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dippin · 01-22-2011, 12:16 AM

Wrapped up another season. Spoilers ahead for those not that far into the series:

Watching the first 4 seasons back to back over the course of a couple of weeks had the obvious disadvantage of knowing a number of spoilers just by accident. For example, I knew Julie Benz wasn't on Dexter anymore, etc. But it also highlighted how well put together the season story arcs are. Seasons 1-3, to me, is on par with breaking bad and early x-files, which have been by far my favorite series.

Unfortunately, such a marathon also highlights how far the series fell during season 4. Granted, it was still enjoyable, but it was nowhere near as good as the previous seasons. During the previous seasons I'd occasionally stay up late because I couldn't stop watching the series after my 2 nightly episodes. Season 4 had me wanting to skip ahead quite a bit.

It felt like even as Dexter's character became a bit more complex the rest of the characters became very flat. Laguerta was a person who was willing to sleep with her boss' fiance and just stand back as watch her fall apart so she could get her job back. Angel was a guy that despite being deeply committed to his daughter couldn't keep it in his pants. So now both of them are ultra good guys who are all lovey dovey with each other, getting married and all that?

Similarly, Deb was the deeply impulsive, hard working cop who was too impulsive, but now is this sort of almost super cop solving crimes that massive task forces couldn't?

Finally, Rita went from this deeply complex, almost co-dependent abused wife to full blown soccer mom?

Now, these are sort of side characters, and given how Dexter himself was still going strong it was still an enjoyable season. And I think its nice that the writers are not afraid to kill off major characters when they start becoming caricatures of themselves (Doakes, Lundy, Rita). And it is amazing that even though I knew it was coming the Rita death scene was still shocking.

But still, one of the strengths of the first 3 seasons was the contrast between the major sociopathy of Dexter and the minor sociopathy of the rest. That Dexter was the monster who didn't harm innocents while the rest were just "ordinary people" who still didn't think twice about ruining peoples lives and putting others at risk for their careers. Now, everyone is a good guy.

01-22-2011, 12:16 AM	#276 (permalink)
dippin Crazy, indeed Location: the ether	Wrapped up another season. Spoilers ahead for those not that far into the series: Watching the first 4 seasons back to back over the course of a couple of weeks had the obvious disadvantage of knowing a number of spoilers just by accident. For example, I knew Julie Benz wasn't on Dexter anymore, etc. But it also highlighted how well put together the season story arcs are. Seasons 1-3, to me, is on par with breaking bad and early x-files, which have been by far my favorite series. Unfortunately, such a marathon also highlights how far the series fell during season 4. Granted, it was still enjoyable, but it was nowhere near as good as the previous seasons. During the previous seasons I'd occasionally stay up late because I couldn't stop watching the series after my 2 nightly episodes. Season 4 had me wanting to skip ahead quite a bit. It felt like even as Dexter's character became a bit more complex the rest of the characters became very flat. Laguerta was a person who was willing to sleep with her boss' fiance and just stand back as watch her fall apart so she could get her job back. Angel was a guy that despite being deeply committed to his daughter couldn't keep it in his pants. So now both of them are ultra good guys who are all lovey dovey with each other, getting married and all that? Similarly, Deb was the deeply impulsive, hard working cop who was too impulsive, but now is this sort of almost super cop solving crimes that massive task forces couldn't? Finally, Rita went from this deeply complex, almost co-dependent abused wife to full blown soccer mom? Now, these are sort of side characters, and given how Dexter himself was still going strong it was still an enjoyable season. And I think its nice that the writers are not afraid to kill off major characters when they start becoming caricatures of themselves (Doakes, Lundy, Rita). And it is amazing that even though I knew it was coming the Rita death scene was still shocking. But still, one of the strengths of the first 3 seasons was the contrast between the major sociopathy of Dexter and the minor sociopathy of the rest. That Dexter was the monster who didn't harm innocents while the rest were just "ordinary people" who still didn't think twice about ruining peoples lives and putting others at risk for their careers. Now, everyone is a good guy.