Fans of Dexter will agree that Jennifer Carpenter’s Debra Morgan deserved better than her tragic fate in the series. Carpenter originally wanted Debra to die at the end of the series especially due to all the guilt from her and her brother’s actions. However, she was devastated by how the show actually executed her death in the last episode of the final season, Remembering the Monsters?.
Carpenter revealed that the scene made her realize that Dexter’s character was not the neat monster depicted in the show, but rather a very sick man in need of help. Michael C. Hall and Carpenter returned to their roles as the Morgan siblings in the standalone miniseries, Dexter: New Blood.
Jennifer Carpenter Was Heartbroken To Watch The Hated Dexter Finale
While Jennifer Carpenter is not a hater of the Dexter finale, she revealed that she was devastated to watch her character’s final moments. In the finale, Michael C. Hall‘s character cuts off his sister Debra Morgan’s life support system and carries her to the middle of the ocean in his boat amidst a storm. He throws his sister into the ocean where he has dumped his numerous other victims.
During an interview with EW, Carpenter revealed that when she watched Debra’s final scenes, it broke her heart. The Limitless actress revealed that she felt Dexter’s actions in the scene were a form of vandalism and that they disfigured her character’s essence.
She shared that the show always tried to have a sympathetic attitude towards him, with some trying to view him as a relatable individual. However, the final scene made her realize that he was a dead end with no hope and that nothing could justify his actions. Carpenter explained how she perceived the final scenes to EW:
“When I watched it, it broke my heart. He sort of whisked her up, her hair dusting the bench of the boat, the engines have cut off, Dexter putting his cheek next to hers, and he literally slams her into the surface of the ocean only to descend into the graveyard of the other people who meant nothing to him. On behalf of my character, I thought that he vandalized her and disfigured her entire being.”
She continued to explain how she had a major realization about the main character after the Dexter finale:
“But we are talking about a serial killer who is deranged and prone to hurt others. Everybody wants to look at him like a real boy or a real man. The story always seemed to have this sympathetic attitude about him wanting to be a neat monster. But he’s sick and it made me realize what a dead end he was.”
Dexter‘s finale turned out to be a true mess as the show ended with the protagonist, Dexter Morgan, facing no real consequences for his actions. The show tried to symbolically say that Debra was the last body count of Dexter, but fans were angry at the final scene that depicted him to be leading a new life as a lumberjack.
Jennifer Carpenter’s Take On People’s Hatred Towards The Show’s Ending
While the 2021 Showtime miniseries, Dexter: New Blood, tried in its own way to fix the original show’s mistake, fans are still disturbed by how their favorite crime thriller TV show ended in 2013. Jennifer Carpenter shared that she actually wanted Debra to die and didn’t want to live with Dexter’s darkness all over her. At the time, she was happy with how the show decided to end things.
However, she admitted that she hated it when people were disappointed with Debra’s death. She revealed that it was incredibly hard to hear the feedback, however, she understood that the spotlight of the hatred was not on Debra. Carpenter shared with EW:
“I think it’s well known that I did want Deb to die. I didn’t want to live on in the darkness that way. At the time I was happy to just sort of disappear into the abyss and disconnect. I hate that [people found it to be] a disappointment. It’s the most personal investment you can make, playing a character. It was incredibly hard to hear, but I hope that the spotlight wasn’t on Deb.”
Carpenter also shared with EW that she felt like an addict when the show ended in 2013. She was relieved that the intense show had finally ended and felt like she needed repair. However, at the same time, she still wanted more of it.
Dexter and Dexter: New Blood are both available for streaming on Showtime.
