Dexter killings come to an end
Actor Michael C. Hall has taken home the big knife he used in many of his 125 or so kills during eight seasons of Dexter.
It was engraved, put into a case and presented to him by the props department when filming of the final season ended.
"I'll also be taking Dexter's watch and his little lanyard with his ID badge from work just because those are the props that were with me probably more than any other," he said by phone from the US. "There's also the railing from outside Dexter's apartment, I might take a piece of that and put it in my garden and let some weeds grow over it or something."
It is obvious that Hall is quite comfortable with his eight years of playing psychopath Dexter Morgan, who operates as a blood- spatter expert in the Metro Miami police department and in his off-duty hours kills other serial killers.
Dexter's final fate will be known here in just a few weeks as the show is being fast-tracked from the US on to the pay-TV channel Showcase. (Free-to-air viewers of the series and fans who are not up to date with the latest episodes should stop reading now.)
Last season ended with a shocking twist when Dexter's detective sister Debra chose to kill her boss, Capt. Maria LaGuerta, to protect Dexter, even after she finally realised he was a serial killer.
This season has seen the arrival of acclaimed British actress Charlotte Rampling in the role of Dr Evelyn Vogel, an expert in psychopaths who immediately shows a keen interest in Dexter.
The second episode, in which Dr Vogel reveals her links to Harry, Dexter's dead adoptive father, was also Hall's debut as a director. "The Dr Vogel character is remarkable in that she completely reframes Dexter's origin story," Hall said.
"The show explores a maternal relationship, one that has never really been explored before, and exploits Dexter's appetite for that kind of connection. He thought Harry acted alone but discovers through his introduction to Dr Vogel that Harry himself was conditioned to believe the things that he instilled in Dexter."
So is Dr Vogel perhaps the greatest psychopath of them all?
"We really don't quite know where the chips will fall in terms of what her motives are and if they're pure or sinister or some kind of combination of both.
"I'm just so thankful that Charlotte agreed to join us - she's so inherently mesmerising - it was easy as an actor to be captivated by her."
He does, of course, know Dexter's fate but is very tight-lipped about the finale, even refusing to comment one way or the other on the possibility of a Dexter movie. Hall says he has known where Dexter is heading since the end of season seven but will reveal nothing. Some other members of the cast were also told.
"I think it's all about the individual actor's sensibility," Hall said. "Some people like to know where things are headed; some people prefer to be surprised. I like a combination of both. I like knowing in broad strokes where things are headed but it is nice that every script delivered is a real page-turner in terms of how we get from point A to point Z."
Another woman from Dexter's past reappears this season. It is Dexter's former lover, escaped serial killer Hannah McKay (Australian actress Yvonne Strahovski), and Hall describes her reappearance as a real catalyst for moving the story towards its conclusion.
Vast amounts of fake blood and plastic wrap have been used as Dexter has followed Harry's code and tried to channel his urge to kill into disposing of a series of serial killers. Does he have a favourite?
"I guess my favourite killers are sometimes my favourite kills," he said.
"I always look back to Little Chino from the second season - just because he was so damn big and it was fun to take down someone who was pretty much a giant.
"The Trinity Killer (John Lithgow) obviously tops the list - he was probably the most formidable adversary and someone who got the best of Dexter in a way no one else had. I think Dexter in a way has been reeling ever since Rita (Dexter's wife) was killed.
"It's difficult to single out Dexter's victims - I think he loves them the way a mother loves her children, equally.
"But, gosh, the jaw-dropping storylines. When we finished the first season I wondered what we would possibly do next. I think our writers have always been bold with their storytelling sensibility and the moves the story makes.
"I do know my least favourite moments are those that required me to jump in the cold ocean water in San Pedro."
Dexter airs today at 2.30pm then 7.30pm on pay-TV channel Showcase.