Try TWOP. You'd think Dexter had turned into Jersey Shore.
S3 represented the kind of lower-orbit groove that Dexter could settle into, and get, oh, 7 or 8 seasons out of, by just devoting every season to a new Big Bad and barely moving forward Dexter's own story. I guess fans were fearful that the writers/producers would opt to do that, and stretch out their gigs. They must realize they're working on a show that could be about a fourth as good as it is now, and still get survival-level ratings.
Even so, there were significant developments for Dex in S3, largely surrounding his marriage to Rita and her pregnancy. And the plotline of Dexter finding an "ally" who was a pillar of the community, yet so much more twisted than him, was a great idea and a story they needed to tell somewhere along the way.
So I didn't feel that the season was anything like a waste, and a mediocre season of Dexter equals a great season of just about anything else, but it also wasn't as useful as S1, 2 and 4 in advancing Dexter's personal story, which is the main point of the series.
As far as I'm concerned, all was forgiven by the season finale of S4, which proves that the writers/producers have not lost their nerve and don't intend to stretch out the show to the detriment of its quality just so they can get a paycheck for a season or twelve more. They've signalled that we're in the last or second to last season, and it's going to be the incendiary rocket ride that we expect from this show, and this season's premiere only reinforced that point.
