Dexter

[It's Damn Real!]

Having him be likeable is what sells the show. How do you present this as an alternative or new method program if you give the viewers the same thing they've seen of psychopathic serial killers previously? You're talking about a completely different series than what this has been presented as from the start. In fact, I'd even argue the title alone is far too inviting, calm and "safe" to be the focus of a series that's geared toward the bloodlust focus and inner-mind workings of what makes a serial killer tick.

 

[Coco]

Having him be likeable is what sells the show.

Tony Soprano, in spite of having charming moments and being a lot of fun to watch, was a straight cunt. And I can't think of any show in recent history that has had such a great combination of mainstream appeal and critical acclaim. You can sell shows with main characters presented in a wildly unflattering light.

Heck, both Mad Men and Breaking Bad at the moment have main characters I'd argue are far more selfish and unlikeable than Dexter. You can sell shows with bad guys as the lead without bending over backwards to get the audience to like them.

How do you present this as an alternative or new method program if you give the viewers the same thing they've seen of psychopathic serial killers previously?

Dexter can be likeable and faux charming and still act in self-interest and be compelled by his sickening blood-lust more often than he is.

Dexter's more of a superhero than a serial killer most of the time. That's always felt like a cop-out to me.

You're talking about a completely different series than what this has been presented as from the start.

The show's always wallowed awkwardly in half-baked moral and philosophical quandaries. Surely that show should have a main character with some legitimately dark qualities to him besides his vigilante work. Something that might actually make him unflattering and questionable. (And no, I don't count his shitty parenting; I'm convinced that's just poor writing).

Sorry, but it's a show that's failed to live up to what I feel it ought have been. You may disagree. And that's fine.

In fact, I'd even argue the title alone is far too inviting, calm and "safe" to be the focus of a series that's geared toward the bloodlust focus and inner-mind workings of what makes a serial killer tick.

Fine. They should have just made this a super hero show. Would have tempered my expectations.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Having him be likeable is what sells the show. How do you present this as an alternative or new method program if you give the viewers the same thing they've seen of psychopathic serial killers previously?

I agree with this. Serial killers in films and on television are portrayed as downright evil guys with tons of charisma and it is their charisma which is expected to draw in the viewers. Which is rather stupid, in my opinion. Dexter is completely different. I think that apart from his need to kill, he is actually much more positive than most people that you meet even in everyday life.

I do not know why so many people want Dexter to turn darkside. Essentially, this show is a reverse Breaking Bad. If BB is about a good man going bad, this is about a bad man becoming good, a serial killer discovering his human side. The only thing that could have been done differently was to show him as more evil at the start of the show, but they took the safe route and made him play the emotionless guy. But certainly, if you understand this show, there is no way in which they were going to make him bad in season 8.

I hate gore with a passion and I have never liked serial killer or slasher films. But I love this show. Maybe that is because Dexter is more tormented superhero than mad serial killer, but so be it. I'd rather watch this than find out that what Hannibal was eating was not chicken wings but human lungs. Seriously, how can people watch that show?

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

This is the story of a boy who was not human. Yet, once he experienced humanity, he wanted more of it. Alas, what he did not realize was that humanity was not a gift that was bestowed so easily upon everyone. And so, he tried and tried till he failed....

I'm no poet but the finale really moved me enough to make me say those words.

I thought it was a good ending. I remember people saying that Dexter has lately become a low-rent Pinocchio while Breaking Bad is somewhat like a Shakespearean tragedy. I think that Dexter has become a great tragedy as well. It is a story that shows that actions have consequences, both on your loved ones as well as your own soul.

I thought that the self imposed prison that Dexter built around himself is the worst possible punishment that can be meted out to a human being. Death, by any means, is overrated. This is suffering to the extreme. A purgatory on earth except with no sight of ever achieving a heaven. He has no one and nothing to live for now and is only waiting for death. It was a hard decision, probably an improbable one for a mere mortal, but then Dexter has always been shown as somewhat of a superhero. This decision reinforces that fact, but does not make it bad in any way. That and the decision to pull the plug on Debra( instead of letting her live in a vegetative state) have transformed Dexter into one of the greatest tragic heroes of our times.

I liked Hannah's performance in this episode. I know people have talked about her lack of chemistry with Dexter. I, for one, would like to focus on her chemistry with little Harrison, which was wonderful. I truly got the feeling that both of them loved each other. Loved Deb's interactions with both Quinn and Dexter and also liked Quinn for the first time ever in my life.

So was it perfect? No. Far from it, to be honest. I still think MMPD should have found out about Dexter. Though there is still some hope on that matter. Quinn knows point blank that Dexter killed Saxon willfully. David Zayas( Batista) is keen on a spin-off which deals with the repercussions of the finale. I would have also liked Dexter's dark passenger to have returned in the final moments. They seemed to be foreshadowing it while Dexter was talking to Saxon.

Still, not a bad ending by any means. Something I can live with. Something that leaves hope for the future for the series to be rebooted from this point onwards. I get why it will be bashed but it is not a sentiment that I agree with.