Dexter - Page 18

The guy's reasoning in dumb but I have to repeat how surprised I am with the people that think that the whole "love" thing came out of nowhere. I don't know how many of you have younger sisters but the interaction between Deb and Dexter were either: a) meant to be normal and just badly written or b) playing up the fact that something was (even subconsciously) amiss between them.

I'm going to lean with A.

It's possible for a competent writing staff to successfully pull off the Deb / Dexter stuff. This bunch? Not so much. I'm guessing the relationship will be nothing more than a necessary contrivance that will keep Dexter from getting caught until the final season.

Although, if SPOILER:

Here's why the Deb/Dexter "shipping" storyline isn't working.   Yeah the writing really sucks but I feel the actors could sell it if they wanted to and they JUST. DON'T. WANT. TO.

God bless Michael Hall, he's trying to be a pro about it but every time a Deb/Dex "sexual tension" scene comes up, he looks uncomfortable.   Not uncomfortable in a way that's intentional but in a way where he's thinking, "The script is written in English but this makes no sense".   And poor Jennifer Carpenter.   The whole "Deb in Heat" acting whenever Dexter brushes up against her makes her look mortified that she has to perform her character like that.   And when I watched those scenes, I was embarrassed for her.    

I know there's probably a Deb/Dex shipper community out there (there's one for the Winchester Brothers on Supernatural) but is it really that big a contingent?   Even if there were, the fraternal relationship they had is a much stronger one than a romantic one from a dramatic point of view.   What an epic fail of a season.

Holy shit.

Not surprising, but Holy Shit.

Re: the Fake Injecting - I figured that he'd stuck the needle through his neck and just squirted the tranquilizer down his back. He did it at such a weird angle...but it seems like I'm giving it more thought than they did.

Really - fire people...out of cannons.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mangy 

According to that interview with the showrunner, they showed a quick shot of Dexter fake-injecting himself, but it didn't look good so they cut it in post. He also said he had no idea where the stuff with the intern and the severed hand was going to lead. It's always comforting when showrunners are in the dark about their own show.

 

EDIT: Sorry, here's the interview link I was referring to: http://www.avclub.com/articles/dexter-showrunner-not-sure-why-you-have-such-a-pro,66837/

 

It seems the writers had this in mind when they started this season;

1) Do some God stuff, we haven't done that yet right?

2) Make sure Deb finds out about Dexter, but create something that will drag this out beyond 1 season

The whole point of this season was to get to (2), and there was some vague ideas about doing (1) right which was messed up when they got rid of brother Sam.

Incredible that the writers don't know what the intern is up to, I find that very hard to believe. Obviously they're setting up this guy as a future antagonist, but for a moment I thought he and the other girl intern were part of some "Dextern Fan Club", and he's trying to let Dexter know he knows his secret.

Very disappointing season.

I doubt they really plan on going further with that love angle. They obviously only brought that in to make it harder for Deb to not draw a gun on him. Because apparently just loving him as a brother just doesn't cut it. So with two seasons mapped, Deb will most likely somehow get along with it. At least for a while.

Do you think he'll completely open up and speak to her as he did with Miguel and Lumen? If so, it could lead to a major change in Dex. Still it'll be hard on Deb - she not only loves her job, she is her job. There's nothing else in her life. And covering up for a murderous serial killer can't last long. I doubt she'll become his Jim Gordon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica 

It seems the writers had this in mind when they started this season;

 

1) Do some God stuff, we haven't done that yet right?

2) Make sure Deb finds out about Dexter, but create something that will drag this out beyond 1 season

 

The whole point of this season was to get to (2), and there was some vague ideas about doing (1) right which was messed up when they got rid of brother Sam.

 

Incredible that the writers don't know what the intern is up to, I find that very hard to believe. Obviously they're setting up this guy as a future antagonist, but for a moment I thought he and the other girl intern were part of some "Dextern Fan Club", and he's trying to let Dexter know he knows his secret.

 

Very disappointing season.

Yeah I really don't buy that they don't know what the intern is up to. Yeah look I know this season sucked but come on, they can't actually not know. At first I thought that Dexter was gaining followers. Or to tie it more into this seasons bullshit, apostles. I thought there might be small group following Dexter as some sort of religion or something. I thought the scene where Hanks was recruiting 2 idiots was mirror of some sort just as it was with his clueless sister.....but no....or maybe so, who knows where it is going. Also why were they trying to tie things back to season 1? Rudy, the hand, mentioning how close Hank's murders were to Ice Truck. I figured they were gunning for something bigger, some sort of reveal. For a while I was sure that it would trigger something in Deb and that how she would find out Dexter's secret. The needle thing is amazing though.

There is (hopefully) an extra dimension to consider there - and that's what she'll learn about her father from getting to the bottom of Dexter's story. She remembers him as this perfect cop (that she's essentially modeled herself on) - not a guy protecting/nurturing an adopted sociopathic killer.

There COULD be some really great stuff for them to explore, but I just don't trust the current crop of writers to bring it home.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Myers 

I doubt they really plan on going further with that love angle. They obviously only brought that in to make it harder for Deb to not draw a gun on him. Because apparently just loving him as a brother just doesn't cut it. So with two seasons mapped, Deb will most likely somehow get along with it. At least for a while.

 

Do you think he'll completely open up and speak to her as he did with Miguel and Lumen? If so, it could lead to a major change in Dex. Still it'll be hard on Deb - she not only loves her job, she is her job. There's nothing else in her life. And covering up for a murderous serial killer can't last long. I doubt she'll become his Jim Gordon.

Whether or not the whole LOVE angle has been talked about among the writers since season 2 or not, I do have to admit in the early seasons of the show, whenever there was a scene between Dex and Deb that was either emotional or confrontational, I always felt there was a weird kind of sexual tension.  Then when I found out about Hall and Carpenter marrying IRL, I just chalked it up to that.  But now that they have divorced, that makes this angle even stranger.  It really does kind of feel like a "jump the shark" moment, but I'll keep watching.

I don't agree that it's 100% out of nowhere, but the timing of it all still makes it seem like a cynical character-change made to prolong the series, since pretty much everyone called the finale the moment it was mentioned. Also, it's way too late in the series to bring something like this up, it's the reason the term "jump the shark" was invented in the first place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evi 

I don't agree that it's 100% out of nowhere, but the timing of it all still makes it seem like a cynical character-change made to prolong the series, since pretty much everyone called the finale the moment it was mentioned. Also, it's way too late in the series to bring something like this up, it's the reason the term "jump the shark" was invented in the first place.

But the weird thing is that she could also not arrest him just based on the love she has for him as his sister. I eman do you have to want to fuck someone not to see them locked up? Turn on the news, these criminals always have family members bullshitting the police.

Anyway, Deb may have to double-up on her therapy sessions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evi 

Also, it's way too late in the series to bring something like this up, it's the reason the term "jump the shark" was invented in the first place.

Only if the show were about Deb's relationships.

"Jump the shark" refers to a show needing to one-up itself so often that it eventually does something nonsensical. I don't see how the term applies.

It's not even out of character. Part of Deb's character is that she makes terrible relationship decisions. She's also extremely impulse-driven; when Dexter imagined telling her his secret and her instantly shooting him in the head, it was funny because it fit her character.

Now, if the dream scene Deb had where Dexter reciprocated and acted like a character in a romance novel had been real, THAT would have been nonsensical.

I don't see at all how the show has crossed some point of no return. Dexter the character is still interesting and effective, and the story -is- in an interesting place. There's nothing wrong with the show that even average writing won't fix. The show's actually in a great place to start next season from. If they come up with a decent main arc/villain, including plot turns that don't require Dexter to experience temporary lobotomies, it'll be quite easy to forget 95% of this season even happened.

The moment we heard that the serial killer's sister is a cop it was clear one day this moment would come. Could never have been a real surprise, it was bound to happen.

Now it's up to them what they make of it. I think it's unlikely that she'll just turn on him and directly arrest him. Maybe next season will be about Dexter finally trying to get rid of his sinister urge. To not kill anymore, just be a normal father and brother. And blood splatter analyst.

Thanks to how bad the finale was, I completely forgot the biggest character problem I had with it: Dexter's about to disappear "Doomsday", ensuring the case will never be solved, and his sister's career will go into the shitter. It's ok to drop 100 or so unsolved murders on LaGuerta over the years (wait, how did she get PROMOTED?!?), but he could've at least staged a fake suicide scene for Deb's sake.

If I were her, I'd be more pissed about that. You're a serial killer AND a dick?!?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Myers 

The moment we heard that the serial killer's sister is a cop it was clear one day this moment would come. Could never have been a real surprise, it was bound to happen.
 

Which makes it all the more unbearable that the 'big moment' was fumbled so utterly. Even forgetting the atrocious season that preceeded it, the scene and the reveal was just shit. I can't believe that the showrunners thought that Deb damn near tripping over Dex in the act was a satisfying conclusion. If this was really how they wanted to end it then have her work it out. Dex was incredibly sloppy this season - have Deb piece together that someone was stalking Travis, THEN have her find Dex, Jesus anything to have us believe that she is a Homicide Detective. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farsight 

Thanks to how bad the finale was, I completely forgot the biggest character problem I had with it: Dexter's about to disappear "Doomsday", ensuring the case will never be solved, and his sister's career will go into the shitter. It's ok to drop 100 or so unsolved murders on LaGuerta over the years (wait, how did she get PROMOTED?!?), but he could've at least staged a fake suicide scene for Deb's sake.

 

If I were her, I'd be more pissed about that. You're a serial killer AND a dick?!?

Yes!

Dexter has spent a better part of his professional career meticulously sabotaging his coworkers careers, not to mention denying closure for all the victims. What a fucker. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackyShimSham 

Dexter has spent a better part of his professional career meticulously sabotaging his coworkers careers, not to mention denying closure for all the victims. What a fucker. 

Yeah thats the thing. Originally it was supposed to be that he could only go after killers that weren't on the police's radar OR they slipped through the cracks and got off. Originally his father laid it out that way to ensure that the guilty got punished even when the police dropped the ball. He specifically put Dexter on that path after his friend's killer got off. At a certain point the writers decided that it would be fun to have Dexter and the police going after the same guy. And it was fun....for a while. However they don't have to repeat it every year. In the first season he made his brother's death look like a suicide and the season after that Doakes was framed. Now they don't even bother with that, it's just assumed the killer got away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waaaaaaaalt 

Yeah thats the thing. Originally it was supposed to be that he could only go after killers that weren't on the police's radar OR they slipped through the cracks and got off. Originally his father laid it out that way to ensure that the guilty got punished even when the police dropped the ball. He specifically put Dexter on that path after his friend's killer got off. At a certain point the writers decided that it would be fun to have Dexter and the police going after the same guy. And it was fun....for a while. However they don't have to repeat it every year. In the first season he made his brother's death look like a suicide and the season after that Doakes was framed. Now they don't even bother with that, it's just assumed the killer got away.

And that staged suicide of his brother was so dumb. Okay, he bound himself to his big machine, somehow slit his throat and then raised the machine using a lever that was on the other side of the room? HUH? I'm not a detective, but....

That's just the writers being SUPER-DUPER-SMART and setting up via foreshadowing how everybody in the Miami Police Department is an idiot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurenOrtega 

That's just the writers being SUPER-DUPER-SMART and setting up via foreshadowing how everybody in the Miami Police Department is an idiot.

 

I like to think they were just relieved the bastard was gone and saying he killed himself was a good enough closure as anything, but they really seemed to believe it was suicide...

People have a hard time in the Dexter universe adding things up though.

At this point I'm pretty sure The Bunk would have been all up in Dexter's shit considering how many serial killers he's vaguely connected too.

"I am father, I am son, I am serial killer..."

Finally caught the finale. As far as I'm concerned, the show's officially turned to shit. I'll most probably catch the first couple of episodes next season just to see what direction they're heading in but if they're not massive improvements I'm pretty much done with. Seriously, the hell was the point of brother Sam or any of the god stuff?

There is no God, only Dexter.

Stuff I liked this season:

- awkward unintentional homoerotic tension between Dex and Brother Sam

- Ronny Cox guest appearance

- any time Dexter would squirm his way out of having a long conversation with Louis

- any time Dexter used a hilarious fake voice on the phone

- Carpenter's scenes with her shrink- the writing wasn't amazing, but they were very well acted by her

- "Oh, God." was CLASSIC

That's about it. Mostly I hated this season. But I will probably still do the subscribe to Showtime in September/unsubscribe in December thing again next year, because they left it in an interesting place. Also because I'm a fool.

Homelands on during the same months right? that shows worth the subscription itself