Warning: Spoilers!
And so, the end is near...
It’s always a little harrowing when a much loved TV series
with a reputation for great writing announces an end point. Expectations
automatically reach critical mass. We are so often left with open-ended finales
due to sudden cancellations or unimaginative, episodic storytelling that
doesn’t really require or allow a decent resolution. When a long-running show
seems to have a definite end-game planned, the expectation is that the ending
will (or at least should) be mind-blowing. Let’s temper this with some cold
hard reality, however: The Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica, Lost. Ahem.
So, it’s with some trepidation that I allow myself to get
cautiously optimistic about what Dexter might
have planned for us in this, its eighth and final year. This s a show that has delivered
some truly spectacular drama, but has also tread water to an extent that is far
more shocking, immoral and criminal than anything Dexter Morgan himself has
done. For years, it seemed like nothing would ever change for Miami Metro PD
and the life of our eponymous antihero. Yes, Rita died at the end of the fourth
year, but this was an exception rather than the rule, and seemd to have
remarkably little impact on the format of the show. Dexter quickly found
himself a new love interest, and went on with his old lifestyle: killing
someone every other week on average, combating a new major serial killer each
year in cat and mouse games that lasted approximately twelve weeks, fooling the
large number of law-enforcement officers he continued to surround himself with,
dodging out of incredibly incriminating situations at the last minute with
ridiculous ease, doing rudimentary soul-searching on various aspects of human
emotion, and forming ill-advised friendships or relationships with other
killers.
In the wake of Rita’s death, I wanted to see Dexter come
unravelled, see his code and his justifications get pulled apart, see his
facade of normality break down, see the real Dexter laid bare to at least some
of the people in his life, see what makes Dexter tick. And this happened for
all of about one or two episodes, before Dexter got a grip and found the
insipid Lumen to help him through his grief and guilt. Now, however, it seems
this show is finally given us the goods and gotten over its fear of upsetting
the status quo. Debs discovered Dexter’s secret at the end of season 6 and that
has shaped everything to happen since. The secret has since forced Debra into
committing murder herself – sending her into a self-destructive spiral of drink
drugs and boffing jewellery thieves, and tearing Debra and Dexter apart.
It was Dexter’s reaction to this that made Sunday’s season
debut so compelling. Dexter was clearly being driven off the deep end, either
by Debra’s dangerous lifestyle or, more convincingly, by Debra trying to force
him out of her life. Enter Dr Vogler – an expert on sociopaths who seems to
know all about Dexter – to give us some much-needed insight into the workings
of Dexter’s brain. But this brought up some unexpected and seemingly
unresolvable contradictions. Dexter lost control of his anger on several
occasion throughout this episode, driving him to shout at his son, road-rage at
an inconsiderate driver, and murder
Deb’s latest love interest. All this seemingly because he could not cope with
his sister’s rejection. But as Dr Vogler pointed out, in this same episode,
sociopaths are dissociated from their emotions, making sudden displays of anger
uncharacteristic. Is this a glaring oversight in the writing, or is Dexter
experiencing things far more profound than rejection and guilt? Is it possible
for a sociopath to stop being a sociopath? And what might it mean for someone
as angry and damaged as Dexter to get in touch with his emotions? Far from
being a cure for his condition, it could lead to him completely losing control.
I for one cannot wait to see how this season plays out, to
see the Dexter and Debs dynamic develop further, and to see Dexter’s surely
inevitable fall, either by exposure, breakdown or death. The only thing that
can spoil this now is the return of Hannah, possibly the only ‘big bad’ since
the show’s beginning that should not have
been brought back for an encore.
No comments:
Post a Comment