Could not have been more wrong with my above prediction. Spoiler Not sure how I feel about the whole pen thing. They kind of mentioned it with Hannah and Dex talking, but not that it was fake. I didn't think it was really implied that it was faked from their conversation. So either major oversight by the writers, them just assuming we picked up that it was faked, or more Hannah next season. Hopefully she doesn't go the way of Lumen, living but never coming back (though I'm glad there was no more Lumen). I figured eventually Deb would have to kill someone, but hoped it was too obvious a choice for the writers to take. My guess is they'll make a big deal over Batista coming out of retirement to hunt down Dex and Deb next season. I think Dexter should have just framed Laguerta for Estrada's murder rather than kill her. I imagine those warrants wouldn't have seen the light of day if Laguerta was in jail, and her motives would have been clear, given Dex's brilliant set up at the beginning of the episode. Guess he was better off not taking any chances. Maybe the series finale ends with Dex, Hannah, and Harrison on a boat headed towards Argentina. But probably not.
It's over, no more spoilers. House rules. Hollllllllllllllllllllly Shit. Aside from Hanna's final outcome of the episode-- which was stupid as fuck-- that was AWESOME. Ended perfectly to lead into the final season. That was a great cat-and-mouse episode andbest of all.... "SUPRISE, MOTHAFUCKA." What a nice reunion for fans of the show.
Pile of thoughts I didn't love the way the episode ended, but it was pretty crazy awesome. Definitely a set-up for next year. Isn't someone going to ask Dexter why he's dressed like that? I did like the fact that Deb took the shot, apparently her running over to LaGuerta was improvised. She didn't have any blood on her shirt after which was weird. I wonder if they stayed there and continued to set-up the whole thing, removed the bullet from Deb's gun, and set up the rest of the scene. Pretty sure Hannah is going to be around. She left the plant there, Dexter is going to come back and find it. I also think that Deb or Arlene the friend put something in the water. Hannah definitely doesn't make mistakes, but she sure as hell didn't argue solidly enough for her case. Holy hell, its going to be crazy next year.
I wasn't as happy with the finale as the rest of you seem to be. Deb was never going to shoot Dexter and LaGuerta was as good as dead once she came to. I'd imagine they'll just ditch the two bodies as they'll can't stick to Dex's original plan unless the ballistics expert is terrible at his job. Whilst I'm at it, covering up a stab wound by shooting it. Really? I've been wrong with things like that before, but it sounds like absolute bollocks. I think what disappoints me most about this finale is that it seems like they haven't figured out the next season yet, which they've known for a while will be their last. Last year's finale was a proper cliffhanger whilst giving you an idea of how the next season would pan out at the same time. Sunday's episode gives the writers huge options. Hannah McKay could be a big part next season or she could "die on the way back to her home planet". The investigation into LaGuerta's death/disappearance could be a big part or the writers could start next season with "Ever since I killed LaGuerta and made it seem like she fled/killed herself after facing the sack..." That would be a terrible way to start off the final season, but Dexter has let me down in similar ways before so I wouldn't be too surprised. The finale did of course have major repercussions for Deb, but this show is called Dexter, not Deborah and I'm not sure that you want to end the penultimate season with viewers thinking "How is this going to effect a secondary character?" Another one of my problems with this season, and Dexter in general, is how many of the sub-plots are completely irrelevant. Remember when it looked like they were setting Quinn up to be the next Doakes with his suspicions about and dislike towards Dexter? Now you could edit out every single scene of his (of which there were many this season) and it would barely affect anything. Remember Brother Sam and how he changed Dexter's outlook on life? Neither do the writers. Was there any point at all to Louis? It seemed they were setting that character up for much bigger things. There's a lot of good stuff in Dexter, but they need to cut out all the soap opera bullshit that has no effect on the titular character whatsoever. Nobody wants to waste time next season finding out about Batista's restaurant or who Quinn is fucking. I do still enjoy watching the show and as a parent would say "this hurts me more than it does you". I really hope they can come out next year with a final season worthy of a show that when good, can be the best thing on TV. Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention the terrific acting in that episode. The whole cast upped their game big time. Hall and Carpenter were both at their best. I've always thought Strahovski was rather wooden and cast for her supreme hotness, but on Sunday she nailed that scene with Deb which was a rare piece of good writing. Let's hope that in the last twelve episodes the cast are given more to work with by the writers than dreadful lines like "This is LaGuerta's house. What are you hoping to find here?" In short, I'm a bit disappointed but still looking forward to the final season with fingers crossed that they don't fuck it up.