First watch – season 5 definetly my favorite, don't get the hate at all.

Hi there! I started Dexter a week ago and I've been on a binge since. I just got through season 5, and I really struggle to get why so many view it as a downgrade?

Personally, I had the S4 ending spoiled to me, but without any details. I just knew that somehow, at some point, >!Rita is killed.! I heard it was supposed to be the best season according to many voices, but honestly, I just felt like while the last 3 or so episodes were so intense and had me on the edge, it was overall very sluggish. Knowing the ending, I felt very frustrated about what Dexter was doing, and it also felt a bit like a waste of time. So much time spent with him wanting to become a good husband and father, knowing damn well all that was about to be pointless.

Which brings me to seaosn 5. It picks right up from the S4 ending which, while I know at that time was a cliffhanger because people weren't even sure it was real, in this case it was just "holy I'm literally torn right now I NEED to see what's next to process this". And in my opinion, it does so amazingly. I heard that it supposedly brushed over the S4 ending very fast and superficially, but it felt very organic overall. The first episode did what no other piece of media did to me in more than a decade, make me cry. All those flashbacks were very emotional because they made the loss even more real, and it also felt more crushing seeing how things had evolved. It wasn't just that it evolved from Dexter using Rita as a cover to truly loving her, but that he evolved from completely devoid of emotions to being human again, thanks to what the family brought to him. It was also about how Rita regained her strength and integrity after her past.

Dexter's reaction felt so natural too. It was so well written in my opinion, because you have a character who falsely assumes due to life long mental abuse that he cannot possibly feel love, empathy or regret convincing himself so, acting like he doesn't feel anything about his tragedy because he's sure he can't, while ultimately letting it all out and realizing that he absolutely >!loved what he had.! I mean, S4, before the ending, had him coming home ready for the honeymoon with the intention of finally dropping his dark passenger as he realized how much he wants the absolute best for his family and how they're the most important thing to him.

And after that, S5 evolves beautifully. Dexter tries killing again, hoping it would ease his mind after how much he suffered, but it doesn't work. He finds his peace in helping someone who resembles Rita so much – not just in looks, but in backstory as well. You can see how much he evolved from season 1, as he definetly feels so many complex emotions and copes with his first time experiencing true grief.

The ending was also very good. Dexter (and the plate) was shattered by losing his love again, but it was also a healing moment for both of them. Lumen managed to regain herself after all that trauma, and Dexter essentially regained what was lost when he felt so guilty about his actions leading to the tragedy.

Which brings me to my last point. Season 6 is for me where the real issue comes. S5 laid the groundwork for a beautiful ending, but S6 came in and reset everything. The kids are gone, despite S5 ending having them reconcile with Dexter because he was undoubtedly amazing with them (and S5 solidified how much he cared about them, especially after the loss), Angel and Maria divorced despite the S5 ending and Dexter is back to being completely numb again, except about Harrison. This is sad, because in my opinion, S5 kind of settled things in a direction – Dexter accepts his emotional complexity finally, feels eased about his tragedy, but also accepts how horrible it is for him. S6 should've picked up on the same complex Dexter, not completely forget what happened.

It's weird, because S5 was so amazing, but it also had the handicap of having to deal with what is, in my opinion, this show's worst decision. While there are compelling reasons for S4 to end the way it did, it just changed everything too much and not in a direction I like. S4 felt so full of life, while because of the ending the other ones were bound to feel empty. Dexter kept messing up, especially with Trinity, because he was now so emotional about everything. He was changed, and for the good. It's impossible not to watch the following seasons without longing for what could've been if Dexter did what he had to with Arthur any time earlier. And it's insane, because his playing with the food, for a first time, came not from his darkness, but from his light and hope of being a good family man.