Pop Vultures

Sunday night marked the end of the second series of Dexter, and I think I finally have my thoughts in order. This show consistently works on so many layers that I can’t trust my first response; I must consider why I react as I do. After all, as I’ve noted before, this is a show that revels in drawing the audience into Dexter’s dark world. Though it wasn’t quite as perfect an ending as the first season, there was an awful lot to love about it — and a few things to nitpick.

Thoughts and spoilers after the jump.

First of all, I would like to thank the producers for so clearly proving my point in the final scene. Dexter ends the series by opening up a new case for his blood slide trophies and running his fingers lovingly down the numbers on the side, clearly showing his intent to kill many, many more. “Am I evil? Am I good? I’m done asking those questions. I don’t have the answers. Does anyone?” he voiceovers, before looking directly into the camera, just as he does in every opening sequence — asking the audience that very question. It doesn’t matter that I have a few issues with the resolution of this story, because this is why I watch this show. It does not allow its viewers to remain passive. It demands involvement, judgment, questions. It’s not just that the show explores the range of morally gray options; it wants the viewers to consider where they fall on that spectrum. Now THAT, my friends, is some damn fine television.

Despite the excellent supporting cast, this is the Dexter show, and the bulk of the fuzzy morality falls on his shoulders. For much of this season, he struggled to come to terms with his killing, and for a brief period it even seemed he would stop altogether. Now, that may have a bit of a negative impact on a show about a serial killer, but honestly I wasn’t too bothered. It’s the duality in his character that fascinates me, and the struggle to come to terms with the disparate parts. Just as the first season ended with Dexter choosing his emotional side (Deb) over the monster (Rudy), the second season dealt with his efforts to subdue the monster altogether.

However, Showtime has a season 3 to watch out for, so clearly they had to get Dex back to his killing ways. Once again they accomplished this through a symbolic killing, the slow stabbing of Lila, who, despite being a sociopath herself, had also done a decent job of helping him control those murderous impulses. With Lila dead, Dexter made a statement: no one else would influence when and how he killed. He was in control.

The episodes leading up to the finale were strongest in the Dexter/Doakes scenes, and that’s also where I have my one complaint about this episode. In their interactions, we saw Dexter’s mask fully slip and the monster clearly appear for the first time, and it was stunning. As a viewer, I was so invested in Dexter escaping from the long arm of the law (hey, I want another season, too) that I forgot what he actually was, but Michael C. Hall unleashed it for all to see. Doakes, in contrast, become the quiet, reasonable voice, the priest demanding confession from his cell. It was stunning, and was made all the more so since we knew what was coming: Dexter had to either defy his own moral code in killing an innocent man or allow himself to be revealed as the Bay Harbor Butcher. By having Lila kill Doakes instead, without Dexter’s knowledge or approval, that choice was taken away from him. It felt like a cheat, and this show is too damn good for a cheat.

Season 3 will pick up with Dexter now a self-declared “master.” The show has already veered so far from the book on which it is based that anything can happen now. I can only hope that Dexter’s apparent acceptance of who he is comes with limitations. After all, what fun would it be if he stopped asking questions of himself — or of us?

If you want more, Showtime has an interesting video of the producers and cast discussing the finale and season 2.