When Dexter first came out in 2006, it was considered one of the best TV shows of the time, but when the show wrapped up in 2013, the last episode left much to be desired.
Dexter – a show about a serial killer-turned-vigilante – had a lot going for it and a lot of fans were rooting for the show’s success despite middling ratings in later seasons. But a lukewarm final season and an even more disappointing series finale drilled the last nail in its coffin! Fans and critics considered it one of the worst TV endings EVER.
So what happened? Well…(Spoilers), our faves end up dead or abandoned while Dexter gets to live on despite all his crimes. Don’t believe us? Here’s what really happened on Dexter’s ending and why fans of the show are still up in arms about it after all these years!
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Dexter: A Recap
The show’s titular character, Dexter Morgan (played by Michael C. Hall), is a serial killer with a moral code who vows to only murder people who deserved to die – at least, most of the time. As a child, Dexter saw his mother get brutally murdered, and the trauma sparked his murderous tendencies. Upon realising this, his adoptive father taught him to only kill criminals who have gotten away with their crimes.
Using his job as a forensic expert in the Miami Police Department, Dexter can easily find his next kill and keep track of whether the police are onto him. Though Dexter has enough wit and charm to elude capture, he also gets caught up in a lot of really messy exploits, and often at the expense of the people closest to him, including Rita, Dexter’s girlfriend/wife, their child Harrison, and his adoptive sister Deb (played by Jennifer Carpenter).
This is one of the things that weighs heaviest on Dexter, and it was one of the main themes of the series finale.
Dexter would also have run-ins with other fellow serial killers, including the Ice Truck killer and Arthur Mitchell AKA the Trinity Killer (played by John Lithgow). Dexter’s girlfriend from seasons seven to eight, Hannah McKay (played by Yvonne Strahovski), is also a serial killer.
One Of The Worst Finales Of All Time?
Dexter’s attempts to juggle a normal life, keep his killer instincts in tow, and deal with a slew of other psychopaths usually make for exciting episodes, but the show’s producers couldn’t always deliver on their promises, and in Dexter’s worst seasons, certain plotlines and characters were sadly underserved.
By season eight, Dexter was a hot mess and even the most loyal fans were begging the producers to say no to a season 9. Sadly, the series finale couldn’t even provide viewers with much-needed relief, and it was even dubbed one of the worst TV series finales of all time. Yikes!
Reviews And Regrets
Richard Rys of Vulture wrote a scathing series finale recap entitled “a terrible end” and gave the episode two out of five stars. “As the closing scene faded from my television screen, my reaction wasn’t shock or sadness. It was anger”, wrote Rys. “It’s the kind of anger you feel after investing so much time into a show that you once loved, only to watch it fizzle out in the most unsatisfying of ways”.
While nobody wanted a new season, several fans clamoured for an alternate ending, especially after former executive producer Clyde Phillips opened up about his plans for how the series would end. The worst part? Even Michael C. Hall confessed to hating the finale! On a Reddit AMA, he said he ultimately felt “sadness” after reading the final scene on the script. Ditto, Michael, ditto.
The Worst Of Dexter’s Ending Explained
So how does Dexter end? What exactly happened in its final moments to have disappointed and even angered long-time fans? Here are three things about the finale that we still aren’t over.
Deb’s Death
Debra Morgan’s death was one of the most frustrating things to come out of the Dexter finale, particularly because it could have easily been avoided had Dexter not been so careless. Debra is shot in the gut by Saxon, a serial killer whom Dexter chooses not to kill. She survives but suffers a massive stroke that would ultimately leave her in a vegetative state. So, Dexter decides to pull the plug and wheels her body way too easily out of a hospital that’s conveniently too busy to notice because of an impending hurricane. Okay.
Debra is a fan favourite and she’s been through so much on the show, so viewers were gutted to see her go on such a heartbreaking note. In a bid to do right by the character, the producers have Dexter dump her body into the harbour just like he did countless times before. The only consolation is that the scene is shot beautifully, and in her final moments Debra resembles an angel in her white sheet.
Hannah and Harrison’s Fates
After disposing of his dead sister’s body, Dexter drives his boat into the storm, causing everyone to believe that he’s dead – including his psychotic girlfriend Hannah and his son Harrison. What’s so annoying about this? See, Dexter was supposed to flee to Argentina with his little family so they could escape the cops, but he believes he’s too much of a danger to stick around.
That’s admirable, but only if Hannah wasn’t a psycho herself. In the end, Dexter still leaves his young kid with a serial killer. We wouldn’t be surprised if Harrison turns out to be a murderer himself in the future.
Lumberjack Dexter
Here’s the scene that really takes the cake as the worst ending ever. Instead of getting what he deserves – lifetime imprisonment, torture, death, anything – Dexter is instead revealed to be alive, hiding out in a cabin in the mountains with a beard and some flannel. Unlike the epic ending on Breaking Bad (Spoilers!) where Walter White inevitably meets the death he was trying so hard to avoid, Dexter is inexplicably let off the hook.
The show ends with Dexter staring straight into the camera with menacing eyes. What does Dexter mean by this? Is he tortured by his decision? Is he out to kill again? In the end, we’re left with more questions than answers.
The Show’s Impact
Despite the ups and downs, Dexter is still one of those shows that have been ingrained in early 2000s pop culture. Some even say that it gave rise to today’s obsession with true crime and serial killers. It also propelled several actors’ careers, including David Ramsey, Dexter’s sister’s love interest in season three, and Desmond Harrington, Dexter’s Detective Joey Quinn. We suppose for that, we can be grateful!
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