I’m reading the comments on my review of last night’s holy-cow!-finale of Dexter, and I’m struck by how many people believe — or hope — that the final scene was a dream. SPOILER ALERT: Do not read further if you don’t want to know to whom I am referring.
I thought it was pretty clear from the shattering last few moments that the series’ season-long big-bad, John Lithgow’s Trinity, killed Dexter’s wife, Rita. But there are a lot of you out there who think there’s a possibility that this all took place in Dexter’s head, that when the next season starts, the Dexter whom we saw only minutes before last night’s conclusion — the man who was voice-overing that he could now be open and free to embrace family life — will indeed be the happier Dexter we’ll see.
Some readers are questioning the time-line of the killing, suggesting that Arthur Mitchell couldn’t have made it over to Dexter’s house, murder Rita, and be on the road when Dexter catches him in Arthur’s Mustang.
Some of you think Rita died, but that Trinity did not kill her — some think Rita committed suicide.
Still others have written that Dexter, in the form of his “dark passenger,” killed Rita, not Trinity.
One comment, from “Zak,” begins: “I think Trinity did not kill Rita, but rather Dexter or Deb did. Here’s my reasoning… ” and Zak proceeds to work out a detailed theory for both possible scenarios.
Other commenters find it impossible to believe that little Harrison would be sitting so calmly in a pool of blood after what must have been hours passing.
And still other writers are saying that the post-show dialogue that Showtime aired — a conversation between stars Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow, in which they discuss the ramifications of Rita’s death for next season — was just a red herring, a way to throw off viewers.
My first reaction to all this was: Dudes, come back from the ledge. Rita’s dead. I know you have a lot invested in the show, but… it’s a show. Characters die, for dramatic effect and to up the ante in the new challenges a long-running series must create for the future.
If you read Michael Ausiello’s fascinating interview with Dexter executive producer Clyde Phillips, you’ll see that it was a tough decision to make, that Julie Benz was “not happy” when she heard the news; you’ll read inside-speculation about next season and Dexter as a “single father.” Check it out.
I’m wondering, however, if you think even Phillips’ comments are meant to throw you off.
Me, I’m sticking with the Rita-is-dead conclusion.
Do you think Rita did not die? Do you not think Trinity was her killer?
For more on Dexter:
The shocking ‘Dexter’ season finale: Read this review if you’ve seen it
‘Dexter’ finale postmortem: Find out why they [spoiler alert]!
Comments (1-15) of 405 Add your comment
Rita is dead. sad but true.
I know!!! But it sucks! It’s so depressing, but it wouldn’t be Dexter if the whole thing turned out to be a dream.
I agree. The finale was right out of left field. No one saw it coming. I am very sad JB is gone. I have followed her carrer since Buffy/Angel and always found her a very talented actress.
One thing I do not get about this is why did Dexter recieve the voice message from Rita when he actually go home ?
That must have been sent hours earlier when she were on her way home from the airport? it’s not like dexter ever has his phone turned off eighter…
If Rita isn’t dead, I will kill myself. My husband and I cheered when we saw her in the tub as we both can’t stand her voice, her ho
You cheered when you saw a mother of three dead in a bathtub full of her blood with her one year old baby sitting only feet from her? Wow.
Celia, it’s fiction. Don’t get too worked up
I’m with Celia on this. Emily I think you should join Angela and her husband.
It’s understandable to be glad a character you don’t like won’t be around any longer, but it is kind of odd to audibly celebrate such a horrifically staged scene.
I think it is funny that you all are taking Angela to task for her comment when each of you is a fan of a show where a serial killer is the hero. Please! Pot, meet kettle.
I liked Rita….she played her part well. But, Rita is dead…don’t think its a dream. The ending sure is working…its got us talking about next season!!!
@RJ: I love Dexter and I know it’s fiction. I agree with most people who thought Rita was annoying, but she was still the love of his life and love her or hate her the way she died is horrific and seriously one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen. I think most people disliked her because had a tendency to be a little naive and clingy, but considering what she’s been through in the past it makes complete sense. Plus I have a feeling she will pop up as a Harry like character in season 5, so she will still be on the show.
ABSOLUTELY!!! I couldn’t stand Rita and if anyone had asked “Who should be next?” it would have been that baby-voiced little dimwit!
My own theory on a possible prolonging of the agony for dexter in series 5 and also what may have occured is this…That trinity did indeed get to Rita with the intention of killing her.However, he changed his usual bathtub murder especially for Dexter.I believe he made Rita aware of all the horrors of her very own serial killer Dexter while holding her down in the tub.He then places the knife into her hands and allows her to slit her own throat and escape the tortured life ahead as long as he allows the baby to survive.Did he not act the same with the woman he forced to jump from the building???
Anyway, thats what I think would be absolutley fantastic for the next series and I hope the writers take this on board and also offer me a job on terrific great programme;o) Please feel free to comment.
I am with all saying she was annoying, especially that voice. Thanks for killing her off.
I’m sad for Julie Benz being unemployed, but I’m GLAD Rita is dead!! OMG what a nag–been wishing it for the last 3 seasons!!
I choked when I saw the final scene.
The moment Trinity said “It’s all over” I had a strange feeling in my stormach…
and when you could hear little harrison cry, my eyes teared up aswell.
Seing lovely wife Rita’s dead face made me feel more alone than I have felt in a long time. I personally dont want Rita to show up like Harry have in the next season, Eighter she’s dead – let it go. or it was all in dexters head ( as I hope for ).
there goes the shows plausibility .how can Dexter be expected to work hunter serial killers, work and raise 3 kids, ALONE?
If Trinity didn’t kill Rita then perhaps the spurned neighbor Elliott??
I was thinking that too, but it’s definitely Trinity. That came from Clyde Phillips himself. Damn it I hate Trinity!
There isn’t a strong enough reason to think it was Elliott and definitely no reason for him to do it Trinity-style.
Huh!!!!!! Elliot! What are you talking about?
Elliot is the neighbor guy that kissed Rita at Thankdgiving, and then Dexter punched.
Go back and watch the scene where Dex kills Trinity. Pay special attention to the repetition of “It’s over.”
As sad as the final scene was, I think Rita is dead for good. As far as writing goes, it opens up so many new storylines for Dexter next season!!
It’s going to be very interesting next season. I just can’t see Dexter as a single dad, when would he let his dark passenger out? Can’t wait to see what the writers come up with.
I think it was Trinity.
As Dexter was coming to the point that he loved his family and wanted to be a better man I was wondering how they were going to handle this new ideal seeking behavior. Rita’s death puts Dexter feeds the dark passenger and will make him more a vigilante. He will want to avenge Rita’s death but won’t be able to because he already did away with her killer.
Dexter didn’t do much stalking or killing this season. Next will bring back more of what the show was initially about in a more impassioned way.
No dream here. Rita is gone, she will be missed, but Dexter needs a reboot.
I really think she is dead. Unless tons of people complain-then they may make her comeback. I don’t get it a lot of people complained about not liking her anyways. Yes, she didn’t deserve this death, but still. Me, I was indifferent towards her.
She’s dead. The only thing that’s interesting is that he left Harrison alive. Trinity had proven he had no problems hurting children, so it did briefly occur to me that someone else did it to look like Trinity. But that would basically only leave Dexter…and I’m not buying that. Trinity killed her. End of story. This isn’t “Lost” people; the answers on this show are pretty cut and dried.
He Left Harrison alive because babies didn’t fit into his pattern of killing. Killing a woman in a bathtub did. If I’ve learned anything about Dexter it’s that serial killers are all about the ritual.
IF they writers make Trinity kill Rita, they’re bigger morons than anyone would’ve taken them for…. criminal psychology 101: a ritualistic serial killer will NOT be able to recreate the ritual if it does not fit PERFECTLY… and rita was not the “perfect fit” for his sister, if he had killed her, he would’ve made her jump off somewhere, not killed her in a bathtub… and if he was running out of time and/or hadn’t killed the one in the bathtub yet to be able to move on to the jumper, he would’ve just killed her in rage, not as a part of his ritual. Someone else HAD to have killed rita, or the writers look like morons who don’t even know what they’re doing…
really Sak? the killer is INCAPABLE of it? even if he warned Dexter to stay out of his way or his family will suffer, after which Dexter drugged him?
Your right, it couldnt at all be that Trinity killed Rita out of vengeance, the way he was comfortable with, in a bathtub.
its not like he has incontrollable rage, and attacked/almost killed his son a cpl episodes back.
nope, that doesnt fit your criminal psych 101.
get a clue bud.
He didn’t say that he was incapable of killing Rita. He very well could have and did. However, it would have made more sense if Trinity killed Rita in a different way, like he did with Kyle Butler. Ritual killers are generally obsessed with their ritual following a certain pattern. Hell, Dexter saved Trinity’s life because he didn’t want him to die by suicide. He wanted him on his table.
Pay attention much? Dex was about to let Trinity fall to die then and there. He only “saved” him because the other volunteers came to the rescue.
He killed that Kyle Butler character, too…so it looks like sometimes Trinity’s character does things outside of his ritual killings, and for a point, or to get people out of the way. Dexter is filled with suspended disbelief, btw…for example, how does Dexter keep his killing helmet and equipment hidden AND close at hand just when he catches who he wants to kill? There are often holes re: timing in the show, but I think they’re plot devices and exist in order to make the show work within an hour successfully. Couldn’t believe how much happened in the finale, when you think about it — amazing. Will be very cool if a surprise killer pops up who’s been watching all along…but doesn’t it seem Dexter-ish and a perfect, simply twisty season ender that Trinity would have killed Rita?
Hey! Thanks for posting the spoiler in the title of your article!! Now I have nothing to look forward to! Keep up the great work!!
What spoiler? The headline is “‘Dexter’ death: Was it a dream? Was Trinity not the killer?”
Dude, Dexter is a show about killers. He didn’t spoil the victim or anything.
Man you people are so whiney. At this point the title of the article could be “Dexter.” and someone would complain that we spoiled his name was still Dexter and he didn’t change it. It wasn’t a spoiler…get over it.
I think Trinity was capable regardless of it not “fitting his killer pattern.” He was already making unusual moves like his attemted suicide for example. Trinity didn’t know what to do when there wasn’t any more of his sister’s ashes in the urn to leave at his crime scenes. I think he was capable of it. I question the time table however, but I could just as easily question Dexter’s.
I was completely shocked by the ending. I am also not too happy about people’s “happy” reaction to Rita’s death. It was annoying that Rita was getting in the way of his killing but certainly I would have never wished her dead. However, I do agree that is does solve Dexter’s problem’s in a way that now he knows that he CAN’T have personal relationships without endangering their lives. From a plot standpoint is does make some things easier.
I was definitely shocked by the ending and didn’t see it coming.
Yes it is fiction BUT it seems from a traditional narrative standpoint, to have something THIS terrible happen to our main protagonist completely a betrayal by the writers. But I understand, this isn’t Disney, and it is a show about a seriel killer BUT because of Dexter’s code it made it ok for me, the viewer, to watch and cheer for Dexter. He was killing bad guys after all, right? Could this be the result of him killing an innocent by mistake?
I echo other’s hope that the death was a dream. I hope so much that it was. I wanted to believe that Dexter could “have it all” that he could have his family AND his vigilantism and make it work. I wanted to believe that he was different than Trinity and that he would be a loving father and meaningful to the people in his life (didn’t they lead us to believe that? with Deb’s emotional outpouring of how imp Dexter was in her life?)
As the viewer it seemed important to me to beleive in Dexter’s infalability- ok recently it was becoming more challenging to keep it together but Trinity was the worst antagonist he had ever encountered in his life and I believed once he trumped him and got him on his table it would all be over. Then his only challenge would be dealing with the ever probing Deb.
I want to continue watching the show about the seriel killer with thte family. Now with Rita’s death, what direction can this go in? Maybe Deb will help him raise the kids?
I want to believe it was a dream. They showed Rita with him and the kids in the future…
the only thing that makes me think it wasn’t a dream is the realty of the cell phone call; there was nothing dream like about that…
It definitely was Trinity and Rita is dead. This ending was brilliant and leaves us all shocked and traumatized and panting for next season. What outstanding performances from Michael C. Hall, John Lithgow and Jennnifer Carpenter, not to mention Julie Benz and the entire cast. Sure, it’s fiction, but oh, so believable. So people, forget about all the time lines and over thinking and just go with it. The entire production team, writers, everyone, just deserve every accolade and award!!!
Okay, if they deserve every accolade and award, I name them “Most Likely to Succeed” and award them the American League Cy Young.
Rita is dead, trinity did it, and now dexter will see Rita’s ghost like he does with Harry.
exactly what I think. He will have rage issues, his “Dark Passenger” will be darker, but Rita will still keep him level by visits like his father’s.
Harry is not a ghost.
thank you Jen for understanding that Harry is not a ghost or some kind of visitor. he is part of Dexter.
I hope he sees her ghost. It would suck for Rita to be completely gone from the show.
How can you say Harry is a ghost?
It’s just a way to show what’s going on in dexters head. it’s the Code Dexter has built in to his system. he doesnt follow the Code at some points in this season and ends up with a dead wife.
This speak against his acts in the third season where he finds himselfs having his own code, that he is the “master” now.
-Harry’s code > Everything.
I think it was pretty obvious that Trinity killed her and I’m kind of puzzled anyone’s thought that it was someone else.
The only speculation in the comments I thought was brilliant was Rita coming back as a ying to Harry’s yang in Dexter’s subconscious. That would be great, I just hate the idea of Julie Benz being out of work again. I’ve loved her since her face graced the screen in the first scene of Buffy’s first episode.
Out of work? Just wait for the next Rambo
Rita was Trinity’s final victim….end of discussion Depending on where you live they rolled a 11+ minute sitdown discussion between Lithgow and Hall where they discussed the season and the shocking ending. You can view the interview on the official Dexter site in the video section.
There is no end of disccusion when talking about Dexter. Many things could have ensued that led to Rita’s death. It is possible she found out about Dexter’s secret and, not wanting to deal with reality, killed herself. Dexter’s writers know what they are doing and you shouldn’t assume that your interpretation is the end all of the discussion. Thank
It was an awesome finale, but sad. Finales do always back a punch like this one did. Definitely leaves us wanting more. Michael C. Hall does a great job as Dexter. I can see that Dexter will defintely be darker next year, but how will he function as a single father? It’s gonna be so good. I am sad to see Rita go though, Julie Benz is a great actress although her character did get a little whiny this season. Keep up the good writing, you all did an awesome job this season.
when I was watching, I thought perhaps Rita was going to end the relationship when Dexter met up eith her at the Keys, but this makes much more sense and gives more drama and creates growth for the show in the future. She sadly, was just tying him down too much. But now, his cop crew will speculate why rinity killed Rita, they will be suspicious of Dexter’s real involvement with the Trinity case….loved the finale!
I was totally shocked at Ritas death but after the shock wore off I realized that its probably better that she die now while she is still happy then to suffer later when Dexter eventually gets caught…which hopefully is way off!