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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Dexter Season 7 - The Writing Begins!


Today is the day. The writing of Dexter Season 7 begins! In a couple of months we'll know more about the plot of the upcoming season, the guest characters and more!

89 comments:

  1. Please don't fuck this up Showtime.

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  2. If they wanna make me happy, they'll bring back Lumen.

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    1. I loved that character also.

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    2. ive said it before but she needs a spin off series all her own. prehaps she could take over for series 9 onward.

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    3. Lumen was fantastic, saved the show

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  3. i would of loved season 6 if it wasn't for the mass amount of plot holes please don't make any plot holes for season 7 that's all i ask haha

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    1. They wern't "plot holes" the writers were setting us up for Season 7. The only "hole" I saw was you, an "asshole". Sorry I didn't mean that, it just felt appropriate.

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    2. Jordan Chase,you're as dumb as the fucking fictional character. Do u even know what a plot hole is? Let alone the ones they are most likely referring to??? They arent talking about the unresolved ITK hand delievery or what happened to Matthews, he is talkign PLOT HOLES dumb ass.

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    3. @Marto, u are a d-bag

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    4. Oh yeah man that sounds real intelligent. U fucking muppet

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    5. Did you really just call him a 'muppet'? I would've said win if this didn't look like the pissing contest between two menstruating blondes.

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    6. he is the fucking kook that said something ridiculously irrelevent and incorrect to begin with

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  4. Please DO NOT kill either Dexter or Debra

    Let there be a happy ending

    Let Dexter be cured of his dark passenger

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    1. NOOOO! That would be an extreme let down. Why let him survive after 8 seasons of killing. He needs to die or be on death row. That should be the only way this series ends. If Dexter (and possibly Deb too) don't die, this series would end a dramatic failure.

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    2. Happy ending???? have u ever watched this show???? It can't possibly have a happy ending! That would feel like possibly the biggest cop out in the history of fiction. He has to be on death row, no doubt about it

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    3. I am not sure about a happy ending, but I think an "escape" is possible, where Dexter ends the series on the run from the law. That leaves it open if they ever want to do a movie. I love it when a series has an epilogue movie, with the big budget and all that.

      Probably Season 7 ends on a "happy note" you know, eye of the hurricane sort of thing. Where he and Deb get together at the end of the season and snuggle in thinking everything is going to be all right, and then Season 8 is where the shit hits the fan and his world unravels. That would be the perfect way to do it.

      Alternatively, I always thought he could arrange Deb to kill him, and for it to look like his own MO, just so he is "cleared" in the end and all the police officers are mourning him thinking it was someone else. That would be a fun little twist to.

      Or he does sacrifice himself - and unlike Doakes a whole bunch of people show up at his funeral, and the series ends with the irony, that everyone loved this guy.

      None of those are happy scenarios, but they are "fitting".

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    4. what would be cool if the new season starts with deb fainting and comming round with a dark passanger all her own.

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  5. dexter probably will die in seaso 8 ._. its the last one

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  6. Please, please dear writers, be reasonable and start doing good interesting things again...
    Watch Season 1 again, I know you watched last year,but now instead of paying homages to some scenes in there, take a note what actually made Season 1 great...

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    1. Exactly, Season 1 and Season 2 Where Masterpieces! Big drop off after that... Season 6 was pretty interesting. One thing the show lacks is the humor that had me laughing out loud during seasons 1 & 2 while watching such a twisted show, is it possible to get back to that?

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  7. Plz dont end Dex/Deb romance these two meant to be together.

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  8. I haven't actually read the books , but doesn't Dexter survive with his secret in tact (so far at least). In any case if he is cured of his dark passenger it would be an ending unfit to the series.. but if he's caught or he dies I think it would also be an unfit ending.. he would have survived 8 seasons without a scratch (so to speak) just to have him die in the end? I think the most suitable ending would either be a cliffhanger or at least Dexter on the run ..not "healed" and not caught - both would constitute happy - politically correct- endings and would be a let down, at least in my opinion.

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    1. Yep, totally agree, I would also hate a happy - politically correct- ending :D
      Please try to keep the same idea of the show and do not make us think everything is solved through justice or through "healing"

      For the rest, totally loved season 6!

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  9. havent watched season 6 yet waiting to buy dvds....

    def dont think he and deb should get together too incesterious (i knw they are not blood related)

    def shouldnt get caught, die or be cured as a psychopath cant be cured.
    1 could meet up with lumen the only person to get him. or
    2 it could end with his son showing signs of been a psychopath..so in reality it never ends..

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  10. @ Anon 4:47
    In the first book, Deb actually knows about dexter...And laguerta has her suspicions of him..i havent read all the books yet but i plan on it...I just recently watched Seasons 1 and 2 again, and a lot of dialogue in those seasons are now going to surface in the next 2 seasons...for example in the episode in season 2 where Deb and Laguerta are talking about Doakes as the BHB, Laguerta said that u would do anything to protect the people u care about, and with the Big reveal and the end of season 6 Deb is definitly going to protect Dexter from what he is...but the effect wont be the same for deb as it was for harry when he caught dex in a kill room (but thats just me)...im very curious as to whats going to happen with Luis..There were rumors that he may be the ITK son...which doesnt seem so far fetched. which also had me wondering? If dex was 3 and Brian was 4 when they were found in that container, back in 72 i believe, and this show is "supposedly" to take place in present day, that would make Dex about 43 and his brother to be 44 #(38 when he died?) so in that time it could be possible the ITK had a son. Ill leave it up to the writers. i feel like they do a great job. Cant wait for the season premier

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    1. I have to say I agree that I have long held out the hope that the whole BHB thing will come back into play at some point in the next 2 seasons. Lundy and Laguerta were never convinced that it was Doakes and remember the scene between the two of them where Lundy finally agreed with Laguerta (who was in Haiti) that she had information he could finally do some research on. That was the last we heard of it, but I am sure that Lundy and Laguerta would have had further discussions behind the scenes about it! Personally, I would love there to be some huge plot twist, Lundy isn't dead - he and Laguerta have been working together on catching Dex! Lundy and Laguerta against Dex and Deb! Poor Deb, talk about divided loyalties!

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    2. Lundy is dead. That we can be sure of.
      But I agree with the whole BHB thing to come back into play somehow as Deb is surely gonna find out that Dex is the BHB.

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  11. It would be the biggest mistake if Lundy suddenly rose from the dead. There's a ton of Deb's development gone out the window. If the BHB thing comes into play, it'll be the FBI, but not Lundy, hunting Dexter.

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  12. LOL Lundy... Yes, this show is pretty unrealistic bordering on superhero fantasy sometimes, but it is not "Star Trek" for the love of Pete, we've seen Lundy tagged and bagged, he's D E D folks!

    Also, Lumen is not coming back to Miami, too many bad memories for her there. She is free of her Dark Passenger and she is out there roaming the world like she always wanted to do. Happily ever after for Lumen, Dexter gave Lumen her life back and it should stay that way, she deserves better than to come back into the darkness. Besides, it's already been established that Lumen's love is not enough for Dexter, she knew that, it's why she left.

    It's Deb people... Deb is his only salvation, and that salvation is going to come at a price. He'll win his humanity back but lose his life in the process.

    Oh yea, and the show must end with a blood connection.

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  13. "This is exactly how it is supposed to be."

    It is only appropriate that Dexter's spiritual quest in season 6, which seemed to come up empty, ended with Debra. She has always been his light, the one thing that kept him from rejecting Harry's code and running off with Brian. It's always been about about Deb - the first person he ever loved, the one (as Harry said) that keeps him "connected".

    Dexter: "You are the one person I could always count on, the one person who has never let me down."

    This is the most epic love story I've ever seen, it's so "transcendent". It's always been beyond brother/sister, and it's beyond simple things like romantic love, it's way deeper than that - it's a spiritual thing.

    Debra is his version of god. I hope the skeptics who are focused on the word "incest" can learn to eventually embrace and understand that, it's not about brother/sister, it's not about sex, it's about something deeper. It's about need, the need for complete acceptance and love.

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    1. I wouldn't know if Deb's his God, but he certainly does care for her...a lot. You see, we always focus on the fact that Brian could accept Dexter, but I think Brian wanted to be accepted by Dexter more than he wanted to accept his brother. Brian's an animal, he kills because he does. There's no reason behind it, he just DOES things. Dexter, on the other hand, is much worse than Brian is because he is a murderer. That's the difference between the two--Brian's a killer; Dexter's a murderer. Brian wanted Dexter to become like him, in fact, he was asking for Dexter to become better than he is because becoming a killer would mean Dexter returned to a state of nature--lived like animals. You don't ever question why a dog does what it does, it just does out of instinct. That's what Brian was, Dexter meditates and fixates on these things, it's not a compulsion for him, no matter how much he says it is, killing is just a hobby; so he's a murderer. This is not to say Dexter's evil, he's just not a good person. There is no good or evil when you're talking about Dexter.

      Deb, conversely, is the one 'good' thing in Dexter's life. She's wholly good for a show filled with morally ambiguous characters. Dexter likes that, she's the superego to his ego, while Harry and Brian were two different versions of Dexter's id. She (and Batista, to an extent) is one of the few GOOD characters, and Dexter realizes she's everything Harry was: A good cop and a good person; Dexter is everything Harry wanted to be: A murderer, a consummate liar, hypocrite, and traitor--all in the name of justice. It's like Harry took Debra and made her exactly what he wanted in a child and left her to take care of the effed-up one to Dexter. So Dexter, I don't think, views Deb as God, but rather, places her on a pedestal, thinking she's the model of what a human SHOULD be.

      Conversely, Deb thinks that Dexter is everything Harry wanted. He's the boy that her father rejected her for. Harry instilled all his hopes, fears, and pride in Dexter. To her, Dexter becomes Harry; he's always there with fatherly advice, brotherly love, and treats her like he would a spouse. In fact, Dexter (or rather, who she thinks Dexter is) is Debra's perfect man. He's a parental figure, a sibling, and the closest thing she has to a spousal figure (note: not as a sexual partner, but a spousal figure); and thus, he knows everything she loves and fears and often gives good advice (he only really messes up in cases that involve lots of human interaction). So Deb places Dex in this sort of Trinity--he's three people at once--more than just a brother, or a lover. Deb loves him unconditionally in more ways than one. If they weren't 'brother and sister' but rather best friends, and maintained the same relationship, the viewers would be left wondering at this point why they HAVEN'T seen it yet.

      Both Dex and Deb idolize and idealize each other; it wouldn't be hard to develop sexual attraction alongside all the other forms of love they express within each other when they spend so much time in close proximity to whom each feels is human perfection.

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    2. Well now anon at 7:03

      Can't argue too much with what you said, pretty good stuff!

      ;)

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  14. Louis will confront Dexter about knowing his darkness, says that he grew up with brian, ask if he can help him kill, get denied by Dexter, ask again, get denied, louis kills someone to get his attention (the person he killed was innocent), then *SPOILER ALERT* he ends up on Dexters table, and That my friends is one of the story lines in Season 7.

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    1. Sounds like Miguel 2.0. No thanks.

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    2. Am I the only one who thinks Louis will be the one Dexter passes the Code on to? He doesn't necessarily have to be a big bad. Dexter's always been searching for someone to pass the Code on to, (Deb obviously can't be that person, since she's the one who has to accept him without becoming like him) and, voila, up pops Louie: Dexter's protege. Of course, I could be wrong, but I think it's the best path for Dex.

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  15. How bout this (just throwing this out there)...Captain Matthews had something to do with Harrys death...and being that deb found out about the call girl and asked her to cover it up, maybe matthews did soething similar with harry...yes matthews told dex he commited suicide, but did that actuall happen or is there more behind the story...Deb finds out about this and wants retribution...in comes along dexter...may be a bit of a stretch but who knows...the writers always pull some crazy ishh when writing...

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    1. Too much of a stretch. To say that Harry was killed rather than having committed suicide makes a lot of Dexter's development in Season 2 meaningless. Harry sees Dexter kill a person and Matthews just happens to kill him right after? Too coincidental. It'd be better to stick to the 'Harry saw what he turned Dexter into and killed himself out of grief' because ultimately it serves to further Dexter's character a lot more than Matthews having killed him would have.

      However, I don't think it would be too far-fetched to see Matthews trying to get back at LaGuerta next season. Their war of wills, if executed correctly, might make a good subplot to the season.

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    2. i see what your saying...i didnt say matthews kills harry, but maybe had something to do with his death..it just seemed with matthews asking deb to cover the call girl case, maybe something matthews did back then that harry found out will surface...but is see what your saying...i have a feeling matthews may end up on the table...

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    3. Yeah, I get you, I don't think it needs to be a Harry moment. If Matthews ends up on the table, I think it'll be because he went too far and LaGuerta ended up dead.

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  16. I think the perfect ending for Dexter would be him getting murdered by a serial killer, with his son watching the scene, just like Dexter's childhood, or something like it. The cycle begins again, Harrison becomes the serial killer. Following the father without knowing, just for the act of killing: he's an animal. LOL, that would be awesome!

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    1. I feel that would shortchange just how much we'd have invested in Dexter over eight seasons. He'd have to die in a way that either endears or completely divorces Dexter from the viewer's sympathy. Ultimately, he will be rehabilitated, but I don't know how happy the series will end up being. It'll probably have a 'A Clockwork Orange' ending (without the extra chapter). These last two seasons will have to be as intense, philosophical, and panic-inducing as the first two seasons were. I also wouldn't mind them returning to the cinematography from the first season; it added an almost dream-like quality to the show. More authentic, on-location filming would be much appreciated, and a return to the camera angles and filming techniques of the first season would be absolutely fantastic. And instead of pure plot, they should focus HEAVILY on characters--make them interesting to watch again, I feel like the only characters I care for anymore are Dexter and Debra. The writers have, admittedly, had a pretty disappointing sixth season, so they have to buckle down and make the seventh worthy of the Phillips' glory days.

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  17. I just hope they don't pursue a stupid romance between Dex and Deb. There has been ZERO romantic chemistry between the two from day one...the chemistry they share worked great within the context of a brother/sister relationship. I really hope that the new season opens with Deb just realizing her constant need to try to get inside Dexter's head is not because of romantic love, but rather a need to be close to him like she always wanted to be close to her father...they both maintained a certain distance that made her feel left out. The problem with the romantic storyline isn't so much the incest (though it doesn't really matter that they aren't blood related...they've been bro and sis from childhood, and it's very odd that there would be anything romantic in that sort of relationship...blood isn't the only thing that makes a family), but rather the fact that it's forced. I just watched all 6 seasons, and didn't see even a hint of romantic feelings until the last 2 episodes. It just makes it forced and odd.

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    1. I felt that there were definite inklings, especially in the first season; and prior to this season, it's been a long-running joke that Deb has an Electra complex, as her best relationships have been with men who are like the men in her family (Brian--Dexter; Lundy--Harry). The thing I feel that people miss about the 'romance' idea is that it's not simply romance; the relationship between Deb and Dex is something more. Can't quite put my finger on it, but it's not quite platonic, and not quite romantic.

      And I had it called by the end of 'Get Gellar' that the writers were taking this path. What's forced and and odd, to me, is just how easily Deb accepts that she's in love with Dexter, especially considering how emphatic she was with the shrink.

      There are a few posts above that discuss this but I'll give you the tl;dr version. Deb idolizes Dexter as Harry's model human being, and looks up to him like a mix of a father, a brother, and a spouse. It wouldn't be difficult to fall in love with what you believe is human perfection.

      Of course, everything is hearsay, but if they do pursue a romantic relationship between the two, I only hope that they do it well.

      P.S. To say there was zero romantic chemistry between the two is an overstatement imo. I felt there were many moments in the series where Hall and Carpenter's off-screen relationship sort of bled on screen.

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    2. This is a very misinformed statement, one that is mostly made by people who are Jennifer Carpenter critics. The chemistry is unmistakeable and strong. Specific scenes from the very beginning informed that there was something under the surface.

      Even in the first Dexter novel that the TV show is based on, where he is far less human, the affection/attraction between Deb and Dex is made obvious to the reader and confusing to Dexter. He goes back and forth about his feelings with her.

      Here are beats from the novel that made it into the show in part. (I wonder what they cut from the script, worrying that it would be too blunt, and not subtle enough for a television audience?)

      An example of the original text in the novel.

      "Debra loves me, she's the only person that loves me and I think that's nice. If I was human, if I could have feelings, I'd have them for Deb."

      "I can't help but notice her lovely features, the slightly upturned nose, the thick black hair, so beautiful, the piercing steel blue eyes, Harry's eyes... "

      "Children matter, but in general, human beings are nothing more than lawn furniture to me. I often dream about an apocalypse, where I am the only one left on earth, no one to fake emotions for, well, except for Deb, I'd want her to be there too."

      "Deb let out a little sigh, she looks at me, flushing, grabs my hand, gives it a squeeze. I smiled at her, a real smile, I hold her hand in my own, I give it a squeeze. Somehow it FEELS right."

      And then of course, right after that exchange with Deb, Dexter goes out on a date with Rita, comes across the crime scene, gets fascinated, and kisses Rita for the first time. Again, Dexter's emotions are usually kick started by Deb. She's the foundation of his humanity.

      These little moments go on all through the first book, and the second and so on. Do you really think the writers of the show didn't notice that shit when they adopted the novel as a screenplay?

      And how can you watch Dexter and say blood does not matter? The whole damn show is about blood. Blood is the most important part of the show "Dexter" and the whole point of Brian's murderous rampage in season one, was to get Dexter to admit that blood is what makes family, and to shatter Harry's code by proving him to be a liar. Dexter DOES admit that, and he does clearly feel like the code is broken, even admitting that he doesn't owe Harry anything anymore because of the lie.

      But why does he kill Brian then? Because of Debra. Dexter loves Debra, not as a sister. "She is NOT your sister, she is a stranger to you, and she always will be." to which Dexter screams "I KNOW THAT!" but the thing Brian does not understand, is that Dexter has started to become human, and it began with Debra Morgan. Dexter LOVES her, even if he doesn't fully realize it. The AUDIENCE is meant to know this, meant to understand this, it's specifically implied.

      From that point on the series has been building towards that reality for both character, putting it off, playing with it, flirting with it. Quite frankly I really believed that Dexter was going to get there first, because Debra was suppressing both her knowledge that Dexter is a killer, and her love for him. Those two things are hand in hand.

      I just don't understand how you can watch a show for five years and not only miss the nuances, but miss the blatantly obvious points and themes that the writers keep pounding at us over and over!

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    3. Actually, the uncomfortable incest vibe comes up even more strongly in the book. The idea is supposed to divorce us from Dexter's character and not to get too attached to the character. I think the scriptwriters deleted a lot of that stuff out of Deb because it would come off as too incestuous for a lot of viewers and maybe have not given Dexter the ratings it deserved. Also, in the book, it becomes blatantly obvious that the only person Dexter loves in the world is Deb. I think it's in the fourth book where they get into the car accident and she ends up in a coma. When the doctor suggests that she might wake up with brain damage; Dexter nearly decides to quit killing so he can take care of her for the rest of his life. It's not necessarily romantic, but for a born-and-bred sociopath to feel that strongly for a person, so that they consider giving up what makes them feel 'alive', THAT'S big.

      Why Dexter killed Brian is one of the mysteries of the series. He obviously doesn't do it for family, because he even admits Deb can't ever be a sister like Brian could be a brother. And yet, Dex kills him? Why? To keep her safe. He should have no ties to her, just like his ties with Harry begin to break. He, if he were thinking rationally, should kill Debra and run off with Brian into the sunset. But he does the exact opposite, he does something wholly irrational. Because he loves her--maybe not romantically, but again, from a sociopath looking for humanity, that's huge.

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    4. Yea the whole diatribe/monologue Dexter went on with, about giving up being a serial killer so he could "grow old with her, change her diapers and wipe the drool off her chin" was just...

      I don't know how most people define "love" but if that is not serious love, I don't know what is.

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    5. I know. The book, at times, is much more incestuous in nature than the series. They had to tone it down and make it much more subtle. Still, he killed Brian for her. No matter what way people try to say that it's out of character for them to fall 'in love'; they can't quite explain that. In 'Born Free', I think Brian understands even what Dexter doesn't. He says, he has to protect his sister, and then, seconds later, admits he knows she isn't his sister. Why does he do that? Genuine love. And Brian realizes he won't ever get that, he'll die alone, unloved--and maybe that's why he cries. Because Dexter's found someone he can love.

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    6. Yea, and the worse thing for Brian is he actually did have Deb's love, but of course, only because she was seeing "Dexter" in Brian.

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    7. Brian's tragic in many ways. Especially in the TV Series. I don't think I've ever felt more sorry for a villain than Brian. He was so unrepentant, so wholly awful, and yet, it's hard not to feel something when Dexter slits his throat. It's probably one of the most, if not THE most, powerful moments in the series.

      All he wanted was Dexter's love and acceptance. But Dexter chose nurture over nature. And what makes it all the more tragic is that Brian has to watch as his brother betrays him, while Dexter doesn't know why he does it. Really powerful.

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    8. Agreed... it is very sad in many ways.

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  18. FYI Showtime Big Cheese David Nevins recently hinted at a possible Season 9. The Link Puh-Leez

    http://screenrant.com/dexter-season-9-story-details-benk-146924/

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  19. I thought Season 05 was bad... Till I watched Season 06. Please stop messing with the audience's intelligence and let's have Season 07 live up to Seasons 01-04!
    A quick farewell to the Deb-Dex love (yuck!) angle, for starters, would make (lucky?) number 07 watchable at least.

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    1. Oh, look at the troll, it wants attention.

      LOL

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    2. season 6 was the worst ; enuf of deb's emotional drama ; bring in some scary villians

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    3. That's an awful idea. The 'Big Bad' idea is precisely why the last two seasons suffered so much. What made the first four seasons of Dexter good was because it was unpredictable and fresh. Trinity gave them ratings, so suddenly they found themselves trying to recapture S4's essence rather than create a new, original season. I, for one, would be glad if they didn't have a big bad this season. Focus on Dexter and Debra's evolution over the season, and bring the other characters back to form for a spectacular final season. You know, give us a season more reminiscent of The Wire than another rehashing of S4.

      Seriously. Consult some people for this season. David Zayas used to be a cop, so at least bounce procedural ideas off of him. Stop with the ridiculous character development: Deb will not accept that she is in love with her foster-brother in TWO DAYS. That is a realization people would spend months coming to, she shouldn't have come to terms with it until at least half-way through S7. Please start filming on location again. California is not Miami. Everyone notices it. Return to the original camera techniques from the first season--it really made Dexter seem like its own world; all subsequent seasons have looked to 'televisionized'.

      You're dealing with very damaged, very psychological and nuanced characters, don't make it an action show--keep it as cerebral as the series was its first three seasons. Give Quinn something to do other than being a drunk idiot; Desmond Harrington is being SERIOUSLY underutilized. Stop making the plot so easily bendable to Dexter's will. No one waits on the Blood Guy. It doesn't matter if he's Sherlock Holmes in disguise, Batista, you're a detective (Sergeant, no less), and Dexter's Forensics. You get to go in before him.

      Don't overlook seemingly obvious plot points (Batista seeing Dexter talking to Trinity at the end of S4 and it never comes up again? What?); if you put them in, put them in for a reason.

      Please, writers, do your homework. After the disappointment S5 and 6 was, you need a spectacular season to even be considered against Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad. So, here's to S7 being great.

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    4. Anon at 4:03 - a see your points, but perhaps you are being a bit too overzealous in the criticism?

      I think Buck and Gussis have always been the "emotional" writers on the show, and handled the psychological and relationship aspects of the characters the best, and continue to do so. They relied on Phillips, Rosenburg, and Cerone to take care of some of the nuts and bolts, the thriller, and killer aspect. The new writers just aren't there yet, they may never be. This is not Buck's fault.

      As much as we would like to believe that those three writers can just be replaced, it's probably not going to be easy to get to that level again. This happens in EVERY successful business, show, sports franchise, et. When you do fabulous, you lose talent to promotion or retirement. It's difficult to bring in someone to hit those same notes unless you are willing to break the budget of the show and end up in trouble with the network, which always causes a total disaster.

      In any case, you are totally off on one thing. Deb did not come to her realization in two days... her therapy went on for weeks. The epiphany happened in a short time, yes, but that's always the case with psychological breakthru's, it's always the light bulb suddenly flashing on. "OH! I see!" "Eureka" That's just the way things happen, they click into place one day and you are standing there stunned thinking: "Damn, I can't believe I missed that!"

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    5. 12:22

      I never said Buck and Gussis were bad, far from it. The show has lost a lot of its flavor because of the lack of the inventive cinematography from the first season and the sixth season suffered mainly because the writers didn't do their homework. Zayas was NYPD, therefore, he should know some things about the way the MDPD (MMPD in the show) might run, and let's face it...procedure was thrown WAY out the window last season. Dexter suffered a lot on the practical side this season, and it was due to a the writing team throwing caution to the winds. It's not bad; Buck and Gussis have written some fantastic episodes, but there has been a severe brain-drain in the writing department. I'd like to see MCH get more involved with the writing process now that he's an EP, and maybe for the writers to reach out to Jeff Lindsay. IMO, S6 is a product of Season 5, which, in my opinion, took Dexter in the wrong direction. S6 and S7 kind of have to right that ship before they can wrap up the series.

      Deb is a very impulsive person, yes, but the sheer vitriol, how emphatically she denied she was in love with Dexter, is a little too fast--even for her. Also, if her being in love with Dexter would provide her first stable, loving relationship, she would be far less impulsive in deciding it through. It would develop her character a lot more, and finally show that Deb isn't going to be impulsive, and won't make stupid, spur-of-the-moment decisions on something SO important in her life.

      It would be fantastic character development to have her conflicted like that into the seventh season until she finally realizes that she doesn't want anyone else, or that she can't have a relationship with him. The saving grace is that she walked in on Dex killing, so she'll be very conflicted for the first five or six episodes, at least--which will give the writers ample time to ease the viewers--and Deb--into what has been, so far, an unpopular storyline, mainly because people feel it was sprung and not well-developed. Subtext is good and all, but when it finally gets out into the open, it had better be expounded upon more than Debs making Ga-ga eyes at Dex and breathing heavily. Maybe they should have had a conversation between Deb and her therapist about how she felt when Dexter went missing and she thought he might've died. A topic like this is too important to leave completely to the viewer's inferential skills, imo, there's got to be some clear-cut expounding on what, how, and why.

      That's what I think, at least. I hope they really focus in on this idea if they go down this route, because right now, Deb seems to be making a rash, stupid decision about another man. It doesn't matter whether or not he's the perfect man for her, it needs to be developed afterwards.

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    6. Ok we are in complete agreement about cinematography and filming locations. They really need to get back to Miami and "taste" the city again, and do some photography there and some shoots there on location to bring back the gritty realism, and the reason why Dexter is what he is.

      As for the love story. I thought it was pretty fleshed out in previous seasons, truthfully. What comes to mind most is the conversation Deb has with the brief writer boyfriend in Season 2. There are at dinner, where she is describing Lundy, but also Dexter and the boyfriend goes "you looooove him." that was the moment in the television series, where I said "holy shit, Deb is in love with her brother!" Through the next 3 seasons it pained me that they only gave us little tiny tastes of it, talk about leaving it "in the closet".

      Also, in Season 4 episode 3, where Deb and Dexter are in the car, basically with everything they want in life but are both completely unhappy. For one brief moment, they look at each other and it's right "there", they realize that they are the same, and only the other can make them truly happy, and then Deb gets nervous and tells him to go inside. I wanted to come back to more of those emotional beats, but instead the writers wanted to keep us entertained with Lithgow. And that's part of the problem of later seasons. ITK was used sparingly, and to great effect, he became part of the scenery of the show, but Lithgow was doing an audience pleasing super villain interpretation and instead of being an organic part of the show, he "chewed" the scenery and created a silly expectation for the same thing each year.

      The "huge" mistake in the series was resisting those from Deb and Dex and putting it off for another year, and forcing Deb/Quinn and Dexter/Lumen in season 5, rather than spending season 5 developing Dex/Deb from both ends.

      Also, in Season 1, they left out crucial parts of the novel the season was based on, that would have informed the show. I mean they did put in Deb/Dex in subtext, but they buried it in such deep psychological mystery (See the episode "Shrink Wrap") that it takes a freaking college thesis to explain it to the common fan.

      Whereas in Lindsay's first novel, he just flat out tells us that Dexter is ATTRACTED to Debra, they flirt constantly, she is always hitting him, or poking him, or slapping him on the ass, or they are holding hands, and she is blushing, Dexter tells the audience in his monologue that he finds her "beautiful" he is fascinated by her, he is willing to set aside his deep need to understand ITK in order to help her, and he has a fantasy where there is an apocalypse, and only he and Debra are left in the world.

      Dexter's fantasy makes it into Season 1, but Clyde Phillips made his biggest mistake of the series... they worried that it was too incestuous, so they shot the scene with a Doakes punchline, INSTEAD of Dexter narrating that he wanted Deb there with him, just the two of them alone in the world.

      If they had stayed true to the novel, it would have been spelled out so much more clearly, and we would not have this issue right now with people not getting that there was always an attraction.

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    7. I don't disagree that there weren't inklings of attraction throughout the series; I read the book before the series came out and I always had a feeling that Dexter was more than just 'fond' of Deborah (He constantly refers to Deb's beauty but only once mentions Rita as being pretty in the first book), and I felt it was very much the same in the first season of the show. There are definite inklings of it, but you'd have to look quite deeply into the show to really see it. It's great subtext.

      I think that the problem of the series is they downplayed just how much Dexter cares for Debra and really placed how much he loved Rita into fine-focus, despite that he doesn't really care what happens to her in Lindsay's series. Dexter says himself in the first book that he considers Rita to be his 'beard', one he wears out in public.

      S5 went in a rather obtuse direction, in my opinion. Lumen was an unnecessary addition, and I think a deep friendship, rather than a sexual relationship, would've fit better.

      I think that there had to be more development after the shrink put th idea out there. It would ease Deb and the audience into the idea, and then, maybe, you'd see a lot less resistance to the idea.

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    8. Anon at 9:15

      Yes, you are essentially correct.

      And if I remember right, the thing he liked most about Rita was that she was so funky... like the fact that she wore tennis shoes with her evening dress on their date. "I appreciate a woman who likes comfortable footwear." Rita was no muss, no fuss, practical, and that's why she was the perfect beard for him.

      She remains delightfully "lost" as the story continues, still bearing the scars of nearly a decade of abuse. Which anyone would! She is just so happy to have Dexter, and when she does suspect Dexter of cheating, she is so meek she can't confront him, she just starts hitting the wine to hysterical effect!

      But in the show, they let Rita get too strong. Starting with Season 2, she suddenly became very self aware, independent, and "whole" - as if she had never been abused or raped at all, it's like a magic wand was waved over her :P and she was immediately "healed". Like her past decade of life had never happened, and that one is on Clyde Phillips. They make the point of Dexter not being able to get past the damage, so what's up with the Rita character? Is her psyche made of rubber steel or something?

      So all the development they could have put into Dexter and Deb, they wasted, and worse, rather than show Deb slowly coming to grips and growing as a character, they pushed her through guy after guy as if she is some dumb slut, and not the smart, independent, no bullshit, foul mouthed cop that she is. The writer guy, Anton, Quinn? Complete waste of time. It was like the LeGuarda/Batista relationship. There was no point to it at all, it was just "filler".

      But we understand that much of that is dictated by the needs of the medium. This is Showtime, and Showtime is a traditional "skin" channel, meaning people watch their shows to see a little more sex than they would on other shows, so I am sure the network demanded some of those story lines.

      The good side of this, is that Showtime, of all networks, is unlikely to back away from a sexual relationship between Dex and Deb. Foster sibling relationships are pretty freaking mild by Showtime standards. We must remember, that this is the network where a bearded lesbian got pregnant by her gay boyfriend!!!!!!!

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    9. They won't back down, I don't think. I just hope that, if they do it, the relationship is well-developed and is actually thought-provoking. Like, it should make everyone who thought it was a bad storyline wonder if everything they thought about Dexter was wrong. It should make people wonder why the two characters hadn't noticed the mutual attraction. It should make us wonder if, as a society, we ourselves are too puritanical and would rather destroy a person's chance at happiness because it makes uncomfortable.

      The great thing about this is that there's so much wiggle room for both Dexter and Debra's characters development. Deb could finally be the combination of Rita, Lumen, and Brian that Dexter's always been searching for. He could get better, he could become the antagonist of the series. Dexter can maybe finally love. He could stop killing altogether. Or he might be too far gone already. Deb could accept Dexter, or she could reject him. She could accept him and try to encourage him to stop killing, or eventually find herself enjoying it just as much as he does. She could suffer a complete mental breakdown, and have a rebuilding season (like Jesse during S4 in Breaking Bad) where she comes to realize how badly she's been affected by the people around her, and maybe find the only person who actually has never let her down (despite appearing to be the opposite) is Dexter.

      Decisions, decisions. Hopefully the writers deliver a powerful season next year because, boy, if this show EVER needed a poignant, philosophical and psychological season; it's now.

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    10. Oops. I meant Rita, Lumen, and Lila; not Brian.

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    11. Yea I know what you mean. I actually saw a fantastic treatment of what Season 7 could be.

      Now before I say anything further... let me qualify something: Fan fiction, is for the most part, pretty terrible stuff.

      However! And I mean "however" there is one piece of Dexter fan fiction which is damn near as enjoyable as reading a Lindsay novel, if only for the Deb/Dex stuff. It's a season novel called "Weird Fishes" by an author named Zeitgeist.

      There are some great moments in there. Essentially the Deb in that story does not turn him in, but does try to keep "saving him" and pushes for him to stop. There is a great great moment in that story, where she knows everything and he assumes she is coming to arrest him, and he is waiting with his needle, but again, he can't do it. He lets it drop to the ground and sits down with his hands up, surrenders, and she pulls out the cuffs, puts one on him, one on her and says "we are connected" - which totally recalls what Harry said to Dexter in reference to Deb, back in season 1 when he was dying.

      It was such a powerful idea. I hope the real writers show as much gumption and grasp of the show's mythology.

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    12. To AnonymousFeb 11, 2012 04:03 AM

      Every season of Dexter has had very original plots. Some things may be similar but overall they have been totally original with the story putting Dexter in situations he was never in before.

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    13. 5:35:

      Never been much of a fan of fanfiction. But, if it is as close to a Lindsay novel as you say it is, I might check it out.

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    14. I didn't say it was close to Lindsay, because it's just not as polished, but I did say it was "damn near as enjoyable".

      And truth be told, perhaps a better read that than "Dexter in the Dark"!

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    15. Well, that whole Moloch thing was a bit of a throw-off. But, I suppose it makes sense; there's a lot more mysticism surrounding the Dark Passenger in the book whereas it seems to be neurological in the television series.

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  20. I think it would be a great ending for the final episode to have Dexter wake up from a nightmarish dream. All his vigilante murders are just a figment of his imagination. Have him married to Deb and they have three children. Dexter would not be a forensic blood expert but an architect or some profession that doesn't even pertain to law enforcement.

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    1. Wow. Congrats, probably the worst idea yet.

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    2. LMAO, Agreed. That idea is horrible.

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    3. Yea not a good idea, I hate endings where "it did not really happen" ugh.


      But it WOULD be interesting to see it from the other side. You know, maybe Dex has a dream about the life he would have had, if his mother was never murdered. I always loved that line he lays on jiminez "I am not the person I am supposed to be, YOU STOLE MY LIFE!" A life where he is not a killer, perhaps he knows Debra growing up through Harry's relationship with Laura, or they meet later on - and she is the girl Dexter marries and they both have a completely different life, the life they were supposed to have. The "this is what you could have been" dream.

      Or maybe Deb and Dex just talk about that at one point. "What could have been." What we wish for, and what is... and wishes are for children.

      Probably too late in the series to really explore that though, but wow, I think it could be haunting.

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  21. It still makes me laugh at the people that talk so much shit about season 6. It REALLY makes me laugh that for some reason these same people think that just because their opinion of season 6 is bad, that everyone thinks the same way. Get over yourself people. Season 6 was the highest rated season yet. Dexter just gets better and better and the fans know it and love it as proven with the steady increase in ratings. So it is beyond clear that the ones with negative opinions of season 6, are far from the majority, so please stop freaking acting like you are. And for some reason some of you seem to think that there will be a Dexter beyond season 8. There will not be. As a true Dexpert, I wish the show would go on, but MCH has said himself that he is NOT willing to go on as Dexter past season 8. So it doesn't really matter what David Nevins of Showtime says. And as far as all the ridiculous ideas everyone seems to have for the next 2 seasons of my beloved show, all I have to say it thank God that actual, professional writers are writing for Dexter. Leave the writing to the pros people. Sincerely. One True Dexpert.

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    1. Please stop calling yourself 'one true dexpert'. Ratings, also doesn't mean quality ratings. S6 has higher ratings than S2, but S2 is better.

      Other than those two niggling problems, I agree with you.

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    2. Well, Jessie, I think you are a little off base.

      On the Dexter blog here, many of us are pretty positive about Season 6. In fact, I have stated often that it keeps getting better and better with repeated viewings. However, there are things that I have small issues with, personally, and I don't mind sharing them. Dex/Deb to me, elevated Season 6 from mediocrity to freaking awesome, but others may not feel that way.

      This place is an oasis, compared to Showtime's Dexter forums, where the same dirty dozen haters have driven everyone off the boards so they can claim "Dexter is not good anymore because no one posts here!" In between taking personal shots at some of the actors, and calling for a producer's head or spreading rumors that X person has been fired in order to make it appear that they are getting their way.

      Be thankful that Dexter fans have this place, and others to share viewpoints, and that in general (as you can see from the polls) - Season 6 is more popular than 3 and 5 and closer to 2 in popularity than one would think! (Probably because of Lila! lol )

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    3. Pardon her tits, indeed. S6 isn't by any means bad, it's just flawed compared to other seasons. If they make a real effort to follow realistic police procedure, return to Miami for filming (trust me, it makes a difference in a very big way), shy away from the 'Big Bad', or if they must, make it an interesting Big Bad (Travis was not very compelling, but I blame it more on the character himself rather than Hanks), and put in some deep development into the characters again (particularly Dexter and Deb), then S7 can be awesome.

      It's a lot of work, yes. And I know the actors and crew probably won't want to uproot and go back to Miami, but this is their livelihood. And it would be much appreciated by the fans; the authentic 'Miami' feel of the first season really added a lot to it. I know Dexter isn't exactly a realistic show, but next season will have to up that gritty realism we saw back in S1 to really be considered against Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire. We need a 'The Wire'-esque season, rather than another S4.

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    4. I don't think Dexter fits in with The Wire, Breaking Bad or Boardwalk Empire... at all. Different genre, so those don't work for me for comparisons. I think it's more in the Spartacus, Game of Thrones, Battlestar Galactica, Six Feet Under, - as it makes no attempt to be literal or relevant. Dexter is set in an unfamiliar world where even time has fantastical elements.

      There has never been a consistent or linear structure. The dates/times and the Deb/Dex relationship alone shows that we are in a dream like reality, where things like police procedure matter and time matter. "Return to Sender" in Season was the first real "reality" check there. There was no police procedure at all. And I am still trying to figure out how Brian followed Dexter out into the ocean, figured out exactly where that woman's body landed, slipped into deep sea diving gear, retrieved the body from the depths, got it back to the wrecking yard, and placed it in the trailer all in bright daylight in about an hour or so with no one seeing!

      Dexter was 3 in 1973, when Harry found him, yet graduated from high school in 1991 - which would have made him 21 upon HS graduation. Yet he was a sophomore in college at the age of 19 when Harry is sick and he kills First Nurse. Deb is 2 years younger than Dex, her 18th birthday occurs right before Dexter's second kill when Dexter is 20 years old. She states her mom died of cancer when she was 16, but early in the series, Doris is dying of cancer when Dexter is 11, and she appears to be long gone when Dexter is about 14 and Deb is 12 when we see those scenes early in season one during the pumpkin patch ride, and Deb's shooting range.

      It's specifically established in the books that they are two years apart, because there is a reference to Deb coming to have lunch with Dexter at college when he is 19 and she is 17. One thing that never made sense is that the books and the show indicate that Deb and Dex keep to themselves growing up, neither have actual "friends" in school, and they eat lunch with each other, which leads to ridicule, and subsequently leads to Dexter being accused of sleeping with his sister, which instigates his murderous outburst that Harry stops in the flashback in the episode "Shrink Wrap".

      It's also established that Deb sneaks into Dexter's room to sleep near him when her mom is sick with cancer, and in the novels it goes so far as to suggest there was a moment between them as teenagers that they don't talk about that may have involved sexual involvement.

      YET - Harry is riding on Dexter all the time about being normal and fitting in, and never once do we ever see him discouraging this strange bond between Dex and Deb. As a matter of fact he reinforces it, even going so far as to order Dexter out on his first kill right in front of Deb, and then telling Dexter to rely on Deb whenever he feels himself slipping (we assume this means, becoming like his brother). It is almost as if Harry has set the two of them up to be in a weird relationship, which is contrary to his advice about Dexter fitting in, and contrary to his wishes to have Deb "protected" from what Dexter does. To me, it seems like Harry is orchestrating a Bride of Frankenstein experiment rather than actually trying to protect his daughter.

      Overall what I am saying, is that Dexter is not a "tight" show. It is not consistent or sensible, and it never has been.

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    5. It would be an interesting dynamic, however. I've seen that Dexter is a transgressive story that is a surreal black comedy--almost Absurdist in nature, and a lot of its elements may be taken from the fact that we're dealing with a very unreliable narrator in Dexter.

      However, to set a season with undeniable gravity and seriousness might make the audience recoil from the charm Dexter exudes for a moment and cause us to step back from the action and judge whether or not we truly agree with what he's doing.

      It would probably add an interesting dynamic to the show and make the audience question Dex's morality just as much as Deb will be forced to this season.

      But Harry begs to ask another question: Did he intend it all along? The way he sets it up for Dexter to kill first nurse with Deb around, and tells him to lean on Deb...it could very well serve a purpose. Leave Deb with enough clues that if Dexter ever goes off the deep end, she could take him in...or, even more manipulatively, he could've intended for her to find out and accept Dexter and 'connect him' to humanity. It would add a distinctly terrifying and simultaneously caring edge to Harry...though I doubt a dynamic such as that would be explored; it's probably too late in the series.

      In any case, we're gonna be seeing a lot more James Remar next season, that's for sure. Hopefully he keeps that Santa beard. :P

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  22. Yes, Seasons 1 and 2 are squarely surreal black comedy at its best (why they will probably always remain my favorites) and of course, that idea peaked in Season 3's "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Easy as Pie" where we really juxtapose the good and loveable Dexter against his morally ambiguous deeds, and in a way, we really do accept, as does he, that what he is doing is good. "Nobody hurts my children..." "This is mercy..."

    Unfortunately that Dexter is dead and gone, and might never make it back. I think Season 4 epitomized the gravity and seriousness of the show, and in a way, ruined it forever. Season 4, that people are so fond of, broke Dexter IMO, the show we loved died with Rita in that bathtub, while all the little kill crazy post teens who are so upset with the show now, applauded.

    Typical of our current society, they wanted the "splash" but are unwilling to deal with the consequences, the fallout. They want a an old, blank happy Dexter, and they don't want the relationship with Deb to play out... they want to reset to a time of innocence when Deb and they were blissfully unaware of her love and sexual attraction to Dex and Dexter was so tied up in Rita and trying to be a "good man" that he was in no danger of his darkness spilling over.

    It's like Radiohead fans bitching about each new album. Yorke is never going to make "The Bends" or "Ok Computer" again, he's moved on from that foundation and is out in space somewhere, experimenting, the energy of youth all but expended. You cannot recapture "newness" in art, you have to build upon past textures.

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    1. Ah, Radiohead. You're right, first people bitched about In Rainbows because it wasn't OK Computer and now they bitch about The King of Limbs because it isn't In Rainbows.

      We love deep, shocking, jarring incidents. Rita dying was one of them, but the series has turned a corner since then. The humor is often a lot more somber, and Michael C. Hall is a lot more restrained in his portrayal of Dexter. It's simply not the same guy, because he genuinely DID love Rita in the show. Of course, Rita and Dexter never were the perfect couple ('Drugs' and Lila in S2 and Marriage Counseling in S4), and the writers obviously set it up for them to not be 'right for each other'.

      If they wanted clever, cheerful Dexter, the audiences shouldn't have been so enthused about S4's ending. People complain about Dexter's lack of trying to fit in anymore, but think about it...he killed his brother, he thought he could love a woman but she turned out to be insane, he thought he could have a true friend who ended up betraying him, a person who he thought could teach him about family destroys the happy little Morgan clan, a woman he thought he could love rejected him, and a man he thought he could save turned out to be delusional...it's not something he can easily just go back to work and bring donuts like the empty, cheerful robot he once was.

      There's definitely been more gravity to Dexter over the past two seasons. A lot of people say that the voiceovers have been dumbed down, but I don't think that's because of a lack of creativity...it's because Dex is a more minimalist, depressing character who's gone so out of touch because of Rita's death, Lumen's rejection, and Travis's delusion, that he isn't even in touch with HIMSELF anymore. No more Dahmerland, no more donuts for everyone, no more fake smiles. Series Dexter isn't the lovable scamp that Book Dexter is anymore. His actions, his reactions have become so animal that he doesn't even care 'why' anymore. He only concerns himself with 'how'.

      It would take real 'love' to coax him out of the shell of self-loathing and barely concealed depression. Harrison and Deb are practically the only answer at this point in the series: a son and a sister/best friend/spouse. But for a series that has constantly hammered out the point that 'nothing changes', I don't know how happy Dex can be by the end of it all.

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  23. I actually think it is pretty obvious how the next (final) two seasons will play out. Deb will at first buy that Dexter was just protecting her, because Doomsday tried to kill her and his son. Then over time her cop instincts and not being able to let anything go will cause her to do more research. As this story builds and builds we will get a new "Big Bad" in Louis, who will want to play similar games as Dexter's brother did in season 1. This brings the series fill circle.

    As for the last scene it will be Deb finally having to take down her own brother, which completes the cycle of her story. Everytime he loves someone they are either killer or die (sometimes both).
    Show ends with Hall's voice over about how Deb did the right thing and her and his son and the world will be a better place without the Dark Passenger.....BLACK.

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    1. Somehow, I doubt the ending to the series will be that concrete. We'll probably gonna be left with a very ambiguous ending that might lead us to believe that Dexter has been cured of his Dark Passenger, has descended into insanity, or died a hero/monster. I hope the writers leave the ending more up to interpretation, but that might anger some viewers to not give Dexter true 'closure'.

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  24. You all could keep guessing, Or I could tell you what we have wrote so far....

    - MCH

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    1. Then lay it on us, Mr. Hall. I would certainly love to hear what the Dexter team has been writing, despite that there's a huge cult of secrecy about the show and I doubt that Michael C. Hall posts on this board.

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