(no subject)
Fucking goddamn fuck. I'm gutted. And at the same time, rather amazed at how they manage to continue developing (and setting the stage for the development of) a character who, in theory, is incapable of development. God. Heartbreaking.
I don't think this season escaped the pacing issues that seem to be part and parcel of Dexter -- their story arc development is unbalanced every season (even S1, as much as I love it...definitely has some slow episodes early on, though they were partially offset by the novelty of the show and then the eventual revelations that the season built up to were so potent that it kind of wipes out my memory of everything else). But man, they really brought it in this finale and managed an admirable amount of subtlety and misdirection. Dexter is pretty straight ahead for the most part. Plot twists, sure, but it's no Mad Men, with subterranean themes percolating through every episode. Dexter tells you what he's thinking about and how baffled he is by himself and everyone around him...so it's appropriate that the show is what it says on the box. That's why I'm impressed with how they set up the ending, which I did NOT see coming until he was sitting there listening to Rita's voicemail about getting a later plane (at which point, DREAD). There have been nudges from Not!Harry throughout the season about how Dexter can't juggle all of his moving pieces, nudges to leave his family in order to keep them safe from him, and they certainly played that out in the finale, with Dexter considering whether that would be the right thing to do. And then he has that talk with Deb (his "I'm so grateful" being perhaps the most honest statement of emotion Dexter has ever made) and comes out of it feeling affirmed that he can be good for his family. Which is what makes the ending hurt so much. Every step that he's taken forward to redefine himself outside of Harry's Code is crushed. Every flash of legitimate emotion that he has struggled to interpret has brought him right back around to where he began. Right after thinking that maybe he was good for them. And it hurt so much more than with Laura Moser because we KNOW Rita (and in my case, loved her). So horrifying. I thought they would periodically dangle the threat of her finding out the truth about him, not that they would leave her in a bathtub of blood with nothing he can do and not even any vengeance to take since he'd already killed Trinity (that whole last scene with Arthur is one that I really need to rewatch in light of the ending, if I can manage a rewatch).
Well, that was fun and now I've got a final exam to fail, prepare for, whatever.
I don't think this season escaped the pacing issues that seem to be part and parcel of Dexter -- their story arc development is unbalanced every season (even S1, as much as I love it...definitely has some slow episodes early on, though they were partially offset by the novelty of the show and then the eventual revelations that the season built up to were so potent that it kind of wipes out my memory of everything else). But man, they really brought it in this finale and managed an admirable amount of subtlety and misdirection. Dexter is pretty straight ahead for the most part. Plot twists, sure, but it's no Mad Men, with subterranean themes percolating through every episode. Dexter tells you what he's thinking about and how baffled he is by himself and everyone around him...so it's appropriate that the show is what it says on the box. That's why I'm impressed with how they set up the ending, which I did NOT see coming until he was sitting there listening to Rita's voicemail about getting a later plane (at which point, DREAD). There have been nudges from Not!Harry throughout the season about how Dexter can't juggle all of his moving pieces, nudges to leave his family in order to keep them safe from him, and they certainly played that out in the finale, with Dexter considering whether that would be the right thing to do. And then he has that talk with Deb (his "I'm so grateful" being perhaps the most honest statement of emotion Dexter has ever made) and comes out of it feeling affirmed that he can be good for his family. Which is what makes the ending hurt so much. Every step that he's taken forward to redefine himself outside of Harry's Code is crushed. Every flash of legitimate emotion that he has struggled to interpret has brought him right back around to where he began. Right after thinking that maybe he was good for them. And it hurt so much more than with Laura Moser because we KNOW Rita (and in my case, loved her). So horrifying. I thought they would periodically dangle the threat of her finding out the truth about him, not that they would leave her in a bathtub of blood with nothing he can do and not even any vengeance to take since he'd already killed Trinity (that whole last scene with Arthur is one that I really need to rewatch in light of the ending, if I can manage a rewatch).
Well, that was fun and now I've got a final exam to fail, prepare for, whatever.