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Season seven introduces us to a variety of killers with different motives and methods. We meet Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski), who killed people as a teenager alongside her much older boyfriend and who becomes Dexter's new love interest. There's the Phantom Arsonist, who sets people on fire, and Isaak Sirko (Ray Stevenson), a vengeful mobster hunting Dexter for killing the man he loved. At first, I found Isaak's character over the top, but as the season progressed and he began having deeper conversations with Dexter, I really started to appreciate him. Their dynamic reminded me of the compelling scenes between Dexter and Brother Sam in season six.

What dragged the season down for me was Dexter repeatedly talking about his "Dark Passenger." He's explained this concept so many times; to Lila, Debra, Hannah, Isaak, Harry; we get it. The repetition starts to feel stale. Like hearing the same joke over and over, it loses impact. At this point, Dexter's self-reflection doesn't add much anymore.

This season's "misplaced but very attractive actress" award goes to Katia Winter (Nadia), a Swedish actress playing a Russian stripper. Her accent shifts from Russian to English and back again, never really settling into either. Her role seemed mostly intended to give Joey Quinn something to do, but ultimately, neither of them felt essential to the story.

With Rita gone, the show feels a bit darker. Julie Benz brought warmth and lightness to Dexter's world, and her absence is noticeable. It's odd seeing Dexter leave his son to be raised mostly by a nanny. I know a lot of people outsource parenting, but for me, it misses the emotional core of what being a father should mean, though maybe that's just something I'll never fully relate to.

On a more interesting note, the evolving relationship between Debra and Dexter takes center stage. Watching her wrestle with her feelings and uncover the truth adds a fresh layer of tension. And the way LaGuerta starts piecing things together, hunting Dexter while he desperately tries to stay ahead of her, is thrilling. The ending of the season is one of the strongest yet bold, intense, and game-changing.

In season six, the creators stick to a familiar formula: giving outrageously attractive people a platform to learn how to act. This time, it's Aimee Garcia's turn. She's simply there, adding little to no substance, but lighting up the screen with her looks. It drags down the believability of the show.

Speaking of believability, we've discussed this before, but the fact that all detectives in the office are wearing their badges so visibly, complete with name and function, feels more theatrical than realistic. In real-life office settings, like mine, nobody wears a name tag with their title on it. Everyone knows who's who. I get it's a visual choice for the viewer, but it pulls me out of the immersive experience.

This season's main storyline focuses on Travis (Colin Hanks), who commits a series of religiously motivated murders with his mentor Gellar. From the early episodes, it's clear that their relationship mirrors Dexter's connection with Harry, making the big "twist" rather underwhelming. Colin Hanks, whom I remember from NCIS, is almost unrecognizable here and I mean that in a good way. His acting is subtle and strong.

The real standout this season is Brother Sam (Yasiin Bey / Mos Def), a former killer who found peace through faith. His interactions with Dexter are among the most beautiful and reflective in the entire series. Their conversations about belief, redemption, and darkness genuinely moved me. I wanted Dexter to follow the light... and yet, part of me didn't. After all, I don't watch Dexter to see him become a saint. That inner conflict made me emotionally invested.

Thankfully, the season doesn't get buried in dull police politics. There's enough space for what Dexter truly does best: dark tension, moral dilemmas, and close calls. Still, it's worth noting, as we've discussed, that the amount of murders committed in Miami in this series is wildly exaggerated. Real-life stats show far fewer homicides annually. And that's not even counting the corpses from CSI: Miami, which supposedly shares the same city... Plot-wise, it's occasionally thrilling, but overall a bit predictable. Still, the writers took a bold swing with Debra's growing feelings for Dexter; a risky move that results in one of the most jaw-dropping cliffhangers I've ever seen. It left me stunned.

Dexter - Season 5: 8.3/10 Season five is, in my opinion, the strongest season of Dexter so far. The storyline is tense, layered, and finally offers the emotional complexity the show had been edging toward. But before diving into what makes it great, a quick aside: Vince Masuka's nerdy laugh, once quirky and oddly endearing, has officially crossed into the realm of irritating. What started out as comic relief now feels like a leftover gag the writers can't quite let go of.

Now onto the good stuff.

Season five opens in the emotional aftermath of season four, and the writers wisely don't brush past the impact of those events. Dexter is more vulnerable, more human and just as deadly. He crosses paths with Lumen (Julia Stiles), a woman who escaped a horrific series of ritualistic assaults and murders. Her trauma is raw, and when she decides to seek revenge on the men who harmed her, Dexter becomes her unlikely partner. Together, they begin hunting down the "barrel killers"; a group of sadistic predators, leading to a tense final confrontation with the man behind it all, played chillingly by Jonny Lee Miller.

Julia Stiles brings a different kind of energy to the show. While there isn't much romantic chemistry between her and Michael C. Hall, there is something deeper: a sense of trust and mutual understanding. For the first time, Dexter doesn't have to hide his true nature. That emotional shift gives the season real weight. It's not love, necessarily, more like recognition between two damaged souls. Still, one could argue that both Julia Stiles and Jennifer Carpenter carry a kind of masculine presence that can make their on-screen intimacy feel more cerebral than passionate.

Debra, meanwhile, is closing in on two killers of her own and for once, the show lets her investigative instincts shine. She's smart, focused, and intuitive. Her new boyfriend Quinn (Desmond Harrington) finally grows into his role this season. No longer just another background cop with a forgettable storyline, he becomes relevant, suspicious of Dexter, and even hires Robocop himself, Peter Weller, to dig into Dexter's life. This subplot adds a delicious layer of danger. The walls are closing in, and Dexter knows it.