10 Most Controversial Series Finales In TV History
3. Dexter
Had Dexter been just a bit more popular, the finale would have undoubtedly have generated just as many headlines as Game Of Thrones’ The Iron Throne. While it’s not as well known in pop culture, the weird events of the finale are still a very sore spot for fans all these years later.
Killing Dexter off would’ve been a satisfying and fitting end to his arc, but the show went another way.
The final season tries to offer him some redemption, and that too would’ve been a safe ending. A little cheap, perhaps, and not exactly fitting with Dexter’s amoral tone, but nothing to write home about.
Instead, Dexter rejects his chance at happiness, as well as an end of any value whatsoever. Instead, he sails away to become a lumberjack. An anticlimax to say the least.
Clyde Phillips, who was showrunner for the first 4 seasons of Dexter (typically considered the better seasons), admitted his distaste for the final season overall in a Reddit AMA for his then-new show, Nurse Jackie. He did, however, steer away from criticising the finale itself, which was more charitable than most of the fans felt it deserved.