Dexter’s season 8 finale remains a divisive conclusion, but the original plan for the series’ ending was very different. Debuting in 2006, Showtime’s Dexter follows the titular serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) as he tracks down known murderers who have evaded the justice system while also trying to maintain a “normal” daily appearance. When not moonlighting as the Bay Harbor Butcher, Dexter Morgan is a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department, where he tries to hide his hobby from his coworkers and adoptive sister, detective Debra Morgan.
After eight years of seeing Dexter Morgan capture menacing serial killers, lose many of the innocent people he loves, and earnestly try to adhere to the killing code that his adoptive father Harry laid out for him, the series finale was bound to incite division among audiences. One of the core questions throughout Dexter was whether he was actually a hero cleaning up the streets of Miami or just as monstrous as his victims, with much debate over whether he should have been celebrated or held accountable for his murders. This dilemma was once again revived in 2021's Dexter: New Blood, Showtime’s limited reboot series that sought to resolve the errors of the show’s original ending, though ultimately produced an even more controversial conclusion.
Related: Dexter: The Meaning Behind Their Names Proves The Original Ending Was Better
In Dexter’s 2013 season 8 finale, Dexter Morgan abandoned his young son Harrison, pulled the life support on his sister Deb, and drove his boat directly into a hurricane, hoping to put an end to the misery that he, directly and indirectly, brought onto his loved ones. However, the last scene of Dexter’s original series revealed
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Dexter Morgan