Dexter was released on October 1, 2006, and since then the crime adventurers of Dexter Morgan have a special place in everyone’s heart and mind. The series can be described as a psychological thriller, crime, mystery, and dark comedy basically Dexter has everything to state it as a beloved series of all time. The series takes on an exciting journey of Dexter Morgan, he witnessed some gruesome moments when he was mother was murdered right in front of him and Henry Morgan adopts him but finds out about his psychopathic tendency later, he eventually uses Dexter to fulfil his hopes of killing criminals. Dexter has all the plans to kill the criminals brutally, he also lives his life juggling between two personas. The series is widely popular and you may definitely find an interesting series to binge-watch, as the series will surely make every viewer hooked. Dexter managed to get 24 Primetime Emmy nominations, 10 Golden Globes, 7 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Peabody Award. The show is celebrated for its actors, storyline, etc. Dexter was back with a new series titled Dexter: New Blood and that season was also appreciated. Dexter takes a new turn to a maybe cliche story.
But every show has rather good and bad seasons, which is also the case with Dexter. While the first four seasons were critically acclaimed, the fans did not enjoy the rest of the seasons as much, and the ratings declined. Eventually, the makers decided to give the series a rest and ended the series with season 8 in 2013, and today we are going to talk about the worst seasons of Dexter so you would know the good and the bad seasons of Dexter.
Dexter Season 8
Every other article on the internet and every viewer of the show will agree that season 8 of Dexter is the worst season. The 8th season was slammed because everyone thought the storyline was repetitive, and insensitive and refused to give any character development to Dexter. Dexter is the main character of the show but he definitely is not the greatest person and if it was real life he would have faced some consequences for his actions, many critics and fans stated that the creators were trying too hard to portray the character of Dexter as heroic as they can and that became really sulking to encounter.
Season 7 ended with a fan favourite character Debra Morgan killing an innocent woman to keep Dexter out of jail and Debra became self-destructive because of the guilt she was burdening herself with, the viewers were excited to see where the relationship between Debra Morgan and Dexter will go but the creators made the bad decision of taking a leap of 6 months in the season 8. In season 8 Debra became an addict and Dexter’s life had no impact whatsoever. Fans were furious to see the state of Debra and how the relationship between Debra and Dexter was not affected, the decision of the creators makes this the worst season of Dexter with a bad ending and sloppy writing.
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Dexter Season 5
Clyde Phillips was out of Dexter after the season finale of season 4, which is a record-breaking season in the history of television and Dexter at that time. Season 5 tried to add some new things while ignoring the important aspects of last season. At the end of season 4 Rita, the love interest of Dexter was dead, he was in a bad place at the time, and he should have taken some time to heal from the pain, but the makers decided to introduce Lumen who will be another love interest of Dexter. Lumen was a great character, she was helping Dexter because she had the same life story as Dexter, she was a great match for Dexter but then she abruptly left at the end of season 5. Dexter wanted to change and start a new life with Lumen, but after she left, he again became the same person. The creators could have given a reason as to why Lumen left or some other satisfying moment to Dexter. It feels as if they took all the happiness of Dexter to keep the show going.
Dexter Season 6
Season 6 of Dexter explored the side of his faith, whether he believes in religion or not, or can his crimes and intentions be exempted. The new serial killers in the town Travis Marshall played by Colin Hanks and James Geller played by Edward James Olmos, were described as unrealistic and the viewers could not fathom their characters, they could not understand how a person who has no idea about murder can clean the location effectively without leaving any spots. The religion part of season 6 was not studied fully so it felt like the writers had zero ideas about what religion is, and they failed to conclude their own theory properly. Season 6 was also the season where the story arc of Debra Morgan and Dexter Morgan was explored, the fact that they were half-siblings and their romance blossomed makes everything a little uncomfortable. Every episode of season 6 was feeling like it was trying to portray Dexter in a different light, in one episode he would seem like an evil person who is an atheist and in another episode, he would seem like an innocent person who is just on the wrong path and can be saved by some teachings of god. While the season did make some interesting choices and had a great cliffhanger, the writing was sloppy and did not conclude anything in the end.
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Dexter Season 3
This season can be described as nothing is going on and a lot is going on at the same time. Dexter is married to Rita, and he also comes across a lot of character development. Season 3 talked about the reasons Why Dexter is the way he is, and looks at him as a villain rather than a hero, and the fans get to know that they were fooled into thinking that Dexter was a hero. The introduction of Miguel Prado played by Jimmy Smits was also a good choice, as that led to a good story arc that was interesting and really well written. The other season tried to portray Dexter as a good person because he had strict codes and he would kill people who were much worse than him, but he was also a stone-hearted person who had no remorse for his actions. Dexter also thinks about his father Harry and would think of the reasons behind his actions and where he is in life now. The character of Debra Morgan was also explored properly as she is in a relationship with a criminal Anton, while they are trying to find the trail of a serial killer Skinner. The third season was a good season and had good writing but it was also underwhelming, to say the least. It was less chaotic but paved the way for season 4 but it made people quite disappointed with the story arc overall a better season than season 8.
Dexter Season 7
Season 7 was a good season compared to seasons 6 and 5, it was a sudden improvement in overall writing and decisions of the creators. There were many great story arcs in season 7 and all of them seemed to be clashing but in the end, all the questions were answered beautifully. The character of Hannah McKay played by Yvonne Strahovski was one of many great characters in Dexter. Dexter is drawn to Hannah McKay but Debra is trying to investigate her for the murder, Debra is also on the go to find out if the most important person in her life is a serial killer. Issac Sirko played by Ray Stevenson was also another great villain of Dexter, he seemed like a bad person but he also had a good heart with a passionate personality. Hannah McKay tries to help Dexter, knowing more about him and also the reasons behind his decisions, and their character development was impressive. The second half of Dexter mainly focused on portraying Dexter as a hero, but season 7 looked into the soul of Dexter deeply, and not just Dexter but also the supporting characters. Phillips left the show before season 6 and the writers coped with that loss fantastically and talked about the romance and relationships perfectly. In season 7 there was neither a hero nor a villain, just some people with rough upbringing who are trying to justify their wrongdoings but they all need just some love and help.
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Dexter Season 9 or Dexter: New Blood
Dexter finished with 8 seasons, and then a new series Dexter: New Blood was introduced in late 2021 and the series was concluded in early 2022, that series can also be described as the ninth season of Dexter. The end of Dexter was chaotic and many people believed that season 8 should have been concluded more effectively, and the creators felt like they owed a better ending, and that is when the new series was released. Gary Levine and Clyde Phillips got together to create Dexter: New Blood, a 10-episode series. Dexter: New Blood took a leap of 10 years and introduced the son of Dexter Harrison, who is also like his father and shares a lot of similarities. Dexter lives in a fictional town in New York as Jim Lindsay, he is on one another mission to fight Matt Caldwell played by Steve M Robertson. He has to fight Matt Caldwell, his rich and powerful father Kurt Caldwell played by Clancy Brown, and also his girlfriend who is a police officer.
The series could have been more detailed to make it more interesting, the series was concluded in just 10 episodes and if the story was deeply explored it would be able to create some depth, but it was overall a good series. This new addition to the world of Dexter divided the viewers, the reviews were mostly positive and a lot of people were satisfied with the new series, but a lot of people also hated Dexter: New Blood and described it as far worse than season 8.
Dexter Season 1
Most good shows age like wine, the first season is always described as rather boring but as the show progresses the story gets much more depth, and the creators are confused if the story will be liked or not, they do not know if it is well-liked to make multiple seasons. This mentioned scenario is not the case with season 1 of Dexter, as it started beautifully, the first season showed the life of Dexter and his tragic life story surely makes everyone sad and root for him, he becomes a serial killer and why his conditions were justified to him, how his adoptive father Henry Morgan influences him and decides his whole life.
The cliffhanger of season 1 makes everyone wait for the later seasons. Season 1 started with the fight between Dexter and the Ice truck killer played by Christian Camargo, and that was interesting and exciting but the story shifts when it is revealed that they were long-lost brothers and the whole arc becomes emotional and sensitive and it is definitely a great twist. Dexter is lonely and wants to be in a world where people understand him and his motives and why he is the way he is. That loneliness tries to eat Dexter but he dodges away from that and moves on to more missions and stories. It was great to see this strong start of Dexter that a lot of shows lack.
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Dexter Season 2
Season 2 was great because it perfectly followed the storyline of later seasons, and many seasons of Dexter refused to do that. Season 2 showed Dexter the consequences of his actions, he also sees that he has the mercy of James Doakes’ ire, and also Lila’s affection. The season was smooth and the conclusion in the season finale was satisfying to watch. The season could have been better but it was good. This season was filled with dark humour and many people describe it as one of the best seasons of Dexter.
Dexter Season 4
Dexter season 4 broke many records, when the season finale was aired on December 13, 2009, it managed to garner 2.6 million viewers and that made it the most watched episode of that time. Trinity Killer played by John Lithgow is described as the greatest villain of Dexter, he had the ability to juggle between two personalities, and that made Dexter feel that he can also be the same. The fight between Dexter and Trinity Killer reveals a vulnerable side of Dexter that he cares about his close ones. His father made him feel that he can never be a good person but he realizes that he can be if he wants but it was too late when Dexter realizes this. Dexter wants to save his family but he also can not let off psychopathic urges that get the best of him and he loses his family.
The dilemma of Dexter was an interesting concept. He wants to be normal and have a deep human connection but he also does not want to admit that he has an addiction that only he can prevent. The whole storyline of season 4 made everyone think deeply and made people interested in the story and feelings of Dexter. The season finale of season 4 was breathtaking and no other season or episode could match the greatness of season 4.
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