[djsFlames]

Spoiler!

Man... the feels. As a long time fan you didn't want to see it go this way, but you also knew it had to end like this.

I don't think it's a blow up the internet ending, but it was a solid conclusion that stuck the landing.

Clyde got the ending he wanted originally, but just in a slightly different manner since they didn't have the episodes to do the whole death row scenario.

Harrison's response to Dexter at the end was on point. Exactly what you'd expect from a kid who still largely has his innocence intact and has some inherent morality, which means Hannah did a pretty good job raising him despite being a murderer herself.

I guess the way they went was that Dexter assumed Harrison's darkness was just like his and wanted the company of his son in his darkness. To be accepted as a monster and not alone. But the nature of that was selfish, and mostly wishful thinking on Dexter's part, rather than evaluating the situation from the mind of a normal father.

I sided with Dexter in episode 9... I guess I too assumed Harrison was doomed just like his dad and the vigilante thing was an answer (I also wanted to see the show go on). But I also forgot about him being just a kid, and despite doing some heinous things, he hasn't chopped up anybody yet.

To be fair, Harrison could still have the same darkness that hasn't manifested yet in the same way, but he's not there yet. He can still possibly be saved at this stage, and Dexter didn't really try. He thought he was protecting him, but he was luring him down the same path as him, and forgot how what he was doing was still wrong after convincing himself otherwise for so long.

I like how it all hit Dexter and he gained clarity in his final moments. That was also true to the character because he's always been very self aware in his inner monologues and always seeking to try to understand other, normal people and where they are coming from.

I'm content with how true they were to the characters with this ending. Even just Angela outside, building up the courage to do what she had to do next.. it was well executed. It really is the bow on the whole thing that the show needed and deserved the first time around.

Dexter revisiting the faces of his victims was also fitting. But seeing the faces of the innocents that died to keep him free, culminating with Deb... I found myself siding with Angela, as much as I'm not her biggest fan. He had to be stopped there, even though part of you wants his story to keep going.

The only unbelievable part was Batista buying into Angela's theories immediately after realizing Dexter was still alive. I don't believe it. He would still be confused and trying to connect the dots at that point, and probably not ready to throw his old files at Dexter. Given how Angel protected him in the original run, why would he suddenly change his tune now?

Maybe he reflected and re-evaluated LaGuerta's theories in the years since (as she was always important to him) but had let it go since he thought Dexter was gone. But we didn't see that development with him, so it was a bit of a leap with how it was executed. But pretty minor and inconsequential to the overall ending.

I can see exactly why Michael Hall was sold on the pitch for this.