Dexter - Season Seven

6.4

Dexter has always been the retarded cousin of premium channel television. We treat him like a normal show but deep down its clear it comes nowhere near anything on HBO's roster. Fortunately its not for lack of trying. This season aims to make up for six's meandering religious tirade that concluded with one of the worst "twists" of modern television and melodrama overblown even by Dexter standards.

But back to the positive. Season seven marks a fresh start and now that the writers set an end date for the series, we can finally start getting to the meat of the show. And now that Deb has seen the real Dexter, her scenes can start carrying actual weight. Its refreshing to get a new moral perspective on Dexter and her struggle with her brother's nature serves as a strong undertone. When things boil over in the season finale, it creates not only the most memorable episode of the season but the best conclusion in years.

The season's most interesting aspect details Dexter's relationship with his "dark passenger" and has been a long time coming. It is not dealt with until the final episodes of the season but carries great weight in the finale and foreshadows things to come. After all this time, Dexter allows himself to take responsibility for his actions and demystifies his ritual killing scapegoat. It is the most interesting thing that has happened on the show since Rita died back in season four.

For the most part, this season is no different from the latter half of the series in that the majority is badly written and useless to the core story. Another season, another love interest for Dexter. I appreciate the dynamic between two serial killers who don't have to hide from one another, but it leads to the season's most boring, cliche moments. The lowest of the low is easily Quinn (why the hell is he still on the show)'s relationship with a prostitute. The story of these two annoying lovebirds is soap opera dog shit played out with fake accents and the worst on-screen chemistry on Showtime (including all their late night softcore porn). The best part is, it literally goes nowhere.

Like the previous two seasons, I'm sure there is 6 episodes worth of solid material spread thin over each season's twelve hours. Thankfully the show got back on track and finally started delivering the dramatic goods built up for seven years. Best part is, the next season can only get better. With the end in sight, and a clear road ahead of them, perhaps the writers have saved the best for last.