So, I've watched the first four seasons of Dexter on Netflix...

[Caligula]

...and I am looking to get a second, third, fourth (et cetera, et cetera) opinion from those who have watched the entire series as to whether or not I should seek out Seasons 5, 6, 7 and 8. Sadly, they are not currently available on Netflix. I've heard nothing but awful things about Season 8, and the finale in particular, so that does concern me.

I have become a huge fan of all the first four seasons. I plan to get my own copies of each soon. I'm just wondering, should I leave it on that unforgettable final moment of "The Getaway" (one of my favorite episodes, which I think could actually work as a series finale), or is it worth continuing on?

NO SPOILERS, please!

 

[Skellington]

I'm one of the few who liked season five.

Season six was at times trite and pseudo-meaningful, but I'd give it three out of five. It's not great Dexter, but not-great Dexter is like not-great pizza; it's still pretty good. Ditto for pretty much anything that has Eddie Olmos as a guest star, I suppose.

IMO the show rallied in season seven, producing one of its strongest seasons yet - maybe the very strongest. Ray Stevenson does an excellent turn as a villain here.

I'm two episodes into season eight. From this perspective, the show is back on track after a somewhat shaky first episode.

Hope that helps.

 

[Aragorn]

For season five I actually enjoyed the journey of the Julia Stiles character but the bad guys were lame. In fact, how Dexter discovered the nature of said bad guys is a sign of things to come where the writing is concerned.

I hated season six's villains and everything that had to do with them, but the subplot with Mos Def was actually interesting and could've gone somewhere.

Season seven was interesting where Ray Stevenson was concerned, but Deb's journey was underwhelming. Also, the entire Quinn subplot brought nothing to the show and could've been done away with entirely (unless you want to see Ichabod Crane's wife topless).

The good stuff in seasons 6-7 could've actually make one good season.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

...and I am looking to get a second, third, fourth (et cetera, et cetera) opinion from those who have watched the entire series as to whether or not I should seek out Seasons 5, 6, 7 and 8. Sadly, they are not currently available on Netflix. I've heard nothing but awful things about Season 8, and the finale in particular, so that does concern me.

I have become a huge fan of all the first four seasons. I plan to get my own copies of each soon. I'm just wondering, should I leave it on that unforgettable final moment of "The Getaway" (one of my favorite episodes, which I think could actually work as a series finale), or is it worth continuing on?

NO SPOILERS, please!

To be frank, it's all downhill from there and the show will never be as good as during its first four seasons again.

 

[Evil Twin]

Season 5 is... alright, I actually like it better than season 3, but the finale really sucks.

Season 6 is hands down the show's worst season. The only worthwhile thing in it is the finale's final scene.

Season 7 is halfway decent and definitely worth watching. Rather kind of a renaissance for the show.

Although not quite wretched as season 6 IMO, season 8 is just facepalm-inducing, especially the finale. The writers should've been doing something worthwhile with the final stretch of episodes but just frittered it away on lame bullshit. For those of us who were watching it concurrently with Breaking Bad's final season earlier this year, the disparity in quality level between the two shows was just appalling.

 

[BruntFCA]

The rest of the series is being added to netflix in January so I would suggest watching the rest and making up your own mind, personally I thought season 7 was one of the best seasons of the show and I think you'd really be missing out if you didn't see it.

 

[Mr Light]

I started the show in Season Four.... and I don't think the later seasons are terrible at all. The ending is terrible, but aside from that I had no major problems.

The BAD season is Season Two with that incredibly annoying British girl and that asshole Doakes. Oh and doesn't Dexter pretend to have a drug addiction or something? Ugh.

 

[auntiehill]

I thought season 5 was a bit too unfocused but I liked season 6 a little better; I liked the "bad guys" and how Dexter interacted with the Mos Def character. I thought 7 was where things really picked up again--I enjoyed how all the relationships came together.

Haven't seen season 8 yet, but I'm very excited to at least see how it all plays out.

I would suggest just watching it. It's not like your obligated to keep watching it if you decide you don't like it.

 

[bigdaddy]

Well being that the creator left after season 4 and I left after the first few episodes of season 5, I say don't waste your time.

 

[Shurik]

I thought that seasons 5-7 were OK. Season 8 is just awful and the series finale is one of the worst I've ever seen.

 

[Caligula]

Season 5 is... alright, I actually like it better than season 3, but the finale really sucks.

Season 6 is hands down the show's worst season. The only worthwhile thing in it is the finale's final scene.

Season 7 is halfway decent and definitely worth watching. Rather kind of a renaissance for the show.

Although not quite wretched as season 6 IMO, season 8 is just facepalm-inducing, especially the finale. The writers should've been doing something worthwhile with the final stretch of episodes but just frittered it away on lame bullshit. For those of us who were watching it concurrently with Breaking Bad's final season earlier this year, the disparity in quality level between the two shows was just appalling.

As I understand it, this all seems to be the general consensus among most fans of the show.

The rest of the series is being added to netflix in January

Cool! Thanks for that info! It's easy to guess why Season 8 hasn't been available, but I've been curious as to why they were holding out on 5, 6 and 7.

The BAD season is Season Two with that incredibly annoying British girl and that asshole Doakes. Oh and doesn't Dexter pretend to have a drug addiction or something? Ugh.

I actually LOVE Lila, and Season 2 as a result. The drug addiction lie was lame at first, but it did lead to Lila's intro into that season, so I forgave it. Hard to dislike any female character whose #1 reaction to being caught naked by her lover's sister is "Pardon my tits!"

I would suggest just watching it. It's not like your obligated to keep watching it if you decide you don't like it.

Quite true. Looking back, I could have skipped a few of the latter seasons of another Showtime series I love, "Weeds." The first 3 seasons of that show were fantastic, the next three so-so, and the last two utterly forgettable. I have those first three seasons on DVD, and that's probably where I plan to keep it.

Well being that the creator left after season 4

That's another factor that has me concerned. Curiosity will probably dictate that I at least give the rest of the show a look.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I didn't even like season four. Lithgau was awesome but the entire season had Dexter behaving less competently than we know him to be. It's obvious they decided who lived and died prior to the season and then contrived the plot around making it happen, rather than having who lived and died flow naturally from the story.

Dexter should have been a single season event.

 

[Caligula]

There's no question in my mind that the first season is the best. I can't imagine any of the last four seasons coming close to it if seasons 2-4 (which themselves are terrific) couldn't top it. I loved watching the mystery of the Ice Truck Killer unfold. Season Four may not have the best story, but John Lithgow, who has always played great bad guy roles, is pretty scary as the Trinity Killer.

 

[Agent Richard07]

I didn't like season 1, probably because I saw it after 5 years of hype and my expectations were too high. Loved season 2 though and Lila was a big part of that.

 

[Starbreaker]

Season 4 is the last time the show was great. There are some good episodes here and there, but it's mostly garbage by the time Season 8 rolls around.

 

[Harvey]

I've only seen season 1-6, so I can't comment on the final two seasons, except to say that seasons five and six were so bad (and, worse, often boring) that even the dramatic cliffhanger that ends the sixth year wasn't enough to get me to come back.

And I loved the show during seasons one and two.

What a waste.

 

[Mr Light]

What is it that people don't like about the later seasons? I haven't seen the earlier years in a long time but I haven't noticed anything different aside from Rita's presence, which I always found annoying.

 

[Aragorn]

What is it that people don't like about the later seasons? I haven't seen the earlier years in a long time but I haven't noticed anything different aside from Rita's presence, which I always found annoying.

A lot of running around in circles, characters acting stupid or out of character in order to get the plot to happen a certain way, a lot of pointless stuff that wastes time and goes nowhere (Quinn for all of season seven, for example), basically some really poor writing.

There was one moment during the first episode of season eight where Batista vowed to do (spoiler), and then it was immediately dropped never to be mentioned again. It would've given him something to do and raised the stakes.

 

[Mr Light]

My major complaint about the series is when Dexter delays killing the Big Bad and then they kill more people. I found this most egregious in Season 4, which apparently is most people's favorite season.

 

[Skellington]

Just finished watching season 8 a few minutes ago. While in some ways it retrod old ground and suffered from the usual Dexter problems, I think it's a pretty strong season.

This show, perhaps more than most others, courted the viewer's imagination on how things would end for its remarkable ensemble of characters. But an ending is always just one ending, and by definition it's not any of the other previously possible ones. So while in the closing episodes there were some missed opportunities (not to mention one or two objectionable plot points, especially a certain one from the finale), I don't feel the need to deduct marks from the season because of them.