Season Eight
By the time season eight rolled around, I was cautiously optimistic. If they could retain the strength of the first half of season seven, then we might just be in for a decent finale. The first episode was good, but not especially mind blowing. Not a problem, it would doubtless pick up. Then the second episode was more of the same. And the third, and the fourth and then, distracted by Breaking Bad's far superior final run, I just sort of gave up. Well, maybe gave up is too strong a term. I planned on catching up; I just didn't feel particularly compelled to. Nor did I feel compelled to avoid spoilers at all costs, like with Breaking Bad, so when I started hearing about what had been happening in each episode, and how dull everything was even as the series reached its denouement, I realized that I had very simply run out of patience. It wasn't the tantrum throwing 'this has to improve or else' attitude I had toward season six. Nor was it the blind fury I felt at the ending of Skins' final season earlier this year. It was something a lot sadder; I simply no longer had any passion for the show. A series that had once left me breathless, on the edge of my seat, gagging for the next episode and desperate to find out what would happen now was simply another show I used to watch, continuing in the background of my far too TV obsessed life. I was told that I should just watch the finale and forget the rest of the season. Just to be caught up and be able to discuss it with everyone. But I didn't want to. I heard about what happened, and aside from the inherent hilarity of Dexter ending up as a lumberjack, it didn't make me angry or anything. It was a bad ending, for sure, laughable even, but it kind of suited what the series had become. While I haven't seen it, it doesn't sound jarring compared to the rest of season eight. Dexter deserved an explosive, shocking and satisfying conclusion at the end of season four or five. I still recommend Dexter to friends, but with the caveat that they should just pretend Rita's death is the end. I don't really know how to feel about Dexter anymore. At the end of the day it was an excellent series that descended into poor writing, stupidity, and awful plotting. And aside from anything else, it committed probably the worst crime any series can. It got to a point when even a fan as loyal, devoted and obsessed as me just stopped caring. And that requires some extreme effort. As to what went wrong, I suppose it was a matter of changing writers and the desire of the studio to keep milking a lucrative cash cow, even long after it had exhausted any originality or genuine creativity. Who really knows? The end result remains the same, and the final fate of Dexter is just sad. Did you love Dexter? Share your own reactions to the show below in the comments thread.