"I'm a leaf in the wind. Watch how I soar."
December 15
2009
(SPOILER)
Julie Benz discusses season four finale of Dexter.
Major spoilers, be forewarned.
WilliamTheB
| Cast&Crew
| 06:21 CET
|
43 comments total
| tags: dexter, julie benz
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It was definitely a gut punch finale.
Whisper | December 15, 07:20 CET
sammygeen | December 15, 07:39 CET
Losing Rita was bad enough – but I can at least appreciate how that will contribute to the storyline going forward. To hear they may have played it less than honest with Julie Benz though... that's very disappointing. I do hope they bring her and Rita back. It makes sense that she'd have a role / voice in Dexter's head. Wonder if Cody and Astor will be shuffled off screen with the grandparents or continue as part of Dexter's single parenthood.
Have to say it: The writing on Dexter is following from Joss' playbook. The whole Debra/Lundy and now Dexter/Rita death breakups were telegraphed by characters being too clearly and simply happy with their relationship. As soon as Dex committed to that and started looking at the moon and pondering whether Rita was doing the same... the inevitability of what was about to happen only built from there. Certainly didn't help that Showtime hyped that “the biggest twist comes in the last minute”. Angel and Maria... you've been forewarned. Do not be happy together.
BringItOn5x5 | December 15, 07:48 CET
Been talking about it on the .org and hoping she'll come back as a sort of companion in the same way as James Remar's Harry. Wouldn't be the same but i'll really miss her performance (as well as the character who I liked a great deal) if it doesn't happen. Still, what a way to throw the cat among the pigeons as far as the show's concerned.
ETA: Bringiton5x5, are you me from 1 minute in the future or am I you from 1 minute in the past ? Anyway, how is it, do we have flying cars yet ? ;-)
[ edited by Saje on 2009-12-15 16:57 ]
Saje | December 15, 07:49 CET
Shapenew | December 15, 08:06 CET
I had almost forgotten about it, but Julie was the reason I first started watching too. She consisentently was one of the highlights of the show (along with Michael and Jennifer Carpenter).
I figured either Debra or Rita might be about to find out Dex' secret. And maybe be killed afterwords. But I didn't really see it coming anymore at the point it finally did. (Though me and my brother had been questioning not hearing anything about Rita anymore for the whole ep, seemed like a strange plothole thingy, we never figured she might have been killed.)
I really hope we don't flash forward. Actually hope we skip as little time as possible. Do almost want to skip real life time though. A year till the next episode is a long wait!
the Groosalugg | December 15, 08:33 CET
Shapenew, that's a good point. I didn't put together the Harrison aspect of it either... although in retrospect, I think I should have, which is the best kind of writing.
BringItOn5x5 | December 15, 08:34 CET
I hope that Rita will live on in Dexter's head, because she was a huge influence on him.
I am seriously loving this show!
embers | December 15, 08:46 CET
The only thing that I'm hung up on is that the writers have now open a massive can of worms. Will the police suspect a connection between Trinity and Dexter as a result of this? Will Dexter even let anyone know exactly what happened?
I've liked the developments this season--especially with the amount of twists and Whedon-like reveals--but after an ending like that, the show could go to a much darker place next year.
CrazyKidBen | December 15, 08:51 CET
catherine | December 15, 08:57 CET
Also I have two articles that almost contradict on the matter so obviously they don't know yet.
http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/42061570.html#cutid1
http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/42101171.html#cutid1
Stargyn | December 15, 09:01 CET
Stargyn | December 15, 09:07 CET
hacksaway | December 15, 09:18 CET
Krusher | December 15, 09:49 CET
electricspacegirl | December 15, 09:54 CET
I actually quite liked the baby in the blood visual but I've always found parents that allow their children to appear in these adult shows a bit strange. That's also true for shows like Six Feet Under, by the way. But Dexter is especially dark stuff for the kids working on it. I think a baby would be less aware of the darkness than the actors that play Aster and Cody (who are in for a dark season next year, I guess).
@ electricspacegirl, I really hope it won't be the last season, but things do seem to be shaping up that way. On the other hand, this last ep scored Showtime's highest ratings ever, so I guess they'll want to keep it around too.
Like I wrote on the .org I would prefer if the writers write it as the last show (don't hold back) but than carry on anyway.
I'm not of the "end on a natural ending" school of thought, I actually like the surprising places a story can end up if it is carried beyond the traditional cut-off point. And if it turns bad, then I just stop watching.
Maybe I'm not to coherent, but I really have to go right now, so I'll just post this as it is and hope it makes some kind of sense ;)
the Groosalugg | December 15, 10:25 CET
Matt7325 | December 15, 10:30 CET
Still imagining that Rita got such a horrible end? Pretty terrifying.
I honestly hope next season will be Dexter's last. I already hated season three with passion and was willing to drop it, but then season four turned out to be really good. They've already had so much themes they dealt with, I'd like for them to go out like they did this year: At the top of their game, not at the bottom. If they drag the show on for too long, they will go out at badly. This is just the kind of show that (IMO) doesn't work for 7-10 seasons.
[ edited by Donnie on 2009-12-15 19:38 ]
Donnie | December 15, 10:38 CET
shambleau | December 15, 10:51 CET
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Dexter-Showrunner-Departs-1013123.aspx
Simon | December 15, 10:55 CET
I think she's not ever going to die though.
Yeah, for the forseeable future killing Deb would limit story possibilities I reckon, not open them up.
Also that Heather Havrilesky was so upset at where the baby was placed, but that had been done before on Dexter. She is just artistically mad and lashing out on a more critical level I feel. She sounds quite defense-y. you know?
Yeah, I agree Stargyn. She was hurt by it and is clutching at critical straws (the baby's not going to know what's going on or care, it was too low down on the floor to be able to see the "corpse" and its Mum would probably have been right there, just off camera. And added to that, blood's only scary once you've spilled some of your own and been self-aware enough to know what happened IMO). Investing in any show and set of characters is a double edged sword but to me the risk comes with the sickle - you're along for the ride or you're not.
Also seems a bit rich to castigate a show about a serial killer (or several) for being too dark - maybe she should ask herself if we deserve to feel joi de vivre while watching ? Should we get to watch someone that murders other people because it completes him while we chortle along at his "zany" antics without thinking eventually we'll have to pay the piper ? For me season 4 has been about facing up to what it really means to be a serial killer (Trinity being a case in point) and this is the perfect way to end a season like that.
Saje, I'm kinda hoping you're future me, 'cause flying cars... that would really help with the getting to work thing that I very much need to be doing. ;)
Or jetpacks. Dinner in pill form and silver jumpsuits I can take or leave ;).
edited for a pesky possessive. All property may not be theft but it can lead to annoying errors in punctuation. That's probably what Marx meant.
[ edited by Saje on 2009-12-15 21:14 ]
Saje | December 15, 11:59 CET
Dana5140 | December 15, 12:14 CET
Saje | December 15, 12:16 CET
I'm sorry to hear that Rita was never a fan favorite because certainly Julie Benz has been brilliant in the role. But I can accept her being gone because it will certainly add to Dexter's angst (heck it is adding to MINE!).
embers | December 15, 12:31 CET
demon magnet | December 15, 12:36 CET
Hee hee, that sentence makes me laugh :). I think HH was not suggesting the Real Baby would be traumatized (was she?). I think she was traumatized by the image. Though a lot of commenters pointed out she was missing how key that imagery is to the show. Which I've never seen. What am I doing here?
catherine | December 15, 13:24 CET
Reading it again I guess she may mean the image itself was shocking enough to her that she stopped watching in disgust, which is actually even harder to understand for me. Anyone that's watched the show up to now (i.e. presumably Ms Havrilesky for one) would remember when we were shown Dexter and his brother being found after days stuck in a shipping container, the floor covered in blood and pieces of their murdered, dismembered mother strewn about (IIRC she was chopped up with a chainsaw in front of them both). That's why the image is so resonant and why Dexter is so worried by finding his son there - it's his worst fear realised, that he, as a monster, can only beget monsters. Dexter's "dark passenger" was 'born in blood' as he puts it and he's terrified Harrison will go the same way, that the one pure thing he thought he'd ever done has been corrupted.
[ edited by Saje on 2009-12-15 23:24 ]
Saje | December 15, 14:23 CET
Dana5140 | December 15, 14:23 CET
It's indeed a shame Rita never was a fan fave. Coming from a Julie fandom orientated angle into the show I always asumed she was more or less universally loved. For me she always was one of the shows strongest assets (though she, like most of the cast, got better things to work with during the first two years than the next.)
I think the fact that the writers knew there would be next seasons during the writing of S3/4 might be one of the main reasons they felt a bit less to the point, so it might be great if they lose that sense of security next year. If the show does end I hope Michael will be up for another TV-role in the vein of David (Fischer) and Dex. Wonderfull roles. (His huge presence makes me understand the relative lack of appreciation for Julie. (You're not going to tell me he isn't a fan fave either, right?)
the Groosalugg | December 15, 14:49 CET
Jossfan_21 | December 15, 14:52 CET
[ edited by GhostsWatcher on 2009-12-16 00:02 ]
GhostsWatcher | December 15, 14:56 CET
Well, Heather does point out its the viewers familiarity with the body (Rita) and its full meaning that makes the image disgusting. I thought it was horrible and disgusting myself too. It really got to me.
The point for me being, that previously it maybe hadn't as much. As I say on the white, it's truly horrible because we know her but the fact is, it's always been truly horrible, it just hasn't felt true until now. That would make it worth doing by itself, kicking us out of our comfort zone but then you get the resonance of the imagery and the way it throws everything open for next year.
Part of it to me seems to be that until now the show has been about progress from A to B to C to D ..., watching as he follows and largely succeeds (while overcoming obstacles) on the quest that was laid out in very early season 1. For all its unconventional view askew and dark humour it's actually been a fairly conventional hero story in many ways (overcoming adversity through skill and self-realisation). And this threatens that (since Dexter could take a huge step back or even discover that his quest to become a "real boy" is futile), tells us the hero has limits, that he can't overcome every obstacle. To me this injects the drama and peril back into the situation in a suitably graphic and horrific fashion for a show about a serial killer but clearly, as always, mileage varies ;).
Saje | December 15, 15:19 CET
Mmm, that makes me think of syrup...
catherine | December 15, 15:42 CET
tinktanker | December 15, 16:08 CET
corinna | December 15, 17:58 CET
silent knight | December 15, 18:05 CET
dispatch | December 15, 18:11 CET
Riker | December 15, 19:27 CET
If "Dexter" keeps up its quality, it could run forever as far as I'm concerned. I'm very sorry to lose Julie Benz as Rita and sorry for what it will do to Dexter, but I'm very interested to see where it's all going.
Shapenew | December 15, 20:39 CET
| December 15, 20:57 CET
I know, I didn't buy his fake reaction-- as in, it seemed so fake I don't see how Deb bought it either.
That's big news, nearly death-of-a-family-member big, yet he doesn't even ask her to repeat it. He doesn't even say "What?". He just hears it and goes right to weepy eyes, and from there right to speculating on what that means for his life and Deb's.
I mean, someone tells you that you're the long lost brother of a serial killer-- and you were found sitting in four inches of your mother's blood in a freight container, and that's how you were adopted-- I think you you'd at least say "What?" before accepting it and turning on the waterworks.
dispatch | December 15, 21:58 CET
Saje | December 15, 23:05 CET
Hmm, so Julie's available if Joss does Spook Squad . . . . (As a registered egotist I ahve to amek comments like that.)
DaddyCatALSO | December 17, 16:05 CET