As I’m not too clear about spoiler etiquette, all I’ll say is, I had high expectations for this last episode, and I didn’t come away disappointed. What a series, and roll on season 4.
Anyone got any complaints about the way things panned out?
I thought it was a pretty boring final episode. The scene with the skinner didn’t last very long and it didn’t take much for Dexter to escape. Also why did the cops show up with sirens on? That didn’t make sense, it just allows the skinner to hear them and get away if he had not been killed by Dexter.
I loved it, for the most part. Would have liked to have Dexter be able to turn the tables (so to speak) on the Skinner, but maybe the hands-on neck snap approach was satisfying enough for Dexter. Not sure how Dex would be able to avoid forensics evidence on the scene and on the Skinner himself, though that may be just me watching too much TV. My impression from popular media is that everyone leaves SOME sort of trace unless they are familiar with forensics techniques and are ultra-careful in cleaning up, and Dexter clearly didn’t have time to clean up this time. Maybe the cops are just glad that the Skinner is dead so they decided not to ask too many questions or something, I guess.
I liked that Dex chose to respect Rita’s desire to keep her first marriage a secret, seeing as how he has WAY bigger secrets that he keeps from her. Can’t help but think that hubby numero uno is going to play some part in the next season.
I’m still wondering if they’re planning on doing something with the whole “Quinn is crooked” angle, other than that he had Anton as an unofficial CI. Seemed like a storyline that was abandoned halfway through. Whatever happened to spurned Asian chick? Did she just give up?
I thought maybe that Ramon was going to take the place of Doakes as the cop that constantly has his eye on Dex, but that was defused, maybe a little too easily for my tastes. A guy with that kind of history doesn’t just fold because someone says “think of the children!” or something. I thought during the interview there that Ramon was basically confessing to doing Miguel’s dirty work, and I wondered if maybe he was at least an accomplice to the Ellen Wolfe murder. When Dex mentioned Miguel’s “darkness”, Ramon seemed to respond strongly, which raises suspicions of a sort.
I’m liking the character of Angel Batista more and more; when confronted with the truth about the origins of his relationship, he chose to do the honorable thing and confess to the boss, (though he still reported Deb’s relationship as well) and plus I think his new woman is a hottie, so he gets points there.
The wedding seemed really abbreviated, which I guess was a result of having to wrap up a lot of loose ends in this episode.
I talked to a couple of friends who thought that there was some significance to the drops of blood that Dex’s arm dripped onto the wedding dress at the end, that somehow that would come back to haunt him. I figure, if they buy his alibi of falling down some stairs or whatever and breaking his wrist, then it’s not much of a jump to say that the laceration was also from the fall.
Now that Dex is married and has a kid of his own on the way, is there any doubt that the next season or two is going to depict his family in danger, and Dex having to defend/save his new family? It’s the next logical step, and as much as I hope that the writers can come up with some twist, I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t utilize the whole “loved ones in peril” bit again.
I actually have a not-so-secret wish that over the next couple of seasons, Dex gets darker and darker, maybe losing the family life, so that eventually the series turns into this Shakespearean tragedy where Dex cannot overcome his inherent flaws the series ends with Dex more a slave to the Dark Passenger than ever before. How else do you end a series like this? Either you:
(a) have him get caught and tried and executed
(b) have him get killed in the line of duty, making him a hero
© Have him retire from killing, getting off scot-free
(d) Have him mostly adjusting to married life, but he keeps on killing according to code
(e) Have him lose his new family to some killer, then Dex kills the killer, and without anything to stay for (since Deb is apparently doing great on her own), Dex moves on to some other location, still killing as he always has, fade to black.
I’m sure there are many more possibilities, but it’s hard for me to imagine any other resuts.
I’m waiting to watch the whole season in one go…
I just came in here to say that if in this season Dexter has a child then CHANGE THE THREAD TITLE!
The blood on her dress just goes back to the show opening with the blood, I don’t think there is any more to it.
BTW, the thread title should be changed to indicate spoilers .
its very likely Dexter left behind trace - but the cops (and the detective on the scene) believe that the skinner committed “suicide by cop” so they arent likely to look for any… a little too easy, but I can deal with it.
What was interesting about Ramon - Dexter did what Harry should have done, and it will likely help - it will atleast get Ramon off of Dexters case for a time being.
I think the blood on the dress is much more symbolic to us, the viewers, than it will be to charectors.
Perhaps the whole Quinn angle dropped after Deb told Quinn about it, and Quinn dealt with whatever her name was… the real point of that storyline was to further the Anton storyline (to sleep with a CI, that is the question).
An enjoyable season - not quite as good as the first season finale, but I’m really wishing we didn’t have to wait a whole year for Season 4!
I’m pretty sure Ramon did it. Miguel is too much of a pussy and egomaniac; he’s probably been goading Ramon into doing his dirty work for ages, culminating with Ellen Wolfe’s murder, and simultaneously leading to Ramon’s alcoholism. Now that Miguel is dead, Ramon is free. That was the subtext of the conversation that I picked up, but maybe I am imagining things.
I found it a bit boring.
Each week I hope that someone will kill Rita and each week I’m sadly disappointed. She’s very pretty, but everything else about her is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Her voice (her breathy “dexxxxxter”) is enough to make me grit my teeth.
What about the new guy that Deb was getting the squeeze to rat out. No idea if he’s good or bad. Didn’t Vince find some dirt on that girl he dated who arranged the bachelor party, or did I imagine that?
She’s way too emo for my taste. I’m not sure what “emo” means though. Cow eyes, sympathetic touching. I liked her better as Darla.
Which new guy? Quinn or Anton. I’m comfortable with Anton, still not sure about Quinn, but he’s cute, so he can stick around.
Yeah, but the dirt was minor – road rage or something. Vince was relieved to find a flaw in the woman. He’s suspicious of anyone who would date him.
One thing I really liked about Dexter is that in other shows, bad things happen to good people, but here, it’s just the opposite, at least as it pertains to Dexter.
Cuckoorex, I’ll go with (d).
I hope we never see Rita or the kids in peril again. Once was enough.
This was my least favorite season finale so far- I was entertained and I still like it enough to tune in next year, but there are too many unanswered questions. This episode felt rushed, kind of “wrap it up by numbers” with no surprises.
Here are the questions I still have:
What attracted Miguel to Dexter in the first place? Why was he so sure that Dexter was the one to show him how to kill? I think the conversation with Ramon was sloppy backstory, I remember Miguel speaking about his father’s abuse, but I did not have a clear idea of WHY he turned into a killer or why then? Still no explanation of why the first brother, Oscar, was trying to kill Freebo- I kept expecting there to be a big family secret (besides, “he’s a druggie”). Maybe I missed it.
What about Quinn’s Internal Affairs investigation? Seems strange not to have some resolution there? I like Quinn’s character, so I am glad he will be around, but still seems that they brought it up just to make some doubt about the motives of the character.
Also, the scene between La Guerta and Deborah seemed a little cheesy. I was glad for Deborah that she got her shield but La Guerta’s mushy speech to Deborah about her personal life and work mixing was just silly IMHO.
I had to look up Darla because the only thing I’ve seen her in besides this show is “As Good As It Gets” where she asks Jack Nicholson “How do you write women so well?” and I wanted to smack her then, too. I can’t stomach Whedon stuff (except Toy Story) so I can’t comment on Darla.
Sorry, I did mean Quinn. He is pretty cute, though.
Now I do remember that!
The only peril I want to see them in is if all three of them become the victims of the next serial killer running wild in Miami. I know, I’m terrible because they’re kids but damnit, I don’t like that whole family. Plus, it’ll give Dexter some rage!!
I agree that the finale was a bit dull – the second-to-last episode was much better, IMO. At the time, I thought they put the death of Miguel in that episode because this one would otherwise have been too big. I don’t think that now.
One question – what was Dexter’s plan for Ramon before he decided to “remove the thorn” and let him heal? It had something to do with Ellen’s ring, but I’m not sure what exactly he was planning.
I think part of it is that, with season 4 already confirmed (a fact that was not so with seasons 3 and 2 when their previous seasons were finished), they planned to stretch the stories of this season out further. Quinn’s IAB investigation is one such example. I get the feeling LaGuerta isn’t just going to let Ellen Wolfe’s murder go, either.
He was going to tell Ramon he knew about Miguel killing Wolfe and would turn the evidence over, shaming his family and his memory, if Ramon didn’t back off.
Smokinjbc, you make a lot of good points, especially about Ramon and Miguel’s background and the IAD investigation of Quinn that went nowhere.
We never did learn what Ellen Wolf knew about Miguel.
What were Miguel’s “messes” that Ramon had to clear up? Had he killed before? Or did Ramon help him cover up bad arrests, witness intimidation, planting evidence, etc.?
Deb should never have gotten her shield. Even if Anton wasn’t a CI, he was still a key witness. LaGuerta shouldn’t have been so sympathetic.
Sorry Auntie Pam, but LaGuerta has already almost made the bad judgement call of sleeping with a married ADA, so to punish Deb’s lapse in professionalism would have been a bit harsh. IMO.
Not only that, but LaGuerta ruined last season’s Esme by sleeping with her fiancee. I think it would have been better writing for LaGuerta to still give Deborah her shield, but present it in such a way that let Deborah know that LaGuerta had a hold over her, at least enough to make her squirm. Sharing cupcakes was just not what I would imagine LaGuerta doing, those two characters should remain in conflict like they were at the beginning of the series.
It sure would be a hell of a twist if Rita turned out to be a vampire. Maybe then Dexter wouldn’t be the one in relationship with the bigger secret.
Also, I don’t quite understand why Dexter fled from the scene. As far as I can recall, there was nothing about his presence there that would have tied him to anything sinister. Was it just so that he wouldn’t hold up the wedding or worry Rita?
How would he explain why he was there? He’s just the forensic specialist, he’s not a cop. With the Ice Truck Killer, he at least had the excuse of trying to save his sister.
Would’ve been atleast a little difficult to explain why he was there - and it would’ve connected him indirectly to Miguels murder - Dexter wants/needs to avoid any scrutiny.
It’s obvious Dexter is no slouch when it comes to handling himself physically, but we never actually see him working out or anything. I wonder how he keeps in such good shape? I half expected him to have had some martial arts background, based on his general confidence.