Back in 2006, Dexter made its debut on TV. Starring Michael C Hall as the titular character, the show was an instant hit, drawing in millions of viewers each week. After running for a grand total of 96 episodes across eight seasons, however, it came to a somewhat disappointing end.
Spoiler alert: the last episode was kinda dumb. One of the best characters was needlessly killed off, Dexter abandoned all common sense by handing over his kid to a woman he seemed to despise only a few episodes earlier, and the whole thing ended with the serial killer packing up his knives and going away to spend his life as a lumberjack.
Needless to say, Hall has received a lot of questions about the series over the years, with the primary one being: “Was that truly the end for Dexter?”
In an interview with The Daily Beast, the actor spoke about the dilemma that arose when Dexter started to become more “human” as the seasons went on, and why it led to a dissatisfying end for many people.
“If he had kept on killing people he’d have been fine, but he gets married, he opens his imagination and heart,” Hall said. “He has a real connection to people, and all those people are compromised or destroyed in some way. For it to be all tidied up after that would have not been honest.”
And if you’ve seen the final episode, you’ll know that the serial killer’s ending is not “tidied up” at all – but Hall says there’s a chance we could see the psychopath-turned-family-man return for another season.
“For him to simulate his own death and extricate himself from the context of his life made sense to me,” Hall explained. “As far as any more of that happening, it’s possible.”
Indeed, there have even been some discussions around how a ninth season would go ahead.
“There have been different possibilities that have come up,” he said. “They haven’t felt worth doing. But there’s still something potentially there. But there are no immediate plans to do that.”
Still, Hall says that, whenever he’s asked whether he’ll pursue another season, his response is, “never say never.”
“The way that show ended gave no sense of closure for people and a lot of questions unanswered. [Dexter] seems to be in this self-imposed exile, he certainly didn’t ride off into the sunset. His sister died. It left a gnarly knot in some viewers’ stomachs. I stand by how that 8th season ended.”
While there’s no sure-fire confirmation that Hall is going to don his khaki-coloured killsuit and return to the small screen once again, it is at least good to know that he’s not ruled the possibility out.
Plus, with several years having passed since the show ended, there are so many directions the series could take. Would Dexter still be living in exile? Does he have a burning desire to return for his son? Or has his time away from society only caused his thirst for blood to grow stronger?
We can only wait and see.
