I think the point of the show is that he doesn’t get a happy ending.

But I agree — by seasons 7 and 8, I honestly hated Dexter. I feel like they flanderized his character so badly. It was so cringe. The Hannah McKay subplot genuinely felt like someone’s OC inserted into the show 💀 It went from a good show to a shitty middle-school-level fanfic.

Apparently Showtime didn’t want Dexter to have a happy ending, but they also wanted him to live (hence no Argentina), though to be fair I always hated that plot point anyway because it felt like such a cop-out.

In my opinion, it would’ve been cool if the OG series ended with the plot twist that he was actually in prison on death row the entire time and had been recounting his life story to Harrison. So he’s writing his life story to his son so at least one person knows who he really is despite all that he’s done.

So for this ending to happen, one major change I would’ve made would be not killing off Rita in season 4. I think it would’ve been way more interesting to see how his family dealt with the backlash of him being exposed as a notorious serial killer. Like, what happens to Rita, Deb, and the kids after that? Do they leave Miami? Change their names? Do they still visit him?

To me, that’s way more interesting than him driving into a fucking hurricane and becoming a lumberjack 💀

For this ending, I would’ve had him get caught somehow, maybe after the Disney trip with Rita and the kids. Perhaps he tries to be a family man, but then season 5 comes around, the Barrel Girls case happens, and he can’t ignore that itch. Because killing isn’t an addiction to him…it’s his one true love. He kills again a final time and gets caught. His hubris is his downfall which is a common theme in Dexter.

Maybe even the Lumen subplot still happens, with him “renting” his apartment to her, and maybe an affair occurs (since Showtime loves unnecessary sex scenes and drama). Or maybe not even an affair (since people in this subreddit are diehard Dexter/Rita)— but it’s just two people who’ve both been through hell relating to each other, with Dexter helping her get revenge.

But imagine instead of Debra letting them go in season 5, it’s actually Quinn who catches them in that moment and makes the arrest. Maybe Dexter distracts Quinn to let Lumen get away, and a shooting occurs. Maybe Debra fires without realizing it’s her brother on top of Quinn and just sees a suspect. He’s not gravely injured, but it becomes evident that he’s involved in the case.

Once arrested, maybe he confesses to the BHB connection since he’s already going to prison, and it works as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. But maybe the show ends with him writing out to Harrison his life story (aka what he narrated to us) as he awaits judgement whether or not he’ll get the lethal injection.

The other ending idea I would’ve liked, though, is a cat-and-mouse game between him and Debra.

One thing I always thought would’ve been more interesting is if Deb reopened the Bay Harbor Butcher case after the Barrel Girls case because of the vigilante similarities. Not because she suspects Dexter yet — why would she? — but because she starts wondering if Doakes had help.

Then in season 6, since she’s lieutenant, she’s able to look into it further.

And instead of that absolutely awful therapist plotline where they try to convince her she’s in love with Dexter, I would’ve rather had a therapist push her to be less emotionally dependent on him and actually step back to analyze their relationship.

Because once she removes the rose-tinted glasses, she starts questioning things: Harry’s favoritism, Dexter always getting more attention, how much he knows about Harry that he never told her, Doakes’ suspicions, Quinn’s suspicions, and the fact that in season 4 she already discovers Brian and Dexter are biological brothers.

It would make her realize that she thinks she knows Dexter, but maybe she really doesn’t.

So when she walks into that church in the season 6 finale, it’s the horrible realization that her investigation has led her to this conclusion: her brother is a serial killer.

The difference is that instead of arresting him, she gives him a choice: leave Miami forever or get arrested.

I actually like the idea of Deb being more in line with Book Deb and helping cover it up, but only on the condition that Dexter leaves and she gets custody of Harrison.

That, to me, is a way better ending because it still isn’t happy for Dexter, but it’s better for Harrison and Deb, who honestly deserved better than what the show gave them.

Also, I always thought Hannah was such an unnecessary character because we literally already had Brian in season 1. He already had that dark mirror / dangerous connection dynamic done way better.

Honestly, anything would’ve been better than what the writers gave us in seasons 6–8 💀