Dexter

 :

Season 4
  • Network:
  • Series Premiere Date: Oct 1, 2006
Season #: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Dexter Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 688 Ratings

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  • Starring: , ,
  • Summary: Dexter's balancing life as a new father this season, while another serial killer, the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow) stalks Miami.
  • Genre(s): Drama, Suspense

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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Paige Wiser
    100
    The series is as compulsively watchable as ever, with Dexter's marriage, stepchildren, newborn son and stifling suburban life complicating his leisure time.
  2. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    100
    All your favorites are back in force, with a few twists, but the allure of the series always has been and always will be Hall, who manages to make a killer (who kills only people who deserve it, mostly) likable, believable, engaging and funny, as he works his job as a blood splatter expert at Miami Metro Homicide.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    91
    Any fears you had that marriage and a baby would dull the sharp edge of Dexter--I admit it, I was worried--have been thoroughly allayed by season 4's wonderfully swift, witty, and violent start.
  4. Salon
    Reviewed by: Heather Havrilesky
    80
    Watching Dexter endure the bubbly, enforced cheer of family life may make this the best season of the drama series to date.
  5. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    80
    Dexter will probably never reach the dramatic, creative heights it did in season one, but with this new season the show's producers found a way to sustain the premise by concentrating on the show's characters and, in particular, looking at how Dexter lives with his desire-to-kill rather than dwelling on the myriad ways he might get caught.
  6. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Emily Nussbaum
    80
    He may be sicker than Hank Moody or Larry David, but he’s also a far richer figure, and in his own strange way, just as universal, thanks to the transcendent performance of Michael C. Hall, who deepens every sick joke and raises the stakes on every emotional twist.
  7. PopMatters
    50
    This commentary on the emptiness of all-consuming family life might fare better were it not brimming with one suburban cliche after another. These cliches don’t indicate Dexter’s discomfort with the banality of his new environment. Instead, they’re just boring.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 62
  3. Negative: 1 out of 62
  1. BryanT
    Nov 30, 2009
    10
    For anyone who has seen the ninth and tenth episode of this season knows its a 10 rating.
  2. Mr_West
    Mar 28, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Straightly Speaking, the greatest season of a t.v. show ever. It took a challenging concept and made it one of the most twisted, character centered, artistic, and beautiful series of episodes in T.V. show history. The narration was perfect. Everything added in the exact in the right place. The idea of a monster, a serial killer, trying to live a normal suburban life, seems so rediculous, and yet feels so right, since we as the audience believe we know Dexter, and know the good inside him. Unfortunately, with every chance he gets, we finally, for the first time since Season 1, see a villain who's life resembles Dexter's. But when we do, we know that his pursuit at a normal life, that seemed to covered in gold in Season 3, can only end in one way; tragedy.… Expand
  4. MikeB.
    Oct 17, 2009
    10
    This is one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. It goes deep so you can really get into it and it is the perfect show to just marathon This is one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. It goes deep so you can really get into it and it is the perfect show to just marathon the sh*t out of. I hope for many many more seasons and I just hate waiting for the episodes to air!… Expand
  5. ironhomer
    Sep 15, 2013
    10
    After not too pleased third season. This season became for me a surprise. Perfect villain, interesting story with such a plot twists, shockAfter not too pleased third season. This season became for me a surprise. Perfect villain, interesting story with such a plot twists, shock ending, and great acting John Lithgow.… Expand
  6. Mrdan69
    Jun 14, 2013
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This season was brilliant, but not completely flawless. The beginning few episodes meander and plod along, only to be saved by tantalizing glimpses of the ultimate "big bad" John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer.

    The season really picks up and does not let go once Dexter realizes that Trinity is a family man (albeit with a dysfunctional family). It also serves to mirror Dexter's own hopes and fears.

    The secondary story of LaGuerta and Batista's romance did not quite work so well for me, as it's only purpose seemed to be to cause political conflict with the higher-ups at the police dept.

    But no worries, as anyone who has seen this season knows-the last 2 minutes of the final episode make up for any shortcomings this season might have had. I recall watching Dexter dispatch of Trinity in the trash bags in the ocean thinking "there's still a lot of time left here." The twist at the end of that episode left reverberations that are still being felt as the show enters its 8th and final year.    … Expand
  7. JimP
    Nov 11, 2009
    8
    John Lithgow is suitably creepy as the Trinity Killer and Jennifer Carpenter's character (as Dexter's sister) is equally irritating John Lithgow is suitably creepy as the Trinity Killer and Jennifer Carpenter's character (as Dexter's sister) is equally irritating (as usual). I'm a big Keith Carradine fan, so that doesn't hurt either. So far, so good.… Expand
  8. toughbrets
    Aug 31, 2010
    3
    I used to love Dexter, but I can't forgive the tedious formula they can't seem to let go of. Dexter befriends a psychopath and ends upI used to love Dexter, but I can't forgive the tedious formula they can't seem to let go of. Dexter befriends a psychopath and ends up realizing that he's got to kill him or her in every single season. While Dexter needs an entire season to figure that out, we the viewers unfortunately don't. If you can predict the end of the new season without having seen a single frame of it, it screams repetitiveness.… Expand

See all 62 User Reviews

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Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Best TV Season of 2009
18
#18 Most Discussed TV Season of 2009
27
#27 Most Shared TV Season of 2009

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