Dexter: Original Series/New Blood/Original Sin/Resurrection

[Travesty]

New Blood has been pretty good. Not great, but not terrible.

As for the original seasons, S2 was my favorite, lol.

[thecolorsblend]

Five episodes. Spoilers.

Plainly, Harrison has a Dark Passenger of his own. And oddly enough, I think the personification of his Dark Passenger would be Arthur. I think it makes sense. We'll see if I'm right or not.

I enjoyed Runaway the most of all the episodes so far.

I'm also digging the over-the-top stuff that the Deb Passenger sometimes does like slamming Dexter against a mirror, hosing his truck down with blood, being one-woman cheerleading squad, etc. It's a sort of fantasy element that the show only did occasionally before. It adds a welcome bit of black humor.

[thecolorsblend]

One more episode to go. Obviously, another season of the show is a spoiler in and of itself. A huge one.

The entire raison d'etre for New Blood was to wrap Dexter's story up. But I'm starting to think that's not happening. The ratings are through the roof on this show and while nobody seems prepared to say it's the greatest Dexter season, the consensus seems to be that New Blood is miles ahead of the fifth through eighth seasons of the first show.

If I were a betting man, I'd say that at the very minimum, fans should expect Dexter to be alive and free when credits roll for next week's episode.

[Travesty]

Well, that wasn't what I was expecting.......

[thecolorsblend]

Dexter got the best justice he ever could've hoped for. I don't mind how things played out.

Batista's involvement gave some false expectations. But otherwise, eh, I'm fine with it.

[The Dark Knight]

If I were a betting man, I'd say that at the very minimum, fans should expect Dexter to be alive and free when credits roll for next week's episode.

Famous last words. I don't know how to feel. I could easily go scorched Earth and say the previous ending was better. But I did like New Blood on the whole. Elements of the ending felt out of character to reach their desired outcome. But then again, Bundy did kill young Kimberley Leach, which was against his usual modus operandi. These things can happen near the end of a serial killing career. I suppose I'm not against what Harrison did, especially if New Blood was truly the end of the line of the show. If it had to happen, I'd rather it be done by flesh and blood than somebody else. I don't think I'm interested in a Harrison spinoff with Dexter as his dark passenger, but my opinion could change. I need time to digest my thoughts.

[Gotham Knight]

I've decided to return to this thread because DEXTER ORIGINAL SIN (prequel series) and DEXTER RESURRECTION (sequel series) have been announced and I want to talk Dexter.

When I last visited this thread I few nice things to say about the series, in fact I abandoned the show after the fourth season. Well, I tried again, have reached my previous stopping point at the end of season four and I can now say that I have seen the light. I am a Dexter fan. How did this happen? Two things: 1. I made a conscious effort to put away my phone when watching this time. My phone has become a nasty habit during viewing that I'm actively trying to break. Its a good show, but you have to watch it. 2. I understand that Dexter is the bad guy. The show is about a man who projects his evil on to others and then destroys them. Regardless of his intentions, regardless that some of those people are evil themselves, his intervention makes things worse and worse. Really simple, but when it dawned on me it was a revelation that made a lot of things click that hadn't clicked with me before. Once one stops trying to force Dexter to be a 'flawed protagonist' and goes with what's actually being demonstrated its so much smoother and easier to watch.

Some of the issues still stand, like some characters (Doakes/Lila) feeling telegraphed (even the show notices and comments on it) and an overall feeling of contrived convenience that stretches credibility, but it doesn't effect my enjoyment nearly as much as it did and I can even say that I like both of those characters and the season very much.

I'm about to begin the second half of the series. Then, I'l move on to New Blood. I'll rejoin the conversation then. Until then how does everyone feel about the new spin offs?

Also MOD NOTE: I edited the topic title to cover all of the Dexter Series so this topic is Dexter Central.

[thecolorsblend]

Some of the issues still stand, like some characters (Doakes/Lila) feeling telegraphed (even the show notices and comments on it) and an overall feeling of contrived convenience that stretches credibility, but it doesn't effect my enjoyment nearly as much as it did and I can even say that I like both of those characters and the season very much.

I'm about to begin the second half of the series. Then, I'l move on to New Blood. I'll rejoin the conversation then. Until then how does everyone feel about the new spin offs?

Also MOD NOTE: I edited the topic title to cover all of the Dexter Series so this topic is Dexter Central.

I am rather curious about your reaction to season 07 when you get there. Without risking spoilers, I'll simply say that season 07 has quite a few interesting aspects to it which I think hold up really well. For my money, season 07 is easily the best of the second half of the original series.

That aside, my critique of Dexter (the show) is that either season 02 or 04 could've (should've?) been the show's final season. If either of those storylines had been saved for last, then I sincerely think the show would be MUCH more highly regarded than it is now.

As to your point about Dexter (the character) being evil, that's pretty true. Originally, I regarded Dexter as kind of like The Shadow. The ultimate case of fighting fire with fire. Or evil with evil. He does good by doing evil.

And while I think that interpretation is defensible, there's merit to the idea of Dexter as a sort of victim in his own right. He never asked to be made into what he is. If Harry had gotten him therapy and treatment, there's a strong possibility that Dexter could've lived a normal life. But as it stands, Dexter was first victimized in the container box and then he was victimized again by Harry, who turned him into a monster. This reading of the show presents Dexter's entire life as one big indictment of Harry Morgan. Not everyone buys into this interpretation. But it's still interesting to think about.

Either way, Dexter is a very rich character and the moral complexity of the series makes for good drama.

As to the various new shows in production... frankly, there's really no way for me to talk about Resurrection without giving spoilers from New Blood. But I've actually wanted something like Original Sin for a long time. Because I always got the idea that Dexter was virtually unstoppable in those years.

It's not clear (to me) if Dexter finished medical school or if he dropped out. But either way, he would've become active ~1992 or so. The original show picks up in 2006. That leaves ~fourteen years of Dexter essentially being literally the most dangerous and unrelenting serial killer to have ever lived. But I am a little dubious as to how dramatically interesting those years can possibly be since Dexter's life isn't said to have started going sideways (and thus dramatic/entertaining to watch) until he met Rita (circa 2005?).

Thus, my concern with Original Sin is how it might contradict the canon established (or at least implied) by the original show.

As to Resurrection, I joked with SN in some other thread about how few worthy media are ever subtitled Resurrection(s). I'm... not super hopeful about Dexter: Resurrection, frankly. I'll give it a shot. But I am not expecting gold in them thar hills.

[Gotham Knight]

As to your point about Dexter (the character) being evil, that's pretty true. Originally, I regarded Dexter as kind of like The Shadow. The ultimate case of fighting fire with fire. Or evil with evil. He does good by doing evil.

And while I think that interpretation is defensible, there's merit to the idea of Dexter as a sort of victim in his own right. He never asked to be made into what he is. If Harry had gotten him therapy and treatment, there's a strong possibility that Dexter could've lived a normal life. But as it stands, Dexter was first victimized in the container box and then he was victimized again by Harry, who turned him into a monster. This reading of the show presents Dexter's entire life as one big indictment of Harry Morgan. Not everyone buys into this interpretation. But it's still interesting to think about.

Either way, Dexter is a very rich character and the moral complexity of the series makes for good drama.

As to the various new shows in production... frankly, there's really no way for me to talk about Resurrection without giving spoilers from New Blood. But I've actually wanted something like Original Sin for a long time. Because I always got the idea that Dexter was virtually unstoppable in those years.

It's not clear (to me) if Dexter finished medical school or if he dropped out. But either way, he would've become active ~1992 or so. The original show picks up in 2006. That leaves ~fourteen years of Dexter essentially being literally the most dangerous and unrelenting serial killer to have ever lived. But I am a little dubious as to how dramatically interesting those years can possibly be since Dexter's life isn't said to have started going sideways (and thus dramatic/entertaining to watch) until he met Rita (circa 2005?).

Thus, my concern with Original Sin is how it might contradict the canon established (or at least implied) by the original show.

As to Resurrection, I joked with SN in some other thread about how few worthy media are ever subtitled Resurrection(s). I'm... not super hopeful about Dexter: Resurrection, frankly. I'll give it a shot. But I am not expecting gold in them thar hills.

I think you're right about Harry. That was another thing that I needed to understand, especially since much of the show is about Dexter realizing that, Debra now at the end of season 4 too. It explains so much that goes wrong with her, especially her over-zealousness. She was always competing for attention and admiration from a father that was too involved with Dexter and shut her out. Yes, it was to protect her, but what he did was wrong, so much of what he did was wrong. 

As for the spin offs, the vibe I'm getting is that OS is trying to re-find the tone/status quo of the original series, going so far as to replicate the original series intro verbatim. Resurrection is harder because we know nothing except Dexter survives New Blood (I know some things), but if I had to guess RES will likely follow New Blood's lead, acting as a exhumation as the original plan seemed to be to do New Blood only as a way to launch a Harrison series and now that's been tossed so RES might as well be season two of that series. I do think the two series will crossover and in fact I think Hall recently confirmed it, so I guess this is the DEXTER CINEMATIC UNIVERSE. We'll see.

[Gotham Knight]

As of writing this I have 3 episodes left to watch to close out the original series, but I am prepared to make a final assessment now.

One of the issues the series had even during the golden years was that it kept a tidy house, too tidy a house in fact. It was always trying to rush past the explosive results of a season finale and reestablish the status quo as soon as possible. It got away with it.

Seasons five and six also get away with it, as they are both maintenance seasons that take no big swings, do not advance the main arc of the show, and maybe too confidently tow the line. Season 6 in particular seems to ooze self satisfaction, no doubt because the show had reached juggernaut status and had been told by the higher ups that they weren't going anywhere. All speculation on my part, but I wonder if in that decision lay the show's doom.

Kenneth Johnson once said that when Jack McGee finally saw David Banner's face the Incredible Hulk series would be over. He was right, not just about that show which he developed, but also about Dexter. Once Debra knew the show was over or at the very least had a timely expiration date. The writers room and in all likelihood the suits at Showtime would beg to differ. In their mind it wasn't broke, so why fix it.

And so we have season seven, a cataclysmic (sorry Colors) disaster that instead of taking the natural course, understanding that the endgame was upon us, and following suit with a Debra Vs. Dexter story, they try to hastily reestablish the status quo, and as a result the entire season becomes an episodic exercise in finding ways to get Debra to act out of character so the charade can continue.

I wont even justify the incest plot with an analysis except to say that the story began as an obvious plant late in season six trying to sell you early on the nonsense that was coming.

Meanwhile, Dexter engages in an idiot plot with the worst character of the series, Hanna McKay. The very first thing he learns about her is that she is an unrepentant murderer of the innocent who kills when inconvenienced. This is what lands her on Dexter's table, but inexplicably he lets her go, romances her, helps her kill other innocent people and then acts shocked when she tries to kill Debra. What?! No way! But, it's okay he loves her and you should too! The filmmakers play sad romantic music when she's around and the writers desperately try to endorse her at every turn. Lover her! Please! This is working!

So anyway Debra shoots LaGuerta (a character I'm supposed to hate now because they rebooted her back to season one) and seals her fate. Now that she has been forced into the web, she has to be eaten by the ugly venomous spider that sits at the middle of it. Dexter. And that's the point. Dexter has to win and the world has to keep turning.

Season eight runs like clockwork. Will Deb finally push the button and go to war? No, once again we hastily tidy up what cannot be tided up (don't get me started on how the LaGuerta murder and aftermath doesn't even begin to work) so Deb and Dexter can be friends again while Dr. Vogel bores us to death.

Three episodes to go. My guess is we will continue to tread water until the final episode which will suddenly decide this is the final episode and hastily sling together a finish. We'll see, then I'll move on to New Blood. I'll catch up then.