Season 4 Dexter Predictions

I’m one of the many completely addicted to this show inspired by the novels of the same name and starring Michael C. Hall. For me, this fourth season in particular has been the most explosive and fun ride yet. As it comes to an end, it’s a bittersweet pleasure of sort to turn on my DVR each Sunday night and watch the next installment. With only two episodes left, I thought it might be fun to spice up the anticipation by discussing some predictions of our own.

Some of my assumptions:

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Before we dig into some reasonable and far-fetched, let me lay out some ground work. Scouring the nets, it’s clear that many disagree with the following. Season ending prediction surprises range from Dexter getting caught, dying and the like. These are fun to read, but for simplicity, I’ll lean on the formula we’ve been engrained with from the first season. Let’s assume, that Dexter gets two more victims. He gets one victim maximum per episode, and the last being his prime antagonist, Trinity himself in some explosive manner during the finale. This leaves only one more unknown victim, and he or she will be served to us this week.

So, who dies in episode 11?

Theory #1: Elliot gets the axe

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All season, Dexter has been peeling the onion of his own persona, albeit clumsily. The character we have been accustomed to see so stoic and calm, “without human emotions” as Dexter self-describes, slowly realizes how much he values members of his family. He even becomes emotional on several occasions at crimes of the family. This very human response is undoubtedly a weakness: he uncharacteristically overlooks evidence that excludes Trinity from the guilt of his sister’s shooting, and puts himself at risk for exposure on Thanksgiving when he learns his trophy shed is no longer secure, but decides to stay at Mitchell’s house to “protect” Jonah from physical abuse. The “new” Dexter works – very yummy stuff. If you watched last Sunday, as Trinity slips away and an enraged Dexter screams his name into the night, you’ll know what I mean. So, how far are the writers planning to take this new twist on a family man?

We know that Dexter cares for his sister and children. It’s Rita that Dexter has yet to demonstrate he has much of an attachment for. But, then, with Masuka teetering on the edge of spilling her kiss with Elliot over Thanksgiving, his spousal attachment is about to be tested. Joy! I’m eager to find out if we will see the unattached “monster” we’re used to, or if Dexter will be given a lesson from the green-eyed monster. And if he does, will it be enough to send him over the edge to murder Elliot?

Killing (or even attacking) Elliot will not be simple. Dexter’s all too important code will need to be modified. We’ve had murmurings in a previous episode this season that he’d be open to some kind of a change here (the new “revenge page” of the code). But, writers will need to tread carefully to avoid losing our sympathy for our murderous protagonist that dangles by a thread each episode as it is. It may be that they have already begun to gage how far our collective sympathy can be stretched. Remember the recent episode “Road Kill” where Dexter learns he has accidentally killed an innocent man for the first time. Still, it feels a little ambitious for writers even as talented as we’ve seen thus far to pen a scenario in which we can stomach a murder as penance for a kiss. We’ll just have to see.

So, I conclude this is a stretch, but not quite out of reach.

Theory #2: Christine pays the price

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It doesn’t take much dot connecting to come to the conclusion that this character has to go sooner or later. With the revelation that she shot Dexter’s sister, she doesn’t violate Dexter’s code and will easily be a major focal point for our hero. Getting to her will be difficult with the assumption at the end of episode 10 that she is now in police custody.

Christine is a huge problem for both Trinity and Dexter, since she has enough evidence to pin them both. It would be a nice and tight ending to see her somehow set loose before she spills the beans, brought to ahem Dexter’s justice, and somehow pinned for the Trinity murders. Unfortunately, the DNA evidence Deb already has on Trinity makes this ending impossible. If the police associate the name Arthur Mitchell with Trinity, Dexter will be linked through Mitchell’s family and his own cell phone records. As his own daughter, Christine is such a problem for Trinity, I could certainly him perform the deed himself.

At any rate, Dexter in jail for Season 5 sounds like a major drag of a show. If we assume Dexter will somehow brilliantly weasel his way out of suspicion this season, Trinity has to go away before the police discover Arthur Mitchell. Christine has to disappear.

Any others?

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Before I close: can I say for the record that I *love* John Lithgow in this role? Who doesn’t? He’s the kind of villain you’d hope for: evil to the core, yet hopelessly vulnerable, even socially naïve with his own strict code of ethics that leave both Dexter and us audience members captivated by every word. I can’t wait to see him face off with Dexter this week as he learns “Kyle’s” true identity.

See you all on Sunday!

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12/9 Update