1. Lack Of Meaningful Character Development
The final entry of any story typically works to bring it full circle and offer complete closure. So if Breaking Bad was about Mr. Chips becoming Scarface, I like to think Dexter was about Pinocchio becoming a real boy. One thing I will give the Dexter finale credit for is that it tried to come full circle, even succeeded to a certain extent, but it failed in a supreme way. In the very first episode Dexter asserted he was not human, stating "If I could have feelings for anyone at all, I would have them for Deb". This somewhat came full circle when Deb went into a coma, making Dexter admit now that he had feelings he didn't want them anymore after suffering the loss of Debra. Though I'm not a huge fan of Dexter's decision to dump Deb's body into the ocean, I have to at least acknowledge the symbolism of that action since she was technically his last victim. However, it seems as though the writers decided against their premise by rejecting all of the development Dexter had gone through at the last minute. This was a man who fully believed, partly because he was conditioned to think this way, he could not fall in love or care for others only to get married, have a child, care for his wife's own children as if they were his own and fall in love again. Even when Dr. Vogel told him his feelings for others are not authentic he rejected this hypothesis. The finale did a complete 180 on his belief and values. Dexter thought it was a better idea to leave his child in the custody of a wanted fugitive in order to keep him safe, believing himself responsible for Debra's condition and causing pain and suffering to everyone around him. While this is true to an extent, there was never really any authenticity to this belief. The one big argument which could be made in favour of his choice is, as previously discussed, his role in Rita's death, but he had come to peace with his responsibility in that long ago. His decision to abandon everything he knew and cared about didn't seem real or make sense. At least Walt's self-imposed exile not only made sense, but was a very reluctant exile. He didn't want to leave his family behind for any reason, but the situation forced him to. Even then he tried hard as he could to accomplish what he had originally set out to do: provide them with a lot of money for their future. Walt's own journey hit a startling point when, in the finale, he finally admitted everything he did was to make himself feel important. It was known to everyone for a while his family just became an excuse to cook meth, but he never admitted it until he had absolutely nothing left, forcing him to face the truth. Walt's character development rang truer than Dexter's because it accounted for every action he took over the course of the series whereas Dexter's realization largely focused on what he did in Season 8 rather than the series as a whole.