'Dexter' final season premiere episode review: Solid performances

Fans are certainly grateful, too, but the point of the final season is -- or should be -- resolution, and that's the starting point Sunday night. In Dexter, Hall has created TV's most startling protagonist -- a genuine monster with a conscience -- but there's not a lot left to bring to this role, so it's left to Carpenter to add some new dimensions to her character.

She does, and as a result, this final lap belongs to Deb as much as Dex. She's not only aware of her brother's past, but now complicit in his crimes, and when she looks into his pale, soulless baby blues, she sees something of herself reflected back. She is wracked by guilt and self-loathing, not just for what she's done -- the murder of LaGuerta -- but for what she is. Carpenter nails every scene she's in, and in the process gives Deb real pathos and fragility.

Meanwhile, Rampling joins a long line of distinguished actors who come through "Dex" to exercise some chops they didn't even know they had. She's perfect here, as the "whisperer" with the ice-cold exterior and interior to match, who may well be on board this season to answer some of those questions that have long gone unanswered. Most notably: Who is Dexter Morgan anyway?

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