Surprise, Motherf**ker!
- Episode aired Dec 16, 2012
- TV-MA
- 56m
IMDb RATING
9.3/10
7.8K
YOUR RATING
Season 7 finale. As LaGuerta closes in on Dexter's secret, Dexter struggles to protect himself, Debra and the life he's built.Season 7 finale. As LaGuerta closes in on Dexter's secret, Dexter struggles to protect himself, Debra and the life he's built.Season 7 finale. As LaGuerta closes in on Dexter's secret, Dexter struggles to protect himself, Debra and the life he's built.
Luna Lauren Velez
- Capt. Maria LaGuerta
- (as Lauren Velez)
Nicole LaLiberte
- Arlene Schram
- (as Nicole Laliberte)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDexter uses the alias "Arthur Curry" at one point. Arthur "AC" Curry is one of Aquaman's other names.
- GoofsWhen Deb arrives at Dexter's place and turns to shut the door, the slit up the back of the fake cast she's wearing is clearly visible. The make-up or props departments - whichever was responsible - should have put tape over it to disguise it.
- Quotes
Sgt. James Doakes: You don't even walk like a normal person. You glide, like a fucking lizard on ice.
- ConnectionsReferences Thomas & Friends (1984)
Featured review
Season 7: Improves on season 6 (thankfully) but never gets above "solid"
I really did not find much to like in the 6th season of this show and it took me ages to bother to come back to it but in the end I did, hoping it would be able to recapture some of what made it great or, at least, not be as bad as that season. The terrible cliffhanger had me worried for several reasons but at least the whole "Deb loves Dex" thing is able to be dumped as an idea and we move into a new relationship between the two. This new dynamic allows Dexter to carry on his path while also having a new factor in his life; the writers don't totally sell this new dynamic but it works reasonably well – or at least as well as anything in this season.
The best thing to say is that this season stands well above the one before and it is much more engaging, just not as good as it once was. The plot this time is fragmented between Ukrainian mobsters hunting for a man Dexter killed, Deb trying to control Dex's urges and, in the far background, LaGuerta investigating something that suggests that the Butcher is still at large and may not have been Doakes. There are other plots and characters but to be honest most of them are really just positioned in order to serve the greater overall narrative, and once the show has got what it needs from them narratively then it moves them to one side or just forgets them all together (eg Louis . As with previous seasons, the main thread is helped greatly by having a solid villain to trade off with Dexter and in this case Sirko does that job pretty well. He is nothing special as a character but Stevenson gives him presence and he engages for his half-season.
His plot doesn't run the whole show though and instead we are topped/tailed by LaGuerta getting close to Dexter. This thread is dramatic when it finally starts in the last few episodes, but it really is just a means to a cliffhanger and it feels like that. I would have liked if it had run throughout the season but I understand it was easier not to do it this way but just make it a separate thing to be flicked on. It is still effective but the real judgment will be next season to see what they do with Debra – I hope for something great but the evidence of the last few seasons is that they may not be able to raise their game sufficiently to do it. The writing here is better than the previous season but there is still a lot of compartmentalizing of things and it doesn't have the flow that previous seasons did.
I did still enjoy the season though and it was better than the previous one. The cast continue to do solid work with what they are given, but it is very much about what they are given to do. So Hall does what he does with solid reliability but in the end his character really isn't developing as it once was and you can see that there is a bit of a lack of freshness there. Carpenter does better as she has a whole new dynamic to work with – again doesn't totally convince but she does OK, will be interesting to see what she gets given and what she does with the final season. The supporting cast continue to be OK but you can see that some of them have almost nothing to do and the drop in quality seems to have hit them hard; several just seem to be turning up rather than performing.
Season 7 isn't bad though. As it is it provides solid entertainment and decent plots but it never thrills and it never has the robust sense of quality that the show once had. Mercifully it is much better than the previous season, but that says more about 6 than it does about 7. The next season is to be the final one and I hope that it can lift itself to produce something stronger than the previous few seasons.
The best thing to say is that this season stands well above the one before and it is much more engaging, just not as good as it once was. The plot this time is fragmented between Ukrainian mobsters hunting for a man Dexter killed, Deb trying to control Dex's urges and, in the far background, LaGuerta investigating something that suggests that the Butcher is still at large and may not have been Doakes. There are other plots and characters but to be honest most of them are really just positioned in order to serve the greater overall narrative, and once the show has got what it needs from them narratively then it moves them to one side or just forgets them all together (eg Louis . As with previous seasons, the main thread is helped greatly by having a solid villain to trade off with Dexter and in this case Sirko does that job pretty well. He is nothing special as a character but Stevenson gives him presence and he engages for his half-season.
His plot doesn't run the whole show though and instead we are topped/tailed by LaGuerta getting close to Dexter. This thread is dramatic when it finally starts in the last few episodes, but it really is just a means to a cliffhanger and it feels like that. I would have liked if it had run throughout the season but I understand it was easier not to do it this way but just make it a separate thing to be flicked on. It is still effective but the real judgment will be next season to see what they do with Debra – I hope for something great but the evidence of the last few seasons is that they may not be able to raise their game sufficiently to do it. The writing here is better than the previous season but there is still a lot of compartmentalizing of things and it doesn't have the flow that previous seasons did.
I did still enjoy the season though and it was better than the previous one. The cast continue to do solid work with what they are given, but it is very much about what they are given to do. So Hall does what he does with solid reliability but in the end his character really isn't developing as it once was and you can see that there is a bit of a lack of freshness there. Carpenter does better as she has a whole new dynamic to work with – again doesn't totally convince but she does OK, will be interesting to see what she gets given and what she does with the final season. The supporting cast continue to be OK but you can see that some of them have almost nothing to do and the drop in quality seems to have hit them hard; several just seem to be turning up rather than performing.
Season 7 isn't bad though. As it is it provides solid entertainment and decent plots but it never thrills and it never has the robust sense of quality that the show once had. Mercifully it is much better than the previous season, but that says more about 6 than it does about 7. The next season is to be the final one and I hope that it can lift itself to produce something stronger than the previous few seasons.
helpful•819
- bob the moo
- Jun 21, 2013
Details
- Runtime56 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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