Finales are tough to nail for long-running shows, as expectations are usually through the roof and with so many plots to tie up and arcs to resolve, the writers can easily drop the ball. Of course, fans of Dexter are all too aware of this, as 2013’s series closer was one of the most divisive in the history of the medium.
For those unfamiliar, Dexter followed the titular serial killer – brought to life by the incredible Michael C. Hall – as he tried his best to blend in with society while working as a forensic analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. Having learned to use his thirst for blood for good, only killing other murderers, he just about pulls it off. But of course, things begin to get complicated as he has to hide his dark secret from more and more people.
Throughout the show’s run, we got some expertly crafted storytelling and though it began to slide in the last few seasons, the writers were still able to hold it all together. Until the series finale, at least, which was an utter disappointment in every sense of the word.
Hall is well aware of this, too, and is hoping the upcoming revival will make up for it, saying:
“Let’s be real: people found the way that show left things pretty unsatisfying, and there’s always been a hope that a story would emerge that would be worth telling. I include myself in the group of people that wondered, ‘What the hell happened to that guy?’ So I’m excited to step back into it. I’ve never had that experience of playing a character this many years on.”
“I certainly thought it was justifiable for Dexter to do what he did,” Hall added of his character’s actions in the finale. “I think some of the criticisms were about that, and some of the criticisms weren’t so much about the ‘what’ as they were about the ‘how,’ and those were valid too. We certainly do live in an era where the bar is very high as far as the simultaneous surprise, satisfaction, and closure that should go along with a series finale.”
Of course, fans are hopeful as well that the showrunners will finally give them the conclusion they wanted all those years ago and right now, excitement is pretty high for the beloved serial killer to return. Unfortunately, though, we still don’t know much at all about what’s planned for the Dexter revival and at this stage, we’ll just have to trust that the team behind it is well aware of the mistakes the show initially made and won’t repeat them.