Thoughts on Dexter Series Finale - SPOILERS

I talked about this on twitter, but I’m going to talk about it here too, because I just read this discussion of the finale with the show’s EP Sara Colleton, and it speaks to my biggest frustration with the finale.

Admittedly, I’m not sure that a discussion of Dexter is even topical at this point. As far as anti-heroes go, he’s been eclipsed by Walter White in a big way. I’d also say that, as an author ending a trilogy next year, I’m not trying to be a jerk about unmet expectations. Endings are tough. It’s rare that anyone says that they loved the final book or movie or season best. You’re just not going to make everyone happy. 

That said? I’m not happy.

This season got off to an amazing start and I was so ready to be brought back into the Dexter fold. When Hannah reappeared I grew wary, but I was still in. Then came that played out scene with Julian Sands as the cartoonishly evil rapey husband. From there out, the episodes felt strangely arbitrary—new characters were introduced only to be eliminated, Deb’s recovery was complete and seemingly instantaneous, and most importantly, Hannah and Dexter were no longer psychopaths but cuddly soulmates with splendid impulse control. (Did Hannah do anything this season other than make salads, profess her love, and give Harrison another pretty blonde to love?)

All of this was vexing, but with the show’s treatment of Deb we crossed the line from baffling to infuriating. Deb was a fantastic character and Jennifer Carpenter has acted the eff out of everything given to her. Deb was a worthy antagonist for Dex (as opposed to blank-eyed serial killer #23) and the promos for the show—particularly the posters sure as hell set us up for that arc.

And even if the show didn’t want to make her Dexter’s main antagonist, how about having her go dark and face off against Conway? Or even darker and face off against Batista?

******* SPOILERS SPOILERS MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*******

But the show didn’t give us any of that. Instead, they sidelined Deb completely and then turned her into a LITERAL PROP. Okay, Dex is responsible in a completely roundabout way, but way to pull your emotional punches, show.

And then our girl, our brilliant, fierce, badass girl becomes a vegetable. She doesn’t have her own journey anymore. Nope, she’s just a motivator, a narrative convenience in the real hero’s journey. Deb deserved better and so did we. (And if you’re thinking I’m flashing back to Ros and the way HBO invented her just to turn her into furniture, you’re damn right.)