Dexter: The Complete Seventh Season [Blu-Ray]

When forced to admit that the most recent season of Dexter has been one of the cuddly serial killer procedural's best, it becomes glaringly apparent just how much of the series has been nowhere near as good as it should have been. After two years of trying to top season four's exceedingly disturbing Trinity Killer, while otherwise maintaining the show's status quo, the writers finally attempt something a little different: they bring someone into Dexter's interior world. Actually, they bring in two someones. His sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a freshly minted captain, finally catches him in the act, and while compassionate to a degree, she has no interest in becoming his dark co-pilot. That seat belongs to fellow murder junkie Hannah McKay (Chuck's luminous Yvonne Strahovski). Her unromantic and unflinching perspective on taking a life causes Dexter to do a little thinking about his need to ritualize and attempt to morally rationalize his desire to exert the ultimate expression of power over another. With these significant personal breakthroughs taking the lion's share of attention, the handling of the season's Big Bad is a slight break with tradition. Sneaking in a kill while under the watchful eye of his potty-mouthed sister, Dexter ends up attracting the attention of a particularly nasty Russian mobster. As played by Ray Stevenson, Isaak Sirko is the most sympathetic villain the series has seen so far. He's such a strong foil for our stoic anti-hero that it's a bit of a shame he's only one of multiple aggressors Miami Metro's top blood spatter analyst is forced to face off against. Outside of all the kill-or-be-killed escapades, side characters like Detective Quinn, Sergeant Batista and, especially, Lieutenant LaGuerta drag the show down, adding extra helpings of boring, annoying and stupid to a show that already has more than enough quality issues. Though it's exasperating to watch due to a complete disinterest in logic and plausibility, Dexter is still compelling enough to see through to its conclusion. Thankfully, that end is nigh. Maybe the collected edition of the series finale will actually include some bonus content; this one's as devoid of frills as a fresh kill room.