Customer Reviews

Dexter: The Fourth Season

5 star:		(213)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Dexter fans are reeling from the shocker of a season finale that aired last Sunday Dec. 13th, and rightly so. Yet for people curious about the show, Season 4 is a great place to start. Season 4 begins with Dexter adjusting to life as a new dad and a married man. As a viewer, I didn't want the show to turn into 'Dexter changes a diaper' or 'Dexter Buys Formula' and the writers exposed Dexter to those things and Dexter reacts to them as best and as humorously as he can. Dexter is still in there, with his Dark Passenger, leading a double life and trying to cope in his own way with new challenges. It seems like Dexter doesn't do a lot of killing in Season 4, it's more of a tense cat and mouse game leading up to the season finale. Season 4 stars John Lithgow as father/deacon/volunteer/serial killer Arthur. A great casting decision as Lithgow can act the gamut of emotions. His portrayal of the character will perhaps go down as one of the most complex and notorious bad guys in TV or movie history, right along side with Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal had many sides, too).
Season 4 has a movie length plot cut into a serial format. It's a great place to start for new fans because in a way, the events of the season are clearing the way for Dexter to decide if he wants to be a family man, a normal guy next door or embrace his Dark Passenger once again and without looking back.
Strong performances (as always) from Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter's sister Deb.
The only negative I can comment on is the subplot of the relationship between La Guerta and Batista. I love Angel but the fling with La Guerta seemed distracting. Liked him better with the vice detective ;)

For fans who didn't like Season 3, Season 4 will bring them back into the Dexter fold certainly. Excellent fiction all around. As Jennifer Carpenter said in an interview w/E Online "I hope you have a good time talking to your therapists about it because it's beyond whatever you may think." Fans of the show are a mix: those who like blood and violence period, those who like the characters and storylines, those who analyze the themes, those who revel in their ability to compartmentalize their reactions and emotions. However, Dexter is a show that makes you think and in the season finale, it's a show that makes you feel things in your gut, things that you forgot a tv show could make you feel, things that you will be forced to feel whether you like it or not...

Keep up the good work writers!

Update: both Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow won the Golden Globe for their performances this season. Michael C. Hall also won the Screen Actor's Guild Award.

The success of this type of show, serial killer crime, is usually dependent on how good the villain is. Dexter is, of course, semi villainous since he is a serial killer himself but he kills bad guys. So the series needs a "real" bad guy as well. John Lithgow is that bad guy this season and quite simply, you couldn't ask for a better one. It is a very complex role of a supposedly ideal father, husband and dedicated volunteer for the homeless who also is the serial killer Trinity. He is a very nuanced and layered character. These two characters are not the whole show but they firmly anchor it and everyone else revolves around them. There are surprising twists this season and none more so than the ending. But this is how Dexter always works as a tv show. All the other characters are quite good again too, especially Dexter's sister, who has a significant role in unmasking Trinity too.

A note of warning: if you are also a reader and want to read the four Dexter novels, it is a somewhat bizarre experience to do it side by side with watching the tv show. This is because the books and tv shows kill off and emphasize different characters. Both are excellent but they are different. Imagine Sherlock Holmes where Moriarty lives in the tv version but dies in the books and then change around Watson, Le Strade and the "The Woman", et al, and you begin to see the difficulty. Dexter is also more villainous yet also more comic in the novels than in the tv show.

Another added note: if you are an audiobook fan, the Dexter audiobooks are some of the very best audiobooks around. The narrator is superb.

How can you even begin to describe the brilliance, talent and surprises that are Dexter: Season 4?? Mere words do it no justice. You want to run out and tell everyone who isn't watching it to sit down and pull up a chair. Each season has it's own flavor, some a little less palatable than others but I always enjoyed the show. Season 4 is just out of the park good. John Lithgow is so amazing as the Trinity Killer (not a spoiler) but the depth of his madness goes so deep its unlike anything Dexter could even imagine for himself. The interaction with his family and slowly revealing the true story was brilliantly told. The "Hungry Man" episode (also known as the Thanksgiving episode) is hands down the best episode of the entire series. I have never been on the edge of my seat from beginning to end of an episode like I was with that one. Just as you think the finale is going to be a little on the disappointing side, you're hit with the final scene. All Dexter fans know that the lid has been blown off and the rulebook is out the window as far as what kind of man we're going to see coming into season 5. All I know is I can't wait to watch!

I have watched every episode of this series and I have to admit, season four has been the best. How often do you watch a show in which every, single episode, hell, every single scene has you on the edge of your couch holding your breather? None--with the exception of Dexter.

This season Dexter is juggling a lot--family, a home, work, finding time for his passion, and a new rival. He's got pressure from all sides. Watching him masterfully keep it all together was one of the best acting endeavors only someone as gifted as Michael C. Hall could pull off.

You know, so many people complain about how much crap is on TV. But, by far, Dexter is better than any movie I have seen in years.

Dexter is an extremely good show. Michael Hall does a knock out job as an extremely twisted serial killer. The other characters in the show weren't quite as good, but Dexter himself is enough for hours upon hours of viewing fun.

The plot is well paced, especially once you get towards the middle (and on through the end), and the trip through Dexter's mind just leaves you shivering and wanting more. I worked through Dexter in about 3 days of solid watching, and I don't regret that time investment.

Yet another fantastic season of Dexter ! John Lithgow won a Golden Globe for best supporting actor; well deserved, as he presented a complicated & dark villain this season .

Michael C. Hall scooped best actor in a tv Drama ... a landslide victory, as testament to the calibre of this series.

The writers are brilliant. They keep coming up with fresh new plot lines & leave viewers anxious for more . Dexter is the character you hate to love. Hard to rationalize cheering on a serial killer, but he always has the best of intentions .

The season finale opens the door for new characters .... Will be sitting on the edge of my seat to see where season 5 takes us .

This series is a masterful presentation of humanities darkside, & leaves the viewer pondering the nature of their belief system . This truly is a must own series . I have the first 3 seasons on DVD & have rewatched them 3x, always seeing something new each time . The day of release, I will be purchasing season 4 .

I own Seasons 1-3 on DVD and have watched every episode of Dexter to-date.

I must say that this show is THE most entertaining hour on television, period. Extremely well-written, with top notch performances by Michael C. Hall - and, this season, John Lithgow. Their cat and mouse game was riveting. The season finale was a shocker - but, it was perfect. The writers didn't cop out.

I think in terms of favorite seasons of Dexter, here's where this one sits relative to all:

#1 - Trinity (Season 4)
#2 - Ice Truck Killer (Season 1)
#3 - Miguel Prado (Season 3)
#4 - Doakes (Season 2)

I cannot WAIT for Season 5 to start.

I knew by the second episode that Lithgow would take top honors and by the third episode that Hall would too. It was hands down for them to both get the Golden Globe award. This season was unbelievably great!

This show is responsible for me to taking the plunge and forking over the extra money for Show Time. I barely watch enough TV to justify having basic cable.

Dexter however, is one of the most intelligent shows on TV. Which made me worried that they were going to cancel it. It seems that whenever a clever, quirky, thought provoking show manages to slip through the cracks it is eventually caught and sent to an early grave.

Let's hope for at least a few more seasons.

Excellent writing, clever dialog, indepth character develop, great story development, visually pleasing to watch. Michael Hall is brilliant in this role. I was surprised about the casting, but not after seeing the first episode. He was very good as David in Six Feet Under, however, Dexter really let's him show his full range of talent.

Dexter Seasons 1 & 2 are FIVE STAR shows all the way.

Season 3 with Jimmy Smitts dropped to 4 stars as they perpetuated the storyline by having Dexter act out of character.
Dexter almost became a secondary character that season.

Now we look at this product ..... Season 4......

What was the problem ??

By the 4th episode it was easy to see the entire storyline for the full season, even a guess at the "surprising" ending.

My wife thought I was joking when I told her after 4 episodes I had the whole season figured out.
She made me write down my guesses and seal it an envelope.
Months later when the season ended, she opened the envelope and said .. "Darn, you had it all right".

Dexter is still a great show concept.
But Season #4 suffered from what I call "Churning".

Churning is where you run down the clock and burn up time by having nothing really happen except filler material and having the characters do stupid things to create plot twists.

In Season 4, you can watch the first four episodes and the last 3 episodes and you have 99% of the story.
The middle 5 episodes are filled with nothing but romantic interest side stories (that seem forced and un-natural).

Additionally after the mistakes Dexter made (and should have learned from) in Season 3, this Season is in many ways a rehash of Dexter once again acting out of character and creating problems for himself (and others) by doing the dumbest things possible.
All of which perpetuate the story and make simple problems much bigger than they needed to be.

I like stories when a situation becomes difficult for characters because of tough unexpected circumstances that are heaped upon them.

I get a bit dissapointed when writers stretch out a story simply by having the main characters do the dumbest and most illogical things possible -or- have them act totally out of character.

Still, these comments are all relative.

A 3-star Dexter is still much better than most other shows on TV.

I have heard that the writers themselves were not too happy with Seasons 3-4, and did some serious discussions to get Dexter "back on track" and "back in character" for Season 5.

So we may once again see a 5-star rating for the upcoming Season 5 ........... yeah !!!!!