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Is Dexter worth watching?
- Thread starter Ashby
- Start date
Sure but I remember thinking it was peak television and now I can't think of anything that was particularly good outside of Michael C. Hall's acting. Even that is boosted by everyone else being bad.
Seasons 1-4 are really great. 5, 6 and 8 are dreadful but I actually enjoyed season 7. Ray Stevenson is awesome in that season, as is Yvonne Strahovski.
Watch Season 1-4, run through 5 and 6 (you'll know what to skip), watch 7, umm... I don't know just watch the first and last episode of 8 if your still have the strength.
The show had potential but the major decision in S4 marked the beginning of the end in my opinion.
The show had potential but the major decision in S4 marked the beginning of the end in my opinion.
I second this; season 1 is phenomenal and makes you go "wow, cannot believe I found such a great series and have so many more seasons/episodes to watch!". But I got to the point where I looked up Dexter wiki and the story just gets absolutely ridiculous. It falls into the trap of "die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain". AKA go out a great show or keep it going for the heck of it.
The supporting cast is great, by the time you hit season 5 they are all like family.
Like when Masuka explains that one crime scene, shit was hysterical
I liked season 1 a lot and immediately noticed a decline in season 2. I don't think I liked 3 much but 4 was cool. After that it was trash and should be forgotten.
You've already seen the very best the show has to offer. There's gotta be another show you haven't seen that would be more worth your time. Unless you find the subject matter of Dexter to be extremely appealing I would move on while your opinion of the show is still positive.
You've already seen the very best the show has to offer. There's gotta be another show you haven't seen that would be more worth your time. Unless you find the subject matter of Dexter to be extremely appealing I would move on while your opinion of the show is still positive.
Season 1 and 2 - strong
Season 3 - good, a little on autopilot-y
Season 4 - good start, builds well and decent ending point
Season 5 - Fuck off
Season 6 - FUUUUCCCK OFFFFFF
Season 7 - Ray Stevenson was a great foil and it was ok generally. Picked up a bit and ended on an interesting point
Season 8 - FUCK OFF FROM FUCKING SPACE YOU FUCKING HACKS WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK IS THIS SHIT
Season 3 - good, a little on autopilot-y
Season 4 - good start, builds well and decent ending point
Season 5 - Fuck off
Season 6 - FUUUUCCCK OFFFFFF
Season 7 - Ray Stevenson was a great foil and it was ok generally. Picked up a bit and ended on an interesting point
Season 8 - FUCK OFF FROM FUCKING SPACE YOU FUCKING HACKS WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK IS THIS SHIT
Season 8 could I guess qualify in part as 'so bad it's actually good' territory, but the cardinal sin of S5, S6 and parts of S3 to me was ultimately it was just 'boring bad' territory
Except maybe that bit when they absolutely have zero fucks and had that guy
paint a big murial picture of Dexter with freaking demon horns on his wall, I cackled out loud a lot when I first saw that
Just watch the whole series. Season 8 is a travesty that everyone should witness. 1-4 are great though 3 is pretty inconsequential IIRC. 5 is garbage, 6 is alright and 7 is pretty good. I have no idea how they went from 7 to 8, it seemed like they were getting better with each passing season from 5.
While seasons 2 through 4 were acceptable I guess, only season 1 holds up for me in retrospect. It perfectly stands on its own and anything past it only lessens its impact imo.
Dexter felt so special at first but it eventually turned into one of the worst shows I've ever seen. Just stick with season 1.
Dexter felt so special at first but it eventually turned into one of the worst shows I've ever seen. Just stick with season 1.
Season 1 and 4 is solid, but you kinda gotta watch Season 2 for the Doakes story arch cause he was the best character on the show.
Watch Season 1-4 then leave the amateur shit alone and move on to The Wire or The Sopranos if you haven't seen them.
Scott Buck's writing and showrunning comes off as some rich kid who never worked a day in his life and paid for grades to get to where he is. He takes a hot dump on the first four seasons and repeatedly insults the viewers intelligence to the point where you can hear brain cells die. I can't think of anything more wasteful I've done in life than watch the last few seasons of Dexter, I will regret those hours on my deathbed seriously. Having a bout of diahrrea is more rewarding.
Scott Buck's writing and showrunning comes off as some rich kid who never worked a day in his life and paid for grades to get to where he is. He takes a hot dump on the first four seasons and repeatedly insults the viewers intelligence to the point where you can hear brain cells die. I can't think of anything more wasteful I've done in life than watch the last few seasons of Dexter, I will regret those hours on my deathbed seriously. Having a bout of diahrrea is more rewarding.
It's not even mainly his fault. The original showrunner wanted to actually move the plot forward, Showtime wanted it to be dragged out, so they fired him. Then the replacement showrunner got fired after a season. Then Scott Buck got promoted from the writers room and the writers were essentially blocked from doing any ending that made sense for Dexter, because Showtime wanted to leave open the possibility for a sequel or revival.
SPOILERS FOR WHAT HAPPENS IN THE STUPID FINALE:
There's not a lot anyone can do when the network executives want to drag out their cash cow.
The show has a giant problem with the most of the season plot arcs being pointless and 100% erased by the time the next season premiere finishes, and the supporting cast being generally awful. One of the absolute largest drops in quality between A plot and B plots in recent television history.
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3 isn't really very good and 4 is overall a pretty messy season that is propped up by Lithgow and the finale. They just seem better due to the complete drop in quality or logic in the latter 4 seasons. 1 and 2 are the only legit good seasons with few major issues.
Lithgow could read the ingredients off the back of a box of jello and make it thrilling.
I've literally never anticipated a next episode more. I thought that was the season finale, and then only after that seen did I realize there were 2 episodes left.
There's really some great stuff in Dexter, mired in varying degrees of awfulness. 2/3/5/6/7 are treading water and sometimes drowning, and then 8 is when the shit waves overtook the show and not even the main Dexter arc was worthwhile.
Without question, there is cause to watch just for him, but really when you step back and look at the rest of the season, how Dexter acts and everything it's pretty dumb and nonsensical and is very much in line with the kind of super dumb stuff that follows in the next four seasons. It just had the luxury of an amazing antagonist.
I've never seen those clips after Darius' vines ... lmao. BAPTIZE MOTHERFUCKER
Pretty much my ranking, too. I'd downgrade 5, 6, and 7 to Terrible, Bad, and Decent, personally, but yeah. 1, 2 and 4 were the only really good ones. Some people rank 6 lower than 5, but I don't, maybe because 5 was just such a huge drop from 4 that it made it seem worse. even the acting took a big fall.
S7 was a definite uptick, which gave me hope for S8. bahaha
Honestly, Season 2 was so so but really just set the "rinse and repeat" for the rest of the show, getting shittier and shittier until it just topples over from its immense stupidity.
Dexter is a pretty clear-cut case for me. One half of the show is good (enough). One half of the show is not good.
After watching the finale, I went back and watched the pilot. Night and day. Honestly the first season is fresh, conceptually, with an intriguing main character. It could be watched on its own and I'd say it's worth the time.
The back half (S5-S8) is a constant battle of just hoping it'll get better when it never does other than a few episodes in S7 where they give Dexter a decent antagonist again.
Watch half the show and be done. Reading a summary of the events after is probably just as worthwhile as watching the train wreck.
After watching the finale, I went back and watched the pilot. Night and day. Honestly the first season is fresh, conceptually, with an intriguing main character. It could be watched on its own and I'd say it's worth the time.
The back half (S5-S8) is a constant battle of just hoping it'll get better when it never does other than a few episodes in S7 where they give Dexter a decent antagonist again.
Watch half the show and be done. Reading a summary of the events after is probably just as worthwhile as watching the train wreck.
Just rewatched the complete show lately but after the 4th its downhill. You could give it a shot tho but if your really into Michael C Hall i would recommend Six Feet Under which is a much better series and stays good threw all its 5 seasons.
Really i would recommend it to all whom have not seen it yet.
Really i would recommend it to all whom have not seen it yet.
The way they off'd Doakes is almost offensive. Set afire by Lila PARDON MY TITS. Then gets pegged as the Bay Harbor Butcher! I was hoping Doakes would end up on Dexter's table or vise-versa. Doakes V Dexter was some good shit while it lasted.
I think that season 4 was pretty bad too, in spite of the great villain performance.
I just remember the plot and scenarios becoming increasingly stupid past a threshold I was willing to accept. And good god, the "Ghost Dad" consciousness become one of the most obnoxious things. IIRC "he" was basically supposed to be gone at some point but then he came back and stayed until the end of the show or near the finale anyway.
I just remember the plot and scenarios becoming increasingly stupid past a threshold I was willing to accept. And good god, the "Ghost Dad" consciousness become one of the most obnoxious things. IIRC "he" was basically supposed to be gone at some point but then he came back and stayed until the end of the show or near the finale anyway.
Beginning a long tradition of season finales basically deleting any plot progress of the preceding 9 episodes.
I see a lot of hate towards the later seasons. I recommend watching it all the way through. I'll admit the later seasons aren't anything special. But the first season is AMAZING and seasons 2 and 3 I thought were good. Worth watching.
Season 4's antagonist and ending haven't been topped for me yet. My typical rewatch has typically been 1-4 then 6-7.
