What sets Dexter apart from the above mistakes is that this show is not the date who tricked you into multiple dates, but the one who tricked you into marriage before going off the rails. For 8 years, Dexter viewers watched as the morally ambiguous antihero struggled with his murderous addiction, ridding Miami of its felonious scum. We questioned whether or not Dexter was actually good for society. He was eliminating some evil people, but he was doing so by murdering them. As the series progressed, it became clear that Dexter's methods were not at all exemplary. Because of his conniving, many innocent people died. Doakes died because he figured out Dexter's secret. Rita, his wife, died simply because she was closest to him. In season 7, He started killing innocent people to save himself (see: Laguerta). After his sister discovered his identity, she struggled with it, and she eventually shut Dexter out completely. It seemed like she would figure out Dexter's secret and he would receive punishment for his crimes. It seemed like Dexter would finally meet justice for his murderous addiction. Instead, he sent his girlfriend and son to Argentina and faked his own death in order to retire as a lumberjack. There was not retribution for his victims. The Miami Metro Police Department continued to operate in ignorance of Dexter's murderous past. Perhaps the tensest moments of a Dexter manhunt were wasted in season 2, but after watching for 8 years to see Dexter get his comeuppance or at least be punished in some sort of way for his crimes, viewers were left with the scene of a lumberjack opening his eyes. The writers tricked us into thinking we were watching a show about a man on a morally ambiguous journey when we were actually watching a show about a man who we were to see as a Batman of sorts. Instead of providing an interesting ending on the nature of Dexter's darkness, the writers delivered an ending with a damaged superhero, an ending totally uncharacteristic of its preceding 7 seasons. Which other mistakes derailed 2013's biggest TV shows? Share your own picks below in the comments thread.
Joseph is a student at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, double majoring in Ancient Greek and Religious Studies. He has a deep passion for TV and consumes as much of it as possible.
