Mikey Likes TV

The first season of Dexter could not have been tied up with a prettier bow. In the span of an hour, he tracked down the ice truck killer, uncovered their connection, saved his sister and took out his nemesis/soul mate by faking a suicide. It has seemed clear, from the very first episode, that this could not possibly be the case for season two.

Yet somehow the main arc of the season (the search for the Bay Harbor Butcher, Dexter) was resolved in the first five minutes. Weirder still, it was pulled off really, really well. Super-psycho-tramp Lila stole Dexter’s GPS and followed it to the the cabin where he’d been hiding Doakes. When Doakes told her that Dexter was the butcher, she freaked out, mustered some composure and then proceeded to blow him to kingdom come. The prime (and falsely accused) suspect in tens and tens of murders took the blame, and Dexter got off scot-free. With the biggest issue already resolved, the remainder of the episode focused cleaning up the annoying Lila mess. She hit the road after a botched attempt on Dexter and Rita’s kids’ lives, and the show seemed over. But no one gets away from Dexter, so he followed her to Paris to take care of the matter once and for all. We all thoroughly appreciate the fact that she will not be sneaking back into the picture ever again. The story had run its course.

I think it’s safe to assume, at this point, that our Dexter does not prefer the company of other crazies. He’s had plenty of opportunities to seek comfort with those more similar to himself, but time and time again he’s chosen the companionships of people like his sister and Rita. Killing Lila was hardly as rough as offing his murderous (albeit loving?) brother, so whatever kook the next season’s arc focuses on will have to go in a different direction. Dexter isn’t pretending to be normal because it’s convenient – it’s how he likes it.

Even among sitcoms, the cliffhanger has become the obligatory way to end a season of television. It makes the decision to conclude each season of Dexter so perfectly kind of a brave move. It’s not like they’re concerned with ending the show on a fitting note in case of cancellation – Showtime has always been in Dexter’s corner. (A third season was alluded to last month and confirmed after the finale.) So, if anything, these big pay-off finales are just another reflection of the show’s confidence in its own storytelling – and it’s audience.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 12:40 pm and is filed under dexter, showtime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.