SPOILER ALERT…SPOILER ALERT

(best said in an Octonaut’s “Creature Report” fashion)

If you haven’t watched last night’s series finale of Dexter…then this blog post won’t be for you…come on back tomorrow (I’ll still probably be bitter about the ending).

Here’s how it all ended…

(Note: this video doesn’t have the “lumberjack epilogue”…can’t find that on YouTube)

What…the heck (would like to use swear words, but FCC forbids me from expressing my true emotion) was that?

That’s what we’re left with?

Dexter…our “hero”…riding off into a hurricane (Yes, I know, it was “Hurricane Laura”….and Laura was his mom’s name, so there’s probably symbolism in that)….but then coming back as a lumberjack?

To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. My wife & I looooovvvved this show…and I still love this show…but I’m left with a sour taste with this non-ending.

Where was the suspense? Where was the thrill?

There was no point in this final episode where I ever felt Dexter was in any danger. His final “real” kill was a pen to the neck of Saxon? On camera? That’s so un-Dexter-like. Dexter always had a plan to kill his victims…this one seemed wishy-washy…and not only that, I wish he had really killed Saxon in a rage/blood-fueled way. Deb was dead at his hands…he should have shown some uncontrollable rage. I wanted that…I needed that.

I needed Dexter’s final kill to be on the table.

This is going to be a bit all over the map here…so try and follow me.

Deb dying? Didn’t feel much…the whole “she’s on life support” thing was too drawn out for me. It would have been much more effective if she had just been shot & killed…Dexter “killing” her wasn’t the tearjerking moment that I think the writers were hoping for.

I did like the idea of burying her in the ocean…it was Dexter’s favorite spot…it was Dexter’s safe place. I liked that…but then he drove off into a hurricane. Ummm…what?

You don’t want to destroy any more lives? Well, tell that to Harrison, who is living in Argentina without a father now. That bothered me.

Okay…let’s talk about Elway tracking down Hannah & Harrison on the bus…umm…how the heck did she not see him get on the bus and sit down next to her. She was facing forward…he presumably would have boarded the bus after her…so she would have seen him approaching her….and then a quick tranquilizer and that’s the end of Elway? Well, that was easy. That whole scene annoyed me. It was just too convenient.

Back to this point…why is our beloved Dexter just driving into a hurricane?

I wanted one thing from the finale…an ending…I preferred a tragic ending…but I suppose a happy ending would have sufficed…but I don’t feel like we got an ending at all. What are we supposed to do with a bearded-lumberjack Dexter?

For a moment, I actually thought that before the screen went black, I thought we were going to see Dexter plunge his knife into himself. What a moment that would have been!

Do I worry about a Hannah/Harrison living in Argentina spin-off show? Yes, a little.

For 8 seasons, Dexter was the most calculated character on TV. Everything he did had a plan…and he always looking two steps ahead…but he was totally flying by the seat of his pants in the finale.

I will still look back at Dexter as a show that I really, really loved & enjoyed…but the finale will always leave a bad taste in my mouth. It didn’t leave me wanting more…which is what I wanted. I wanted that feeling of…”I wonder what will happen next to Dexter”…but, I don’t.

My wife put it best after it ended…”I’m feeling melancholy”. That’s absolutely right. We’re sad it’s over…and not satisfied with the ending…or lack of ending.