“This was the only fitting punishment,” executive producer Sara Colleton says

Sep 23, 2013 19:41 GMT  ·  By
“Dexter” ends with “Remember the Monsters?” episode, fans are not happy with it
   “Dexter” ends with “Remember the Monsters?” episode, fans are not happy with it

After 8 long years of ups and downs, Dexter Morgan completed his journey on “Remember the Monsters?,” the final episode of the eighth and final season of “Dexter,” airing on Showtime last night.

The episode was meant to tie up loose ends and finally offer closure for Dexter (Michael C. Hall) and his equally troubled but not serial killer sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter).

It did so in a quite surprising manner, but one that failed to rise to fans’ expectations. Fans and critics alike are describing the final episode as a “disappointment,” a rushed finale that capped off a bad season.

Executive producer Sara Colleton has gone on the defensive in an interview with TV Line.

*Those who have not seen season 8 / series finale, are encouraged not to read any further, because major spoilers are included.*

It was to be expected to have at least one of the two leading characters die at the end. Colleton says the only ending that made sense within the context of Dexter’s journey was to kill off Deb. By Dex’s hand, though not in the way he usually kills his victims.

“We’ve seen him on this journey – he started off as faking it but then became real somewhere along the line – and we’ve seen year-to-year what this journey has cost him. So, in the finale, the final price comes through…” Colleton says, arguing that they never even considered an ending in which Dexter died.

“If he had listened to the Dark Passenger and stuck to the Code, he would never have left Saxon, he wouldn’t have thought that he didn’t need to kill, that he’s got a stronger pull. Deb, who was his touchstone and soulmate, died — and this was the only fitting punishment,” she continues.

“He banishes himself, if you will, into exile. When he looks into the camera in the end [of the finale], the rest is silence; there’s not even a voiceover there anymore. It’s just emptiness… Committing suicide is too easy; that’s letting himself off the hook,” the exec adds.

Even though this ending was planned years ago, Colleton is aware that it might not sit well with fans. She’s right on that point, in that fans found the series finale a disappointment, but it was for other reasons than the way the Dex – Deb arc story wrapped up.

“This is always as we have planned it. I’m sure there will be a great bit of discussion and controversy about it, but for those of us who have been involved with the show from the very beginning, it feels — and it felt — right,” Colleton stresses.

As for the reasons many fans hated the ending, they had to do with the way writers handled other characters and certain twists. A serial killer whom at least one Miami cop suspects, walking out of a police station after killing a suspect seems hard to believe, don’t you think?