Summary

• Dexter faced a quality decline after season 4, culminating in a famously disappointing series finale in season 8.
• Season 5 started the downward trend with narrative issues, leading to unsatisfying storylines and character departures.
• Season 7 marked a return to form, but season 8 failed to tie the story elements together, leaving viewers disappointed.

Dexter had a successful run for 8 seasons between 2006 and 2013 before returning in 2021 for the soft-sequel Dexter: New Blood — though many critics and fans alike felt there was a definite point that the quality of the show dipped. Unfortunately, the controversial ending of Dexter season 8 left a bad taste in many viewers' mouths. The famously panned series finale — season 8, episode 12, "Remember the Monsters?" — is often grouped with other endings that disappointed fans, such as Game of Thrones and How I Met Your Mother. However, Dexter began losing its way before season 8 aired.

Season 8's finale showed Dexter mercy-killing his sister Deb in a hospital, dropping her body in the ocean during a hurricane, and abandoning his son, Harrison. Dexter then went to live out his days as a lumberjack in Oregon. Lead actor Michael C. Hall cited frequent turnover in the writer's room for Dexter "lacking a cohesive narrative". Dexter producers later blamed Showtime for not letting them kill Dexter at the end of the show (via CBR), as the writers originally intended. In the eyes of many longtime viewers though, Dexter really began losing its way several seasons earlier.

When Did Dexter Start To Drop In Quality?

Season 5 & 6 Featured Several Questionable Moments

Dexter Season 5 was ultimately the beginning of the drop in quality for the rest of the series compared to the show's first 4 seasons. Narrative issues like the dropping of Quinn's investigation and Lumen's abrupt departure mark a lack of direction and thoughtfulness in the storytelling. Season 6 features narrative problems, including the handling of Travis Marshall's potential as a compelling character. The show still had a strong viewership, although Dexter season 6 featured a drop-off after the disappointing fifth season.

However, the finale of season 6, "This is the Way the World Ends," finishes strongly with Deb walking in on Dexter mid-kill. The huge twist that ended season 6 is likely why the seventh season rebounded so strongly in both viewership numbers and better critical acclaim.

Dexter Season 7 Marked A Return To Form

Season 7 Couldn't Save Dexter From Its Disastrous Final Season

Dexter picked up in quality again after seasons 5 and 6. Deb's discovery leads to a large improvement in quality for season 7, which features the destruction of her and Dexter's relationship, with Deb killing Laguerta and screaming, "I hate you!" at Dexter. The show would have recovered from seasons 5 and 6 if the show had wrapped up after season 7's excellent finale, "Surprise, Motherf***er!" Instead, the show pivoted into season 8, which features lesser antagonists in Elway and The Brain Surgeon, and an abrupt cutoff between Dexter and Deb after an awkward six-month time-jump.

Season 8 fails to tie together the story elements the show has been building.

Season 8 fails to tie together the story elements the show has been building through its eight-season run, leaving viewers with a disappointing finale that doesn't feel like Dexter. The downward trend in quality starting in Dexter's season 5 allowed the series finale to fall flat, despite the show's hopeful resurgence in season 7. Luckily, Dexter got a chance to improve on the original ending with Dexter: New Blood. This allowed the writers to finally kill Dexter as they originally planned, while leaving things open for a Dexter spin-off, and a much better ending to the main story.