picture courtesy of nydailynews.com
No one would argue that twisted and dark humor series 'Dexter' has great writing and probably is the best show on TV. Last night was the finale, and what a finale it was. Who got the last laugh?
The vigilante serial killer whose real profession is blood analyst for the Miami police department killed his final victim Arthur Miller ('Trinity Killer') played brilliantly by John Lithgow. But the shocker was Dexter upon returning home finding his own wife Rita in the bathtub as the last murdered victim of Trinity, and his baby son sitting in a pool of blood. Life imitates art of Dexter's own childhood memory leading to his present day transgressions.
As finales go, this one introduced a whole new set of questions for the next season. Unlike 'The Sopranos' Dexter is coming back for more to help us understand what happens next, but not until next fall. Too long of a wait IMO.
In the meantime, along with 'Dexter' the show, Michael C. Hall, John Lithgow, Julie Benz, and Jennifer Carpenter deserve Emmys, don't you think?
Some of the open-ended issues Dexter writers will have to tackle include how Dexter was able to find Arthur in the end when all Dexter knew was that Trinity was driving a Mustang. If he had been following Trinity since he left the body shop, or hiding in the Mustang's trunk the entire time, then how do you explain Trinity murdering Rita in between? Unless of course the whole Rita episode is just a dream sequence.
How else would you explain the breaking the cycle of Trinity killing only brunette women with two kids? Rita is a blonde and had three kids. But she could've been a brunette in the past, which we were not privy to as all indicators point to her having a 'dark' past. And she did have only two kids of her own when she came into Dexter's life.
How will Dexter Morgan explain his 'Kyle Butler' character as Trinity's family sees Dexter's news on TV and comes forward? Will Dexter's adoptive sister Debra fresh with new info on Dexter's own past, and the antagonistic detective Quinn, as well as Masuka (who saw Rita kissing the 'friendly' neighbor) now delve into Dexter the mystery and doubts and suspicions?
One more thing about Rita. Since she left by a taxicab earlier for the airport, if she did come back home to retrieve her ID she left behind, wouldn't the cab wait for her outside the house? Hmmm...
But if Rita is truly dead, will she come back and talk to Dexter subconsciously in the same fashion as his dead dad Harry? Will her death turn Dexter into the monster that he is? Will Dexter not report Rita's murder for his own obvious reasons as her disappearance becomes Dexter's undoing? Yet some people who didn't watch the post-finale interviews will contemplate Dexter killing Rita.
What could be more shocking than all of this? Discovery of Dexter's own dark past and his obsession with homicide for everyone to see? Or instead, with all the gory violence on this show including the killing of children, will next season of Dexter finally offend viewers with scenes of simulated sex?
Tune in September 27, 2010 to find out.
