The Dexter-verse is coming! Hmm…yeah, that sounded weird. Nevertheless, Showtime has confirmed that two new spin-offs from the iconic series have been ordered straight-to-series: Dexter: Origins and the follow-up to Dexter: New Blood. To be honest, the history of Dexter has been quite rocky following season four. The whole, “Deb wants to f**k her brother” angle was just strange, and this is coming from a guy who watches Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. I know Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) and Dexter (Michael C. Hall) aren’t blood related, but it was still creepy.
Dexter Was On A High When Deb Shot LaGuerta
Anyways, the series became extremely interesting when Deb shot the ever “popular” Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) in the season seven finale. The stage seemed set for a spectacular season eight. Dexter’s world was closing in due to the fact that his sister now knows his deepest and darkest secret. Will Deb turn Dexter in, prompting a manhunt search for the serial killer? Will Deb do the dirty work and murder her own brother? Season eight had the makings to tie a perfect bow on this series. But it didn’t.
The season premiere started off promising enough, but then it fell off a cliff completely. The season centered around a meaningless surrogate family that ultimately dies without any fanfare. Evelyn Vogel (Charlotte Rampling) and Zach Hamilton (Sam Underwood) could’ve worked as characters. In fact, on paper, it would’ve been cool to see Dexter have a surrogate family who identifies with him. The dynamic between Zach and Dexter could’ve been a compelling season arc based on their morals of how they kill people.
The Big Issue With Season 8
The biggest issue is the fact that they were introduced so late into the series that audiences were barely given any time to know them. These characters should’ve been introduced in season five or six. The whole story felt forced and an unnecessary distraction of the Deb vs. Dexter plot. The purpose of Evelyn and Zach seemed to put more heat on Oliver Saxton (Darri Ingolfsson) and make his connection to Dexter more personal. It didn’t work.
Easily the most unnecessary plot in the entire final season was Masuka and his hot daughter. Exactly what does that have to do with the overall story of Dexter’s endgame? More than anything, this seemed to justify even more why the time jump was a mistake. That side story was a time filler, nothing more. And the Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski) manhunt story was…Ugh. Sadly, the most insulting thing to come out of season eight was the lame death of Debra Morgan. The ending for her character wasn’t shocking as Deb’s fate was either: death, murder-suicide, or arresting the Bay Harbor Butcher. Surprisingly, the last one was the least likely. However, once the decision was to drop the whole “Deb hates Dexter” angle then she pretty much became meaningless for the later portion of the series.
Deb Forgiving Dexter Could’ve Worked
Deb forgiving Dexter could’ve worked. In fact, there’s plenty of ways the writers could’ve milked that story. Deb could’ve slowly turned to the dark side and started going beyond Dexter’s code for murder. The eighth season had great ideas. The execution was extremely problematic. I don’t mean to be such a prude to the series. I loved Dexter. It was such a letdown on how it ended.
This all goes back to the time jump. Deb was on the verge of a mental breakdown as she just found out her brother was the bay harbor butcher. Surely, she was an emotional wreck. How was she eating? Or sleeping? How was Deb coping over killing LaGuerta? I know the two didn’t particularly see eye-to-eye, but Deb is not a serial killer. She’s a human being and taking one’s life is devastating regardless of who it is. The show skipped over such a valuable and pivotal moment in Deb’s life.
Following Deb’s Time After Killing Dexter Should Be The Spin-off
That’s the spin-off we should get. What happened during those six months? Though we already know Dexter and Deb’s fate at this point, it’s still a compelling angle to see the motions that Deb had to go through in trying to cope with what she did to LaGuerta. Will it fix Season eight? No. But, it could truly make for a compelling watch as we witness Deb’s descent to madness. Deb did try to kill Dexter in the season premiere. It would be truly fascinating to see what drove her to the conclusion that murdering her step-brother was necessary.
The answer seems simple, but the one thing the show has always done so well is the relationship between Deb and Dexter. Well, except the whole incest angle. She killed LaGuerta to protect him. Now she opted to put him six feet under. There’s plenty of juice within that angle, and it’s a shame that we never got a chance to witness Deb during her darkest moments.
Whatever the case may be, hopefully the upcoming Dexter spin-offs turn out well. Dexter: New Blood was pretty good, so there’s a chance to carry the legacy forward. It’s just disappointing that season eight didn’t get the proper story it deserved.
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