Ranking All 8 Seasons Of Dexter
6. Season 5
The problem with having such an amazing, catch you off guard, finish the likes of which season four had, is that there’s inevitably a comedown afterwards. It is a law of nature after all, right? Season 5 stumbles right of the gate and fails to use the momentum passed to it by that incredible season four finale. Much of the season is spent dealing with Dexter’s grief after the events of season four and, whilst this makes for good character exploration, it also slows down the pacing the show had become known for.
Julia Stiles guest stars this season as Lumen, a woman who befriends Dexter in her journey to get revenge on a group of serial rapists led by a motivational speaker (yes, the big bad of this season is a motivational speaker!) named Jordan Chase, played by Johnny Lee Miller. Whilst this initially presents a possible future for Dexter, things of course don’t go to plan and the finale sees Lumen leave the show.
Season 5's placement on the list isn’t really so much the fault of season 5 but rather the incredible heights reached by season 4, which season 5 seemingly failed to capitalise upon. It isn’t a bad season of the show, however, and shouldn’t be skipped over.