Remember the Monsters?

"Remember the Monsters?" is the series finale of the Showtime television series Dexter. It is the 12th episode of the eighth season, and the 96th episode of the series overall. The episode originally aired on September 22, 2013. It was written by Scott Buck and Manny Coto and directed by Steve Shill.

Plot

Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) arrives at the airport to leave for Argentina with Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski), who is hiding from private detective Jacob Elway (Sean Patrick Flanery) in the women's bathroom. Dexter fills up a backpack full of items and places it under a seat, telling the flight booker that he saw a man leave a suspicious backpack under a seat and walk away. Elway is detained by airport security, allowing enough time for Dexter, Harrison, and Hannah to escape. However, they are unable to board the plane due to Dexter's contrived security threat.

Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), who in the previous episode was shot by serial killer Oliver Saxon (Darri Ingolfsson), rides with Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington) to the hospital. She tells him that she had thought she was going to die and that she would have deserved it. Quinn reassures her that she is a good person, and that he believes the good we put out into the world cancels out the bad. He tells her she will have many opportunities to do good things now that she is a detective again. As they arrive at the hospital and Debra is rushed into emergency surgery, she finally tells a startled Quinn that she loves him.

Against Debra's wishes, Tom Matthews (Geoff Pierson) calls Dexter to inform him that Debra has been shot. Meanwhile, all flights are detained due to the oncoming Hurricane Laura, thus stranding Dexter, Hannah, and Harrison in Miami. Dexter leaves Hannah and Harrison at a hotel to see Debra. At the hospital, the doctor (Amy Pietz) informs Dexter that she is optimistic Debra will recover. Debra tells Dexter to go, and wishes him a happy life.

Meanwhile, Saxon makes his way to the hospital. Dexter confronts him, but before anything can happen, Angel Batista (David Zayas) puts Saxon under arrest. Dexter goes into Debra's room, finding it empty. A shaken Quinn informs Dexter that Deb's condition has worsened. The doctor informs them that a blood clot during surgery caused Debra to suffer a stroke, leaving her in a persistent vegetative state. Dexter blames himself, and realizes that he destroys everyone he loves.

Hannah and Harrison, meanwhile, sit in a bus heading for Jacksonville. Suddenly, Elway seizes Hannah's arm, telling her that he will turn her in to the Marshall's office at Daytona, the next bus stop. Hannah manages to stab Elway in the thigh with one of Dexter's tranquilizers and escapes with Harrison.

Dexter arrives at the jail and tells the desk clerk he is there to collect a GSR from Saxon. Dexter tells Saxon that he now realizes that he can never have a happy life, and that he is there to kill him with a pen he places on the table between them. Seizing the opportunity to kill Dexter, Saxon grabs the pen and slams it into Dexter's left shoulder. Dexter pulls the pen out and plunges it into Saxon's neck, killing him. He claims self-defense, which Batista and Quinn appear to accept, although it is suggested that they know what really happened.

Dexter drives his boat, the Slice of Life, to the hospital. Dexter disconnects Debra's life support and, seconds before she dies, whispers "I love you" into her ear. He then places her body on a gurney and, in the melee of the evacuation, manages to slip unseen with the body onto his boat, docked in the rear of the hospital. Dexter calls a happy Hannah, as she and Harrison board their flight. Dexter tells Harrison and Hannah that he loves them, and tosses his phone overboard. He then gingerly drops Debra's body into the ocean. Dexter continues to sail the boat into the coming storm.

After the storm, Batista receives a call from the coast guard, who tell him they have discovered the shattered remnants of Dexter's boat in the ocean. The police and media conclude that Dexter died in the wreck. At a cafe in Argentina, Hannah reads an internet article reporting Dexter's supposed death. She silently fights back tears then puts on a smile and takes Harrison to get some ice cream.

The final scene reveals that Dexter is still alive and living under an assumed identity, working for a lumber company in Oregon. He makes his way to an empty shack, sits down and stares into the camera as the screen fades to black.

Reception

When it premiered, Remember the Monsters? was watched by 2.8 million household viewers, which broke last season's finale, Surprise Motherfucker! for the most-watched original episode in the series and in Showtime history. Counting its repeat the same day, the episode reached 3.3 million viewers, breaking the season opener episode, A Beautiful Day for the biggest broadcast of all airings in Showtime history.

Although the episode broke records, the critical response to the series finale was mixed and deeply polarized.^[1] Much of the criticism was aimed at the pace, the final decisions and fate of the characters and, ultimately, the final scene where Dexter becomes a lumberjack. However, some praise was reserved for Carpenter's performance and the script writing. After the finale aired, overall reaction to season 8 was negative. Critics denounced the decision of the writers to structure the final season like a normal season, rather than as a special season with Dexter on the run after his crimes are discovered. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times praised Carpenter's performance as worthy of an Emmy nomination and argued that "the parting scenes between Dexter and Deb, possibly the most powerful sibling bond television has ever seen, gave the show the send-off it deserved".^[2] Mike Hale of The New York Times called it one of the "saddest endings you'll ever see on a primetime tv show" stating he "bought the ending" and that fans "may or may not think that Dexter’s final resting place is the one he deserves. But it works".^[3] James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly championed the series finale as "the best Dexter episode in years. ... It was also one of the strangest episodes in the show's history ... It's like watching a different series, one that was more compelling than the show it served to close."^[4]

Other responses to the finale were more negative. Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club gave the episode an F and argued that the writers botched "the landing" by choosing ambiguity to avoid the conflict of "whether or not [fans] wanted Dexter to get away with it".^[5] Frazier Moore of the Associated Press called the ending sappy, sloppy, and a "cop-out".^[6] Richard Lawson of the Atlantic Monthly described the finale as an "unbelievably unsatisfying end [which] ruins all that came before it", including Dexter's universally acclaimed seasons 1-4.^[7]

Showtime president David Nevins praised the series finale against fan backlash by saying "The fundamental design of where they ended Dexter was really well conceived. He had to sacrifice the one person who was closest to him in the world, and he had to leave. That was where it was headed for a very long time." Nevins also said that there were never any discussions to kill off Dexter and that they didn't just keep the character alive for a potential spinoff series. As of January 2014, Showtime executives are discussing making such a series, but not as a continuation to the original.^[8]

References

External links

• "Remember the Monsters?" on Showtime
• "Remember the Monsters?" at the Internet Movie Database