Contributor: Gregg Wright
Written by Scott Buck and Tim Schlattmann
Directed by Steve Shill
How’s that for an episode title, eh? Unfortunately, despite what the promo and title might lead us to believe, this episode does not mark the glorious return of Doakes to exact his revenge on Dexter. This finale is solely concerned with resolving existing threats and issues. And as far as that goes, it works. A Doakes-like twist might have injected some much-appreciated life into the mix, but the episodes does a reasonable job of taking elements that have been in play since the beginning of the season and offering a payoff.
Build-up and then payoff is usually what works best for serialized TV seasons (it may even be a requirement). If there’s been one common thread to this tangled season, it’s been the further development of Dexter and Deb’s relationship; particularly in regards to how much Deb has changed in response to learning the truth about Dexter. So it’s the obviously smart writing choice to make that the centerpiece of the finale, and its climax. Maybe it wasn’t too much of a surprise that Deb didn’t shoot her brother, but it’s still an important moment in the series.
I certainly won’t miss LaGuerta, as she was always my least-favorite character on the show, but it was good that she got as close as she did to actually outing Dexter. The finale still relies on one of Dexter’s biggest problems to essentially solve itself, but I can accept this somewhat convenient turn of events because it fits perfectly with Debra’s journey as a character. This action does not come out of left field. It’s rare for a “Dexter” finale to work out like this, and I appreciate it, even if it’s not the most exciting or shocking turn of events.
The flashbacks of Dexter and Doakes were interesting enough on their own. It was a nice touch of nostalgia for the earlier days of the series, and I liked seeing the actors play off each other again. But I’m not sure I see the importance of those scenes in the context of the rest of the finale. I guess the show is just in more of a contemplative mood, lately. Those scenes do gives us a sense of how far Dexter has come, and their importance may be more in terms of the show as a whole (or the coming season), but they don’t seem all that relevant to anything that happens in the finale. It would have made more sense if they were building up to Doakes’ return (sorry, I’m really stuck on that notion lately).
I liked that Dexter’s hallucination of Harry was so forceful this week, but why does he speak up now, over LaGuerta, and failed to protest as strongly for past occasions when Dexter has killed someone outside the code? I suppose killing LaGuerta is kind of an escalation of Dexter’s previous brief jaunts outside the code. Either way, it’s good to see Harry finally speaking up and reminding Dexter of just how far off the map he’s gone. When Dexter has stopped listening to Harry altogether, will he finally disappear altogether? I hope that Harry remains a part of the show until the end, if for no other reason than because I enjoy his scenes with Dexter.
I’d originally expected that the threat from LaGuerta would extend into the final season. But with that out of the way, and Dexter and Deb seemingly in the clear for the time being, the final season can basically start off fresh and go from there. I have little in the way of useful speculation about where things will head, and I’m not sure my wish-list for the show even applies anymore. I’d say that I hope that the final season learns from the mistakes of this one, but I’m past expecting “Dexter” to be anything other than a heavily flawed, but strangely addictive show.
Score: 7/10