually pulled Deb down deeper into his world, especially concerning the parallels between the two fo them and Dex n Harry. But as you said yourself, Debra’s the one who is taking on all these effects and consequences — not Dexter. We only really see Deb paying the price, not Dex. This could change next season but like I’ve said, placing the value of something on the efficacy of things yet to come is weak.
It’s a fine line between trying to be realistic and still pull off those narrative devices which could be seen as trite or cliche. Dexter is a series where people can debate for hours (trust me) on the success of walking that line.
Regarding the surveillance, I haven’t researched it so you may be right. Usually random gas stations or rinky dink convenience stores are presented with and are characterized by poor security, but that might not be the case these days. Regardless, the greater issue at stake here isn’t whether a gas station will most likely have good surveillance or whether a police station can seize such GPS technology (why don’t they just do that all the time?) — the most important issue here is that these things happen for the convenience of the story despite being otherwise questionable and/or inconsistent, and that’s just lazy writing.
One clarification and a couple of additional comments:
When I was refereeing to Rita being killed because Dexter didn’t kill “him” soon enough the “him” I was referring to was the Trinity Killer Arthur Mitchell.
And I don’t find the Miami PD as so incompetent as fans have said, even the fictional Dexter. When you do have a forensics expert privy to everything you are doing including investigative strategies and can withhold evidence and fake and plant other evidence; break and enter into homes and computers of targets/suspects without warrants and basically sabotage cases because you want to kill the target before the police catches him yeah any police department will look incompetent. :-)
And I will say something even more controversial: Captain LaGuerta is not the incompetent investigator she was made out to be even before season seven. She was a vicious career climber, but that doesn’t mean she was a poor investigator. She stopped trying to prove Doakes’s innocence because she had nothing to work with that people would believe, not even the stake out logs she had proving that Doakes was with her during one of the Bay Harbor Butcher’s kills.
So unlike some I don’t find it out of character that LaGuerta became this good investigator that Dexter had to scramble to out fox-and do exactly to her what he did to Doakes almost.
It’s not the idea that Dex, being on the inside of the police department’s investigations, can manipulate evidence and crime scenes which is bad, that’s cool and interesting, it’s that the show has leaned on it WAAAAY too much. It’s great to think Dexter could make any police department look foolish, I agree, but he absolutely bends Miami Metro over a barrel whenever he feels like it. And it’s not just Dex; there’s Quinn too and don’t even get me started on him.
LaGuerta is an average cop at best. You’re right that she more predominantly has been characterized as a political ladder climber, but she only really put the screws to Dexter because of the help she received from Matthews (and leaving Estrada as bait — super unethical, unprofessional, and risky).
Hi Joe
I read your review after watching the episode last night and I couldn’t agree more with all your arguments. I felt the same about Season 6, only redeemed by the final scene, and I feel the same about Season 7 (although I haven’t read your other reviews…) You have put into words what I thought, better than I could ever write it!
Thank you!
Thank you!! It’s nice to read that I’m not the only one who felt a little let down. And being told I’ve articulated well the emotions/reactions of others is really rewarding for me personally.
I thought the finale was awesome. Bringing the LaGuerta/Butcher/Doakes story to the front right at the end of the season was a great move. I also don’t think that Mike’s surveillance footage was contrived or out of nowhere either. LaGuerta was too focused on the blood slide, the boat, Estrada etc to notice. Even if it was contrived, it was worth it just to see Debra squirm and when LaGuerta confronted her about the gas station footage.
Glad Hannah McKay survived, if just to change up the finale a bit. Her hospital escape was a bit dodgy, but it happened and now she’s on the run. The ‘Dexter’ crew have said they hope Hannah will return for season 8, and I hope so as well. Now that we already know so much about her, we don’t need to waste episodes on backstory. Depending on whether there’ll be a time-jump between 7.12 and 8.01, the Hannah/Dexter/Debra story could start the season. I just hope she doesn’t return simply to leave again or get killed. She was too big of a part of season 7.
Quinn survived! Killing him off simply because his story wasn’t important would have been lame. One can hope that all his dodgy-ness (stealing money, harrassing Arthur Mitchell’s son, hiring a P.I to investigate Dexter against LaGuerta’s orders, becoming a murder suspect and then mysteriously cleared, turning up drunk and late to work numerous times, stealing evidence, accepting bribes, murdering George, messing with a crime scene etc) comes back in some form in Season 8. After all, they said they know how Dexter’s story will most likely turn out, but I hope they put some thought into the other characters’.
Amazing acting by Jennifer Carpenter all season. I think Debra should have a somewhat happy ending. She has been the ACTUAL protagonist for the duration of the show, so I think she deserves better than to end up in jail or dead. Murdering LaGuerta and covering for Dexter are horrible crimes, but I don’t think she will ever have a ‘Dark Passenger’ or urges to kill like Dexter does. Even when she has shot gunmen or wanted Speltzer dead or was glad the Barrel Girl rapists were being killed, those were just out of either self defence, or just because bad things happening to bad people makes everybody feel good. Like Hannah said to Dexter – a lot of people WANTED to kill the Phantom Arsonist, but Dexter is the one whose urges make him do it. Debra gets WAAAAY too emotionally invested in her cases, but she will never kill people the way Dexter does.
I enjoyed your reviews of this season, but I think you were a bit hard on this episode. It was all basically a set up for the final 5 minutes, but I think they pulled it off brilliantly.
I dont know if you already noticed but, in the picture above this article, why is LaGuerta holding Deb’s arm, Isn’t she suppossed to be dead?
I NOTICED THAT TOO! (those are happy/excited caps, not angry ones) But yeah, funny detail.
you are just a hater of the show
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA – No.
Really good review, your thoughts are pretty spot with what I’ve been discussing with my friends about the finale. I felt like it was such a cop out of a finale, almost like they couldn’t bring themselves to actually put Dexter in the burner. I felt like this season and even the finale did such a good job at building tension, and the climax was pretty intense for sure. I agreed with you, Deb really was the star of the show, and her killing LaGuerta is such a huge moment for HER character, but Dexter deserved to be caught. There have been 2 cops who have figured him out, innocent and smart cops, and they are both dead, ironically neither by his hand.
Just my opinion, but I kinda just see Dexter as an asshole now, manipulating people and planting/covering up evidence as he pleases. Plus, considering what he has put Deb through and the talk that Deb and Hannah had about hipocrisy, I was so very hoping she would do the right thing and take Dexter in. THAT would have made next season pretty freaking more exciting…. There better be consequences for their actions, cuz like you said, I’m kind of tired of the show just hitting the reset button with Dexter at square one.
Thanks so much! I agree that this was a pretty great season for Dexter and the finale wasn’t terrible, it was just too remeniscent of its own past for me. I didn’t necessarily want to see Dex in prison (although it would be fun to watch Dexter just own his own cell block lol), but something like Deb turning on him would have been more exciting. I just want to see the show do something ballsy that doesn’t strain logic or credulity. I’dlike the last season to be something special. I did hear it may be 16 episodes instead of 12 so that’s intriguing.
I think it was a good finale but my concern for next season will Deb and Dexter be questioned about maria disappering , The fact that she not Dexter tuned up to angels party should clue people in and also hmm maria was investigating dex and now she has gone. I am curious about season 8 and what it will do with it being the final season
Same here, buddy. It seems way too obvious; that’s why I never thought they’d go through with it.