Brilliant, Shocking End to Dexter Season 4

Arthur Mitchell, aka Trinity (John Lithgow) and Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) showed why Dexter is the best show of the past decade. (Photo Courtesy of EW.com)

If you have not seen the season 4 finale or any of the season for that matter, DO NOT READ AFTER THIS SENTENCE!

Season four of "Dexter" was the absolute best season since the first. When the season begins, Dexter Morgan finds himself married with a wife (Rita), a new baby (Harrison) and two step-children (Cody and Aster). Moving into a new posh Miami suburb, life seems perfect for the serial-killer hero we have all grown to care about in the first three seasons. But as always, Miami shows its ugly side and some peculiar murders pop up.

A woman found dead in a bath tub, a woman who apparently committed suicide jumping off a building and a man found bludgeoned to death. The cycle of the vicious murderer known as the "Trinity Murders." Special Agent Lundy (from Season 2 fame) is back in Miami to track the man he dubbed Trinity. Dexter is very interested in learning about Trinity and helps Lundy and his sister Deb try and track him down.

After Lundy is killed and Deb shot, Dexter makes it his mission to find Trinity. He finds him and instead of immediately putting him on his table, Dexter decides to learn from him. After all, he has a family and so does Trinity. Befriending Arthur Mitchell as Kyle Butler, Dexter sets out to see what makes this man tick and how he balances family life with his dark passenger.

After many episodes peeling back the insanity and viciousness layer by layer with a Thanksgiving from hell as the climax, Dexter has to put an end to the cycle. But to his astonishment, he soon finds out that Trinity not only killed 3 people but a 4th as 10-year old children were encased in cement in every city the killings happened. With time running out, Dexter finds Trinity as he is putting his latest child victim in cement. Knocking him out with a shovel, the kid is saved by Dexter only to have Trinity escape. Now it's personal.

With Trinity looking for Kyle, Dexter knows it's time to end this madness. As he tries to find Arthur, he doesn't know that Arthur has already found him and knows of his true identity. In the final episode of the season, it's a race against time as Dexter tries to end the days of this evil serial killer once and for all.

The episode starts where it left off last week as Dexter is staring right into the eyes of Arthur Mitchell in Miami-Homicide's office. With an exchange of words, Arthur leaves with Dexter hot on his trail. While speeding down the road, Dexter knocks a rearview mirror off the car of some guy. Not stopping for fear of losing Arthur for good, Dexter finds that he has gone to the bank and withdrawn all his money to leave town. Hiding in the shadows of the parking garage, Dexter uses his syringe and knocks Arthur out.

With Arthur now unconscious in the back of his van, Dexter finds out the man whose mirror he knocked off followed him with the Sheriff's department. Leaving Arthur in the van, Dexter doesn't want to waste time with this matter but loses his cool and gets arrested.

Thinking he might still have a shot at Arthur after being released from jail, Dexter goes back to the bank and finds that he is now gone. But luckily Dexter hid Arthur's money somewhere in the parking garage, forcing him to go home and find anything of value to get money including his wife's wedding ring.

On a side story, Deb was told to go home after witnessing Christine commit suicide in front of her four hours earlier. Not wanting to just sit at home, she finds the name of Kimberly Mosher, an ex C.I. of her father. As she's taken to the house, Deb realizes it was the same house the Ice Truck Killer had taken her to. Connecting the dots, she finds out that Dexter was the Ice Truck Killer's brother. Telling Dexter all this, he seems releaved to find that that is all she knows and that the killings Dexter has been a part of have not surfaced.

Dexter wonders where Arthur could be after disappearing from his family. Finding a car repair receipt in the van, Dexter proceeds to find Arthur with his newly fixed and painted mustang and finally got him on his table. Arthur knows his time is up but won't let Dexter have all the fun. “I was following my path. God led you to me.” With this line from Arthur, Dexter finished the deal and Arthur "Trinity Killer" Mitchell was finally dead.

As he stared into the moonlight, Dexter thought to himself that he wanted to embrace his family life. He cared so deeply for all of them and wanted to try and rid himself of the needs of the dark passenger.

Getting home to pack his bag for the Florida Keys, Dexter's phone starts beeping. A voicemail from Rita was left saying that she had forgotten her I.D. to board the plane but that she was going home and catch the next flight out with Harrison. Dexter hits call back on his phone only to hear the phone in her purse in the dining room. A cry from Harrison shrills through the calm night and Dexter runs to where he hears it. In the bathroom, Harrison is on the floor surrounded in Rita's blood...like Dexter when he was little and his mother had been killed. Rita had been murdered in the tub. Trinity's final opus to Dexter Morgan as his greatest adversary. Dexter picked up Harrison and said "I'm what's wrong...this is fate."

I don't know about any of you but my jaw hit the floor with that ending!! When you go back, the subtle hints from Trinity chill you to the core. "It's over. It's already done" he said to Dexter as he laid on the table. This is the best season of this show by far. If this show does not win Emmys, Golden Globes, Actors Guild Awards, you name it, I will never listen to any advise or watch any awards show they put on ever again.

Michael C. Hall was phenominal as always. Since his break on "Six Feet Under," he has stretched his acting skills to new heights. I mean he takes a Serial Killer (only of the bad people) and turns him into a protagonist that everyone cares about! He deserves all the accolades and awards.

John Lithgow has been the greatest villain on this show. He's a brilliant actor who can show he can be funny (3rd Rock from the Sun) and that he can be chilling (Dexter).

Jennifer Carpenter made Deb totally her own this season. With having to deal with Lundy's death and Christine shooting herself in front of her, she showed a wide range of emotions..not the same ones over and over.

Julie Benz was just right as Rita. I know everyone hated her but she was another great character that showed frustration and conflict as she tried to get Dexter to open up to her and also ultimately paid the price for Dexter's mistakes in the end.

So what will happen next season? To me it seems that Dexter will be a single dad trying to balance this new found hole in their lives. Others are saying Dexter will wake up and it will all be a dream at the start of the season. It's up to the fantastic writers who get better with every season. Thoughts? Post comments on what you think is going to happen!