Dexter finale review
Dec. 14th, 2010 12:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ishtar79 This season was different from what I expected: I thought there would be Dexter coming apart at the seams and going to a much darker place. What we got instead was entirely unexpected, but I absolutely loved it nonetheless.
Not that it wasn’t *dark*, mind you. I need some extra-strength brain bleach to scrub the images (and sounds) of those DVDs, and considering that I’ve recently been mainlining all the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episodes, the fact that the relevant episodes were among the most disturbing things I’ve seen on television is saying something (the award for “most disturbing” going to a certain episode of Private Practice, of all things).
Lumen and her dynamic with Dexter were something of a revelation for me. While I’ve happened to read the odd Dexter/Debra fic or two before (more like every single one of them in the Internet-there aren’t that many), the fact is that there wasn’t a canon character I could ship Dexter hardcore with. I liked Rita as a character, and her relationship with Dexter was fascinating from a storytelling POV, but the combination of the whole thing being built on a giant lie and the fact I didn’t even care for the fictitious image of domesticity it produced meant I pretty much turned off my shippy fan goggles for the show. And that was fine, since it’s not what the show’s for. Except that somehow, somewhere along Lumen storyline, I went from being horrified and sympathetic, to very intrigued from where her dynamic with Dexter was going, to being the kind of disgustingly shippy fan who draws little hearts around characters’ names. I don’t even know, you guys. I blame it all on MCH acting-every new emotion, no matter how subtly expressed, was just pitch-perfect, and I’ve always been a Julia Stiles fan. And I know how unhealthy and ridiculously codependent the whole thing was, but I couldn’t help myself. Dexter looked so…smitten. They spent episodes planning a killing spree, talking about knives, duct tape and kill rooms, and I kept squeeing about how *cute* they were.
Of course, that’s all over and done with now. Irrational shipper impulses aside (Nooo, Lumen, don’t leave hiiiiiiim), this ended up in a much more optimistic place than I thought. I didn’t think they would do a Rita rehash (and a Lila repeat never crossed my mind), but I’d become convinced that Lumen would end up taking the fall for him, or at least be on the run (I don’t know how the logistics of Deb having met her would work out, but the show’s wriggled out of bigger logic holes before). As it was, it was the best way this could end for Lumen-she got her revenge, but unlike Dexter, she doesn’t have to live with the kind of darkness that allowed her that revenge. Realistic? Who the hell knows? Dexter might strive for the occasional touch of reality, but I see the whole show as dark fantasy (and occasional comedy), and within the constraints of the story, it made sense. Dexter, of course, is completely *destroyed* by this, and my heart broke for him twice: the scene with him on the kitchen floor, trying to be understanding and noble and coming off more as “kicked puppy” and his expression in the final shot, the complete absence of anything speaking volumes. Did I mention MCH rocks my world?
On the “rocks my world” column, OMG DEB! Just when I thought I couldn’t love the character more, she actually did what’s been foreshadowed the whole season, the let “the vigilante lovers” go. Apparently some fans have been raising hell over this, claiming that Deb would never be that morally grey. Well-bullshit. Considering all that she has been through since the show started (how much did I love the Rudy reference? Except that was technically Dexter with the namedropping, since Deb STILL can’t say it), considering she got the full, unedited version of the rape DVDs (and hell, just hearing snippets would make me inclined to act the exact same way she did, and I don’t think I have sociopath tendencies) and not forgetting that she is Harry’s daughter…yes, Deb would do this. This doesn’t mean she’d equally understand if the full truth about Dexter ever came out, but there’s a difference between the coldness and I Am God-ness of Dexter’s usual act and a rape and torture victim taking out her tormentors. I was frustrating at how close she came to Dexter’s secret without finding out, but the time wasn’t right yet, and the scene would play out better without a third person. I think she knows on some level though-her last scenes with Dexter had a very ambiguous tone.
I’m still no Quinn fan, but I’m somewhat mollified by how appropriately apologetic he’s been to Deb, and the fact he wisely kept his mouth shut about who Robocop was investigating. I probably don’t wish him dead, if for no other reason that Deb has had enough traumas for ten lifetimes.
I was happy with how the conclusion to the Jordan Chase story played out. I didn’t need more backstory on why he was the way he was-sometime, people do really evil things for no reason. I liked that his fame came back to bite him on the ass, and I LOVED Dexter stabbing him on the foot. I bet he’d envisioned being taken down in a more dignified way. Johnny Lee Miller did a stellar job at creeping me the hell out-I can safely say all remnants of my teenage crush of him, circa Hackers, have completely evaporated. The season wasn’t so much about him as about Dexter and Lumen, but as a villain following on the heels of the AMAZINGLY CREEPY Trinity, he did a good job.
I don’t know where the show will go after this. The end game has to be “Deb finds out”, but as to how it will play, I have no clue. But I’m ready for season 6 yesterday.
Some random thoughts:
-In such a heavy episodes, Dexter’s inner monologue at the Liddy crime scene seriously cracked me up.
-Unexpected!family is unexpected. So, I guess fandom was wrong about Sonja being a sinister, baby-kidnapping villain. So far.
-Quinn totally knows that Dexter decommissioned Robocop. This ought to make for an interesting dynamic, especially since he’s in the man’s debt and dating his sister.
-I flinched in every scene Jordan was alone with Lumen.
- Really, Deb, you’re watching the DVDs again? I swear, I have no idea how people who have to review such vile things for real do their job.
- I like that Deb and Laguerta reestablished their tentative rapport. Unless it was all staged by Maria for Angel’s benefit-the woman is Slytherin to the core.
-Fuck yes, Deb, you HAVE to learn Spanish!
-So I guess we dropped that whole beheading story then? And the cop that Deb had mad femslashy vibes with?
-God, I knew it was over the moment Dexter walked in the apartment the next day, but watching him making plans while Lumen sat still on the couch was painful.
-And speaking of painful…MCH killed me in that whole scene.
-It’s nice that they remembered the changed relationship between Astor and Dexter. I hope we get more scenes of the two of them next season.
-Masuka, bringing acall girl date to a baby’s party? Never change, you hilariously inappropriate, leopard thong-wearing little perv!
Not that it wasn’t *dark*, mind you. I need some extra-strength brain bleach to scrub the images (and sounds) of those DVDs, and considering that I’ve recently been mainlining all the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episodes, the fact that the relevant episodes were among the most disturbing things I’ve seen on television is saying something (the award for “most disturbing” going to a certain episode of Private Practice, of all things).
Lumen and her dynamic with Dexter were something of a revelation for me. While I’ve happened to read the odd Dexter/Debra fic or two before (more like every single one of them in the Internet-there aren’t that many), the fact is that there wasn’t a canon character I could ship Dexter hardcore with. I liked Rita as a character, and her relationship with Dexter was fascinating from a storytelling POV, but the combination of the whole thing being built on a giant lie and the fact I didn’t even care for the fictitious image of domesticity it produced meant I pretty much turned off my shippy fan goggles for the show. And that was fine, since it’s not what the show’s for. Except that somehow, somewhere along Lumen storyline, I went from being horrified and sympathetic, to very intrigued from where her dynamic with Dexter was going, to being the kind of disgustingly shippy fan who draws little hearts around characters’ names. I don’t even know, you guys. I blame it all on MCH acting-every new emotion, no matter how subtly expressed, was just pitch-perfect, and I’ve always been a Julia Stiles fan. And I know how unhealthy and ridiculously codependent the whole thing was, but I couldn’t help myself. Dexter looked so…smitten. They spent episodes planning a killing spree, talking about knives, duct tape and kill rooms, and I kept squeeing about how *cute* they were.
Of course, that’s all over and done with now. Irrational shipper impulses aside (Nooo, Lumen, don’t leave hiiiiiiim), this ended up in a much more optimistic place than I thought. I didn’t think they would do a Rita rehash (and a Lila repeat never crossed my mind), but I’d become convinced that Lumen would end up taking the fall for him, or at least be on the run (I don’t know how the logistics of Deb having met her would work out, but the show’s wriggled out of bigger logic holes before). As it was, it was the best way this could end for Lumen-she got her revenge, but unlike Dexter, she doesn’t have to live with the kind of darkness that allowed her that revenge. Realistic? Who the hell knows? Dexter might strive for the occasional touch of reality, but I see the whole show as dark fantasy (and occasional comedy), and within the constraints of the story, it made sense. Dexter, of course, is completely *destroyed* by this, and my heart broke for him twice: the scene with him on the kitchen floor, trying to be understanding and noble and coming off more as “kicked puppy” and his expression in the final shot, the complete absence of anything speaking volumes. Did I mention MCH rocks my world?
On the “rocks my world” column, OMG DEB! Just when I thought I couldn’t love the character more, she actually did what’s been foreshadowed the whole season, the let “the vigilante lovers” go. Apparently some fans have been raising hell over this, claiming that Deb would never be that morally grey. Well-bullshit. Considering all that she has been through since the show started (how much did I love the Rudy reference? Except that was technically Dexter with the namedropping, since Deb STILL can’t say it), considering she got the full, unedited version of the rape DVDs (and hell, just hearing snippets would make me inclined to act the exact same way she did, and I don’t think I have sociopath tendencies) and not forgetting that she is Harry’s daughter…yes, Deb would do this. This doesn’t mean she’d equally understand if the full truth about Dexter ever came out, but there’s a difference between the coldness and I Am God-ness of Dexter’s usual act and a rape and torture victim taking out her tormentors. I was frustrating at how close she came to Dexter’s secret without finding out, but the time wasn’t right yet, and the scene would play out better without a third person. I think she knows on some level though-her last scenes with Dexter had a very ambiguous tone.
I’m still no Quinn fan, but I’m somewhat mollified by how appropriately apologetic he’s been to Deb, and the fact he wisely kept his mouth shut about who Robocop was investigating. I probably don’t wish him dead, if for no other reason that Deb has had enough traumas for ten lifetimes.
I was happy with how the conclusion to the Jordan Chase story played out. I didn’t need more backstory on why he was the way he was-sometime, people do really evil things for no reason. I liked that his fame came back to bite him on the ass, and I LOVED Dexter stabbing him on the foot. I bet he’d envisioned being taken down in a more dignified way. Johnny Lee Miller did a stellar job at creeping me the hell out-I can safely say all remnants of my teenage crush of him, circa Hackers, have completely evaporated. The season wasn’t so much about him as about Dexter and Lumen, but as a villain following on the heels of the AMAZINGLY CREEPY Trinity, he did a good job.
I don’t know where the show will go after this. The end game has to be “Deb finds out”, but as to how it will play, I have no clue. But I’m ready for season 6 yesterday.
Some random thoughts:
-In such a heavy episodes, Dexter’s inner monologue at the Liddy crime scene seriously cracked me up.
-Unexpected!family is unexpected. So, I guess fandom was wrong about Sonja being a sinister, baby-kidnapping villain. So far.
-Quinn totally knows that Dexter decommissioned Robocop. This ought to make for an interesting dynamic, especially since he’s in the man’s debt and dating his sister.
-I flinched in every scene Jordan was alone with Lumen.
- Really, Deb, you’re watching the DVDs again? I swear, I have no idea how people who have to review such vile things for real do their job.
- I like that Deb and Laguerta reestablished their tentative rapport. Unless it was all staged by Maria for Angel’s benefit-the woman is Slytherin to the core.
-Fuck yes, Deb, you HAVE to learn Spanish!
-So I guess we dropped that whole beheading story then? And the cop that Deb had mad femslashy vibes with?
-God, I knew it was over the moment Dexter walked in the apartment the next day, but watching him making plans while Lumen sat still on the couch was painful.
-And speaking of painful…MCH killed me in that whole scene.
-It’s nice that they remembered the changed relationship between Astor and Dexter. I hope we get more scenes of the two of them next season.
-Masuka, bringing a
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
OMG!
Date: 2010-12-13 11:40 pm (UTC)I loved the way it ended, but it was not what I expected: I expected Chase to kill Lumen just minutes before Dexter arrived (but it does make more sense than Chase wanted them both as his audience while he gloated for hours on end. lol)
or I expected Lumen to get caught and end up refusing to disclose who her accomplice was... but this is better, and huge that Deb had 'caught' them and let them go. I don't even really think there is a morally gray in that because Deb knows what (part of what) Lumen suffered, and knows how much worse it would be to drag the poor girl through the press AND through the legal system (and probably no jury would convict anyway, not with those tapes to watch).
But yeah, Deb would never ever get her head around the hundreds of people Dexter has killed... Deb felt for the victim who brought down her attackers, but Dexter hasn't been attacked by (most of) the people he has killed.
Wow this show really delivers! I thought the 3rd season was really weak and that the show was going down hill, but last year and this year have been awesome! And MCH just doesn't quit. Best anti-hero ever....
I have to admit that I kept waiting for some weird/sinister villainy from Sonja... but it is cool that that never happened, just having her seem slightly creepy was plenty!
And I kinda love that Dexter and Quinn are at some kind of weird stand-off, or even some kind of agreement.... Quinn is still a bad cop, and he will make Deb miserable, but I like that she is getting a relationship that lasts more than 3 or 4 episodes (finally).
Love this show so much.
Re: OMG!
Date: 2010-12-14 03:28 pm (UTC)I both can't wait for, and dread, the moment Deb will find out.
Quinn is a terrible cop. And on a shallow note, so physically unattractive to me (though plenty find him hot, I'm aware).
How will we last until next season?
Re: OMG!
Date: 2010-12-15 12:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-14 02:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-14 03:30 pm (UTC)I agree with you on the parallels-this season was really succesful at drawing them without beating us over the head with it.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-14 04:06 pm (UTC)I'm not usually one to get oversensitive about violent imagery, but this is a woman who started the story by being held prisoner and gang raped by a bunch of guys who did this repeatedly, so in general saw women as objects deserving to be treated like things for male pleasure. And now you're telling me that as punishment for not being a willing sex partner for the male lead any longer she deserves to be chopped up by him? Because hey, he did all that stuff for her and she made him like her so if she's not going to be what he wants she's no use?
Gross!
I liked Rita and Lumen and I have no problem with the whole thing.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-14 07:14 am (UTC)BUT YEY LUMEN DID NOT DIE OR GET ARRESTED.
Also, Deb's 'Que?' face was just adorable. But srsly, learn some basic Spanish.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-14 03:31 pm (UTC)Lumen made it out alive and as well as she can be, which was definitely pleasantly unexpected.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-14 01:28 pm (UTC)Lumen being satisfied and ready to move on strikes me as pretty realistic. It's not as if they are saying she will never have a nightmare or any feelings of rage in her life, but she dealt with her tormentors and is feeling fine and optimistic right now. I buy it.
Deb would totally do it! She is human and identifies deeply with the victims. I don't think anything else would make any sense! I also don't think arresting "the vigilantes" would make her a better person, not at all.
I'm a little confused that Dexter would refer to his brother as Rudy and expect Deb to do the same. I think it would make more sense for Deb to call him by his name "Ice Truck Killer" and for Dexter to call him "My, brother, the ice truck killer, Brian". Rudy is not real. The things that bother me, they are small and plentiful.
The Liddy crimescene, Dexters monologue, and Quinn's and Dexter's conversation were the best thing about the episode! I turned from your average hater to quite the Quinn fan in this season, ngl! His knowing looks, they amuse me!
Unless it was all staged by Maria for Angel’s benefit-the woman is Slytherin to the core.
Heh, yeah. It totally looks like she is pretending to be nice for her marriage's sake. I love this.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-14 03:35 pm (UTC)I buy Lumen being ready to move on too. Mind you, I doubt most trauma councillors would recommend this particular therapy, but it seemed to work for her.
I was confused at the use of Rudy too-maybe Dexter used it the way Deb would have? /fanwanks>
I wouldn't call myself a Quinn fan, but yeah. The expressions were hilarious, and I have liked the actor in other roles.
Laguerta > everybody. I wouldn't want to cross her.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-15 12:23 am (UTC)