The Getaway (Dexter)
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"The Getaway" is the fourth season finale of the American television drama series ''
Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...
'', and the 48th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Showtime on December 13, 2009. In the episode,
Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...
goes to great lengths to stop
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
, who now knows Dexter's true identity. Meanwhile, Debra learns the truth about Dexter's mother, the homicide division closes in on the Trinity Killer, and Rita reaffirms her support for Dexter, even as she acknowledges his hidden demons. The
teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...
was written by Wendy West and
Melissa Rosenberg Melissa Anne Rosenberg is an American television writer, television producer, and screenwriter. She has worked in both film and television and has won a Peabody Award. She has also been nominated for two Emmy Awards, and two Writers Guild of Ame ...
, based on a story by Rosenberg and Scott Reynolds. Directed by
Steve Shill Stephen A Shill (born 1957) is a British television and film director, actor, screenwriter and television producer. Early life Shill was born in 1957 in Buckinghamshire, England. He attended Keswick Grammar School in Keswick, Cumbria, England ...
, "The Getaway" marked the conclusion of the Trinity Killer plotline, as well as the final regular appearance of guest star
John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his John Lithgow filmography, diverse work on stage and screen. He has rece ...
, who portrayed Arthur Mitchell and
Julie Benz Julie Benz (born May 1, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Darla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Darla on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel'' (1997–2004), and as Rita Bennett on ''Dexter (TV s ...
, a regular cast member since the beginning of the series. To protect the twist ending, ''Dexter'' producers imposed strict security measures, which included the distribution of fake alternate endings and forcing staff members to sign non-disclosure agreements. "The Getaway" received critical acclaim, with several commentators calling the twist ending shocking, unexpected and likely to change the direction of the entire series. According to
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, the episode was watched by 2.6 million households, making it the most-watched original series episode in Showtime's history.


Plot

Having learned the truth about
Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...
's identity,
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
warns Dexter to leave him alone. When he leaves, Dexter follows Arthur in his van, accidentally striking another car on his way. Dexter follows Arthur to a bank, where he sees him bring a large envelope back to the van. Dexter attacks and knocks out Arthur, and realizes the envelope is filled with cash. Dexter plans to kidnap and kill Arthur, but he spots the driver of the car he struck earlier talking to police officers. Dexter hides the envelope and confronts the irritable driver. He attacks the driver and is detained by the police. By the time he is released, Arthur is gone, but Dexter recovers the envelope. Meanwhile, Debra continues looking into Harry's mysterious lover. An old
informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...
of Harry's takes Debra to what she recognizes as Brian Moser's house. The informant reveals the woman's name was Laura Moser, and while researching her, Debra learns she was the biological mother of both Dexter and Brian. The police discover Trinity's true identity. At Arthur's house, Debra confronts Dexter, who feigns surprise and fears Debra is close to realizing his secret life. Instead, Debra says she believes the Ice Truck Killer used her to get to him, and she reasserts how much she loves her foster brother. Inspired partially by Debra, and partially by his desire to be a better family man than Arthur, Dexter considers giving up murder. After convincing Rita to leave town, he tracks down and captures Arthur. Dexter insists he is not like Arthur, but Arthur insists they are both the same. Arthur tells Dexter that "it's already over" before Dexter kills him with a framing hammer. While disposing of Arthur's body, Dexter comes to realize that his love for his family is beginning to outweigh his need to kill, and he begins to hope for a future without killing. But upon returning home, he finds a message from Rita that she came home from the airport because she forgot her identification. Dexter returns her phone call, only to find that her cell phone and bags are still in the house. Dexter hears Harrison crying in the bathroom and finds Rita dead in the bathtub, having been killed by Arthur, with Harrison sitting in a pool of Rita's blood on the bathroom floor, in the same manner that Dexter was left in a pool of his mother's blood during his childhood.


Production

"The Getaway", the ''Dexter'' fourth season finale, was directed by
Steve Shill Stephen A Shill (born 1957) is a British television and film director, actor, screenwriter and television producer. Early life Shill was born in 1957 in Buckinghamshire, England. He attended Keswick Grammar School in Keswick, Cumbria, England ...
. The teleplay was written by Wendy West and Melissa Rosenberg, based on a story by Rosenberg and Scott Reynolds. It was the final episode helmed by
show runner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
and executive producer Clyde Phillips before his departure from the show to spend more time with his family. Filming on "The Getaway" ended on October 13, 2009, and the episode was originally aired on Showtime on December 13. "The Getaway" marked the conclusion of a season-long plotline regarding the Trinity Killer, which featured John Lithgow as a serial killer and the primary antagonist of the fourth season. The episode also included the death of Rita Morgan, who had been a regular character since the beginning of the series. Although her death is off-screen and the killer is not specifically identified, it is strongly suggested she was killed by Arthur Mitchell, which Lithgow himself confirmed to be true in an interview that aired on Showtime immediately after the episode was originally broadcast. Clyde Phillips said the ramifications "The Getaway" would have on the future of the series had not yet been determined, as brainstorming for the fifth season was not set to begin until February 2010. Rita's death was alluded to by ''Dexter'' producers, who told media outlets "The Getaway" included a series-changing twist, leading to widespread speculation about the possibility of a character death, or the possibility of Debra Morgan learning the truth about her brother's homicidal nature. Extra security precautions were taken to prevent the finale's secrets from becoming exposed. Network staff members were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements, and decoy scripts were drafted and disseminated to protect the twist ending. In one of the fake alternate endings, Dexter learned on the news about a child murderer escaping from prison, and the episode would end with Dexter trying to decide whether to join Rita on vacation or go after the escaped killer. Nobody but essential cast and staff were allowed on the set during filming of the episode, and the scripts and DVDs of the episode were watermarked before they were taken off the set. Phillips claimed the ''Dexter'' staff did not know how the finale would conclude until late in the season, but Phillips said Rita's death began to feel inevitable as the story evolved. However, Julie Benz said she had been told John Lithgow knew about it from the beginning of the season. Phillips said the staff felt obligated to do more than simply kill the Trinity Killer in the final episode, especially because he felt the death of the third season antagonist (played by Jimmy Smits) was not handled "as well as we could have". The writers discussed the idea of having Debra find out about Dexter's secret life, but it was decided they could not anticipate how drastically the series would be changed by that revelation. Benz heard rumors from David Zayas that her character would be killed in the episode, but she was not officially notified until late September, when the producers held a meeting with her the day before the season finale script was distributed to the cast. She said, "It was a tough meeting. In a bizarre way, it felt like a scene from '' Defending Your Life''." Benz was unhappy about the news, but she handled it professionally. Benz described the death scene as "very poetic". Executive Producer Sara Colleton said it was difficult to kill off a long-standing character, but they felt "this is where Dexter needed to be taken". She also felt the motives for Arthur killing Rita were deliberately made to be open to various interpretations, including that Arthur may have killed her "in a bizarre way to trigger Dexter to deal with who he really is". When asked whether Arthur told Rita about Dexter's secret life before killing her, Phillips said the answer had not been determined because the fifth season was not yet planned, but he added, "I would think that he did ''not'' tell her". Michael C. Hall called the ending a "really bold stroke" that would reset the stage of the series just as the Dexter Morgan character began to feel he could live with an emotional connection to his wife and family. Hall also said of the ending, "More than anything I felt for the audience. I think this is the kind of thing that's really going to tie people in knots." Lithgow called Rita's death a "fantastic choice", which he said shed an entirely different light on the final scene between Dexter and Arthur, which appears to be somewhat sympathetic before the audience learned what Arthur had done. Lithgow said he knew that Arthur would be killed from the very beginning of the season. He said he particularly enjoyed working with Michael C. Hall in "The Getaway", and particularly cited the opening scene in the police station, where he said Hall was "so great at working out the rhythms and finding the real meaning" of the moment where Dexter realizes Arthur has the advantage over him. Lithgow also said he enjoyed their final scene together, including the moment where he realized his daughter had committed suicide: "It's very unusual for a character that despicable to have a moment like that, a moment of such pain."


Reception


Ratings

"The Getaway" broke several records for the Showtime cable network. The finale episode was seen by 2.6 million households, according to
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, making it the most-watched original series episode in the network's history. This rating surpassed the record that had been broken just a week prior by the ''Dexter'' episode, ''Hello, Dexter Morgan'', which was seen by 2.1 million households. The pair of ''Dexter'' episodes were the most watched Showtime telecast since the October 23, 1999 broadcast of a boxing match between
Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...
and Orlin Norris. "The Getaway" was seen by 54 percent more viewers than the third season finale, "Do You Take Dexter Morgan?", which aired on December 14, 2008. The high ratings for "The Getaway" gave a boost to the third season finale of ''
Californication Californication may refer to: *Californication (word), an expression that refers to the influx of Californians into various western states in the U.S. *Californication (album), ''Californication'' (album), a 1999 album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers ...
'', which aired immediately after the ''Dexter'' season finale. The ''Californication'' episode, ''Mia Culpa'', was seen by 1.1 million households, the highest ever viewership for the series.


Critical reaction

The episode received critical acclaim and has been cited by many critics as one of the best in the series, with several commentators calling the twist ending shocking, unexpected and likely to change the direction of the entire series. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' television writer
Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and nonfiction book author. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...
praised the twist of the episode, which he said, "sent the series spinning into a whole new direction for next season". Tucker praised the ''Dexter'' writing staff, "for maintaining the suspense while creating a whole new world within the Dexter world: the awful universe of Trinity and his own trapped family." Bill Harris of the ''
Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...
'' said the episode was good before the final scene, but that the twist shed a whole different light on several scenes. Harris said of the twist, "It's nice to know TV can still be that impactful, isn't it? But my God, what a stunner."
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
reviewer Matt Fowler gave the episode an "Incredible" rating of 9.6/10, saying that: "I'm sure we all loved Dexter's final moments with
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
, down in the toy train
bomb shelter A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb. Types of shelter Different kinds of bomb Shelter (building), shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of host ...
, but now looking back at the scene, knowing the final moments of the episode, it's filled with so many more eerie
easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are Egg decorating, decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter ...
. Something was definitely up when Arthur said, "It's already over." We all thought so because we've heard him say those words before. We also saw Dexter take a beat after the line, confused about its meaning. We could have chalked it up to the fact that Arthur was accepting his own death, but Dexter's furrowed brow let us know that something more sinister was in play here. Of course, the real bitch here is that Dexter, having dispatched of Trinity officially, now can't go back and do it with the spirit of vengeance. The scene stands quite beautifully on its own, but Dexter would certainly have not given Arthur an empathetic send off if he knew what that monster had done. We can all point fingers at certain missteps that Dexter took throughout the entire season - mistakes that led to Rita's demise - but when you take it in as a whole it's a rather satisfying and cleverly constructed story that actually made us all buy and believe, by the end, that Dexter truly wanted to be rid of his murderous spirit. His stubborn need to kill Trinity himself wound up circumventing the entire justice system, which would have wound up catching Arthur based solely on Deb's tenacity and expert detective work." Also, IGN listed Arthur Mitchell as 2nd on a list of Dexter's Top 10 Kills, saying that "This was the murder that America was clamoring for. And it was effin' great." In his review of the entire fourth season, Fowler, giving the season an "Incredible" rating of 9.5, said of the finale that "It all just came off as a ton of creepy, guilty fun. I would bet that when we all saw the final scene of the season finale that we, simply due to the time we've spent on the characters over four years, felt a ton of emotions that we might not have even known were there." '' E!'' writer Kristin Dos Santos called the ending "horrifying", and said of Rita, "This death just might go down as one of the most shocking deaths ''ever'' on television." Claire Zulkey said that the twist ending was intense, and the teleplay was woven to feature several moments that had led her to suspect different conclusions. She also praised what he expected to be a "re-set" of the series with Rita's death. Marcia White of '' The Express-Times'' declared ''Dexter'' "one of the best cable dramas on TV", and called the final scene between Dexter and Arthur particularly touching. Mark Dawidziak of ''
The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...
'' said the episode was shocking and suspenseful, and called ''Dexter'' "a series that leaves you guessing as the psychological ambiguities run deeper and darker".


Awards

The director of "The Getaway",
Steve Shill Stephen A Shill (born 1957) is a British television and film director, actor, screenwriter and television producer. Early life Shill was born in 1957 in Buckinghamshire, England. He attended Keswick Grammar School in Keswick, Cumbria, England ...
, won the
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for this episode. In addition, Matthew V. Colonna was nominated for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series.


References


External links


"The Getaway"
at Showtime (official site) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Getaway, The 2009 American television episodes Dexter (TV series) episodes Emmy Award–winning episodes Television episodes directed by Steve Shill