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 — Read the full post.
Dec 14
2009
11:21 AM ET
'Dexter' death: Was it a dream? Was Trinity not the killer?
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I don’t watch Dexter, but I have friends who are invested in the show and talk to me about it.
This season finale sounds like they were trying to do something artful and failed, hence the confusion.
Shades of The Sopranos finale, perhaps?
There wasn’t anything artful about it…Rita was dead, in the bathtub, like Trinity’s other victims.
They didn’t fail at all, it was an amazing finale and season. I recommend watching it first, then commenting on it!! Plus the Sopranos finale was the series finale – Dexter isn’t over and will be back for another season at least. It’s a great show.
you dont watch, yet you feel the need to comment on the ending? (insert eye roll)
I know, right….
Yeah, there’s no confusion and there was nothing ambiguous about the ending. This whole rigmarole is just a case of fans fantasizing about Dexter as happy family man which was NEVER going to happen no matter how much fans and Dexter himself dreamed for it. It was a perfect ending and now the ever-annoying Rita is dead! YAY!
Alright Kevin, speak the truth, amen! Goodbye to annoying, whiny, possessive, demanding, selfish, overbearing Rita!
I love watching Julie Benz play the tough snarky Darla on Buffy. I found Rita tough to watch. I was pleased she was gone.
I love how people call Rita annoying. She is the mother of 3 kids and wife of a serial killer who once cheated on her, had a drug problem (she believed), and was hardly ever home. It’s so annoying how she wanted him to open up more so they could save their marriage.
Rita was a beautiful and kind woman, but she’s gone. People need to realize that this is a show about a killer who brings pain to everyone around him. It’s Dexter’s fault she’s dead. What’s happened to Deb is gis fault. Dexter is basically a curse. This stroy isn’t a happy one and I doubt very seriously that it will have a happy ending, so if the thought of Rita being dead bugs you so much that you have to dismiss it as a silly dream sequence, maybe Dexter isn’t the kind of tale you need to belistening to.
If you don’t watch the show, don’t make comments you are unqualified to make. Your post tried to be insightful and failed, hence your confusion.
Comment on what you know, or don’t comment.
I know a bossy boots when I see one. Can I comment to that effect about YOUR post?
I vote NO. If you don’t watch the show what the hell are you doing here anyways? I smell a troll.
If your comment contains the phrase “I don’t watch the show but..” you have no business here. Get out.
I hope it was all a dream. I watched the show for Julie Benz and the wholesome quality she brought to balance the show’s horror. Rita represents all that was good in the show and in the character of Dexter. His life will truly be hell withour her. bring back Rira!!!!
Trinity’s mannerisms on Dexter’s table reminded me of his mannerisms with the first tub victim we see in the beginning of the season – doubtless, in the back of his mind, he is reliving the moment that Rita/Vera died, with his “It’s already over”, etc.
I think people are reading too much into it and were expecting something even more shocking, and are now latching onto things in the show that aren’t there. It wasn’t a dream. She’s dead. Trinity killed her – probably while Dexter was off searching for him at his house, waiting around after the cops showed up, talking to Deb about Dexter’s mom and brother, watching Trinity’s family leave the police station AND while he went to the mechanic and waited around inside the car. GREAT FINALE and even more amazing season – loved it!!
Yes! Rita is character worth saving! Julie Benz is the best thing about the show — and it is a very good show. Please let it be a dream! Dexter fans email the show — bring back RITA!
Pretty sure you’re in the minority…between family and friends, I know about 20+ rabid Dexter fans and every one of us HATED Rita. And I’m a huge Buffy/Angel fan and used to LOVE Julie Benz…but I too am glad she’s gone, she just never worked in this role.
For every person that writes and asks for Rita to return, I will have each of my personalities write as 10 different people. That means for each person who demands Rita come back, I will write as 63.65 different people. Goodbye Rita, you really made the show less than what it once was, now don’t come back.
She may be in the minority but she is definately not alone. I liked Rita too and I will miss her.
Anyone think that they’ll catch onto Dexter next season? There are too many loose ends. For one, Dexter was on the scene before the SWAT team got there. Trinity’s family is still alive and being questioned. (They’ll probably mention Kyle Butler) Dexter was seen rushing to the bank where Trinity took out all of his money. (where he got arrested) I think wife being murdered will stop him from being suspected of associating with Trinity…Still, I think this will be a major storyline in the first part of next season. You think nobody who saw Trinity walk into the police station will recognize him? They’ll check surveillance tapes and see Trinity telling Dexter to stop extorting him. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out next season.
True. Batista walked right by them and looked at them.
Oh, but there’s so much more! I bet Dex will even be suspected of the murder of his wife. Quinn suspects him of “chasing tail”, Dexter has been showing increased aggression, he was just arrested, Deb knows now he’s the Ice Truck Killer’s brother so maybe he’s screwed up in the head, Rita had the kiss with the neighbor, still unknown how all the evidence/DNA got planted on the false trinity, he knows how Trinity killed so easy for him to stage a kill, plus waited for a time when the kids were gone. I think Dex is in for a world of hurt next season.
I know! That’s what I found the most intriguing at the end of the season finale. I mean, when the police investigate Rita’s murder, there should be a lot of questions. For example, since this fits the MO of Trinity, why would he take such interest in Dexter’s family to break his cycle?
Also, Dexter has no alibi. He was out killing and disposing of Trinity at the time of the murder, so this opens up a whole new line of questioning.
I really hope they’re not going to start the next season with some kind of sad montage of her funeral and gloss over all of these loose ends.
I say Rita is 100% dead and Trinity killed her. Dexter has such amazing writing, they would never pull any dream or things taking place only in Dexter’s head. Incredible ending, it will be interesting if we see any more of what happened that day when the next season returns.
They have played something out in his head before though.. When Dexter confesses to Debra he was a serial killer in the preview for the next episode.. that was just one of his inner thoughts. Maybe they did that to a greater scale to end this season.
Just throwing ideas out there.. I personally believe Rita is dead.
How is “Was Trinity not he killer?” not a spoiler? Thanks EW. You blow.
Really, no one suspected that Trinity might kill someone in the finale? It’s not exactly like we didn’t know Trinity was a killer before this episode……….
It was obvious Trininty would come after dexters family after the failed assault in the parkinghouse after leaving trinity in the van. else the whole point of him knowing Dexter’s “real” Identity woudnt matter at all, I mean the even named one episode after him finding out..
“Hello, Dexter Morgan”
-I did believe he would come after Debra though since he even was in her appartment. It was a really good but tragic ending, I will miss Rita and I doubt she will be seen anymore in the series ( apart from the 2-3 first episodes on her funeral and investigation )
it will be a long and annoying wait till we all get the awnser, but I guess it also open up for watching all the seasons over again atleast 3 more times
It’s not a spoiler because it’s incredibly obvious that Trinity is the killer. I don’t think the author anticipated that would be a legitimate debate, so all that really gives away is that someone died, not who or how or anything else important.
Even people who don’t watch the show know that Trinity is a serial killer. The title doesn’t say anything about who was killed. Just that Trinity killed someone. Well…Duh!!
I will miss John Lithgow on the show. He was so amazing to watch. The show will have a hard time topping the Trinity Killer. He is a great actor!!
I am so excited for single-father Dexter. Rita was getting on my nerves and I think her character had run its course.
What makes me wonder more is how Dexter is going disentangle himself next season:
The FBI are deeply involved now. It won’t be hard to link Dexter to Trinity due to his interaction with Trinity’s family, and the number of people who could recognize him from working with the construction project. Also killing Rita was not part of his regular cycle. He wouldn’t do Miami twice, and he wouldn’t do just one bathtub kill and then leave town. He would have just left town immediately and started somewhere new. The FBI will wonder what the hell that was about.
But, he did kidnap the boy, which signified a start to a new cycle.
That’s very true. i hadn’t thought about that. I’m pretty sure it was trinity. Bathtub gave it away. Harrison born in blood was a coincidence, aimed for a dramatic effect. No one did it to fuck with Dexter. So it would go boy, bathtub, building, and bludgening. I’m assuming the boy was represented to be Trinity losing his innocence, which makes sense why Rita in the bathtub was the next piece in the consistency. It truely is over. Bye Rita
I do think Rita is dead. I don’t think Dexter did it though, that, in my mind just doesn’t work. What throws me off, though is Arthur only had his address to the apartment. Would he find Dexter’s home address that fast? The time factor really throws me for a loop. I think I need to watch that episode again.
Exaclty what I thought. He did not know that Deborah Morgan was his sister. It could have been Dexter’s wife as far as Arthur was concerned. Why not just kill Deborah? How did he find the correct address and link Rita to Dexter?
It could have been that he went through a list like the Miami white pages and went to every D. Morgan’s address as he did with Kyle Butler. And when he went to this particular address there were multiple family pics on the wall as Dexter in his family man form.
Incredible finale… I think Rita is dead and even though Trinity only had the address to the apartment… I’m pretty sure there was something there to lead him to Dexter real home and remember Deb was looking into the dad’s past… with is why Tinity left the baby alive in the blood the same way Dexter was found as a child… Excellent simply excellent show…
She is dead its obvius, i ve always wandered how dexter would end and i never figured a way where he could be discovered and not let rita and the kids down, but now it all makes sense, i bet next season will be the last one, it is clear as a day to me, michael c hall said since the begining of the show that they didnt intended to go for a lot of seasons, i think in the end, dexter will be discovered and possibly killed by debra and she may end up training harrison the same way harry did to dexter, i think thats how the show will end.
So you’re saying that Debra kills Dexter for being a serial killer targetting other serial killers… and then trains his son to be the same way? On what planet does that make sense?
That is like the most stupid thing ever?
I think Debra will find out about dexter but she will forgive him and be understanding, there is no way in hell debra would ever kill Dex.
I think it’s a bigger chance Dex will get rid of his dark passanger but he will see the same pattern in harrison as he grows.
There is no way it was real, I say this because NO ONE knows that Dexter was found in the crime scene in a pool of blood, the case files were destroyed. Also there is no way trinity could get there that fast and the way Trinity kills girls in bath tubs is really precise. Not just anyone could do it.
I haven’t rewatched it yet to figure out if Trinity purposefully put Harrison there like that to mirror Dexter’s childhood trauma, or if Dexter just identified with the scene. Also, Trinity had the whole time Dexter was at Trinity’s house to do it.
I disagree. First of all, it’s hollywood – they make time for everything! Dexter was off looking for Trinity at his house, waiting around after the cops showed up, talking to Deb, etc etc. And instead of ever going home, he went to the mechanic before Trinity even showed up. And why would it matter if anyone knew that Dexter was found in blood as a boy? That’s not what they were saying here – they were saying that this was fate that it all happened to little Harrison, just like it happened to Dexter.
In the previews, Trinity said” I am in front of your house”, but it never came up in the show. He might have left a message around the same time rita left her message about going back to the house. Remember dexter called rita back right away.
He said the last week when he was outside the REAL Kyle Butlers house. Before he killed him to prove a point.
This did indeed come up. Trinity said this in the episode before last when he found out that Kyle Butler’s house was at a marina.
It didnt cross you’re mind that Trinity actually were in Miami 30 years ago? when Harry found dexter in the pool of blood.
He may have found out something about it that we are not aware of atm.
And there is still papers about it as Debra found in Laura Moser’s file. “Brothers Brain and Dexter blablabla”
as sad as i was watching that last night. i think shed dead. i had read previously that “rita” was leaving the show for money. so.. i guess the only way to do that is to kill her off
Trinity didnt finish the cycle if rita was his last victom and im sure since he knew dexter (kyle) stoped the murder of
the 10yr old he wasnt rushing to complete a cycle
im confused how he (trinity) knew how to get to the house found the address ??
he only was seen finding dexters old address to the old appartment not the new house they live in
quiet baby in a pool of blood is more then odd for sure no matter how long after rita died
also rita leaving a message on dexters cell is odd as we didnt see dexter ignore a call from her that night
plus consider it bad writing in my mind to have rita come all the way home to get what she forgot and not wait for dexter to ride
back with him rather the message says see you tonight ???
i personaly wish they had made last nights finally more in detail and maybe had a 2 hour final or one more episode
i do however believe they left all these open ended trails of thought to allow them to be as creative as they see fit for next season
I agree that there were a few loose ends but some of the things you brought up could have simple answeres.
cell phone message:perhaps he was in an area with no service, the timing of notification of the message is suspicious thoug
Debra planning on leaving on her own:she wasn’t able to get a hold of Dexter and for all she knows he might not be planning on going back to the house before catching a flight.
Everything else I am wondering about as well.