By John Keegan and Gregg Wright

How’s that for an episode title, eh? Unfortunately, despite what the promo and title might lead us to believe, this episode does not mark the glorious return of Doakes to exact his revenge on Dexter. This finale is solely concerned with resolving existing threats and issues. And as far as that goes, it works. A Doakes-like twist might have injected some much-appreciated life into the mix, but the episodes does a reasonable job of taking elements that have been in play since the beginning of the season and offering a payoff.

By John Keegan and Henry Tran

I'm not entirely sure of what I'm supposed to feel about this episode after viewing it. On the one hand, it showed some really powerful moments, ones that were true to the characters on the show. On the other hand, there exists parts of the episode (and many of the storylines within it) that somehow defy logic. I made the comment to no one in particular that at times, it felt like the show was falling apart at the seams. That something like the death of Abu Nazir should be a big, public event where the CIA and FBI are too late to stop him from enacting his entire plan. Instead, he dies in an anonymous Virginia mill surrounded by armed agents.

By John Keegan and Gregg Wright

This has been a very rocky season of “Dexter”, at a time when there is every reason for the show to return to its former glory. At the beginning of the season, I expected things to rapidly begin to escalate through a two-season story arc that culminated in a definitive finale. Instead, the season explored other various other elements that were interesting in and of themselves, but suffered from poor execution, and seem to have been only tangentially-related to the real closing arc of the show.

By John Keegan and Henry Tran

This episode, to me, had two fantastic moments that were surrounded by a lot of creaky plot mechanics. This is a byproduct of what happens in the previous episode. Pieces of a chessboard being moved into place for the conclusion of this part of the story. In that way, the pieces somehow end up with an assassination of Vice President Walden, an event that comes very suddenly and really, without warning. It's based on knowledge about Brody and Carrie's relationship that Abu Nazir is counting on as leverage to use against Brody.

By John Keegan and Gregg Wright

If I were to try to describe this season, so far, in only a few words, I'd say that it is a giant mess of good ideas and bad, which never coalesced into anything meaningful (which might be said of the show as a whole). For all of the obvious problems in seasons 5 and 6, there was at least something of a meaningful central story arc that tied each season together. Dexter himself had a meaningful character arc in each season. We're not quite to the end of this season, but I struggle to imagine how any ending could justify the jumbled storytelling of this season. I suspect that this assessment will remain just as true when it's all over.

By John Keegan and Gregg Wright

It's funny to see a season premiere that ends with the type of moment that you'd typically see near the end of a season of "Dexter". If that had been the case, and Deb's discovery had occurred near the end of the season, then it probably would have coincided with the building momentum of a seasonal climax. Instead, the situation resolves itself fairly quickly, and something of a new status quo emerges. But there's the distinct feeling that everything could still fall apart at any moment.

By John Keegan and Edmund Boys

Living up to its stellar first season, and avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump, was already a heady challenge for “Homeland.” Sweeping the Drama Emmys one week before its return, becoming the first show both to beat out “Mad Men” and to top it by adding the acting awards to its series prize, just upped the ante. Most of the season is already in the can, but the premiere shows the accolades are deserved, as they don’t miss a beat resuming the story.

By John Keegan and Gregg Wright

It may come as no surprise to hear this, but storytelling is an art of deception. The aim of good storytelling is to sell the viewer on the believable nature of unfolding events, and also to ensnare the viewer on an emotional and intellectual level. Of course, behind the scenes, stories are planned. The extent of that planning varies, depending on the storyteller. But generally speaking, the better the planning, the better the story. But this is also where you run the risk of problems.