Dexter was a show not without its fair share of detractors, specifically during the last few seasons, or every season after the fourth. I, on the other hand, remained a faithful and enthusiastic viewer right up until the bitter end…or what I thought was the bitter end. Recently, at the 2014 Television Critics Association press tour, David Nevins, the present of the Showtime network, spilled some vague beans about the possibility of a Dexter spinoff.
**Anyone spoiler sensitive will want to stop reading now as the remainder of this post (including the comment section) will contain details about how the final season of Dexter concluded.**
If you were unfortunate enough to tune into the finale, you were “treated” to a rather unsatisfying end to Dexter’s shenanigans in Miami. To this day I’m not exactly sure what I wanted his fate to be, but I know what I saw was most definitely not it. Anywho, as Nevins pointed out, the “spinoff” series of Dexter would not be some ridiculous continuation on the ongoing investigations within Miami PD where we can see Masuka continue to learn how to be a father, or Batista continue to break Quinn’s balls about his inability to be happy in a relationship. No, it would actually be about….well, Dexter.
Obviously, those who watched the show until the end know that Dexter did not die even though the Coast Guard only found bits and pieces of his boat that he drove into the heart of a hurricane after disposing of Deb’s lifeless body. Instead after some painfully cheesy scenes of characters reacting mournfully to the news that Dexter might be dead the camera cuts out and we see Dexter alive and well, with a horribly ratty beard working as a glorified lumberjack. Are you kidding me?!
Now, I’ve read the writer’s justification of the ending, but it still does not sit well with me, especially considering that the Showtime execs are now toying with the idea of a spinoff which isn’t really a spinoff. To me it seems like the writer told himself this was what he really wanted only because the network higher ups told him, “Don’t you dare kill Dexter at the end, we have plans.” So we’re treated to a prison of Dexter’s own design where he can be miserable and dirty in a boring mundane existence and we’re just supposed to believe that maybe he won’t kill again. The whole reason he left was because he didn’t think he could live a normal life and didn’t want to hurt or be responsible for the hurt he’d cause to his loved ones. I dunno, the whole end to the series leaves a really bitter taste in my mouth and a spinoff I don’t think is going to wash it out anytime soon.
The good news is that the new series will not become a reality unless Michael C. Hall is on board, so essentially the ball is in his court. After 8 years it is possible Hall just wants to pursue other artistic endeavors and wants to leave Dexter in his past. Conversely, maybe he too isn’t all that smitten with the finale and might want to help fans get some closure by the end of a new series. The future is all too uncertain in the Dexter universe, but for my two cents I’m far less interested in a spinoff series that features the same character doing similar if different things as I am in maybe a three episode or so mini-series or three part movie that would give the writers a shot at ending the entire Dexter saga for good. A last hurrah that doesn’t make everyone at Miami PD look like the incompetent crime stoppers that they are and gives closure to everyone who was left at the end with their thumbs up their asses wondering what to do next.
That’s just how I feel. What are your thoughts on a Dexter spinoff? What did you think of the Season 8 finale? How did/do you want it to end? Spoilers are free game considering this is already a post heavy with details about the ending. Sound off below!
Via: Dread Central