I'm probably just pissing in my sour grape Cheerios (aside- remember when there just used to be Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios? Now half the cereal isle is dedicated to Cheerios. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a sour grape Cheerio flavor), but we just got done watching the last episode of Season 4 of Dexter and I am pissed. The ending has rocked me to my core, probably much more than a mere television show should, and definitely more than any television show I've ever seen before has.
If you haven't seen the show, I highly recommend it- the first 3 seasons, that is. Dexter is a forensics blood spatter analyst who moonlights as a vigilante serial killer (that is, he kills killers). It is one of the deepest, quirkiest, funnest shows I've ever seen- the first 3 seasons, that is.
Season 4 takes a decided turn, and it wasn't until too late that I realized that the show wasn't a comedy dressed up as Seven- it was a full-on edge-of-your-seat thrill-drama. The last two nights we've powered through the last disc (4 episodes)...frantically getting pulled in to this race against the clock for Dexter to find Trinity (the big serial killer in Season 4). The laughs- were not really to be found.
I can't say I blame the show for evolving- in this business, you have to change, because stagnancy doesn't sell ad space. We're Generation Now- Season 3 was so Last Season ago. What have you done for me lately? That's where Dexter went in Season 4.
The reason why I am devoting a blog to this is because I want to call shenanigans on the way that Season 4 ended. See, Dexter Morgan ripped out my heart- and their will be spoilers.
See, the first 3 seasons ended nice and cozy- each season had some build-on from the others, too, but each season wrapped up with no carry over. There was no cliff hangers- it was a show that delved into dark subject matter with a light-hearted focus, and so I got to be comfortable with that.
Obviously, Season 4 was paced much, much differently. The dark subject matter was still there- but much of the frivolity that made the walking contradiction of Dexter the most polarizingly amazing character ever was left out. I suppose there were signs along the way that this season was going to be way different- Dexter's car accident, Deb and Lundy getting shot...but there's been intense moments before. This ending is different.
What my issue here is that the show Dexter established a set of unspoken rules that it was going to abide by. This is how we're going to move plots forward, this is how things will resolve, and in the end, Dexter will save the day, and everyone goes home happy. Season 4 almost ended like that. Almost.
Minutes away from Dexter leaving to get on a plane to meet up with his wife in the Keys, he comes upon a grizzly scene in his bathroom- his son, Harrison, covered in blood, as his wife Rita lies dead in the bathtub. Now, being a married father with young children, I have to admit that I might be emotionally too close to the subject material to really think about this objectively.
But still, you can't do that to an audience. That's just bad writing, looking for a gimmick to hook people in. We were strung along in that last episode, which was acting and looking like the last episode of the previous 3 seasons. And then- WHAM. COMPLETE pulling out of the floor underneath our feet.
I had someone on Facebook comment on a status of mine in regards to Dexter that his wife died. So I knew that was a possibility, and I kept trying to re-frame the events of the season in the context of his wife dying at some point- and you know what? Once he killed Trinity, then I felt like that was over. That it wasn't going to happen, and I could let down my guard a little. That Season 4 was going to finish, Dexter was going to have a romantic getaway with his wife, and voila- that was it.
Then she dies, and Dexter is not the only one left picking up the pieces. Maybe that's good writing- that I "knew" it was coming, and still didn't see it. But still, there was definitely a feeling of betrayal- that they set us up, doing things the way that they had always been done, and then at the last second, completely changing the rules on us.
I'm done with the show, done- finished. Impulsive decision? Probably (I suppose if you've paid any attention to my blog over the past couple years, you're well aware at my impulsivity). But it's not the first time we've realized it's time to move on. We left Lost. We left Prison Break. We even left The Office. Sara and I are pretty good at recognizing when a show has nothing left to offer us. We were tired of Lost piling more and more questions on top of us when we were still waiting for our first questions to be answered. When Michael Scofield was sent back to prison- we didn't go with him. And when Jim and Pam got together, we broke it off.
I really don't know what to say or how to end this. I realize it's probably stupid to get so involved emotionally with a television show- but really, to me Dexter is more than a television show. It's this ongoing commentary on the way that our society functions- the social structures that we take for granted, the rules and laws that keep things from "falling apart"- and the impact that those in our lives have on us, both in our past and our present- the struggle for who we are raised to be and who we want to be. It's a phenomenal show, I seriously recommend the first 3 seasons highly. But if you are the type of person who doesn't like to be lied to- then do yourself a favor. Don't watch Season 4.
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