Showtime’s bloody standby Dexter left fans in a bit of a pickle in the final moments of the Season 6 finale, “This Is The Way The World Ends.” And in a way, our worlds all ended when (spoiler alert) Deb confirmed her lovey-dovey feelings for her adoptive brother and subsequently caught him performing his murderous Robin Hood act on the Doomsday Killer (Colin Hanks). That’s how you end the sixth season of what many fans consider to be an ailing former TV titan. And while the borderline incestuous plotline is a gnarly hook, I doubt I’m the only one who feels a little uncomfortable taking the bait.
Yet, we all fell hook, line, and sinker, and now Showtime is gutting us like a fish. The pay-network released its new promos for Season 7 of the killer series, and they will make any TV fan squirm. Both promos show two seemingly intertwined bodies writhing in a manner that’s both frightened and overtly sexual, before one of the Morgan siblings emerges in a cold, perturbed sweat. Simultaneously, the sheets that have both bodies trapped on a bed in this dungeon-esque locale strike a balance between black satin and the opaque plastic of the garbage bags Dexter uses to dispose of his victims. In each promo, Michael C. Hall’s chilling timbre reigns over the images and re-opens the question: What will Deb do now that she’s admitted she’s in love with Dex and can she accept his dark passenger now that she’s seen it in action?
And while Dexter weighs that question, we have to weigh our own. Can we accept the uneasy shift the series has taken? It’s certainly a risky plot and it revives the unnerving feelings we felt when we first met Dexter Morgan, but is that payoff worth the accompanying icky feeling? It’s clear from these clips that the series has no intention of easing our minds any time soon. If anything, Showtime is practically daring us to try and resist.
And it’s clear that resistance is futile, because here we are, mulling over the topic yet again. The series’ work is done. Whether we like it or not, we’ve accepted yet another of Dexter’s dark passengers, and it doesn’t look like this one’s something we’ll be able to shake.
Dexter returns for its second-to-last season Sept. 30 on Showtime.
Follow Kelsea on Twitter @KelseaStahler.
More:
Are Dexter Stars Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter Reconciling?
What Dexter Does: Solving the Deb Problem in The New Teaser
