Just a thought -- but maybe if someone tried to go after his kid... that'll bring things back in some way.
Ways to bring back Dexter's mojo
- Thread starter Joe Washington
- Start date
I wasn't aware there was such a consensus that this was a problem. I thought the past season was excellent, though the finale was a tad anticlimactic. I don't think there's anytjhing wrong wiht the character of Dexter, I just want Deb to find out what he does next season. I want some major waves.
That would be interesting to see how she reacts to finding out.
I think we kind of saw a foreshadowing of that in the finale. The more the truth comes out, the more she'll probably do anything she can to look the other way.
Nice. Too bad I haven't seen any of this season
. I don't get Showtime... so I have to wait 11 months or so just to be able to catch up.
That was great, but my all-time fave is when he goaded Doakes into tackling him right in the middle of Miami PD.
First of all, you need to watch S4! But there are a few good ideas they could use as the basis for a couple more good seasons. They just need to realize that they have 2-3 seasons left, tops, and not try to stretch it longer than that.
The drop off between S2 and S3 is because a vital writer left after S2. Can't recall the guy's name but there's definitely a sudden feeling that something is missing.
Development is good, but there needs to be a ramping up of dramatic tension as a story goes along, not a dissapation. Dexter getting more domesticated saps the dramatic tension. Dexter getting more and more out of control ramps it up. They're developing the character in the wrong direction.
Serial killing is fundamentally a sexual perversion. The killer gets off on murder. Who knows where this kind of miswiring comes from, but that's the way it is. When Dexter developed a genuine relationship with Rita, the fundamental motivation for the serial killer Dexter was diminished. Judging from this thread, it appears there is a fandom for the perverted Dexter. The writers must have known this, judging from the drunk driver's insane bragging in season one, which "justified" the dubious moral premises of the Code.
The problem for this group is that perverted Dexter has never been shown, merely glimpsed. In addition to this persistent flinching at the premise, there has been the more than compensatory exaltation of Dexter as a super nice guy in his personal relationships. Dexter never failed to do the right thing, despite great temptations. And he was never even tempted to use, misuse or abuse helpless
people in his life. In fact, he nearly confessed rather than frame Doakes. The writers went so far as to "forget" that Doakes was in fact a murderer himself, so that Dexter's refusal to kill or frame Doakes wasn't a matter of identification with someone who also murdered murderers.
Dexter's dorkiness, his cluelessness, was there from the very beginning. It was in his unreliable narration with its nonsense about his lack of emotion. It was shown in his foolish acceptance of the story from the gay kid who committed suicide. Although it appears that some people dislike nice characters on principle, the apparent belief that it's some sort of new thing, or has been overdone is nonsense. Plus, there are issues of taste and sense with wanting to see sociopaths win.
Of course, tastes differ. The problem with having the bad taste to want to see Dexter kill, kill, kill and get away with it and not quite be just another murderous pervert is not just the absurdity of the premise. It's that Dexter getting away with it is so stupid. It's not just stupid, it's "hey, let's eat these Clark bars we found floating in the toilet!" stupid. From the moment that an eyewitness right there in Miami PD didn't see Dexter but gave a police artist a description of Jesus (at the very latest) there was no reason to accept Dexter as successful.
Certainly when the writers had Lila kill Doakes and inadvertently complete the frame, Dexter's scripted invulnerability was painfully obvious. Somehow hoping that he'll become "cool" again forgets the deck is stacked for him. That's not cool, and everyone knows (on some level) that it's not. You can't sail off into the series' sunset on the ship of Dexter's coolness, that ship has sailed, and sunk.
The problem for this group is that perverted Dexter has never been shown, merely glimpsed. In addition to this persistent flinching at the premise, there has been the more than compensatory exaltation of Dexter as a super nice guy in his personal relationships. Dexter never failed to do the right thing, despite great temptations. And he was never even tempted to use, misuse or abuse helpless
people in his life. In fact, he nearly confessed rather than frame Doakes. The writers went so far as to "forget" that Doakes was in fact a murderer himself, so that Dexter's refusal to kill or frame Doakes wasn't a matter of identification with someone who also murdered murderers.
Dexter's dorkiness, his cluelessness, was there from the very beginning. It was in his unreliable narration with its nonsense about his lack of emotion. It was shown in his foolish acceptance of the story from the gay kid who committed suicide. Although it appears that some people dislike nice characters on principle, the apparent belief that it's some sort of new thing, or has been overdone is nonsense. Plus, there are issues of taste and sense with wanting to see sociopaths win.
Of course, tastes differ. The problem with having the bad taste to want to see Dexter kill, kill, kill and get away with it and not quite be just another murderous pervert is not just the absurdity of the premise. It's that Dexter getting away with it is so stupid. It's not just stupid, it's "hey, let's eat these Clark bars we found floating in the toilet!" stupid. From the moment that an eyewitness right there in Miami PD didn't see Dexter but gave a police artist a description of Jesus (at the very latest) there was no reason to accept Dexter as successful.
Certainly when the writers had Lila kill Doakes and inadvertently complete the frame, Dexter's scripted invulnerability was painfully obvious. Somehow hoping that he'll become "cool" again forgets the deck is stacked for him. That's not cool, and everyone knows (on some level) that it's not. You can't sail off into the series' sunset on the ship of Dexter's coolness, that ship has sailed, and sunk.
^ Um, no one ever claimed this was a perfectly realistic portrayal of serial killers we were watching. The fact Dexter was taught this ridiculous "code" by his policeman father should have tipped you off to that early on. lol
Besides, just like with any heist film, sometimes it's fun to root for the bad guys. So sue us.
Besides, just like with any heist film, sometimes it's fun to root for the bad guys. So sue us.
OMG, where did the idea that any of this is "realistic" come from? I sincerely doubt there is one serial killer ever who maps closely to Dexter's mentality. This show almost qualifies as sci-fi. Why not complain that the zombies on The Walking Dead aren't realistic (I shouldn't say that because people are complaining about that!)
Just judge it as sci fi: as a metaphor, not as anything you'd find in real life. Does the character represent something that makes sense and seems important? He does to me. That's all it takes for a story to be worthwhile.
Maybe when Dexter stops doing voice over work for Dodge commercials, is when he'll get his mojo back.
That's why I say I'm not sure. Yes, he's been humanized more over the span, but that's what I think was inevitable. He must become something of a human, in order for us to identify with him in any way. He is a Human, a damaged one, & where ever they go with this, they will have to recognize that nature. So that isn't what has been bugging me
What I think undermines the character the most, is that he has succumb to his real world public image, within the show. Once, he was ominous, creepy, & even sinister in his behavior, hanging on by a thread, woven by Harry
But now, an increasing number of characters are looking at him the way much of the fans look at him, as troubled, ruthless & sexy. That, more than anything else, is why our killer has lost the sharpness to his teeth. It's become acceptable to too many characters, at this point. Helping Lumen was a hobby, as far as I'm concerned, even though he hadn't realized it. Even picking out & stalking his victims is a bit of a hobby
but murdering people isn't. That's the face of his dark passenger, not Wrath, like Lumen. Dexter is living a double facade. Firstly covering his illegal life, & secondly, using vigilante wrath as a beard to obscure his true nature, from anyone, maybe even himself.
That was Harry's two-fold plan. Vigilante wrath would protect innocent lives from the homicidal Dexter and if Dex were to ever be discovered by people (as has been the case) they would likely mistake his behavior for being consumed by wrath, instead of the horrific truth, bloodlust.
Even Dexter doesn't want to see himself in that light anymore, but I don't think it's gone, & no matter how much Dex espouses his belief that these people are seeing his true self, & accepting him for who & what he really is, they aren't. They might make it past the first facade, farther than Rita & Deb, but Lumen never really saw the bloodlust, in & of itself, removed from the vigilante wrath. Had she, she might have viewed him as more of a monster. The only people who see the bloodlust in him, are the ones that end up on the table, like Trinity (He saw it)
If & when we finally return to that, this show will start being gripping again
Two brothers independently becoming serial killers because of a single trauma was always insane. A man training his adoptive son to be a vigilante is insane. The number of murderers escaping all justice but Dexter's is insane. No one but true fans of vigilante Dexter even pretended that this was realistically about anything. Babbling about realism is a red herring.
But wanting Dexter to be the endlessly successful but well beloved (if only by Deborah) supervigilante is not just absurd, it contradicts the character as written from day one. It contradicts Dexter's choices at the climax of seasons one, two, three and four. The problem with whining for the original, cool Dexter is that he was never there, except for those people who got so orgasmic over the killing they didn't see the rest of the series.
The original Harry was flashbacks to the lunatic who abused his adoptive son in a truly grotesque fashion. When this Harry disappeared in favor of some dreary cliche unconscious manifestation of conscience, they were ducking the real drama inherent in the (nonrealistic) premise, namely, what does Dexter want to do? (Cliche Harry is sometimes manifestations of Dexter's ego, his unsavory desires. This is inconsistent, but the writing on the show has slumped very badly, distorted by the merciless dictates of open-ended serialization.)
He can't go on forever, he's going to be caught, or a victim will manage to turn the tables. Or he'll realize he's been doing wrong, and either confess or kill himself as his last vigilante killing, or at least quit. The tension in the first season lay in the fact that he had to choose, sooner or later. The premises can be absurd, but the consequences can't be. The insistence that it would be cool if Dexter could just go on and on is insisting that all the tension in his choices be excluded.
It is already too late for Dexter the vigilante to be taken seriously, which is of course what the whining is about. Again, it is painfully obvious the script is what's saving Dexter the supercool vigilante. He's no longer cool because he's not doing anything: The script is. The script is not a character, it's not sexy. All the willing suspension of disbelief has been used up in the insane premises. The rest of the story has to be worked out as a plausible consequence of those premises.
Dexter endlessly killing, with Deb's approval, is an unbelievable consequence. And it is a direct reversal of the character as originally written. And it is a direct reversal of the consequences of the choices Dexter made in seasons one through four. And this occurs just to drag out the series. Even if for some odd reason you think this is a happy ending, it is bad writing. In short, some people want Dexter to be as cool as Arthur Mitchell. Quite aside from the bizarreness of seeing Trinity as cool, Dexter has been about rejecting that kind of coolness. It's not just unrealistic, it's incoherent.
The people who supposedly want the dangerous Dexter should have wanted Dexter to go Arthur Mitchell on Rita, Astor and Cody. And kill Deborah when she finds out. I can only think of one person who would be cool with that. The rest just seem to be completely confused.
For years?
I'm pleased with the direction of the character and the show. I really dug this season. The finale was a bit of a copout, but still, I was on the edge of my seat for the entire season.
That was great, but my all-time fave is when he goaded Doakes into tackling him right in the middle of Miami PD.
You're right, that was even better. Started with a Glasgow kiss, too. I didn't care for the skinny, unbelievably unattractive love interest in season 2; but that scene made up for everything.
^
Rewatching season 2 at moment and am enjoying it more than I remember but it will probably stay my least favourite season due to the whole drug addiction lie plot and Lila the insane chick.
However the whole Bay Harbor plot was awesome
and it had great dark humor like in season 1.
Rewatching season 2 at moment and am enjoying it more than I remember but it will probably stay my least favourite season due to the whole drug addiction lie plot and Lila the insane chick.
However the whole Bay Harbor plot was awesome
and it had great dark humor like in season 1.
I didn't like Lila, either, but I think the writers were deliberately making her repellent to prep us for her inevitable demise. Maybe they were too heavy-handed about it. It was also too obvious from early on that they'd solve the Doakes dilemma by having Lila kill him, allowing Dex to kill Lila. I would have preferred for that set-up to be a red herring and the actual solution was more unpredictable (Deb kills Doakes thinking he's threatening Dexter or something along those lines).
S2 is my favorite season because Dexter vs. Doakes was awesome!
Particularly the scenes in the cabin. Great stuff, I should rewatch that season.
He accepted that facet of himself before, so why should that have changed? He used to enjoy thinking of himself as a "monster." Why should it trouble him now?
The real source of angst should be that being a monster, he will bring disaster to those he loves, just as Doakes warned. And it's happened - Rita is dead. So Dexter should be seriously thinking about giving up the kids, even Harrison, to protect them, and shutting even Deb out of his life. Why hasn't this idea even been broached?
S2 is my favorite season because Dexter vs. Doakes was awesome!
Particularly the scenes in the cabin. Great stuff, I should rewatch that season.I don't think the trouble is how the characters in the story regard Dexter; they don't know the truth about him, so their perceptions of him are entirely wrong anyway. I think the writers just don't have the stomach to write the character as he should be written - someone who could easily kill innocents, and is held back only by the mental gymnastics of The Code (which seems not even to be a factor anymore). Maybe the writers are afraid the audience will reject him, but they didn't reject him in S1-S2, so what are they afraid of?
He accepted that facet of himself before, so why should that have changed? He used to enjoy thinking of himself as a "monster." Why should it trouble him now?
The real source of angst should be that being a monster, he will bring disaster to those he loves, just as Doakes warned. And it's happened - Rita is dead. So Dexter should be seriously thinking about giving up the kids, even Harrison, to protect them, and shutting even Deb out of his life. Why hasn't this idea even been broached?
Lila wasn't really my type either, but I still thought the actress absolutely nailed the part, and was completely believable as that character. I thought that whole storyline was awesome.
And speaking of the Bay Harbor Butcher plot, part of me has always been a bit disappointed that Dexter hasn't embraced that title more than he has. Even if it annoyed him early on, I would think it would still be a pretty effective tool to bring out now and then, such as when he needs to put certain small-fry killers (like Miguel or Jordan Chase) in their proper place.
An occassional "I'm the Bay Harbor Butcher. You don't want to fuck with me" would probably come in handy, I would think.
Dexter gets a new showrunner.
Are TPTB unhappy with the creative direction of the show and trying to shape things up? I can only hope. Seems like the writers have lost track of their premise lately.
Are TPTB unhappy with the creative direction of the show and trying to shape things up? I can only hope. Seems like the writers have lost track of their premise lately.
