Just finished Dexter and I don't get the hate for the ending

I just binged Dexter and finally saw the ending everyone hates. Honestly, I thought it was fitting for his character. The way he faked his death and became a lumberjack showed he could never escape his past. People say it was lazy, but I think it was a bold choice. Compare it to other shows where the hero gets a happy ending, which would feel fake for Dexter. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it stuck with me more than some neat wrap-ups. Maybe give it another watch without the hype.

3 comments

3 Comments

sandrafoster1mo agoMost Upvoted

Ever try to make a big change and just fall back into old habits? I moved states but wound up watching my usual shows from a new couch.

haydeng471mo ago

The lumberjack ending in Dexter always made sense to me. Dexter was a broken person who could never fix himself, so him running away fit. This ties into a bigger pattern I see where people want stories to end well, but life often doesn't. We have friends who move away after a mess, or jobs that end badly without a clean finish. Stories that mirror that mess can feel more true, even if they are not satisfying. Maybe that's why the ending stays with you, because it feels real, not tidy.

the_noah1mo ago

That final shot of Dexter as a lumberjack in Oregon always gets me. It's like haydeng47 said, life doesn't wrap up neat... and that ending feels more honest than some fairy tale closure. I guess I relate... my big plan after college was to move cities and start fresh, but I just ended up working a desk job and rewatching old shows. So maybe Dexter's escape to the woods isn't so bad compared to my couch-based adventures... At least he got to use an axe.