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Dexter: Season 5 Review
14 years ago
The big orca towers over you...
Hi All,
So yeah, I haven't made a journal in a while. So, while this isn't really a journal-journal, I figured I'd type up my thoughts on this particular season of Dexter. Yes, I watch Dexter. I'm a bit late to the party, I know, but nonetheless I figured I'd share anyway.
Oh, and SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING UP TO THIS POINT! :P
So, Season 4 ended on a bombshell that completely shook both me and my brother to the core, to the point where neither one of us could watch the next season of Dexter for a few weeks. (We watch the show through Netflix and OnDemand) We start this season warily, because I have heard some negative things about season 5. We go into it with an open mind, however, and begin.
The first thing that bothered me right away on this show was the handling of Rita's death. Or rather, the other characters' reactions to said death. Let me explain. It quickly becomes apparent that the other characters see Dexter's reaction as something abnormal. I didn't think so. At all. Dexter became quiet (he always was) and didn't show a whole lot of emotion. Or that's what they said. I think Dexter seemed plenty shaken by the events, honestly. He withdrew, felt numb, and worried. He didn't cry, no, but that's not always unusual. Some people just...don't cry. I don't, not usually. And he didn't either. Apparently that makes him abnormal to the point of suspicion. Uh-huh. Right, yeah, okay.
Second, Deb and Quinn spend quite some time cleaning up the "Mess" in the bathroom after Rita's murder. Then go the kitchen. And have sex.
...
Seriously? Did Deb just go "Nothing turns me on like cleaning up my brother's dead wife's blood?!" What the hell? I'm all for Deb and Quinn hooking up, I really am, but this was NOT The way to do it. It was sloppy, no way about it, and cemented Deb as a complete and total whore (Which she debatably was already, but I digress).
After we get through this very sloppy grieving period, we introduce the new character for the season, Lumen. I had incredibly mixed feelings about Lumen from the start. Yes, it's a new dynamic to explore with Dexter. No, he really has no reason to get personally involved in this. Yes, she forces his hand, etc, etc.
I actually liked Lumen by the end, but it took a lot of work to get me there. That, and one of her early scenes has her int he same position as Rita. I'm sorry. NO. You can't do that. Rita's memory is constantly defiled on this season. Destroyed. First sex, then a bath in the tub where she died. In the same position. NO. NO. NO.
After that, like I said, Lumen began to grow on me. And by the end of the season, I liked her. Quite a bit. Though, I'm mad at the writers for their choice to take her out of the picture. I really think having her around for future seasons working with Dexter would've been a great new dynamic for the writers to explore. Instead she vanishes, and the show goes back to square one. It's not horrible, and her character's actions do make sense, but it would've been nice to really change the status quo a little bit.
That, and it seems like the show has a knack for sweeping plotlines under the bus, and creating many plotholes because of it. This season was probably the worst. The thing with Trinity completely vanished. On the season finale, the car vanishes. Deb fires a shot that seems to be unexplained. While the blood on Quinn's shoe Dexter said wasn't the dead guy's, there was plenty of other evience that needed to be worked out.
I'm not saying these couldn't have been worked out, and trust me, there are other holes like this, but it would've been nice to at least see them.
Overall, this season wasn't embarrassingly godawful, but it really wasn't the show at its finest, and after a spectacular season 4, it felt a little dry and anticlimatic. And full of wasted oppritunities. Lumen leaving. Deb not catching Dexter for like...the 3rd time now. I'm not quite sure where the show can go at this point. I really have no idea.
I like Dexter. I definitely think the first four seasons are some of the finest television out there. This season was better thana lot of other shows, but it still came up short. Partially because of season 4, and partially because it was sloppier than most. I'll be watching season 6, but I'm hoping they up the ante a bit.
Apparently they are getting a new showrunner. Let's hope this new guy can kick the show into high gear and get it back on track.
Overall: 7.5/10
So yeah, I haven't made a journal in a while. So, while this isn't really a journal-journal, I figured I'd type up my thoughts on this particular season of Dexter. Yes, I watch Dexter. I'm a bit late to the party, I know, but nonetheless I figured I'd share anyway.
Oh, and SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING UP TO THIS POINT! :P
So, Season 4 ended on a bombshell that completely shook both me and my brother to the core, to the point where neither one of us could watch the next season of Dexter for a few weeks. (We watch the show through Netflix and OnDemand) We start this season warily, because I have heard some negative things about season 5. We go into it with an open mind, however, and begin.
The first thing that bothered me right away on this show was the handling of Rita's death. Or rather, the other characters' reactions to said death. Let me explain. It quickly becomes apparent that the other characters see Dexter's reaction as something abnormal. I didn't think so. At all. Dexter became quiet (he always was) and didn't show a whole lot of emotion. Or that's what they said. I think Dexter seemed plenty shaken by the events, honestly. He withdrew, felt numb, and worried. He didn't cry, no, but that's not always unusual. Some people just...don't cry. I don't, not usually. And he didn't either. Apparently that makes him abnormal to the point of suspicion. Uh-huh. Right, yeah, okay.
Second, Deb and Quinn spend quite some time cleaning up the "Mess" in the bathroom after Rita's murder. Then go the kitchen. And have sex.
...
Seriously? Did Deb just go "Nothing turns me on like cleaning up my brother's dead wife's blood?!" What the hell? I'm all for Deb and Quinn hooking up, I really am, but this was NOT The way to do it. It was sloppy, no way about it, and cemented Deb as a complete and total whore (Which she debatably was already, but I digress).
After we get through this very sloppy grieving period, we introduce the new character for the season, Lumen. I had incredibly mixed feelings about Lumen from the start. Yes, it's a new dynamic to explore with Dexter. No, he really has no reason to get personally involved in this. Yes, she forces his hand, etc, etc.
I actually liked Lumen by the end, but it took a lot of work to get me there. That, and one of her early scenes has her int he same position as Rita. I'm sorry. NO. You can't do that. Rita's memory is constantly defiled on this season. Destroyed. First sex, then a bath in the tub where she died. In the same position. NO. NO. NO.
After that, like I said, Lumen began to grow on me. And by the end of the season, I liked her. Quite a bit. Though, I'm mad at the writers for their choice to take her out of the picture. I really think having her around for future seasons working with Dexter would've been a great new dynamic for the writers to explore. Instead she vanishes, and the show goes back to square one. It's not horrible, and her character's actions do make sense, but it would've been nice to really change the status quo a little bit.
That, and it seems like the show has a knack for sweeping plotlines under the bus, and creating many plotholes because of it. This season was probably the worst. The thing with Trinity completely vanished. On the season finale, the car vanishes. Deb fires a shot that seems to be unexplained. While the blood on Quinn's shoe Dexter said wasn't the dead guy's, there was plenty of other evience that needed to be worked out.
I'm not saying these couldn't have been worked out, and trust me, there are other holes like this, but it would've been nice to at least see them.
Overall, this season wasn't embarrassingly godawful, but it really wasn't the show at its finest, and after a spectacular season 4, it felt a little dry and anticlimatic. And full of wasted oppritunities. Lumen leaving. Deb not catching Dexter for like...the 3rd time now. I'm not quite sure where the show can go at this point. I really have no idea.
I like Dexter. I definitely think the first four seasons are some of the finest television out there. This season was better thana lot of other shows, but it still came up short. Partially because of season 4, and partially because it was sloppier than most. I'll be watching season 6, but I'm hoping they up the ante a bit.
Apparently they are getting a new showrunner. Let's hope this new guy can kick the show into high gear and get it back on track.
Overall: 7.5/10
Jericho
~jizzal
I agree with a lot of the points you made, but I still really liked this season overall. Lumen really did grow on me as well, because initially I just thought she was a waste of a character...then I was like, "What? She's leaving?!" and went sadface. It made sense though that she wasn't going to stay for much longer. As for the stuff with Trinity, I don't know if they wanted to let Rita's death boil over for an entire season, since I really doubt that Trinity killed her. Doesn't fit his pattern and stuff, since he apparently -had- to start with a jumper or something, but if he did kill her and we don't find out until much later then that pisses me off. I hate it when something important happens, and it takes like months and months to resolve it, usually because when it takes that long they say it in like a sentence and it loses all meaning and is utterly pointless. Just like that whole nonsense with Basch killing the king at the start of Final Fantasy XII, I thought that was going to be a cool reveal as to how and why that was orchestrated...but...>:(
