Two things that you should know going into reading this review - first I am in fact a fan of the show - two, this is probably going to be pretty spoiler heavy, so proceed with caution!
Last season ended with a jaw-dropper. It was the first time that they didn't wrap things up with a pretty bow on Dexter, that he hadn't gotten just barely by, that they gave him extreme consequences to his actions. And the aftermath made the possibilities for season five absolutely delicious. And they picked up the moment they left off - a bold and awesome choice. But this season wasn't about trying to solve Rita's murder - it gets pretty quickly slushed off into the ongoing (never to be solved) Trinity investigation. Instead this season is about trying to atone.
There is a line in the season finale tonight from uber-villain Jordan Chase where, upon looking at Dexter's kill tools, he remarks, "When I look at this I see a greatness in you, but when I look at you, I just see a mess." There's a truth to that statement, not about Dexter as a character, but about the series itself. The beginning of this season was... well... it dragged in a weird way. I really really didn't care about the storyline of Batista and Laguerta. Also the two psycho brothers seemed to be just a random occurance and existed merely to get Deb put into the file room so that she could look further into the barrel girls case - seems a bit extreme. I realize that they also used that side story to mess with Deb and Laguerta's relationship as well - but it really truly felt like filler. Dexter does tension extremely well, it does build up in a strong fashion. What they don't do well is putting Dexter into REALLY difficult situations. They spent a great deal of time talking about how difficult it was to get to Jordan Chase, how he's always surrounded by guards - yet they just brush that away and not make the characters have to deal with it whatsoever. That was a bit of a cop-out for me. I was super annoyed about Deb just about finding out and then her letting them walk off. I do buy that Deb is at the place where she would do that, but it felt like a bit of a cock-tease and then a cheat. Having read some interviews the producers are well aware that they have to deal with that storyline at some point (might as well attack it next season, with Hall & Carpenter getting a divorce they'll probably welcome their characters being at odds when the cameras start rolling again next year).
The biggest annoyance is how easily Quinn got off just because of the blood work. What about all of the finger prints? The phone calls (those voicemails he deleted would still be on a server somewhere). That got REALLY quickly brushed under the matt.
This show is a lot of fun, it's quite delicious - I keep meaning to revisit past seasons but I fear for finding holes in it. Maybe it'll be better than that. Who knows. Michael C. Hall is brilliant, and his relationship with Julia Stiles' Lumen was just a thing to behold. Their parting was heartbreaking, but it made complete sense. I like what they did with it - and that it's open ended enough that she may very well find herself on his doorstep down the line. Jennifer Carpenter continues to be fantastic, especially considering how unlikable her character was earlier in the series.
I know that I complained a lot in this review, but I did like this season and I think that they did some interesting things. I'm curious as to how they're going to keep this show fresh now. What's next that's going to challenge and confound Dexter. Just do me a favour and make him actually have to deal with being a father next season and not give him the easy out. You have some talented people on that team, put your characters through hell!
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