# Dexter 12/13 "The Getaway"



## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

Holy ****.


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## billboard_NE (May 18, 2005)

I feel like I have been hit in the head with a framing hammer!!!


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## tlc (May 30, 2002)

Damn. Haven't watched the ep, but the TiVo went to Live and I saw the end! Any chance that was a dream?!


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## sbc44 (Sep 7, 2003)

who did it? Couldn't have been Trinity?


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## Mr_Bester (Jan 27, 2007)

sbc44 said:


> who did it? Couldn't have been Trinity?


Why not?


Spoiler



spoiler just in case, She came back in the middle of the day, maybe that's why Dexter was able to mess with his car before he picked it up, he was busy doing his trinity thing


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

sbc44 said:


> who did it? Couldn't have been Trinity?


Given the after-episode sitdown with Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow, it was definitely Trinity.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

That explains why Arthur was in such a cheerful mood as he fled town...

Dang, what a season. And I can hear those noisy Rita-hater parties all across the nation!


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## SNJpage1 (May 25, 2006)

WOW. OK now for some reality checking. We know trinity wouldnt have left any thing that would point to him. So the police would look first at the husband. Dexter does not have an alibi. No one saw him during the day or that night.


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## Mispelld (May 6, 2009)

I am dumbfounded. That is all.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

Just when I thought the season finale was being tied with a nice little bow like all the rest, they go and blow my effing mind. Wow. Just wow.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

SNJpage1 said:


> WOW. OK now for some reality checking. We know trinity wouldnt have left any thing that would point to him. So the police would look first at the husband. Dexter does not have an alibi. No one saw him during the day or that night.


On the other hand, a Trinity-style killing against the family of one of the cops who caught Trinity, combined with the way this show tends to have complete stories each season leads me to think that Dexter will neatly escape suspicion (except maybe for Quinn) long before the next season starts.

Ironically, Dexter killing Arthur would logically work against him, since if Trinity were found dead or killed during capture, then there would be an easy explanation for why there was only one killing. The fact that Trinity is theoretically still out there and that there will be no more murders in this "cycle" might cause suspicion. But I doubt they'll go that route; this isn't really that kind of show.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

photoshopgrl said:


> Just when I thought the season finale was being tied with a nice little bow like all the rest, they go and blow my effing mind. Wow. Just wow.


Yeah my thoughts too. Was not ready for that.

You really figured one side would triumph over the other. Instead they both lost, or won.


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## Ekims (Oct 18, 2002)

I FRAKING LOVE this show!!! I am just blown away!


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

Someone here actually cheered because they did not like Rita.


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## sonnik (Jul 7, 2000)

One of the pre-airing reviews I read said the season finale was a "series changer". Initially, I was feeling let down, as I figured this may have referred to Debra finding out about Laura/Brian/Dexter.

It clicked with me as soon as I saw Dexter replying to the voicemail (...what was about to happen). 

I'd say the show delivered.

The alibi thing will be perhaps interesting (assuming the writers don't gloss over it.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

I had heard there was a major change, but they had me convinced it was Deb finding out, and how they'd work that next season, with Deb paying more attention to Dex. I definitely did not see that coming, at all. Crazy!

But great.


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## Cindy1230 (Oct 31, 2003)

Surprised no one has used this  yet. 
Wow.

When does the next season start? Next summer?


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## SNJpage1 (May 25, 2006)

I didnt think about the police still thinking Trinity is alive when I made the comment about Dexter being a prime suspect. It would clean things up knowing they can blame him. Especially since Dexter has the sample of his blood and could plant it. I was hoping he was going to lose his whole family with Rita walking out on him. Didnt think it would be this way. Next seasons going to be rough with him raising 3 kids.


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## tlc (May 30, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> On the other hand, a Trinity-style killing against the family of one of the cops who caught Trinity...


I don't know. Someone (especially Quinn who thinks Dexter is a cheater) could say that imitating a serial killer is a good way to cover up getting rid of your wife.

There's a small chance Dexter will choose to "clean up" Rita.

Dexter has to worry about running into Arthur's family at the station. ("Oh, Kyle!")

Can anyone see Dexter as a single dad?


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## EMoMoney (Oct 30, 2001)

The last 2 episodes were the best back to back setup and finale episodes I've seen since Life from last year.


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## pjenkins (Mar 8, 1999)

w

o

w


that was a great ending


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## retrodog (Feb 7, 2002)

Total BS ending. Not even close to reality... even in the Dexter universe.

The baby being left there in blood was preposterous. As if Trinity would have known that Dexter was left like that. Too much of a coincidence. Total BS. 

The show has now gotten to the point of where writers are just making crap up to shock the audience. I like surprises and this show is usually full of them, but this was just a total BS stunt by the writers. Entirely ridiculous. 

Secondly, and I don't want to let the BS ending of the show overshadow this point, Debra is ready for an acting award. This was the second time in just a few weeks that she gave one hell of a performance. When she was standing there telling Dexter that he made her a better person... very impressive. I have developed a whole new respect for her this season.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

retrodog said:


> Total BS ending. Not even close to reality... even in the Dexter universe.


I definitely agree. Personally for me the show has been slowly going downhill and with this ending I don't know if I will watch next season.


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## Cainebj (Nov 11, 2006)

oh c'mon reality smeality. i call it dramatic license.

now THAT was a plot twist i didn't see coming.
i actually gasped out loud when her phone rang in the house. :up:


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

I always thought Trinity was pretty suspicious of Dexter all along. 

I am sure he is capable of using Netscope and could have potentially found things out about Dexter. Who knows.. who cares... it is cool.

I am so over people wanting tv shows to be "realistic". Go back in time.

Entertainment is returning to an age of escapism and fantasy and reality in scripted shows is not a target for most creators.

Unless you want to debate the merits of the whole concept of Dexter in the first place and how he keeps showing off and competing with other serial killers...

You already bought the premise.. balking at it now because it is not "real" or "realistic" or "bs" seems disingenuous to me.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

I don't have a problem with suspending reality. For me I have just lost interest in the recent story lines. Ever since he got married and probably before that I started losing interest and fast forwarding through the show. I much preferred the first season or two where it was about Dexter and not him trying to juggle everything as much.


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## balboa dave (Jan 19, 2004)

retrodog said:


> Total BS ending. Not even close to reality... even in the Dexter universe.
> 
> The baby being left there in blood was preposterous. As if Trinity would have known that Dexter was left like that. Too much of a coincidence. Total BS.
> 
> The show has now gotten to the point of where writers are just making crap up to shock the audience. I like surprises and this show is usually full of them, but this was just a total BS stunt by the writers. Entirely ridiculous.


Yeah, Trinity couldn't possibly have noticed Deb's notes about her father and Dexter in her apartment when he was in there, could he? Damn those writers.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who was blindsided by that ending! I had a feeling something was going to happen about 'them' but never dreamed Trinity had killed her.

I have a feeling that the older 2 kids' grandparents will end up with them so it will just be Dexter and the little one.

The baby in the blood deal - well, the baby is usually where the mother is so I don't take anything from that. I think that was, in terms of the kill, coincidental to Dexter's erlier experience.

Still kind of in shock. wow, I wanted to divorce her...not kill her


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## spikedavis (Nov 23, 2003)

I'm thinking now of the first episode this season. The first scene was the bathtub murder. It bookended the last scene this year. Incredible television. This show is going into it's fifth season on an incredibly high note. Not many shows can make that claim.


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

sharkster said:


> I have a feeling that the older 2 kids' grandparents will end up with them so it will just be Dexter and the little one.


Me, too.
The whole Dexter/Harrison thing will mirror the Harry/Dexter thing. Dexter will be forever on the lookout for signs that Harrison is going bad.

Love that Rita is gone- I may have been the one you heard cheering.
And yes, Jennifer Carpenter knocked it out of the park, again. I am transfixed by her scenes with Hall- one would think there has to be crossover of emotion yet she seems to use it really well.

I found Trinity's release to be very welcome to him. I will see it again tonight with foreknowledge, but I think he was ready to be done.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

retrodog said:


> Total BS ending. Not even close to reality... even in the Dexter universe.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Agreed. Sigh.


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## Mr_Bester (Jan 27, 2007)

tlc said:


> ....
> 
> Dexter has to worry about running into Arthur's family at the station. ("Oh, Kyle!")
> 
> ...


that may be why they brought in the FBI to take care of things. The Mitchell family will likely not be giving any more statements or spending any more time at the miami metro police station.

And to the people whining about reality...even all of the precious "reality" shows are heavily scripted. A few "classic" tv shows that had no grounding in reality...Dick Van ****, I Love Lucy, Mission Impossible. And for movies, just check the last several hundred weekend top releases, Transformers, Harry Potter, in fact, the only movie from this past weekend that has any basis in reality is Invictus. I wonder if Clint Eastwood took any creative license with that story?


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Mr_Bester said:


> that may be why they brought in the FBI to take care of things.


Well, that, and if there ever was a Federal case this is it.

Why on Earth would the Miami PD be in charge of an investigation covering dozens of cities across the country? Once it's clear that there IS a Trinity Killer, it de facto becomes an FBI case.


Cearbhaill said:


> And yes, Jennifer Carpenter knocked it out of the park, again. I am transfixed by her scenes with Hall- one would think there has to be crossover of emotion yet she seems to use it really well.


It's never once occurred to me that they're married while watching the show...


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

davezatz said:


> Agreed. Sigh.


Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, and surely there are plenty "unrealistic" things about the show. But to choose _this_ bit seems silly to me. Why do we have to posit that Trinity knew that particular scene would have ANY extra resonance with Dexter at all? He kills young women in their bathtub by slicing their arteries and letting them bleed out. Well, that's going to be a lot of blood. He's been doing it for 30+ years; it's not like he changed his MO here in any way.

As for the baby, as someone else mentioned why wouldn't it be there? Trinity doesn't care about the baby. He may have felt that this would be the way it would have the most impact on Dexter, as a father and husband (seems perfectly logical to me). Or maybe that's just where the baby ended up and Trinity ignored it. We don't see exactly what happened so we can't know where Rita was taken or how. Trinity didn't even know, at that point, that Dexter was anything other than an overzealous vigilante.

If you're going to complain about anything in this scene the only thing that was really unrealistic to me was that the baby was not wailing at the top of its lungs from the moment Dexter walked through the door. But I'm OK with that


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

madscientist said:


> If you're going to complain about anything in this scene the only thing that was really unrealistic to me was that the baby was not wailing at the top of its lungs from the moment Dexter walked through the door. But I'm OK with that


I worried much more about Dexter tracking blood all over the house than I did about any realism. He should know better than anyone how difficult it is to clean up, but I suppose he has plenty of the really good super Blood-Be-Gone concentrate.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

I feel a little vindicated about what I said here regarding Beaudry and the police. Granted, the police did suspect Trinity of planting the evidence, so that's why I say "a little vindicated". But am I the only one that saw Dexter and Trinity in the police station talking?! Batista saw Dexter talking to _someone_ (Trinity had his back to Batista), and it almost looks like Trinity ACTUALLY WAVES to Quinn as he's walking out! As soon as Arthur had been identified as Trinity, why weren't they like: "Holy S***! He was just in our station!" I'll give the benefit of the doubt for Batista, but Quinn is an entirely different story. I thought the police were to have heightened powers of observation?


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

What a great and surprising end to a fantastic season! I totally did not see that last scene coming. My wife called it from the moment she heard Rita's message about taking a later flight, but I was in denial even after seeing Harrison sitting on the bloody floor. I kept thinking it would just be a fantasy sequence or something. But no. 

I wonder if Rita's character will be back next year? Harry's been gone since season one but is still an active part of the show. Maybe Rita will join him as a voice in Dexter's mind? I tend to think not, and that her time on the show is over. What a way to go!

Watching the penultimate scene, with Trinity trapped like a fly in Dexter's webbing, was awesome. But it was even better the second time around. We rewound to watch that scene again, after knowing that Trinity had killed Rita. The whole context of the scene changes with that knowledge and its really worth a repeated viewing. Lithgow said as much in the post-show wrap-up that immediately followed the episode, which is what prompted us to rewind and watch it again.

I wonder what, if anything, Trinity told Rita about Dexter before killing her?

The only thing that left me a bit befuddled was the timing of Trinity's killing of Rita. When exactly did he do that? Rita was supposed to leave in the morning, but missed the flight and so left sometime between the morning and the evening. Can't narrow it down more than that. At what point did Dexter get to the Mustang to remove the cap? He must have been following Trinity while Trinity was driving the whole time, because he was immediately there as soon as the car broke down. But Trinity had already killed Rita by that point. So Trinity got to Rita at some point before he got the Mustgang? I'm just having a tough time figuring out the timing of it.


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## Mr_Bester (Jan 27, 2007)

danterner said:


> What a great and surprising end to a fantastic season! I totally did not see that last scene coming. My wife called it from the moment she heard Rita's message about taking a later flight, but I was in denial even after seeing Harrison sitting on the bloody floor. I kept thinking it would just be a fantasy sequence or something. But no.
> 
> I wonder if Rita's character will be back next year? Harry's been gone since season one but is still an active part of the show. Maybe Rita will join him as a voice in Dexter's mind? I tend to think not, and that her time on the show is over. What a way to go!
> 
> ...


Trinity was most likely killing Rita while Dexter was messing with the mustang before Trinity picked it up from the body shop.


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## Cainebj (Nov 11, 2006)

danterner said:


> At what point did Dexter get to the Mustang to remove the cap? He must have been following Trinity while Trinity was driving the whole time


When the mustang was driving alone on the road - I assumed Dexter was in the trunk and that's still where I think he was


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

spikedavis said:


> I'm thinking now of the first episode this season. The first scene was the bathtub murder. It bookended the last scene this year. Incredible television. This show is going into it's fifth season on an incredibly high note. Not many shows can make that claim.


Another bookend: wasn't the location that Trinity's car broke down the same stretch of road that Dexter had has "fender-bender" on (when he fell asleep at the wheel)?


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## Carlucci (Jan 10, 2001)

madscientist said:


> surely there are plenty "unrealistic" things about the show.


I'll say! Did you see the size of Deb's bra on the floor of her apartment? Totally unrealistic!


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## spikedavis (Nov 23, 2003)

Carlucci said:


> I'll say! Did you see the size of Deb's bra on the floor of her apartment? Totally unrealistic!


:up:


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## retrodog (Feb 7, 2002)

marksman said:


> I always thought Trinity was pretty suspicious of Dexter all along.
> 
> I am sure he is capable of using Netscope and could have potentially found things out about Dexter. Who knows.. who cares... it is cool.
> 
> ...


So several of you are trying to make it sound like I've suddenly called upon the reality gods to damn this episode. I have not. I think, if you read my post carefully, I refer to reality in the Dexter universe. I have no problem with suspending reality of the real world, but when a show suspends its own level of reality just to shock the audience, that takes me out of the show and makes it all very apparent that it's just a show and nothing matters any longer.

The whole last scene was just too contrived to shock the audience. If you can't see that then you are ready for Kool-Aid. Forgive me for expecting them to stick with some degree of "Dexter universe reality".

Oh, and if Trinity had done it... I think he would have gloated a bit before dying. But they conveniently left that part out because they wanted to shock the audience. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid. 

ETA: In hindsight, I just wish John Lithgow's character had lived long enough to get a worthy name.


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## TAsunder (Aug 6, 2003)

So to be more realistic, the baby would have had to be in a crib in another room or dead I guess. That's the crux of your complaint I assume - that Trinity wouldn't have just left the baby nearby the mother?


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## tlc (May 30, 2002)

danterner said:


> I wonder if Rita's character will be back next year? Harry's been gone since season one but is still an active part of the show. Maybe Rita will join him as a voice in Dexter's mind? I tend to think not, and that her time on the show is over. What a way to go!


She could be the Angel on his shoulder to Harry's Devil. Too cheesy?



danterner said:


> I wonder what, if anything, Trinity told Rita about Dexter before killing her?


Exactly what I want to see D talk to Rita's ghost about.


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## retrodog (Feb 7, 2002)

TAsunder said:


> So to be more realistic, the baby would have had to be in a crib in another room or dead I guess. That's the crux of your complaint I assume - that Trinity wouldn't have just left the baby nearby the mother?


First off... the whole thing with him killing her was far fetched. Her return home to get ID and just happening to get caught. (reality check #1).

Secondly... the baby's positioning and sitting there in the blood was too staged (reality check #2)

Third... Trinity would have made some statement indicating something like this had happened. (reality check #3)

Fourth... Well there really is no forth but a guy named "Trinity" was killing four people so I figured I'd have a fourth statement.


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## jrinck (Nov 24, 2004)

HARRY: You know, Dex, if you report Rita's murder, people are going to think that's too much of a coincidence that she died like so many Trinity victims.
DEXTER: Who said I was going to report it? The last anyone knows, she left for the Keys. Maybe she instead left me for another man.
HARRY: But she left with Harrison...

DEXTER (solely to himself): Yes, how do I explain having Harrison and not having Rita?


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

retrodog said:


> So several of you are trying to make it sound like I've suddenly called upon the reality gods to damn this episode. I have not. I think, if you read my post carefully, I refer to reality in the Dexter universe. I have no problem with suspending reality of the real world, but when a show suspends its own level of reality just to shock the audience, that takes me out of the show and makes it all very apparent that it's just a show and nothing matters any longer.
> 
> The whole last scene was just too contrived to shock the audience. If you can't see that then you are ready for Kool-Aid. Forgive me for expecting them to stick with some degree of "Dexter universe reality".
> 
> ...


Well he was forshadowing it by saying "it's allready over, it's allready over", talking about Dexter's family life. We were to think he was talking about himself, but he was actually talking about Dexter.


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## retrodog (Feb 7, 2002)

vertigo235 said:


> Well he was forshadowing it by saying "it's allready over, it's allready over", talking about Dexter's family life. We were to think he was talking about himself, but he was actually talking about Dexter.


The problem with that is that he said it like he was giving up, not gloating. Another flaw, that I pointed out earlier, with the world of Dexter. And another example of how the writers are just doing it to mess with the viewer.


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## GDG76 (Oct 2, 2000)

vertigo235 said:


> Well he was forshadowing it by saying "it's allready over, it's allready over", talking about Dexter's family life. We were to think he was talking about himself, but he was actually talking about Dexter.


This was also foreshadowed in the season 3 finale when Dexter dripped blood onto Rita's wedding dress.

I liked the ending. I'm glad we won't have the whole marriage and kids angle next year (nannies ask a lot less questions than wives do..)

I also like that this reminds us again that "Dexter is not a good guy". They're kind of hitting us over the head with it now. He's killed an innocent man and was directly responsible for what happened in this episode.

Bad things happen all the time because of Dexter. This was the biggest gut punch to the audience because it's a character we know and some love (I mean, after all she did love Dexter like most of the audience does). Dexter has left a trail full of innocent victims (Doakes, the lady Prado killed, etc.) and it's like they are trying to piss off the audience who loves Dexter himself and make everyone realize that no matter how much we root for him, Dexter is still a villain who is just as bad as Trinity was... and just like Trinity, he dragged his family right into all of it..


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## retrodog (Feb 7, 2002)

jrinck said:


> HARRY: You know, Dex, if you report Rita's murder, people are going to think that's too much of a coincidence that she died like so many Trinity victims.
> DEXTER: Who said I was going to report it? The last anyone knows, she left for the Keys. Maybe she instead left me for another man.
> HARRY: But she left with Harrison...
> 
> DEXTER (solely to himself): Yes, how do I explain having Harrison and not having Rita?


Well in this new storyline that they've taken, while just pissing away all logic, I suppose that Dexter will just kill his own kid and toss him in the ocean.

Or maybe a wild pig came in before Dexter got home and the kid gets H1N1 and dies and then Dexter gets rid of him.

Or maybe the neighbor comes over and takes him. And they jump on a space ship and fly away to catch up with the ancient's ship and the SGU crew.

Now that they writers have thrown all reality and consistency out the window... possibilities are infinite. 

Oh, and I still want to point out here that I think Debra deserves an acting award. You go, girl!!! <snap>


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## GDG76 (Oct 2, 2000)

tlc said:


> Exactly what I want to see D talk to Rita's ghost about.


Except Dexter doesn't talk to ghosts. He talks to Harry, who is just a part of his personality burned into his brain as part of the code. The answers Harry gives him are what Dexter's mind thinks he would say. Closer to Jiminey Cricket than a ghost.

Any talk Dexter would have with "Rita" would just be a guess in his own mind.


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## GDG76 (Oct 2, 2000)

Something I'm sure we'll see next season - Dexter will surely rationalize that Harrison is much younger and won't be affected as he was (Dexter being 3 and all and no one under one being able to remember anything..)


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## TAsunder (Aug 6, 2003)

retrodog said:


> Third... Trinity would have made some statement indicating something like this had happened. (reality check #3)


What, you wanted him to write a letter or something? Or you wanted him to be less clever when on the table, about to die?


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## Sirius Black (Dec 26, 2001)

I haven't watched the episode yet. I just hope this means Julie Benz has found another job. TV without her is far less attractive. Perhaps as a new love interest for Booth on Bones. A dark temptress, if you will.


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## retrodog (Feb 7, 2002)

Sirius Black said:


> I haven't watched the episode yet. I just hope this means Julie Benz has found another job. TV without her is far less attractive. Perhaps as a new love interest for Booth on Bones. A dark temptress, if you will.


I hope not. I don't want to have to start watching that show.


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## retrodog (Feb 7, 2002)

TAsunder said:


> What, you wanted him to write a letter or something? Or you wanted him to be less clever when on the table, about to die?


B.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

I don't see Trinity as a gloater. When I re-watched Dexter's kill scene with Arthur, I got that it would have furthered his desire to release from his darkness to go ahead and die by not saying anything. Furthermore, it would have messed up what was supposed to happen (Dexter kills him, then goes home thinking everything is ok) and the complete shock of Dexter finding Rita dead in the bathtub. If anything, Trinity seemed really big on things happening the way they were supposed to (in his head) happen. 

If he had said something to Dexter about Rita, Dexter might have fled and it would have ultimately had much less impact than him going ahead & killing Arthur and going home to find his life in the manner that he THOUGHT he had accomplished, only to find that it was not - in the most profound way.

That's my take anyway. I don't have an issue with the less than realistic aspects of the episode/show. If I want total realism I go to the ID channel (which I do frequently) and watch true crime shows. I have a place for both - the suspense drama of Dexter, and the realism of real crime shows.

I was not at all disappointed and waiting for the next season is going to be particularly impatient for me. I can only hope that Michael C Hall grows his hair back out! That new hair deal where he was with Lithgow was freaking me out! I didn't even realize it was him at first. Loved the bit, though. Have to remember to go to the website & see the rest of that.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

TAsunder said:


> What, you wanted him to write a letter or something? Or you wanted him to be less clever when on the table, about to die?


Or you wanted him to TELL Dexter that he had just killed his wife? Why on earth would he do that, when it was a) already clear that Dexter was going to kill him and b) it was a HELL of a lot more shocking for Dexter to discover Rita himself.

When Trinity said "it's already over", I was wondering if he was referring to something else than his own death. Turns out he was. 

As someone pointed out, the main "unrealistic" thing was that Dex didn't hear baby Harrison crying as soon as he walked into the house. Everything else made perfect sense within the show as it is.

Awesome episode. Can't wait to see where they'll take us next.


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## MrGreg (May 2, 2003)

I'm wondering how much poo Dexter will be in over this, assuming he reports Rita's murder. Masuka and the neighbor can attest to the wife's affair, and they were in counseling, so there's potential motive. Plus Dex doesn't have an alibi for after the raid on trinity's house and had the recent hit-and-run altercation. Although the time of death on Rita may be early enough that Dex being at the raid is his alibi.

Even still, I'm sure the police will ask what Dex did today, and he's got a huge gap.


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## Sirius Black (Dec 26, 2001)

So next season Dexter will Harrison, Cody, and what's her name to look after. Three kids, single dad, seriel killer. Sounds more like a sitcom. Or did I miss something.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

I doubt Dexter will have a problem with Rita's death. They'll just say it was Trinity. Dexter's problems don't really tend to spill over between seasons.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Great season. A nice antidote to the last one, where I thought it got too sappy. But I'll miss Rita.


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## Mr_Bester (Jan 27, 2007)

retrodog said:


> ...
> 
> Third... Trinity would have made some statement indicating something like this had happened. (reality check #3)
> 
> ...


He did, Trinity told Dexter that Dex believed in heaven after Dexter said he didn't. Trinity was talking about Dexter's heaven of being with his family with his dark passenger controlled or gone. Trinity told Dexter he wasn't going to heaven...As in Dex's family is destroyed along with his "heaven".

If you rewatch just the kill room scene after seeing the ending, you can see Lithgow's reactions to Dexter's family talk and taming the monster inside as more of Trinity taunting Dex rather than accepting his own death.

I'd be shocked if Lithgow didn't get an emmy nom for this scene alone...


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## jrinck (Nov 24, 2004)

MrGreg said:


> I'm wondering how much poo Dexter will be in over this, assuming he reports Rita's murder. Masuka and the neighbor can attest to the wife's affair, and they were in counseling, so there's potential motive. Plus Dex doesn't have an alibi for after the raid on trinity's house and had the recent hit-and-run altercation. Although the time of death on Rita may be early enough that Dex being at the raid is his alibi.
> 
> Even still, I'm sure the police will ask what Dex did today, and he's got a huge gap.


*QUINN:* Yo, Dexter... don't you think it's mildly coincidental that you got arrested right outside of Trinity's bank moments after he withdrew his entire life's savings? 
*DEXTER:* And isn't it mildly coincidental that you were ****ing Trinity's daughter before, during, and after she killed an FBI agent?
*QUINN: * If you're saying I had anything to do with Lundy's death...
*DEXTER:* Are you saying I had anything to do with Trinity's death?
*QUINN: * Who said he was dead?


----------



## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

Mr_Bester said:


> If you rewatch just the kill room scene after seeing the ending, you can see Lithgow's reactions to Dexter's family talk and taming the monster inside as more of Trinity taunting Dex rather than accepting his own death.
> 
> I'd be shocked if Lithgow didn't get an emmy nom for this scene alone...


+1

I strongly encourage everyone to rewatch the kill-room scene. It plays a whole different way once you know Trinity, at that point, had killed Rita. The scene ends with Dexter killing Trinity, but it is Trinity who was actually in control of everything during the scene, despite being wrapped to the table. If you think he wasn't gloating about having killed Rita, watch again -- he was.


----------



## Shakhari (Jan 2, 2005)

It strikes me as strange that Trinity would choose to kill Rita in the bathtub. Yes, he was starting his cycle again, but the bathtub murder is supposed to be a younger girl. The mother murder is supposed to be a suicide.


----------



## Mr_Bester (Jan 27, 2007)

Shakhari said:


> It strikes me as strange that Trinity would choose to kill Rita in the bathtub. Yes, he was starting his cycle again, but the bathtub murder is supposed to be a younger girl. The mother murder is supposed to be a suicide.


Most people fall back on what is familiar when in a strange/new circumstance. He also bludgeoned the real kyle butler, but he didn't use a hammer, he used the floor. Not too far from his MO but Kyle wasn't a 40-50yr old male with kids.

He could have gone with the jumper victim with Rita, but there would be less of a personal impact on Dexter if he would have gotten a call that Rita had fallen to her death rather than personally finding her in a pool of blood.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

Shakhari said:


> It strikes me as strange that Trinity would choose to kill Rita in the bathtub. Yes, he was starting his cycle again, but the bathtub murder is supposed to be a younger girl. The mother murder is supposed to be a suicide.


His anger made him violate his own code.  He didn't really start a new cycle either, those started with kidnapping a young boy and burying him. He never managed to finish that part.


----------



## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Mr_Bester said:


> He could have gone with the jumper victim with Rita, but there would be less of a personal impact on Dexter if he would have gotten a call that Rita had fallen to her death rather than personally finding her in a pool of blood.


And he probably _couldn't _have gone the jumper route with Rita. I mean, how could he? He would have to either lure her to a high building or drag her there by force, in the middle of a massive manhunt, without a car. He probably just picked the murder style from his toolbag that best fit the circumstances he found himself in...woman (effectively) alone in house.


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## malayphred (Jan 29, 2007)

I hope it was a dream

How could they be so cruel?


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

malayphred said:


> I hope it was a dream
> 
> How could they be so cruel?


You're watching a show about a serial killer and you want it to be less cruel? hmmm


----------



## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

While it doesn't seem likely it will be brought up next season, if someone realized that they saw Trinity in the police station talking to Dexter it shouldn't hit Dexter too hard.

Trinity didn't get in by giving his name, so while he was wearing a visitor badge, he snuck in. He didn't ask for Dexter at the front desk either, he asked for Kyle. 

He wandered all around, looking at the boards, pictures, names, all without being accosted. The only person he does talk to is Dexter, who's wearing his name badge. The conversation wasn't heard by anyone, so Dexter will spin it as he sees fit.

Dexter's wife is killed, apparantly by Trinity, the next day. If Trinity were wanting to poke at the police dept after seeing the evidence they collected, going after the family of the guy who's badge he just saw isn't unreasonable.

The FBI will take the hit for not catching him. The assumption will be that with all his cash he fled town now that everyone was on to him and dissappeared. If he could hide for 30 years while commiting crimes he should be able to hide now if he stops.

The biggest loose end seems to be Arthur's family and the house building people. Dexter(Kyle) had Thanksgiving dinner with them, built houses with them. If his picture makes the paper as a grieving widower it's possible someone might mention it to the FBI.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

After enjoying Arthur's capture by the roadside, I started to get nervous when Dex went back home. I knew something more was in store, but that was a heartbreaker. 

I noticed that they had someone else as Rita's mom -- or was that her stepmother in the van with Grandpa?


----------



## tlc (May 30, 2002)

GDG76 said:


> Except Dexter doesn't talk to ghosts. He talks to Harry, who is just a part of his personality burned into his brain as part of the code. The answers Harry gives him are what Dexter's mind thinks he would say. Closer to Jiminey Cricket than a ghost.
> 
> Any talk Dexter would have with "Rita" would just be a guess in his own mind.


Wow, thanks for explaining that. Because I meant ghost completely literally.


----------



## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

getreal said:


> After enjoying Arthur's capture by the roadside, I started to get nervous when Dex went back home. I knew something more was in store, but that was a heartbreaker.
> 
> I noticed that they had someone else as Rita's mom -- or was that her stepmother in the van with Grandpa?


It was the kid's dad's parents, not her mom.


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## zuko3984 (May 4, 2002)

retrodog said:


> First off... the whole thing with him killing her was far fetched. Her return home to get ID and just happening to get caught. (reality check #1).


I didn't see it as any more far fetched then anything else that happens on this show or on almost any tv show. Trinity didn't know that Rita was going to be away. He found out where she lived and just broke into the house waiting for her to eventually come home. Sure her reason for coming home might be a convenient plot devices but it is no better or worse then what they have done through out the show or on almost every scripted show on tv.



retrodog said:


> Secondly... the baby's positioning and sitting there in the blood was too staged (reality check #2)


This was staged. Staged for the viewer as a symbolic element. It is meant for the viewer to be symbolic of dexter and how he and his son both being "born" in blood. Not everything has to be realistic, sometimes things are done for dramatic reason.



retrodog said:


> Third... Trinity would have made some statement indicating something like this had happened. (reality check #3)


And why would he say anything to Dexter about killing Rita. All that would get him might be a very painful and slow death. Trinity knew that Dexter would find out soon enough what he had done and knowing what Dexter would find at home was probably enough satisfaction for him, probably even more satisfying then actually telling him.


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## VegasVic (Nov 22, 2002)

I'm surprised Batista didn't remember seeing Trinity at the station. It appeared as if he looked right at him. Great ending though. I'll miss this show the next 9 months.


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## retrodog (Feb 7, 2002)

zuko3984 said:


> This was staged. Staged for the viewer as a symbolic element. It is meant for the viewer to be symbolic of dexter and how he and his son both being "born" in blood. Not everything has to be realistic, sometimes things are done for dramatic reason.
> 
> .


I wish you'd make up your mind if you agree or disagree with me, cause it really sounds like you're arguing *for* my point here.


----------



## malayphred (Jan 29, 2007)

photoshopgrl said:


> You're watching a show about a serial killer and you want it to be less cruel? hmmm


Well, if you want to say it like that


----------



## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

'Dexter' season finale hits network high

_"The brutal 'Dexter' closer drew 2.6 million viewers, ranking as the most-watched series episode ever on Showtime .... 'Dexter' was 54% higher than last year's finale."_


----------



## Barmat (Jun 1, 2001)

Wow, with ratings like that you think we'll have a fifth season?


----------



## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

It was renewed for a fifth season over a year ago (it was granted season 4 & 5 at the same time).


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

Salon column... http://www.salon.com/entertainment/dexter/index.html?story=/ent/tv/iltw/2009/12/14/dexter_finale

I just can't figure out what show she was watching...



> "Dexter" has always been a bleak show that still managed to balance its darkness with light -- and the light came mostly from Rita. Somehow, in spite of great flaws, Dexter managed to maintain a relationship with this little ray of sunshine. She was so cheerful, so hopeful, so effusive, trussed up in her flowery dresses, that she gave Dexter's whole life this surreal cast, like he went to sleep in hell and woke up over the rainbow.


Does this sound like the Rita we know?


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

MickeS said:


> Does this sound like the Rita we know?


Love is blind.

And deaf.

And really, really dumb.


----------



## Craigbob (Dec 2, 2006)

Wow! That was an ending I did not expect. I was never a Rita hater, but she wasn't my favorite character. 

IOW how Dexter is going to do raising 3 children alone. I wonder if the kids will go to the grandparents and Harrison with Dexter.


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## Sirius Black (Dec 26, 2001)

Craigbob said:


> Wow! That was an ending I did not expect. I was never a Rita hater, but she wasn't my favorite character.
> 
> IOW how Dexter is going to do raising 3 children alone. I wonder if the kids will go to the grandparents and Harrison with Dexter.


I thought Rita had severed ties with her mom. I can't remember ever meeting her Dad. Didn't she treat Dexter like crap the last time we saw her or are we talking about ex-hubby's parents, in this case?


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

Sirius Black said:


> I thought Rita had severed ties with her mom. I can't remember ever meeting her Dad. Didn't she treat Dexter like crap the last time we saw her or are we talking about ex-hubby's parents, in this case?


She didn't sever ties IIRC, but they were clearly not in a position to have a close relationship. She still wanted her children to have a relationship with her parents.

And yes, I do recall her treating Dexter like crap. I think there was some big argument or something, don't remember the details.


----------



## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Sirius Black said:


> I thought Rita had severed ties with her mom. I can't remember ever meeting her Dad. Didn't she treat Dexter like crap the last time we saw her or are we talking about ex-hubby's parents, in this case?


I had wondered the same thing.



Idearat said:


> It was the kid's dad's parents, not her mom.


I had not even thought about the bio-dad's parents. But that was obviously who took Cody and Astor ahead of Rita and Harrison.

I'll miss Rita.


----------



## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

I wonder if we'll ever learn about Rita's first marriage? The one Dexter found out about in the public records.


----------



## JoeTiVo (Jun 25, 2001)

Great... Wrap up a great season to record high ratings and then loose the showrunner. This could mean any of the 'implied' details could all be different next year, no matter what Phillips has said in interviews.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

JoeTiVo said:


> Great... Wrap up a great season to record high ratings and then lose the showrunner. This could mean any of the 'implied' details could all be different next year, no matter what Phillips has said in interviews.


On the other hand, Dexter has depended so little on season-to-season continuity it shouldn't be a major blow, as long as the new guy is paying attention and respects the material. It's not as if there's some big ongoing storyline that he could screw up. It's always been a show that could go in pretty much any direction in the new season. And even Phillips, in his Ausiello interview, admitted he didn't know where he was planning to go next.


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## sonnik (Jul 7, 2000)

JoeTiVo said:


> Great... Wrap up a great season to record high ratings and then loose the showrunner. This could mean any of the 'implied' details could all be different next year, no matter what Phillips has said in interviews.


Phillips has been with the show since the start, but he hasn't been the the showrunner since the start, IIRC. I just watched some first/second season episodes recently - you'll notice how much the production credits have changed.

While it's possible the new guy (coming from _24_) may make things worse, he may actually bring new creative elements as well. (I'm just hoping it's not a clock or split screens of action going down in two different places).


----------



## net114 (Dec 29, 2000)

TAsunder said:


> So to be more realistic, the baby would have had to be in a crib in another room or dead I guess. That's the crux of your complaint I assume - that Trinity wouldn't have just left the baby nearby the mother?


Yeh, I just remembered that the other bathtub killing they showed Dexter talked about how it was all cleaned up. The only other explanation was that Trinity saw something in Deb's apartment like stated earlier and decided to pay back Dexter. But still, even that doesn't really fit Arthur's M.O.


----------



## Test (Dec 8, 2004)

Anyone think they'll pull something like Desperate Housewives did? Push everything 5+ years ahead for next season, this way Dexter deals with a toddler-teen (depending how far they go) instead of another baby season this time him being a single dad.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

Test said:


> Anyone think they'll pull something like Desperate Housewives did? Push everything 5+ years ahead for next season, this way Dexter deals with a toddler-teen (depending how far they go) instead of another baby season this time him being a single dad.


I could easily see them do something like that. I wouldn't really mind either.


----------



## Johnny Dancing (Sep 3, 2000)

retrodog said:


> Total BS ending. Not even close to reality... even in the Dexter universe.
> 
> The baby being left there in blood was preposterous. As if Trinity would have known that Dexter was left like that. Too much of a coincidence. Total BS.
> 
> ...


Agreed, I hate shock endings that for the sake of shock endings. The baby in the blood was over the top. One positive, they got rid of the most annoying character ever, Rita, since Dexter couldn't do it I guess they needed to bring in a guest serial killer.

The whole dragging out killing Trinity and blocking the cops from catching him went against everything that Dexter was about. He is just another serial killer now as innocent people are dieing because of his drastic change away from his code. For the first time ever I wouldn't have been disappointed if Dexter got caught. The weirdness of pulling for a serial killer was the main draw of the show for me and now they lost that.

It looks like Quinn is set to be the main antagonist next year, but his skeletons in the closet will surface at the end so Dex can pull another rabbit out of his hat.


----------



## Hunter Green (Feb 22, 2002)

I thought it was very sweet of Dexter to put the trains and the music into Trinity's death scene. That, somehow, made the shocker even more shocking, even more of a betrayal. I can't rationally explain why in a way that doesn't fall apart if you look more closely at it, but there it is.

Dexter spent half the season not killing Trinity because he wanted Trinity to help him solve the problem of how to unify the family-man Dexter with the Dark-Passenger Dexter. I suppose you could say Trinity did, in the end, solve that problem for him. At least partially.


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## goblue97 (May 12, 2005)

sonnik said:


> While it's possible the new guy (coming from _24_) may make things worse, he may actually bring new creative elements as well. (I'm just hoping it's not a clock or split screens of action going down in two different places).


Please say it ain't so. I don't want Dexter to turn into 24.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

goblue97 said:


> Please say it ain't so. I don't want Dexter to turn into 24.


They do have the logistics in common already though. I believe Dexter uses the Jack Bauer method of traveling, where he can move from one end of the city to the other (and out to sea!) in just minutes.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

MickeS said:


> They do have the logistics in common already though. I believe Dexter uses the Jack Bauer method of traveling, where he can move from one end of the city to the other (and out to sea!) in just minutes.


Blame Gene Roddenberry, who invented the mode of transport so many TV show characters obviously use!


----------



## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

Hunter Green said:


> I thought it was very sweet of Dexter to put the trains and the music into Trinity's death scene. That, somehow, made the shocker even more shocking, even more of a betrayal. I can't rationally explain why in a way that doesn't fall apart if you look more closely at it, but there it is.


It was a nice touch, I agree. I'm not sure if Dexter intentionally put them in the kill room or if they just happened to still be there -- wasn't Dexter using the same bomb-shelter Trinity had used when holding the kidnapped boy?


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Arthur's first words in Episode 01 of this season, as he is holding his victim in the tub: "It's already over". And the same phrase were also among his last words in the last episode. We thought he was referring to his own fate, but he was speaking cryptically to Dexter about Rita.

I love this show.


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

getreal said:


> Arthur's first words in Episode 01 of this season, as he is holding his victim in the tub: "It's already over". And the same phrase were also among his last words in the last episode. We thought he was referring to his own fate, but he was speaking cryptically to Dexter about Rita.
> 
> I love this show.


awesome!

At some point in this season, did Dexter have a dream or daydream or vision of his son in the blood like the final scene?

I somewhat remember it, but my wife does.

if so, any idea what ep and/or where?


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## NatasNJ (Jan 7, 2002)

What I find odd...

Trinity had a ritual to all of his killings. Boy, Tub, Fall, Beating. He repeated this cycle several times and ashes of his sister were always involved. He even was shown having tea before his kills, etc... 

Well granted towards the end the FUZZ was onto him and he was out of ashes but he seemed to just go way off the cuff towards the end which seemed a tad weird. Not saying it was unrealistic but it seemed like his total MO changed on a dime. Just weird.


----------



## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

NatasNJ said:


> What I find odd...
> 
> Trinity had a ritual to all of his killings. Boy, Tub, Fall, Beating. He repeated this cycle several times and ashes of his sister were always involved. He even was shown having tea before his kills, etc...
> 
> Well granted towards the end the FUZZ was onto him and he was out of ashes but he seemed to just go way off the cuff towards the end which seemed a tad weird. Not saying it was unrealistic but it seemed like his total MO changed on a dime. Just weird.


I think he had it planned out, tried to kill himself (The end of him/ritual) so he is out of the pattern now to some extent, but kept trying to do it and got stopped by Dexter


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

NatasNJ said:


> What I find odd...
> 
> Trinity had a ritual to all of his killings. Boy, Tub, Fall, Beating. He repeated this cycle several times and ashes of his sister were always involved. He even was shown having tea before his kills, etc...
> 
> Well granted towards the end the FUZZ was onto him and he was out of ashes but he seemed to just go way off the cuff towards the end which seemed a tad weird. Not saying it was unrealistic but it seemed like his total MO changed on a dime. Just weird.


All I can recommend is to check out this clip of Lithgow and Hall discussing the finale.

They talk about how these two serial killers mess up each other's MOs and they both get sloppy. That's where I made the observation about "it's already over". Very fascinating.


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## goblue97 (May 12, 2005)

MickeS said:


> They do have the logistics in common already though. I believe Dexter uses the Jack Bauer method of traveling, where he can move from one end of the city to the other (and out to sea!) in just minutes.


The other thing that bothered me about 24 was that I had heard an interview with one of the writers/creators that said they made up the story as they went. During the season even. For some reason that really bothered me.


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## spikedavis (Nov 23, 2003)

goblue97 said:


> The other thing that bothered me about 24 was that I had heard an interview with one of the writers/creators that said they made up the story as they went. During the season even. For some reason that really bothered me.


I hate to break it to you but that's how most TV writing is. That's the nature of the work. They get paid per episode-they don't cram out the scripts ahead of time. On some shows like LOST they know WHERE they're going but they fill in the blanks on the fly, but that's more the exception to the rule.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

spikedavis said:


> I hate to break it to you but that's how most TV writing is. That's the nature of the work. They get paid per episode-they don't cram out the scripts ahead of time. On some shows like LOST they know WHERE they're going but they fill in the blanks on the fly, but that's more the exception to the rule.


Writing the scripts week to week is one thing. But on a show like 24, they really owe it to the audience...and to their actors...to at least know what the end of the story they're telling will be, so the villain, e.g., will know that he's the villain and be able to act accordingly. (I remember the season where they decided who the Big Bad was halfway through the season, much to the surprise and chagrin of the actor playing him, who said he wished he had had the opportunity to play the first half of the season in a way consistent with who he turned out to be.)


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## sonnik (Jul 7, 2000)

goblue97 said:


> The other thing that bothered me about 24 was that I had heard an interview with one of the writers/creators that said they made up the story as they went. During the season even. For some reason that really bothered me.


A standard season of Dexter is what... 12 or 13 episodes? It's probably easier to come up with a general story arc with twists, split it into 12 or 13 segments - then pad those into near-60 minute episodes. (This works well with filming schedule probably also).

24, however is 24 episodes. Filming on the season finale generally hasn't started until mid-season, from what I've read. By the time they've padded, they probably realize they have too much boring crap at the end, and have to keep adding new elements just to make it to the last episode of the season.

I think Dexter's creative team does a much better job of introducing elements and building up to a good finale.


----------



## goblue97 (May 12, 2005)

spikedavis said:


> I hate to break it to you but that's how most TV writing is. That's the nature of the work. They get paid per episode-they don't cram out the scripts ahead of time. On some shows like LOST they know WHERE they're going but they fill in the blanks on the fly, but that's more the exception to the rule.


Maybe that is the case but I'm thinking of a show like the Wire where they had several seasons and had an outline from the first episode all the way until the last.


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## Hunter Green (Feb 22, 2002)

danterner said:


> It was a nice touch, I agree. I'm not sure if Dexter intentionally put them in the kill room or if they just happened to still be there -- wasn't Dexter using the same bomb-shelter Trinity had used when holding the kidnapped boy?


Dexter has been sloppy this year, but I doubt those things just happened to be there. If it was because of the spot he chose, he chose it on purpose. But even if they did, he intentionally turned the train on and put the record on.


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## FilmCritic3000 (Oct 29, 2004)

goblue97 said:


> Please say it ain't so. I don't want Dexter to turn into 24.


He was also the showrunner for _The X-Files_ creator Chris Carter's spinoff series, _Millennium_. It's currently reairing on NBC Universal's horror/suspense channel Chiller.

Here's the filmography of Chip Johannessen, the new showrunner for _Dexter_.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0423715/

All that said, holy f***, what an ending! Even though someone I spoke to recently almost spoiled it.

And I have to totally concur. I think next season will be Dex playing the doting single father to Astor, Cody, and little Harrison, while Deb begins to look at Dexter in a slightly different light, i.e. the wheels start to turn in her head.

Or they could go in an entirely different direction; we'll see what the writing staff and the new showrunner have in store for us.

Do we really have to wait until next autumn, for crying out loud, for Season Five?!


----------



## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

FilmCritic3000 said:


> I think next season will be Dex playing the doting single father to Astor, Cody, and little Harrison, while Deb begins to look at Dexter in a slightly different light, i.e. the wheels start to turn in her head.


I think they addressed Deb's attitude after the revelation about Dex's past. She totally looks up to him as an inspiration and as a positive force in her life. And she liked Rita, so in light of Dex's tragedy, I see her as only being supportive and protective of him. They've all been victimized in her immediate family circle and that would only make them closer. I don't foresee suspicions cast by Deb upon Dex.

But that's just me. Your views may vary.


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## FilmCritic3000 (Oct 29, 2004)

getreal said:


> I think they addressed Deb's attitude after the revelation about Dex's past. She totally looks up to him as an inspiration and as a positive force in her life. And she liked Rita, so in light of Dex's tragedy, I see her as only being supportive and protective of him. They've all been victimized in her immediate family circle and that would only make them closer. I don't foresee suspicions cast by Deb upon Dex.
> 
> But that's just me. Your views may vary.


I concur. I never said she'd be judgemental or anything, just that I think Season Five will be the season in which Deb finds out about Dexter's Dark Passenger.


----------



## Magnolia88 (Jul 1, 2005)

I never liked Rita, but wow.  I really didn't think they'd go there.



FilmCritic3000 said:


> And I have to totally concur. I think next season will be Dex playing the doting single father to Astor, Cody, and little Harrison, while Deb begins to look at Dexter in a slightly different light, i.e. the wheels start to turn in her head.


I'm curious why people think Dexter will end up raising Astor and Cody.

Courts tend to favor biological relatives in these situations, strongly. The only way they would end up with him is if both Paul's parents _and_ Rita's mom agree to give up their custodial rights to him (or he fights them in court, and a court actually chooses him as the most fit parent, which seems hard to fathom). Given how much Rita's mom seemed to hate him, that seems unlikely that she'd just say "keep 'em, they're yours." And Paul's parents obviously maintained a relationship with them, and Paul could have siblings too that might want custody. Is Dexter going to fight to keep them? Seems unlikely to me. He still has Harrison to raise, and that will be hard enough as a single dad living the serial killer lifestyle.

Dexter might have a chance at keeping custody if he and Rita had been married many years, but they weren't, and Astor and Cody thought of him as "dad" and called him "dad" but they didn't. And there was never any mention or suggestion that he had any intention of adopting them.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

Did Dexter legally adopt Astor and Cody? I honestly can't remember but when it came to Rita and the kids, I confess I often spaced. 

And I totally agree about not liking her but not expecting in a million years they'd actually kill her.


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## Magnolia88 (Jul 1, 2005)

photoshopgrl said:


> Did Dexter legally adopt Astor and Cody? I honestly can't remember but when it came to Rita and the kids, I confess I often spaced.


Afaik, the word "adoption" was never mentioned even once. (Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but if they talked about it, it was brief.)

That would have been a significant development had Rita wanted Dexter to adopt them, and had he agreed. There would have been papers to file, visits by a social worker, questions to the kids about their relationship with him, court dates, etc. All things Dexter would probably want to avoid, as he wanted to avoid most things that involved him talking about "feelings" and stuff. And they called him "Dexter" not "Dad."


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

I think (hope) that the writers take this chance and write Astor and Cody out of the series.


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## Craigbob (Dec 2, 2006)

MickeS said:


> I think (hope) that the writers take this chance and write Astor and Cody out of the series.


I hope the writers take this chance to put their characters more in line with the books interpretation of them.


----------



## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

Finally caught up with the last few eps this weekend.



billboard_NE said:


> I feel like I have been hit in the head with a framing hammer!!!


Second post nailed it! I did not see that coming. I think my heart dropped at the same time Dexter's did, when Rita's phone rang in the house. Up until that point I thought I would end the season feeling relieved and happy for Dexter. Even after the phone rang most of my mind was fighting against the inevitable with "surely not"!

Since I don't follow these threads, or any other, I didn't know there was a lot of Rita hate out there. I liked her and the kids. Poor poor Dex. And he's left with no one to hunt down in vengeance.

The writers have created quite a mess here. I see the show unraveling from this point. I think they made a huge mistake. Dex will go darker and travel the same ground he traveled the first couple of seasons. Probably even more frenetically. But, what's the point? There are no happy endings in Dexter's world. No God, no heaven, no redemption. No Rita.

It'll be Dex and his sis in the final scene of the series when they have nothing left but each other. "F***! We're a couple of f***ed up f*** heads, huh Dex?" "Yeah. I guess we are, Deb." The End.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

Michael C. Hall says he's being treated for cancer

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100113...Ec2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbWljaGFlbGNoYWxs



> "Dexter" star Michael C. Hall is undergoing treatment for cancer and the disease is in remission, a spokesman said.
> 
> "I feel fortunate to have been diagnosed with an imminently treatable and curable condition, and I thank my doctors and nurses for their expertise and care," Hall, 38, said Wednesday in a statement.
> 
> ...


Best of luck to him for a full recovery.


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

I was shocked at the ending. As Dexter checked his VM I thought it might be an arc for next seasons - what's happened to Rita? But when the baby cried it all fell into place deliciously. This show is awesome.

The only thing that jumped out at me is that Quinn's girlfriend/Trinity's daughter had to be 40 or more, and she looked nowhere near that old.


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

Craigbob said:


> I hope the writers take this chance to put their characters more in line with the books interpretation of them.


How are Astor and Cody different in the books?


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## Craigbob (Dec 2, 2006)

robojerk said:


> How are Astor and Cody different in the books?


Well the main thing is,


Spoiler



Cody also has a dark passenger and Dexter realizes this and teaches them. They also know about him and his hobby. In later books Astor also has dark tendencies.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Craigbob said:


> Well the main thing is,
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


Really?


Spoiler



Perhaps the murder of their mother might act as a catalyst. Or do the books keep this trait alive, along with Rita?


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## DVDivo Tim (Nov 27, 2003)

nataylor said:


> Michael C. Hall says he's being treated for cancer


That definitely explains why he was more or less bald in the online featurette with him and John Lithgow.


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## Craigbob (Dec 2, 2006)

getreal said:


> Really?
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


I the books they are like that from the beginning and and Rita


Spoiler



is still alive.


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

...late to the conversation...

I only just finished the finale and I have to agree with Retrodog. Something about the 'shocking ending' didn't seem right to me. The writers were clever about it (bookending first and last episode images/phrases and all)... but it all seemed _too_ clever to me. Why would Trinity apply the bathtub technique in this particular case? And why stray so far from his MO? Seemed like a stretch.

But I'll probably watch the next season when it's out on VOD.


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

Trinity killed Rita in his style so Dexter would know it was him and not some random home invasion. Also, Trinity didn't know how Dexter was discovered as a child. Harry sitting in the pool of blood was just happenstance.


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Yeah, I get all that. I'm just saying... my first reaction was that something didn't seem right about it. That's all.

On a side note, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who isn't really sorry to see Rita gone. Her character annoyed me.


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

That's should have been the best part of the episode, but the awesomeness of the storyline almost made me forget. Hopefully Cody and Astor go off to the grandparents as well.

Unfortunately, we'll probably be saddled with Rita's ghost next year.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

IndyJones1023 said:


> Trinity killed Rita in his style so Dexter would know it was him and not some random home invasion. Also, Trinity didn't know how Dexter was discovered as a child. Harry sitting in the pool of blood was just happenstance.


I think that Trinity did learn about Dexter's past when he broke into the messy apartment of "D. Morgan" _(Deb took over Dex's old place)_ and found that she was his sister and found the file where she was looking into Harry's past affairs with CIs. Trinity could have read the recent file and Deb's notes about Laura Moser and her gruesome end, and the subsequent discovery of baby Dexter sitting in a large pool of her blood.


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## lordargent (Nov 12, 2002)

retrodog said:


> Oh, and if Trinity had done it... I think he would have gloated a bit before dying.


He's not an open gloater like that.

From the outside, he maintains a perfect family image.

He murders for a few decades, and the FBI didn't even think he existed.

The only sign of himself he left at his murders was some of his sisters ashes.

Not the type that gloats.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Just got to this last ep today and I concur with those whose jaw dropped at the ending. Don't understand the criticism at all. I particularly liked the mis-direct when Lithgow was in Deb's house pissed it wasn't Dexter's. That made the ending even more dramatic.


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

Rita is back!!










On Desperate Housewives...and she looks as good as evah!!


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

I never found her attractive in _Dexter_ nor _Rambo_. But I saw her in person and she's stunning. Especially since she got the girls upgraded!


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

IndyJones1023 said:


> I never found her attractive in _Dexter_ nor _Rambo_. But I saw her in person and she's stunning. Especially since she got the girls upgraded!


 What sort of unearthly standards of beauty do you go by?!! 
I know ... beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


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## Tracy (Mar 12, 2000)

I came late to the Dexter party and my husband I just watched the last two seasons in about 3 weeks. Saw the finale last night.

I'm not particularly sad to see the Rita character go. I was feeling trapped in that marriage, just as Dexter was. I found her sort of boring and self-righteous and am sorry he won't have a chance to confront her about that first marriage mystery, especially when she was being so snotty about him having lied about the apartment.

One thing that was a jolt this season was the Batista/LaGuarta relationship and marriage. We were fresh from watching the previous season where we were so happy to see Angel in the relationship with that vice cop that dismissing it so summarily was hard to take, even though about 9 months had passed between seasons.

I just love Debra. I think the actress is so good and her character is so real. I totally didn't see the Lundy death coming. Loved the twist with Christine being the killer. Shocked by her suicide.

The other big thing that really bothered me about the show this season is the way Dexter really drifted from his M.O. throughout. He always killed people who had slipped through the system. But this season he kept trying to thwart the cops...and Debra....so that he could kill the victims first. Not just Trinity, but also that photographer guy. I don't get it.

About that spoiler above about Cody and Aster in the books....I'm glad that they haven't gone there in the series. It seems sort of far-fetched.

Can't wait for next season!


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