Dexter finale
some thoughts on the series finale of Dexter below the cut.
But first, was anyone else completely underwhelmed by the SHIELD pilot? It felt kinda flat. I *want* it to get better - if it were anyone other than Joss, I probably wouldn't keep watching, but I probably will, just...hoping. frustrated.
firstly, this is why I *like* being spoiled - I'd seen gifsets on tumblr of Dexter pulling the plug on Deb, so I was sort of mentally girded for it. I would have been a big sloppy mess if I hadn't expected it going in...after all, it looked, for a half a second there, like we were headed towards a happy ending of some sort (not that I liked that...it's a story about a serial killer, that seemed weird to me, but also very TV, so I was ready for an unlikely sunset)
so anyway, I liked the series finale of Dexter, except for the last minute or so. I have no idea about the books so maybe this was a turn towards canon, but it made no sense to me for him to turn out to be alive. I mean, first of all, HOW, after steering his little boat directly into a hurricane.
but mostly, it seemed pointless to me. him dying would have made sense on several levels. he *said* that he wanted to die, so even if he miraculously survived the hurricane, why wouldn't he off himself? or I can see it being true that he would have changed his mind about being with Hannah and Harrison at that point, selfish or not (something that can be argued, really - I doubt Hannah or Harrison would have seen his return to them as selfish)
oddly, him surviving is more depressing to me than his death would have been - after that whole journey of him becoming a Real Boy, he's going to go back to a life of isolation? what is the point, narratively, of that? I suppose if we're going to continue considering him a sociopath, it unleashes him, but can we really consider him a sociopath after everything that happened? can he go back to having no ties, or has it become a habit now, where he'll just get attached to a whole new set of people? I'm not sure which is less depressing, tbh. either he's lonely for the rest of his life, or he gave up a family for no reason.
I liked his suicide because it was, in a lot of ways, both halves of him acting at once. the selfishness and self-centeredness of his sociopathy in not wanting to feel any more pain, despite the fact that it was depriving two people of someone they loved very much; the overwhelming, impulsive humanity of choosing to drive into a hurricane, because the grief was too large to leave room for self-preservation. it was the ultimate resolution of the push-pull at the center of the whole show - for once, both sides wanted the same thing. AND I liked that, however Dexter may have framed it in his own mind, it wasn't self-sacrifice. it was a very selfish, very human choice that really only benefited him.
basically, I'm going to pretend the last bit of the finale doesn't exist. he died - there, I fixed it. sort of like I pretend that Supernatural ended 30 seconds before the end of Swan Song. this actually bugs me a little more - I know what motivated the continuation of Supernatural, but I don't understand where the creative team was coming from with the Dexter ending. if anyone has insight or ideas, please share. I just can't think of any way it makes sense - all I can think is that they were scared to kill off their main character, or came down with a bad case of infectious twist-itis.
But first, was anyone else completely underwhelmed by the SHIELD pilot? It felt kinda flat. I *want* it to get better - if it were anyone other than Joss, I probably wouldn't keep watching, but I probably will, just...hoping. frustrated.
firstly, this is why I *like* being spoiled - I'd seen gifsets on tumblr of Dexter pulling the plug on Deb, so I was sort of mentally girded for it. I would have been a big sloppy mess if I hadn't expected it going in...after all, it looked, for a half a second there, like we were headed towards a happy ending of some sort (not that I liked that...it's a story about a serial killer, that seemed weird to me, but also very TV, so I was ready for an unlikely sunset)
so anyway, I liked the series finale of Dexter, except for the last minute or so. I have no idea about the books so maybe this was a turn towards canon, but it made no sense to me for him to turn out to be alive. I mean, first of all, HOW, after steering his little boat directly into a hurricane.
but mostly, it seemed pointless to me. him dying would have made sense on several levels. he *said* that he wanted to die, so even if he miraculously survived the hurricane, why wouldn't he off himself? or I can see it being true that he would have changed his mind about being with Hannah and Harrison at that point, selfish or not (something that can be argued, really - I doubt Hannah or Harrison would have seen his return to them as selfish)
oddly, him surviving is more depressing to me than his death would have been - after that whole journey of him becoming a Real Boy, he's going to go back to a life of isolation? what is the point, narratively, of that? I suppose if we're going to continue considering him a sociopath, it unleashes him, but can we really consider him a sociopath after everything that happened? can he go back to having no ties, or has it become a habit now, where he'll just get attached to a whole new set of people? I'm not sure which is less depressing, tbh. either he's lonely for the rest of his life, or he gave up a family for no reason.
I liked his suicide because it was, in a lot of ways, both halves of him acting at once. the selfishness and self-centeredness of his sociopathy in not wanting to feel any more pain, despite the fact that it was depriving two people of someone they loved very much; the overwhelming, impulsive humanity of choosing to drive into a hurricane, because the grief was too large to leave room for self-preservation. it was the ultimate resolution of the push-pull at the center of the whole show - for once, both sides wanted the same thing. AND I liked that, however Dexter may have framed it in his own mind, it wasn't self-sacrifice. it was a very selfish, very human choice that really only benefited him.
basically, I'm going to pretend the last bit of the finale doesn't exist. he died - there, I fixed it. sort of like I pretend that Supernatural ended 30 seconds before the end of Swan Song. this actually bugs me a little more - I know what motivated the continuation of Supernatural, but I don't understand where the creative team was coming from with the Dexter ending. if anyone has insight or ideas, please share. I just can't think of any way it makes sense - all I can think is that they were scared to kill off their main character, or came down with a bad case of infectious twist-itis.