I have zero expectation it will happen, but that is the Dexter equiv of the formulaic good feeling ending.

I have to credit this idea to my brother, but I think it's a pretty good one:

Dexter will be arrested (at least investigated, probably by Quinn) for Rita's murder. They'll say he staged it to look like Trinity.

The motive will be jealousy. As evidence, there will be him punching out the neighbour, Masuka seeing the kiss, Dexter's recent erratic behavior, including the hit and run and fight with a cop. Possibly Trinity's family will recognize him as "Kyle Butler" and having been hanging around.

Also very possible the Trinity planted some evidence, just as Dexter did with the faux-Trinity.

That's actually not bad at all. Aside from the arrest, which I could see happening at the end of the season, hopefully not in the season premier though. But all the rest could of that could make for a fun season of suspicion and him trying to cover. That might take away his murdering though.

I know every body wants to see Dexter actually killing people, but if you think back during all the seasons him killing the people actually doesnt provide very much suspense.

I would much rather have things happening that provide drama and suspense then him going around killing one person after another. Thats what made Dexter great at first, but its moving in different directions

What do people do on Sunday nights when Dexter isn't on?

i mean besides the mind blowing "WTF" when Rita was killed, the finale really sucked.

the ease at which he was able to capture Trinity each time was just ridiculous, and the last one, with such little explanation around how he got either into his car or tailed him using the auto body receipt felt like the directors were like "**** we got 6 minutes left in the finale and we haven't even killed trinity yet, ok, let's just rush it so we can get to the rita mind**** scene"

whatever, a lot of suspense for nothing, i had a feeling he was going to go after Dexter's family, either Deb or Rita and the kids, but once he got them out of town I figured it wasn't going to happen. pretty sick and twisted final 3 minutes of the show, left me satisfied but devastated at the same time

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/...-talks-finale/

EW: What was your first reaction when you learned that Rita [Julie Benz] would be killed in the finale?

MH: I knew what was going to happen probably three or four weeks before it happened. As far as the how, that was much closer to the day of. I thought it was brilliant. I was really proud of the writers, and the network, for not backing away from so bold a step. It really propels us forward in a way that we wouldn’t have enjoyed otherwise. And what it could mean for the character is really wide open.

EW: This twist does open all sorts of possibilities. Will Dexter raise his son as a single dad? And just as he was showing signs of real humanity, does he now turn even darker?

MH: Does he shut the door on that? Is he like, “Well, it bit me in the a–. My father was right”? And if that’s the conclusion, what does that mean? I don’t necessarily mean to say that that will be the conclusion. It remains to be seen. It’s a difficult thing to wrap your imagination and mind around a trauma that severe. I don’t know what it’s going to do to the guy.

EW: What was it like to film the bathroom scene in which Dexter discovers Rita in the tub with Harrison nearby?

MH: It was tough. The fact is when you watch it, it’s sort of lyrical slo-mo, but the actual shooting of it was much more frantic and to the point. Coming in, seeing this baby in the blood, turning my head, seeing Rita there, realizing what’s happened, picking up the baby, leaving the room — it happened much more quickly than [how] the scene plays. But it was horrifying. It’s the kind of thing that only in its aftermath can you begin to deal with. In one way or another, Dexter will be reeling from it for a long time to come. But Julie in that tub was just heartbreaking — and the baby on the floor. It was very somber. And also very secretive. Some of the people on set had just gotten pages. So I think everyone was quietly in a private way processing what we were shooting, what this meant for the show, what this meant for Julie.

EW: Executive producer Clyde Phillips said that Julie was “greatly disappointed” to learn the fate of her character. Did you and Julie talk about that?

MH: We talked about her sadness at leaving, but when it came to the scenes, we knew we had a story to tell and we also didn’t want to do anything to telegraph it — not that you possibly could. I think it was beyond Dexter’s imagination that such a thing could happen. The last scene we shot together was the scene where Dexter tells Rita that he wants to believe that he can be his own master and be a master of his compulsion, so it felt like an appropriate way to say goodbye to that relationship…. [Julie] was really sacrificing her job for the story telling vitality of the show. I must say, my first reaction [to the big twist] was about Julie: “What is our family going to be like without her?” From a story telling standpoint it was a really bold idea, but as far as losing her as a member of ensemble, it was a blow for all of us.


EW: In that last conversation between Dexter and Rita, Dexter seemed as human as we’ve seen him.

MH: Had this season not ended the way it ended, there’s almost a sense that Dexter is entertaining the thought that maybe he’s going to get this out of his system. That if he kills Trinity, who’s left to kill? I think he’s entertaining the notion that maybe he’s done. [But] with this season ending the way it ends — and Dexter experiencing this appetite for vengeance that he can’t satiate — all bets are off on that front.

EW: What sticks out to you about the scene in which Dexter finally kills Trinity?

MH: It’s a scene that John [Lithgow] and I pretty much knew was coming. We definitely didn’t want the scene in any way to telegraph what Dexter would ultimately discover. We certainly wanted it to be unique among the kills. On the one hand Dexter is killing the most formidable target he’s ever come against, and there’s a sense of victory and pride that goes along with that. And yet while there’s a real repulsion to the Trinity Killer, there’s a simultaneous attraction and appetite for connection that goes throughout their relationship and maybe comes to a head when Dexter tries to get some counsel from him that he can’t receive from anyone else about how to move forward with his life. And just the twisted, everything-turned-on-its-head nature of that kind of plea in the midst of a scene where he’s going to take a hammer claw to the guy’s head was delicious. We tried to navigate all those twists and turns, and have the malice definitely there but not give short shrift to the real appetite for connection and counsel that was alive in Dexter. And of course for John it was the way he played what is revealed to be a double meaning through a lot of what he’s saying to Dexter was really fun for him, and obviously tremendously effective in his hands.

EW: What did you like most about the Trinity-Dexter relationship?

MH: Certainly the Trinity killer storyline went a long way in creating a sense of intrigue. He was without question the most formidable foe or target that Dexter had ever encountered, so that vitalized Dexter’s fundamental need to kill… I loved the levels of it — the subtextual levels, the fact that Dexter was presenting himself as something other than who he actually is, with the full knowledge that the Trinity Killer was doing the same, and yet there were still so many secrets for Dexter to uncover about Trinity. There were always things to be learned and these layers of intrigue beneath the surface. John and I had such a great time playing those scenes. He’s just so incredibly talented, nuanced in his work, intelligent, and he brings such a genuine sense of play to the table. I think he had a blast doing the show and really infected all of us with a sense of play and enthusiasm.

EW: Looking back at the season, what was your favorite scene?

MH: That’s a tough one… but that Thanksgiving episode was like the worst Thanksgiving ever captured on film. And it went horribly wrong [so] quickly. Obviously the son’s finger was broken and the daughter had hit on Dexter and the mother had been okay with it. A lot of seeds were planted. When we sat at that table and he said, “Shut up, c—,” to his wife — I mean, within thirty seconds I’ve got him on the floor with a knife saying, “I should have f—ing killed you when I had the chance!” That was a lot of fun. As far as the giddy laughter goes, it was probably higher that day than ever. We were just like, “This is so insane!” We had a really good time that day.

EW: How many more seasons of Dexter can there be?

MH: We’re definitely going to do one more — beyond that, I don’t know. This show is as popular as it’s ever been and I’m sure there’s a desire on the network’s part to keep that ball rolling, but I take these things one episode at a time…. This thing can’t go on indefinitely, and yet it’s gone on in ways that I never could have imagined, so I would like to believe that it can continue.

yep

that mch quote is like an unneeded monologue on the show. that was clearly a major point of the scene with rita on the bed and then her murder.

your "I wouldn't be surprised" sentence - is that what you felt before or after rita's murder? i don't think it really makes sense either way.

and re: harry being the dark passenger/the urge to kill. lots of harry's advice involves not ruining innocent peoples' lives (dexter's family). also, stuff like "do you even have a plan?" doesn't fit either. would the dark passenger really care that he had no plan?

How in the world after four seasons of rampant murder in Miami has Laguerta's department not had any contact with this crew?;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sarYH0z948

rewatching the old seasons and i really forgot how awesome doakes was, his interactions with dexter were great...its a shame we've lost so many good characters and are stuck with a bunch of worthless annoying ones

obviously quite a few of the deaths were necessary (ice truck killer, doakes, trinity) but i can't let them off the hook with lundy...actually they should have kept the ice truck killer alive and had dexter kill deb at the end of season 1

Nah, this would be a much cooler crossover:

before, when he told her hed meet her in their honey moon

qft

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic4F7_fMhcI

i was thinking the exact same thing, watched a few random s1 episodes, Doakes was awesome, always loved it when he called Dexter a psycho, etc

yeah i was really pissed when doakes went

I think the writers regret killing off Doakes too - It looks like they're turning Quinn into Doakes V2.0.

This is unfortunate. Doakes was far more badass than Quinn in so many ways. Unless the writers can show Quinn to have more mental abilities than he has shown so far he is severely lacking. Doakes would have never allowed himself to get involved with the reporter of last season.

I am pretty sure anyone with a penis would get involved with her.

Banging her is one thing. Continuing to see her after she reveals her psycho, clingy nature is another.

Next season should be fun with Quinn delving deeper into Dexter's dark world, while at the same time revealing more of his slimy rat self; thus preventing himself from making any sort of serious play against Dexter -- banging Deb will only complicate matters. And now that we have some serious lovemaking going on between the Cubans, one of them can get offed in hopes of evoking a tear or two from the bean crowd.

Season 5 has to be a Deb vs Dexter showdown because that is what everybody wants to see. I feel like all of the seasons set up for it and we know from experience that the show is at its best when Dexter is in trouble and especially when his back is against the wall. Deb investigating Dexter is gonna be much more interesting than Quinn doing it.

Is it just me or is Deb the most intolerable character on TV? Why is she on the verge of tears when she delivers 60% of her lines?

It's just you, no one shares your opinion of Deb.

To be fair to her character, the writers have definitely dealt her crappy events since the series began.