Dexter: A love gone sour?

(note: There’s no spoilers in this post, to make it safe for people who are not yet caught up on this season’s Dexter.)

I used to love you, Dexter.

You were the date I couldn’t wait for each week. I’d look forward to the ways you’d thrill me, surprise me, and leave me hanging, and waiting until next time. You were new, fresh, and full of surprises.

Some would say you lost your steam after the whole Trinity storyline. But I stuck with you, defending you to the naysayers. “You don’t know Dexter like I do.”

You were still awesome, but in different ways. Sure newer, sexier shows might have tempted me, but you and I have a history. And long-lasting relationships offer a different sort of love. Maybe other people couldn’t appreciate your finer qualities, but I did.

Yes, I said “did” as in past tense. The cracks are starting to show this season.

Qualities I once saw as quirky, maybe even endearing, I now see for what they truly are — flaws.

This year’s lackluster storyline, lapses in logic, and bad story choices leave me wondering if you’ve stopped caring. It feels like you’re taking me for granted. You assume that just because I’ve always been here for you, I always will be.

Sure, I overlooked the fact that Dexter could get away with using a department computer for years accessing sensitive info on people he planned to kill.

Sure, I overlooked the fact that Dexter stalks his prey, and sometimes encounters them, in places you KNOW would have surveillance cameras, without wearing a mask.

Sure, I overlooked the fact that Dexter, a forensic detective, would leave more fingerprints at crime scenes than a toddler with a chocolate frosted doughnut.

Sure, I overlooked the fact that Dexter used his cell phone to call his victims and nobody would ever check phone records.

Sure, I overlooked the fact that Dexter routinely uses his cell phone with impunity, calling from kill scenes on a regular basis with nobody ever triangulating the signal and catching you.

But now, with this season’s Lamest. Twist. Ever, you’ve forced me to acknowledge what we both have been dancing around for a while… you don’t care about me, as a viewer, anymore.

• you don’t care about explaining lapses in character actions or logic
• you don’t care about GIANT FREAKING plot holes
• you don’t care about believability
• you don’t care if hamfisted and awkward dialogue induces more eye rolls than a politician pretending to care about the working class

I’m not sure when you stopped paying attention to the little things. Hell, maybe you never did, but I was just too enamored with you to see.

It used to be that Sunday nights were all about you. Sure, I’d spend time with other shows before and after our date. But I was always thinking about, and looking forward to, our time together.

Now, like an exhausted relationship, our time together is oftentimes due to some misplaced sense of devotion. It’s about what used to be. Like Boys II Men said, it’s hard to say goodbye. So, I’ve been hanging on, hoping things would change even while you’ve given me no hope that they will.

Confession time: I’ve had my eye on younger, more attractive shows. Shows that still take the time to do things right. The Walking Dead, and even your younger sister, Homeland, have been thrilling me in ways you haven’t in a while. I care about them. I want to know, NEED TO KNOW, what happens next. Whereas, I find myself barely able to stay awake when I’m with you.

But I haven’t given up yet. Like the woman who refuses to accept what everyone else says about her cad of a boyfriend, I still think there’s something there. Maybe.

Yes, I’m hanging in… for now. However, I’m only going through the motions… just like you.

Reader Question: What do you think of this year’s Dexter? Still great or a shadow of its former self? Leave a comment below.