Don't Judge a Show By It's Final Season

Introducing our newest team member:

Kelsey Lawson

Hi, I’m Kelsey and television has ruined my life. If you knew me in high school, you knew me as the "Girl Who Watched Lost." If you know me now, you know me as "The Girl Who Watches a Shit Ton of TV." I am particularly passionate about quirky comedies and sci-fi dramas. I get a little too emotional while watching TV, so I often write my feelings out. This is where you come in.

Don't Judge a Show By Its Final Season

(In which I talk about Dexter, Breaking Bad, Lost, and how everyone feels entitled to an ending they think they deserve)

One of the beautiful aspects of a television show is that no two people watch it the same way. We all find different characters to love, different romantic pairings we root for, and different endings we desire. 

Now, I don't have much experience in the way of final seasons. The only show I've ever watched that was lucky enough to end on its own terms was Lost. But now I'm experiencing the end of Breaking Bad and Dexter simultaneously. And something I’m noticing is when a show enters its final season, people tend to get angry.

I started watching Dexter the summer before season 6 started, and wow was it amazing. By the time I reached season 4, I was in love with the show. Season 6 (my first season watching live) was okay. Season 7 was worse. Season 8? It's been a struggle.

Everything's seemed so... pointless. Can someone tell me why I should have cared about Vogel as a character? Can someone tell me what makes Saxon a good final villain for the show? Can someone please explain to me why Hannah needed Dexter to kill her husband for her? Killing husbands is what Hannah McKay DOES. 

It just seems like the characters are making decisions they wouldn’t have ever, ever made before. It’s come across as lazy writing. It feels like they gave up. So, I wanted to give up, too. But it’s the final season. I have to know how it all ends.

As each episode of Dexter passed, I found I wasn't alone. Everyone's been bashing Dexter. It really doesn't help that Breaking Bad's (amazing) final season has been airing simultaneously. I usually watch Breaking Bad, then Dexter right after. So for a while I thought that's why Dexter's been so terrible. It just can't compare.

But no, I started watching Dexter on Mondays to give myself some time to properly recover from Sunday’s Breaking Bad, and it's still every bit as boring and uninteresting. I mean, there's one episode left you think there'd be something at stake here. Deb's been shot and there's a hurricane threatening to ground all the flights and Elway's on to them, but...who...cares?

You'd think Dexter would be punished somewhat for everything he's done. He is a serial killer after all. I want the police after him! I want him in jail! I want him to die. He kills people!! Viewers seem to forget that. I think the writers have forgotten that.

Serial killers should probably be punished. I mean. If there's any semblance of justice in the world. (Yes, I know there isn't always justice, but this is TV and in TV there generally is.)

But even though I was just complaining about it, I can't completely hate this final season. And it's because of Lost. 

A lot of people thought that the final season of Lost was shit too. But not me. No, I adamantly defended Lost from anyone who tried to tell me that the final season was a piece of crap.

"They're not answering anything!"
"So?"

"The temple is dumb!"
"No, it's not!"

"I don't understand the end!"
"Well, then you're a dumb shit because it was literally spelled out to you."

As the Girl Who Watched Lost, I had to field a lot of complaints. And I would sit there and listen as people talked about how nothing made any sense, and I would just completely ignore them.

Why? Because I loved Lost. And just because YOU didn't doesn't mean that you have to make me like it any less. Yes, I understood that they didn't answer every single question they had posed over 6 years. Yes, I understood they didn't answer most questions they had posed. And yes, most of the answers they DID provide were a little silly. 

But guys. I loved Lost. It changed my life (in more ways than I can count and you want to read), and I will always be in debt to that show. I try to repay it as best I can by defending it.

With everyone shitting on Dexter, I got a sense of déjà vu. Some people probably think Dexter changed their life. Some people are probably defending it right now. They've loved the show from season 1, and they've stuck it out through thick and thin. They are so invested in the lives of these characters that they don't want to say goodbye. 

We should let these fans enjoy the last episode that will ever air of their beloved show. It's all they have. 

So while the final season of Dexter might not be up to the standards the show used to reach, that doesn't mean that we should go around saying Dexter is a piece of shit. 

It just faltered a bit at the finish line. I'll admit, Lost did a bit too. But god, I still love that show. I always will. And I know people feel similarly about Dexter.

So let’s let them love it, embrace it, hold on to it while they still can. Because in one week, Dexter will be over, and all the people who say it's shit won't have to watch it anymore. 

I'm going to stop saying how bad I think this season of Dexter is. I'm going to watch the finale, and say "it was a fine television show."

Not every show can end like Breaking Bad. Hell, there are still two episodes left. They might completely nosedive at the finish line. (This is highly unlikely.)

I guess what I'm trying to say, and what I have completely jumped around here, is that you should never judge a show by its final season. Judge it by what it's about. When you look at the core of a show, what drives every decision that has been made, what is it really about?

Is Dexter just a show about a serial killer who kills bad people? No. 

Dexter is a show about a man who thinks he's less than human. And so far, this final season has done a damn good job of proving otherwise. 

So, I have a proposal: Sit down. Grab a snack. Relax. And enjoy final seasons of shows. Because when the credits roll on that last episode, that's it. It's over. 

-Kelsey Lawson

If you LOVED Kelsey's piece, then look out for her reviews and pieces in upcoming editions and don't forget to let her know your thoughts!

As always, Happy Watching