Dexter season 8
Dexter | |
---|---|
Season 8 | |
File:Dexter Season 8 promotional poster.jpeg | |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Release | |
Original network | Showtime |
Original release | June 30 September 22, 2013 | –
Season chronology | |
The eighth and final season of Dexter premiered on June 30, 2013.[1] The season follows Dexter Morgan, who is forced to deal with his past when he comes across Dr. Evelyn Vogel, an expert on psychiatry who returns to Miami. Nicknamed the Psychopath Whisperer, she claims to have structured the code for him alongside Harry. This season also deals with a new serial killer in Miami that removes pieces of the victims' brains, and with Debra who is trying to deal with what she has done in the past season.
Cast
Main
- Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
- Jennifer Carpenter as Debra Morgan
- Desmond Harrington as Joey Quinn
- C. S. Lee as Vince Masuka
- David Zayas as Angel Batista
- Aimee Garcia as Jamie Batista
- Geoff Pierson as Deputy Chief Tom Matthews
- James Remar as Harry Morgan
Special Guest Stars
Recurring
- Sean Patrick Flanery as Jacob Elway
- Dora Madison Burge as Niki Walters
- Dana L. Wilson as Det. Angie Miller
- Darri Ingolfsson as Oliver Saxon/Daniel Vogel
- Bethany Joy Lenz as Cassie Jollenston
- Sam Underwood as Zach Hamilton
- Kenny Johnson as U.S. Marshal Max Clayton
- Scott Michael Morgan as Lyle Sussman
- John D'Aquino as Ed Hamilton
- Nick Gomez as Javier Guzman/El Sapo
- Aaron McCusker as A.J. Yates
- Valerie Cruz as Sylvia Prado
- Nicole LaLiberte as Arlene Schram
Guest stars
- Rhys Coiro as Andrew Briggs
- Barbara Tarbuck as Ms. Sussman
- Rebecca Staab as Lucy Gerard
- Andrew Elvis Miller as Ron Galuzzo
- Rolando Molina as Armando
- David Chisum as Kevin Wyman
- Julian Sands as Miles Castner
Production
On March 1, 2013, Jennifer Carpenter reported on her Twitter that Michael C. Hall would be directing the second episode of season 8, which was his directing debut.[2]
On April 18, 2013, Showtime officially announced that the eighth season would be the show's last.[1]
On May 9, 2013, the official Dexter Facebook fanpage posted a behind the scenes photo of a clapper showing that episode 6 of season 8 would be directed by John Dahl.[3]
Episodes
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
85 | 1 | "A Beautiful Day" | Keith Gordon | Scott Buck | June 30, 2013 | 2.48[4] |
86 | 2 | "Every Silver Lining..." | Michael C. Hall | Manny Coto | July 7, 2013 | 2.52[5] |
87 | 3 | "What's Eating Dexter Morgan?" | Ernest Dickerson | Lauren Gussis | July 14, 2013 | 2.43[6] |
88 | 4 | "Scar Tissue" | Stefan Schwartz | Tim Schlattmann | July 21, 2013 | 2.47[7] |
89 | 5 | "This Little Piggy" | Romeo Tirone | Scott Reynolds | July 28, 2013 | 2.55[8] |
90 | 6 | "A Little Reflection" | John Dahl | Jace Richdale | August 4, 2013 | 2.21[9] |
91 | 7 | "Dress Code" | Alik Sakharov | Arika Lisanne Mittman | August 11, 2013 | 1.90[10] |
92 | 8 | "Are We There Yet?" | Holly Dale | Wendy West | August 18, 2013 | 1.94[11] |
93 | 9 | "Make Your Own Kind of Music" | John Dahl | Karen Campbell | August 25, 2013 | 2.28[12] |
94 | 10 | "Goodbye Miami" | Steve Shill | Jace Richdale & Scott Reynolds | September 8, 2013 | 2.34[13] |
95 | 11 | "Monkey in a Box" | Ernest Dickerson | Tim Schlattmann & Wendy West | September 15, 2013 | 2.40[14] |
96 | 12 | "Remember the Monsters?" | Steve Shill | Scott Buck & Manny Coto | September 22, 2013 | 2.80[15] |
Reception
According to Metacritic, the early response to Season 8 was mostly positive, the first two episodes of the season received a score of 71 out of 100.[16] With a few episodes left in the season, Rolling Stone opined that Dexter [is] still "cleverly written and has a core cast of characters we care for", concluding that "everyone's favorite serial killer still has some gas left in his tank".[17] However, as the season went on, reception dropped drastically. The post-season reception was extremely negative. IGN gave the season as a whole a 5.5, citing poor writing and the ending as two of the reasons for its poor quality.[18] The A.V. Club gave the season as a whole a D-.[19]
Series finale episode
The series finale met a mixed and polarized response, although the majority opinion was negative. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times praised Carpenter's performance as worthy of an Emmy nomination and argued that "the parting scenes between Dexter and Deb, possibly the most powerful sibling bond television has ever seen, gave the show the send-off it deserved".[20] Mike Hale of the New York Times said he "bought the ending", and fans "may or may not think that Dexter’s final resting place is the one he deserves. But it works".[21] Entertainment Weekly championed the series finale as "the best Dexter episode in years. ... It was also one of the strangest episodes in the show's history ... It's like watching a different series, one that was more compelling than the show it served to close."[22]
Other responses to the finale were scathingly negative. Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "F" and argued that the writers botched "the landing" by choosing ambiguity to avoid the conflict of "whether or not [fans] wanted Dexter to get away with it."[23] Frazier Moore of the Associated Press called the ending sappy, sloppy, and a "cop-out".[24] Richard Lawson of The Atlantic Monthly described the finale as an "unbelievably unsatisfying end [which] ruins all that came before it", including Dexter's universally acclaimed seasons 1-4.[25]
Showtime president David Nevins praised the series finale, defending it against fan backlash by saying: "The fundamental design of where they ended Dexter was really well conceived. He had to sacrifice the one person who was closest to him in the world, and he had to leave. That was where it was headed for a very long time." Nevins also said there were never any discussions to kill off Dexter, and they didn't just keep the character alive for a potential spinoff series, which as of January 2014 they were discussing making, but not as a continuation to the original series.[26]
References
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (April 18, 2013). "It's Official: Dexter's Eighth Season Will Be Its Last". Deadline. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
- ^ Carpenter, Jennifer (March 2, 2013). "If u thought he was a good actor just wait for 802 Michael C. Hall, director! & I quote "Don't fuck up your line." Wish he'd started yrs ago". Twitter.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152831062040271
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (July 2, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'BET Awards' Wins Night + 'True Blood', 'Dexter', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Falling Skies' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (July 10, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings:'True Blood' Wins Night, 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Dexter', 'Falling Skies', 'Devious Maids', 'The Killing' & More". Retrieved July 10, 2013.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (July 16, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Blood' Wins Night + 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Sprint Cup', 'Real Housewives of NJ', 'Falling Skies' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (July 23, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Blood' Wins Night, 'Naked and Afraid', 'Falling Skies', 'Dexter', 'Devious Maids', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (July 30, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Blood' Wins Night + 'Naked and Afraid', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', NASCAR, 'Dexter' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (August 6, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings:'True Blood' & 'Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives' Win Night, 'Dexter', 'Devious Maids', 'The Killing', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (August 13, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Breaking Bad' Wins Night, 'True Blood', 'Low Winter Sun', 'Devious Maids', 'Dexter', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (August 20, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Breaking Bad' Wins Night + 'True Blood', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', NASCAR, 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (August 27, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'MTV Video Music Awards' Dominates + 'Breaking Bad', 'Real Housewives of NJ', 'Catfish', 'Dexter' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (September 10, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Breaking Bad' Wins Night + 'NFL Countdown' 'Dexter', 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (September 17, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Breaking Bad' Wins Night, 'Real Housewives', 'Dexter, 'Devious Maids', 'Boardwalk Empire', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (September 24, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Breaking Bad' Wins Night + 'Dexter' Series Finale, 'Devious Maids', 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "Dexter: Season 8"
- ^ Neuymer, Scott (August 15, 2013). "Has Dexter Gone On Too Long?" Rolling Stone
- ^ http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/25/dexter-season-8-review
- ^ http://www.avclub.com/review/idexteri-103194
- ^ McNamara, Mary (September 23, 2013). 'Dexter' Finale: Please, give Jennifer Carpenter an Emmy Nomination. Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Hale, Mike (September 19, 2013). "The 'Dexter' Finale: Expect Controversy." The New York Times
- ^ Hibberd, James (September 22, 2013). "'Dexter' series finale recap: Our Take on That Shocking, Strange Ending". Entertainment Weekly
- ^ Alston, Joshua (September 22, 2013)
- ^ Moore, Frazier (September 23, 2013). "'Dexter' cuts its own throat in sappy series end." Associated Press
- ^ Lawson, Richard (September 23, 2013). "The Terrible End of Our Once Beloved Dexter". The Atlantic Wire
- ^ "'Dexter' Spinoff 'Would Have to Involve' Michael C. Hall, Showtime Boss Says". The Hollywood Reporter. January 16, 2014.
Further reading
- Heritage, Stuart (August 27, 2013). "Dexter: Where did it all go wrong?". The Guardian Blog.