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Dexter Review: The Return of Who?!?

by at . Comments

I remain very down on this season of Dexter. But it's no fun for me to write, nor for you to peruse, consistently-negative reviews.

Therefore, allow me to quickly list my main problems with the season, all excaerbated by "Just Let Go," and turn it over to readers to see it they agree.

Dex in the Lab

ONE: Dexter has no connection to the main serial killing case. He's barely charing the culprits, they don't know anything about him. I say it every week, but that's only because these episodes are failing to deliver it every week: Dexter is at its best when there's some kind of cat-and-mouse chase going on, not when Dexter is simply pondering his belief system.

TWO: I don't understand why Dexter has not turned what he knows about Doomsday over to the police department. He's often worked with them on cases, unless he has a personal reason not to. But... see Issue Number-One.

Dexter doesn't really care about Doomsday. He has other business to attend to this season. So why wouldn't he just tell the crew about Travis being at the crime scene and end this thing? He's simply responsible for every murder carried out by Travis and Gellar now, something that goes against his character. Dexter has never courted innocent deaths by any means. He aims to punish those who get away with their crimes.

THREE: Travis and Gellar are a snooze. They have the same conversation every week, with the former hestitant and the latter claiming this is God's will and then Travis acquiescing and doing something grotesque to thei latest prey.

FOUR: We've done this "Who Am I?" dance every season. The show is just couching it in religious terms now. Instead of wondering about "faith" and "light," Dexter has spent past years asking whether or not he can live a "normal" existence while still carrying his Dark Passenger. That's what he struggled with when he dated Rita, when he married Rita, when Harrison was born.

Go back and watch the final scene of the season five final again. Dexter realized, once again, that he's a monster. So fast forward a few season six episodes, he drowns Nick (someone who very much fits the profile of every other Dexter kill)... and this is meant to be some transformative murder? A realization on Dexter's part that he's such a dark individual that he's akin to his brother, hence the vision? I don't buy it. I see this as the same Dexter he's always been, both in viewer's eyes and in his own.

So that's where I stand on the season so far. It's repeating the same themes as past seasons and, above all else, it's simply boring. Do you agree? Are you fascinated by Dexter's internal struggle? Or, like me, are you hoping the back half of episodes raises the suspense level and significantly increases the story's urgency?


Editor Rating: 2.4 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 3.8 / 5.0 (111 Votes)


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I completely agree. When I saw IGN gave this a 9/10, I laughed. This season is heading down the shitter pretty quick. There's one way this season of Dexter doesn't go down as the worst one yet, and that's if Dexter completely breaks bad and becomes a villain. I don't think they can pull that off, though... Dexter is all about being a relatable protagonist. If they turn him into a monster with no remorse, they lose their audience. It's painfully obvious from next week's preview that Rudy is wearing all black, OMG HE'S THE DEVIL ON DEXTER'S SHOULDER. It would not surprise me one bit to literally have Rudy and Sam arguing over Dexter's soul by the end of the season. But seriously, can we take a look back at this season and talk for a second? We're at the halfway point now, and what have we got? Deb: Broke up with Quinn and got promoted to Lieutenant and is all emo about how it's too stressful. Okay.
Quinn: Got dumped by Deb and took that as a free license to be a reckless douchefuck about a billion times worse than he ever was. BZZZZZT.
Laguerta: Shows up about 45 seconds each week just to be a cunt to Deb. Yup.
Masuka: Continues to just parade around a cast of interns for god knows what reasons.
Batista: Got passed over for Lieutenant and is still the same old 'Good Guy Batista' we've known for years. Mhm. Now, usually a season with so much stagnation on the part of the supporting cast could be carried by one of two things: either a fascinating Dexter story (IE, Season 2 with Lila), or a fascinating Big Bad (IE, Season 4 with Trinity). However... Dexter & Sam: We basically got six episodes of Dexter debating vaguely religious themes in his head, all of which were completely out of character for him. We also got this random friendship with Sam (which is completely unbelievable since EVERY TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE SHOW Dexter has tried to open up to someone, it has come back to bite him in the ass). Sam was a compelling enough character, probably the best this season, and what do they do? PEW PEW time for you to die... and why do they kill Sam? Oh, so he can go all MAAAAAGICAL NEGRO on his deathbed and confide in Dexter, a guy he has only known for a matter of weeks, to try and send him on the right path. Not like any of that matters, anyway, because Dexter chose the dark path by drowning Nick... so essentially, Brother Sam's entire arc was a nice little diversion from-- The Doomsday Duo: TA-DA! This is why this season is failing in such spectacular fashion. EJO & Colin Hanks, I'm sure, are fine actors... but they have shit for material. Their entire "mystery" is predicated on the idea that the audience of this show is a bunch of poop-throwing chimpanzees who can't catch on that Gellar is just a figment of Travis's imagination... I mean, they go OUT of their way each week to show us this. "Hey guys, you see how the waitress isn't looking at Gellar in the restaurant? OKAY, OKAY, YOU SEE HOW SHE ISN'T LOOKING AT HIM IN THE APARTMENT EITHER? YEAH... WONDER WHAT THAT MEANS." So Gellar was some kind of crazy cult leader and Travis is carrying out the prophecy. And they're clearly setting up Travis as a parallel to Dexter -- Travis turns on his dark passenger (Gellar) while Dexter turns to his (Rudy). Wheeeee, how crazy and witty and subtle. Dexter has a sister? NO SHIT, SO DOES TRAVIS, WHAT'RE THE ODDS! I don't see any way for this season to redeem itself... perhaps Dexter going all Walter White and breaking bad would be good... but like I said, the show can't sustain itself like that, and it'd only be a matter of time before ghostHarry or ghostSam showed up to defeat evil shoulderdevilRudy and put Dexter back on the morally gray path instead of the morally black. The Doomsday Duo can only redeem itself if it all turns out to be a complete fakeout and Gellar is actually real. Seriously though, I don't understand what the fuck is happening with this show.

Uncle jackass

Was I the only one that thought that Nick was going to follow the footsteps of Father Sam? Or was I as naive as Dexter? The story of Travis and Gellar was of course boring, but the story of Father Sam was far more interesting.


I can see why this season would be a no go for you as a watcher and reviewer. The internal life of Dexter was something written off a while ago. I enjoy his internal struggle and thoughts and I think that having some of that elevates the show to something more than a mystery/thriller/procedural like every other show on TV. However, I do wish that he would choose something else with which to struggle. It seems to me that while internal struggle is good and interesting Dexter does keep rehashing this same theme and coming to pretty much the same conclusion each season. I wish that he would finally accept this one peace of him and go on from there. There's always something new to struggle with and I think the writers really need to move beyond to a new theme rather than Dexter's struggle with self-hatred.


This review is terrible..... Overall, yes this season is slower but it is certainly different. I for one felt the same emotional twists towards the end of this episodes (esp after watching the preview!)....a couple of points
1. go watch every season until episode 6 and the plot drags out in a similar fashion-season 3-which was probably my least favorite did this to an extreme
2. Having the same predictable-cat and mouse chase gets boring-I like this different side of dexter
3. having dexter contemplate is awesome to watch because michael hall is an incredible actor. I could listen to his analysis ALL day
4. Your first two points are SIMPLY moot as hell...Dude, he knew who trinity was for a LONG ass time-but he didnt turn him in....He knew that the Assitant DA was gonna kill laguerta but he didnt turn him in....
5. He doesnt always have to have a tie to the killer, its DIFFERENT
6. have you seen the preview for the next episode!?!?! it seems epic


your review sucks. ign gave it 9/10 . the episode was pretty enjoyable. seeing his brother got me really excited and curious. I think you should just stop reviewing dexter.


Totally agree with reviewer - imo this is the worst season of Dexter by far. Way too much filler in every episode. Dexter's never-ending 'struggle' with finding the 'light' is boring as hell. And Quinn... the writers must hate the actor now because his storyline is way beyond pathetic. The guy is a complete jellyfish. I'm praying (haha) the backend of this season makes up for the first half.


H-A-T-E-R. It must be nice to sit on your a$$ and judge a show. I'm sure the writers were too busy writing a top rated series, to consult you for your ideas. I appreciate the show for what it is. I don't find reasons to complain about any little detail. Quit watching the show if it's so horrible.


I agree.


I think you were going for "peruse"