Michael C. Hall Shares His Thoughts On That 'Dexter' Finale, Addresses Fan Theory
We already know what all of you thought of that Dexter finale. But what about Dexter himself, a.k.a. Michael C. Hall?
In a Reddit AMA, Hall reveals that he felt "sadness" when he read about Dexter's fate, though he goes out of his way to justify it. Hit the jump for his full comments, plus more highlights from the Michael C Hall Reddit AMA including his response to one crazy fan theory, an update on his Stanley Kubrick-based project, and a Dexter-riffic round of FMK.
We don't need to warn you that spoilers follow, do we? Well, just in case: Spoilers for the Dexter finale follow.
Hall was ostensibly on Reddit to promote his run on Broadway's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but inevitably a lot of the questions turned to Dexter. One Redditor asked for Hall's "initial reaction when [he] read that Dexter becomes a lumberjack would be the final scene." Hall's response:
Probably sadness.
Though... given what he'd been through, and his attempts to have his cake and eat it too in regards to indulging his compulsion to kill AND have a more authentic life, his self-imposed exile did resonate.
I think Dexter came to believe that... anything he touched would eventually be destroyed and so he felt he needed to let it all go. Of course, Dexter is also a pragmatist and a self-preservationalist so he didn't do himself in. But rather put himself on hold.
It's tough to tell exactly what he means by "sadness." Is it sadness because he didn't like the ending, sadness because he felt bad for Dexter, or sadness because he knew this meant Showtime would inevitably try to get him back for a sequel or spinoff?
Hall has previously said that the ending was "narratively satisfying — but it was not so savory," which seems like a diplomatic way of saying he didn't really like it either. But maybe we're just projecting.
Some fans hated that ending so much, they constructed elaborate theories to explain it — like the one where Dexter actually dies in the hurricane and the whole lumberjack scene is actually purgatory. Hall was diplomatic but blunt when addressing that particular explanation:
I'm reluctant to answer that definitively, because... I don't think your interpretation is necessarily invalid. It's subjective. Though I don't think the writers imagined that Dexter was dead, to be honest.
For his part, he has some thoughts on where Dexter would be "right now."
When we left him, he was... staring at the wall in a prison of his own making, and I think his self-imposed exile from the world continues. Though I imagine he's got a pretty serious itch he's aching to scratch.
Also on the Dexter front, Hall admitted he'd "love to see an extensive blooper reel," named Louis Greene as the character he liked the least, and indulged in a round of Fuck, Marry, Kill for Lila, Lumen, and Hannah:
It's tough, because I fucked all three and killed one of them.
That being said... pondering... Fukc Lumen, Kill Lyla, Marry Hannah.
Though I'd really like to do all 3 to all 3.
In other, non-Dexter news, Hall gave a small update on God Fearing Man, a TV project based on one of Kubrick's unproduced scripts.
Yeah, the Kubrick script is – or will be – the raw material for what we're imagining will be a miniseries and we're currently in the process of finding a writer to flesh out and expand that raw material. It's in its preliminary stages, but the prospect of bringing it to life is exciting.
In other words, it sounds like God Fearing Man is a ways off still. In the meantime, look for Hall on Broadway. And/or check out Hall's full Reddit AMA session.