WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for the Dexter series finale.

The Dexter ending, which aired back in 2013, remains one of the most controversial series finales of all time. Dexter stars Michael C. Hall as the titular protagonist who, across eight seasons and 96 episodes, doubles as a forensic specialist and blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department and a methodical vigilante serial killer. Dexter breaks the convention of traditional serial killers in that he is guided by a strict code and refuses to kill innocent people — most of the time.

Dexter's series finale finds the protagonist completely isolated, having walked away from his life in Miami entirely following the tragic death of his sister, Debra. It's certainly arguable that Dexter taking Debra off of life in the final moments of season 8 was more of an act of mercy than violence, but ultimately, his actions, or more specifically, his inaction to kill Oliver Saxon, the murderer who shot Debra after Dexter atypically spared him, ended up costing Debra her life. Dexter remarkably had gotten away with dozens of murders throughout the series but eventually, life caught up with him.

Dexter & Hannah Planned To Spend The Rest Of Their Lives Together In Argentina

They Envisioned Taking Harrison With Them, Which Hannah Ultimately Does Without Dexter

The events of the Dexter finale begin to unfold once Dexter and Hannah McKay, who first became Dexter's romantic interest in season 7, confirm their plans to leave Miami together with Dexter's son Harrison and start a new life. This was established between the characters in Dexter season 8, episode 9, "Make Your Own Kind of Music," which inspired Dexter to hand in his notice to Lt. Angel Batista soon afterward.

The typically emotionless and calculated Dexter begins to think with his heart rather than his brain for once, which leads him to make the spontaneous decision to begin a new life with Hannah in Argentina. Dexter's love for Hannah also results in him becoming sloppier, leaving the door open for investigators like Jacob Elway to close in on him and Hannah.

Why Saxon Killed His Own Mother Dr. Vogel In Dexter Season 8, Episode 10

Saxon Is As Cold-Blooded As They Come

Oliver Saxon is one of the most vicious villains in the entire Dexter series who shockingly killed his own mother in front of Dexter not long after he had reunited with her. Saxon, whose real name is Daniel Vogel, is the second son of Dr. Evelyn Vogel, who throughout season 8 had been a confidant to Dexter after she revealed to him that his father, Harry Morgan, had come to her for help.

Dr. Vogel was the person who actually devised Harry's code, which had come to define Dexter's entire methodology and morality of killing. Unlike Dexter, Saxon was truly evil, and incapable of feeling love for another human being. This is why Dexter says to him moments before he plans to murder him that he and Saxon are actually nothing alike since Dexter loves Hannah, Harrison, and Debra.

Saxon Gave Dexter A Chance To Walk Away

Dexter Stayed True To Harry's Code All The Way To The End

In the penultimate episode of Dexter, Saxon shows up at Dexter's apartment and presents him with a choice: either stay out of his way or face the consequences. Dexter lies to Saxon and agrees to leave him alone, but due to Harry's code, can't rest unless he knows that Saxon is dead, especially after witnessing what he could do to his own mother.

Dexter couldn't walk away from Saxon for two key reasons. One, Harry's code essentially prevented Dexter from turning the other cheek and forgetting what Saxon did to Dr. Vogel, as well as Cassie and Dexter's would-be protégé Zach Hamilton. Two, Dexter didn't have the self-restraint to not kill Saxon, knowing that he very well could, and ultimately should have.

How Debra Inadvertently Became Dexter's Final Kill

Dexter Should Have Killed Saxon When He Had The Chance

Unfortunately for Debra, her love and faith in Dexter became her undoing. Even after all they had been through, particularly in the final three seasons during which Debra finds out Dexter is a vigilante serial killer and Debra shoots and kills LaGuerta instead of her brother, Dexter can't find a failsafe way to protect Debra from Saxon.

Dexter was trying to help Debra since she had just returned to the Miami Metro police force by leaving Saxon for her to deal with so she would get rewarded professionally. Dexter's plan horribly backfires once a Deputy Marshal gets involved, freeing Saxon and giving him the opportunity to shoot Debra, which leads to her death. No matter how you look at it, Debra's blood is without a doubt on Dexter's hands.

Dexter Not Killing Saxon Caused His Entire Life To Tragically Fall Apart

Dexter Lived An Isolated Life After Debra's Death In Order Not To Hurt Hannah Or Harrison

With Dexter shockingly not killing Saxon and ensuring the safety of his family and his new life with Hannah, everything ended up quickly unraveling. Dexter was about to get on a bus with Hannah and Harrison, one on which Elway also boarded and nearly busted Hannah, when he felt compelled to visit Debra at the hospital for an unexpected face-off with Saxon.

Angel was able to arrest Saxon before he got to Debra, but the greatest threat to Debra wound up not being Saxon at all, but fate. Dexter meets a teary-eyed Joey Quinn in the ICU who explains there were complications with Debra's surgery. A doctor confirms that Debra will be comatose for life.

Debra poetically becomes Dexter's final kill in the series as Dexter detaches her from her incubator and shuts off her life . He then takes her out on his infamous Slice of Life motorboat and does to Debra what he had done to dozens of his victims as the Bay Harbor Butcher — rolls her dead body into the vast sea. At this moment, Dexter realizes that he truly has nothing left to live for, even with his young son Harrison and the love of his life Hannah waiting for and counting on him.

Dexter drives his boat into a hurricane with the intention of dying so that the people he loves, like Debra and Rita among others, don't end up dying because of him. In a final epilogue scene, Dexter is revealed to be alive and working as a loner lumberjack somewhere far from Miami, living under a new identity that is further explored in Dexter: New Blood.

The Dexter Ending Was Widely Panned

The Finale Has Become An Infamous Example Of The Wrong Way To End A Series

While Dexter seemed to be in decline during the final few seasons, few people were prepared for how negatively the finale was received by critics and fans. The episode was panned for its poor storytelling as many found the storylines were lackluster, especially for a final season, and seemed constructed simply to get the series to its endpoint with no concern for logic or cohesion. Likewise, the decision to have Dexter survive the finale was a controversial one as it seemed as though the series needed to reach a place of him facing the consequences.

In keeping Dexter alive and delivering the final reveal that he was living a new life in hiding, the series finale delivered one of the most notorious images in television history. The final shot of Dexter living in the wilderness as a lumberjack was met with more derision and became the shot that was used to highlight how far the series fell by its end.

In the years after the Dexter finale aired, the reputation of the episode only got worse. It became regarded as one of the worst series finales of all time. There were even some who claimed that the ultimate ending of the show retroactively made the entire series significantly worse. Of course, for as widely as the finale was panned, the Dexter franchise continues on to this day.

Did New Blood Have A Better Ending?

The Sequel Series Attempted To Give Dexter A More Permanent Ending

Given how poorly the ending was revived and the fact that Dexter was still alive, it is not surprising that there was a follow-up attempt to conclude the story properly. Dexter: New Blood was a limited series that came out in 2021 and explored Dexter's life in hiding. With the arrival of his son Harrison and with the ghost of Debra now talking to him, Dexter returns to his murderous ways.

While Dexter: New Blood doesn't retcon Dexter's life in the wilderness and in hiding, it does seem to address some of the concerns with how the original finale ended. The sequel series shed more light on the idea of Dexter as a villain, with his code becoming more blurred. This eventually leads to him killing an innocent cop which in turn leads to Harrison killing his father for becoming the killer he insisted he was hunting.

It was satisfying to see this more complicated ending that addressed Dexter's legacy, but Dexter: New Blood was not an ending that was good enough to undo the original finale. Much like the original ending, Dexter: New Blood seemed to be going through the motions of getting to the ending they felt was needed rather than having a compelling story to tell. The death of Dexter should have been a powerful moment, but it just felt like something the show needed to do.

As a sign of Dexter: New Blood not satisfying fans either, a new Dexter sequel series is on the way.

Dexter Spinoffs