Dexter: The Seventh Season

The seventh season of Showtime's darkly comic series about TV's favorite serial-killer hero is all about Dexter's (Michael C. Hall) adoptive sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter)—who happens to be a police detective—discovering his secret and coming to terms with the fact that her brother is the criminal she's been hunting all along. Dexter, meanwhile, is determined to convince her that he not only can't stop, but also shouldn't, since he targets others like him. Complicating matters is a new love for Dexter, Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski), who just happens to be a (former) murderer in her own right; and an Eastern European hit man named Isaak Sirko (Ray Stevenson), who has personal reasons for coming after Dexter. The black humor and elements of corruption and manipulation among the police are still there, and of course there's plenty of explicit violence and nudity, the latter thanks to scenes in a mob-owned strip club. But while this season offers a distinct improvement over the preceding run, the show still wants for a nemesis as compelling as the guest killers of earlier seasons. Ultimately, Dexter here comes to terms with his impulses and actions, which is oddly empowering; it's Deb who faces the real confusion. Compiling all 12 episodes from 2012 on DVD and Blu-ray, this is recommended. (S. Axmaker)