EdTheRipper

I agree. I actually found the whole episode to be kind of anticlimactic. They killed off Chase fairly early and just kind of limped along after that and the scene with Deb.

Overall, it was a solid season though. The guest stars weren't quite John Lithgow good, but they all worked out well.

Jeremy517

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_deniability

Jeremy517

The resolution to the Jordan Chase storyline was good, but the other resolutions were weak.

Just because the test didn't show that the blood on Quinn's shoe was Liddy's wouldn't mean Quinn was in the clear, it would just mean that the police would have continued looking into him and would have looked for more evidence.

Lumen leaving right away was just a cop out. Obviously she was going to be done with killing, but ending the relationship hours after Chase was killed was just lazy writing.

Shazam

Thanks Groucho for ruining the end for me.

Groucho

Hey, I didn't give away the big twist -- that the party was in Miami.

They should have had an after-credits sequence where the magician shows up in the backyard of Rita's parents -- and nobody is there.

RichC2

It wasn't so much lazy writing as just "We have a 10 episode contract with Julia Stiles and we need her out, NOW." Lazy writing was how neat and clean the ending was.

Poink

Am I the only one who doesn't see a post by Groucho in this entire thread??

Even though I would have liked there to be a really huge bombshell, it wrapped up pretty well for all the characters. I'm glad that Lumen didn't die / Chase escaping, Nanny going rogue with Harrison, etc.

At this point, I agree that Deb isn't going to really find out about Dexter unless he just straight up tells her. No way can they write another story that brings them *that* close to running into one another again without it being a bit repetitious of this season.

No idea where they'll take things with next season, although as far as a straight continuation goes, the stuff with Quinn is really the only thread to go off of. Even with Dexter "clearing" him, the whole bit about the surveillance equipment in his name, Liddy's phone record, and Quinn refusing to talk without a Lawyer would certainly leave a lot of room for explanation beyond "Oh, it was some other dude's blood."

Quinn pretty much knows Dexter killed Liddy, and Dexter knows Quinn knows this; whether they keep a mutual unspoken agreement on things or play against each other remains to be seen.

Jeremy517

They easily could have signed her for more episodes next season. Ending it that way was lazy.

Only season four had a cliffhanger ending, so it shouldn't really surprise you that it ended that cleanly.

godzilla rules

The two thirds of the episode was pretty tense, but everything else was just too neat. After the scene with Deb at the camp I kind of knew how everything was going to go. I wish Julia Styles would have stayed. I also wished that they would have thrown us something out of left field, other than then Deb almost catching Dexter.

mwbmis

I doubt she'll come back full time, but since Dexter probably has at best two seasons left I'm willing to bet that we haven't seen the last of Julia Stiles on Dexter.

I hope that next season is their last. There is a sameness to it all. I just don't see a lot of different places for it to go. They've done the someone else finds out in four different ways now (Rudy/Doakes/Miguel/Lumen).

That having been said. I thought the Dexter storyline was very good this year, even better than last year which I found a little overpraised despite Lithgow. They took it in a different direction, and while it would have been more satisfying to see Lumen stay I understand why she had to leave.

I also think they laid the ground work on how she could come back and end the series (i.e., convince Dexter that he doesn't have to do it anymore...which is what I think he wanted in that staring at his reflection scene but was too afraid to say).

Phurion

I was expecting and hoping for some sort of twist or cliffhanger, but I thought the way the season ended wrapped up really nicely.

I kinda like how Lumen was just on to essentially feed her Dark Passenger, and now that shes done she can move on.

anomynous

Well this episode solidified my ranking of the seasons:

1
4
5
3
2

Josh-da-man

Dexter helps Lumen hunt down and kill her rapists and would-be killers only to have her blow him off when all of the dirty work is done. Typical chick behavior.

I was sort of expecting the surviving Fuentes brother to show up looking for revenge against Deb for putting a bullet between his brother's eyes. Maybe next season? Seems like that storyline is too interesting (decapitations, cults) to just drop.

georgec

I'm conflicted. Many things to like about this season, but like season 3 Dexter is almost in the same place he started when it ends.

On a side note Sons of Anarchy had a great season. I'd put it at #2 best show right now behind Breaking Bad.

dalbowski

Yeah, I was expecting a scene with that new detective being found decapitated.

So the nanny has nothing to do with the main storyline???

dino88

The best part of the finale had to be Laguerta and Batista deciding to give their marriage another chance.

Poink

I know... the way they toyed with making her a 'villain' for about two episodes made me think they were going to do away with her by the end, then they just HAD to go and make her useful again by helping Deb and so on...

I really wonder how the writing process of a season of Dexter goes about, because it really does seem like they just decide how to steer it into greatness halfway through each season sometimes. The whole Fuentes brother's sub-plot was a major part of the first half of the season, and then after Deb killed the one guy, it literally vanished from the show. While it had a huge effect on how she views "instant justice," they could have easily driven home the same point by having her shoot any random crackhead stick up boy in any other context. Just seems strange that they'd make something a fairly big focus for 6 or 7 episodes with only one real point to make.

Da Thrilla

Agreed

yourlocalcinema

Personally I'd switch 4 and 1, but agreed on the rest.

majorjoe23

I don't think many people here will agree with you on this one.

But back to Dexter, my wife and I were talking about Dexter and Deb's conversation at the end. She said something like "Now that this is over" and gave Dexter kind of a look. I thought she just meant the Jordan Chase stuff, but my wife thought Deb knew it was Dexter and Lumen.

I enjoyed this season, but now that it's over I just don't feel the instant need for the next season like I did last year (largely due to the cliffhanger).

Dragon Tattoo

You've got to be fucking kidding.

RichC2

Yeah... I don't watch it, but all I've heard is how horrible this season of Sons of Anarchy was.

Breaking Bad was fantastic this year, though.

TheKing

Quinn is the linchpin in all of this now. That's what he's been set up for, and that will probably be the crux of Season 6.

Dexter had to make the case against Quinn go away because if he didn't Quinn would just roll over on Dex and answer the question on who was being watched. Even if Dexter removed the evidence, the fact that there would be people looking into him and his life would make what he does all the more difficult.

Quinn saying "I guess I owe you one" is basically Quinn saying that he won't talk about Dexter being the subject being watched, and the case will go cold. Beyond that, Quinn loves Deb, and turning on Dexter would end that relationship. So both men have ample reason to maintain this fragile alliance.

It's really a great character study for Dexter. Not only can they destroy eachother, but Deb gets destroyed either way.

And now the longest wait in television begins...

tbird2340

I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned.. What about the bloody crime scene at his old house? He never went back to clean that up (and it was a mess!).. I thought for sure that Cody, Aster, and the Grandparents were going to go to Rita's house for something and see that and that was going to be the cliffhanger..

Also, the thing with Quinn getting off just because Dexter said it's not his blood.. SOOO LAME...

*There are numerous calls from Robocop to Quinn.
*Quinn's signatures are on the paperwork for the equipment found in Robocop's van.
*He asks for a lawyer and acts crazy suspicious.

Yet, Dexter says the blood isn't his so he must be innocent!

Also really didn't like how they had Lumen leave..

Jadzia

I liked the finale overall and was satisfied with how the writers handled Deb and Lumen. (And I am also really relieved they didn't put Harrison in any danger or pull something with the nanny.)

The only thing I was disappointed in, was that I wanted more answers about Jordan Chase. He was a compelling character and I feel there was still questions there. What was his endgame? What was he going to do with Dexter and Lumen? For a minute there, I thought he was going to try and force Dexter to torture Lumen while he watched. And I wanted to know about his relationship and his hold over Emily. She obviously meant a lot to him since he kept her at hand all those years, and for him to suddenly kill her seemed odd. He said "no witnesses" but she was already a witness to his first crime and she knew about all the others too.

I did like the way Dexter stabbed him to the floor, but I wanted more answers from him before he died. I also wanted more of a pay-off where he finds out more about Dexter. Instead of being a guy driven to killing from his wife's murder, I wanted to see him learn that Dexter is instead a very experienced serial killer. I found that aspect really interesting, that Jordan had sort of one idea of who Dexter is, and was trying to play him based on that knowledge, so I wanted to see him be surprised with learning about Dexter's true nature.