u/FeatheredDrake

I know that the general consensus is that the writing got bad towards the end, and I agree. But I think their relationship was excellently written (excluding season 8), and the actors did a stellar job at playing their characters. Yes, I think even the "Deb falls in love with her brother" aspect was well executed and not forced, as the general consensus seems to dictate. I personally think it made a lot of sense (though I do believe that Deb got played by her therapist and she wasn't "in love" per se, but rather just very codependent and confused). This subplot had been slowly building up since the start of season 1 and the show has always been hinting at this, since the very beginning. Is it uncomfortable? A bit. But then again, this is a show about a serial killer who chops people up into pieces.

I really love how, despite being a psychopath with muted emotions, Dexter still loves Debra and protects her. Yes, their relationship is messy, but isn't that the point? They are both deeply traumatised, lonely, and unable to form meaningful connections with the outside world. They shut everyone out...Dexter does it because he is emotionally gray and wants to protect his secret, Debra does it because her emotional needs had been neglected as a kid and as a result, she keeps choosing emotionally unavailable men. So, they end up circling around each other, often in deeply unhealthy ways. Deb becomes codependent and struggles to see a life without her brother in it. It's really sad and tragic and the show did an excellent job at portraying their relationship.

I personally stopped enjoying their relationship dynamic in season 8 because it became too forced and the writing was full of tropes. But up until then, I found it wholesome and tragically beautiful. How about you?

I absolutely adored her acting in Dexter. I know she is a very divisive character, and a lot of people seemed to dislike Debra Morgan as a character, but I don't think anyone can deny her stellar acting. In seasons 1–6, she was this sassy, witty, sarcastic, funny, and simply beautiful force of nature. In seasons 7–8, her emotional meltdowns and raw anger and pain pierced through me. Her emotions felt so genuine that sometimes I even wondered whether she was just performing or if she was truly experiencing those emotions for real.

Having said that, huge was my disappointment when I learned that her only big roles were in Dexter and The Exorcism of Emily Rose (both excellent, btw). It seems like she was unlucky enough to only get roles in shows that eventually flopped or got cancelled. That really hurts because I wanted to see more of Jennifer Carpenter. Do you have any personal recommendations featuring Carpenter (preferably as a main/important character, not just a side character) that are worth watching?

I just finished Dexter (the original series) and quite frankly, I'm heartbroken about how it ended. The finale (plus most of season 8) was incredibly dull, predictable and poorly written. It was just...sloppy.

Unpopular opinion but I actually liked seasons 6 and 7. I loved the early seasons too, I just felt connected to the characters on such a deep, personal level and their evolution arc was just amazing. Yes, parts of it were predictable but that's ok because the show had other amazing features that balanced things out. But there was nothing to balance things out in s8. Season 8 no longer felt like Dexter, it felt like watching an entirely different series. Everyone acted weird and out-of-character and it just felt odd and I felt disconnected/detached emotionally the whole time. Deb was my favourite character in the series and I always assumed that if she ended up dying, I'd bawl my eyes out. Well guess what, Deb did actually die and yes, I DID actually bawl my eyes out, but it wasn't because of her death. It was because of how sloppy the writing had become. By the end of the show, I was completely out of it.

I feel like ~80% of the show was amazing, unique, and like nothing I've ever watched before. Yet, the remaining ~20% ruined the entire series for me and I don't even know if I should give the sequels a try because the original series ended so badly that I'm literally in disbelief and utter shock.

Those who have felt the same way I feel now: did you watch the sequels? Do you feel like they did justice to the original series or not? Are they worth a shot? No spoilers, please, and thank you.

To start this off - if you haven't seen Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad or Dexter, please stop reading here because there will be major spoilers ahead. You've been warned.

I guess some people see some sort of beauty in a tragic character arc. For instance turning a morally 'good' character into a total villain is often cheered on, because I guess some people consider that it adds to the story. But personally I just hate it because the main protagonist's downfall is usually handled very poorly and very suddenly, and it conflicts with everything you learned about them from earlier seasons of that show.

I know it's a very unpopular opinion but I kinda hated the last season of Breaking Bad. Yes, Walter White has ALWAYS been a prick and an asshole but if you paid attention to the show you'll know that he LOVED his family and he loved Skylar. Despite sneaking out of the house to cook meth, lying to her and making her an accomplice later on, I thought that the show did a pretty good job at showing us that Walt loved his family. He started cooking meth because he knew his time was short so he wanted to leave Skyler and the kids financially secure when the cancer would eventually take him. This all morphs into him becoming a total psycho and killing multiple people and even him confessing to Skylar (by the end of the series) that he did it "because he liked it", which totally contradicts his earlier justification. Also when I watch a show I want to ROOT for the main character. Water's character, to me, became so repulsive that I found it hard to get through the whole show. Also I find the finale boring as fuck. Killing Walter feels like lazy writing for obvious reasons. There were so many directions the plot could have taken, yet they picked the laziest one.

Don't even get me started on Dexter. I've just recently finished watching it and while I enjoyed the show A LOT overall (even more than Breaking Bad), I couldn't help but be pissed at how they destroyed Dexter's character in the last 2 seasons. Yes, he is a serial killer, but again, similarly to Breaking Bad, we're being informed early on in the series that he has a moral compass (the code) and only kills people who deserve to die (murderers, criminals). While Dexter isn't the embodiment of good (for obvious reasons) he's pretty ok by serial killer standards. He also isn’t completely incapable of love or connection, despite believing that about himself early on (he loves and cares about certain people like Rita or Debra). Yet, in seasons 7 and 8, he basically takes Deb's heart out of her chest, steps on it, spits on it, shits on it, walks all over it, and then kills her and dumps her body into the ocean, the same way he did with his other victims who were literal monsters (and Deb was not one - in fact she might have been the only person in the world who loved Dex selflessly). Wtf.

I won't go into much detail on Game of Thrones because I guess everyone knows how that turned out, lmao. Daenerys's arc is literally one of the worst I've seen in a series. She was clearly headed into that direction. It's not the plot that pisses me off, it's the execution. It feels utterly disappointing how they chose to end her arc and how rushed it was (also Jon killing her was super predictable).

I am just so pissed about these three shows because I really loved the first few seasons, only to see them crash and burn in the end. Honestly the writing in most popular shows has become quite lazy and it kinda makes me wanna not watch anything anymore lol. Might as well just watch a movie, it's shorter so if the ending is bad at least I won't have the time to get emotionally invested which will reduce the disappointment. Ughhhh I guess rant over?!?! How do you guys feel about this?

She is arguably the most unselfish, altruistic, sincere character in the whole series. She loves people with all of her heart, only to be repeatedly hurt by them. It starts with her early life, when her mother dies and her father ends up paying more attention to her adoptive brother than to her. Then she almost gets murdered by her lover who turns out to be the Ice Truck Killer. Then she proceeds to date the most emotionally unavailable men she can find, only to end up heartbroken again. She falls in love with her adoptive brother because he's the only one who's never left her side and she chooses to sacrifice her entire life, career and morals for him, despite him not reciprocating her feelings or not paying nearly as much attention and care to her as she would have deserved.

Throughout the whole series, all I kept thinking was how much of a sweetheart she was and how bad I felt for her. Personally, her character was really likeable, despite her flaws and insecurities. She was funny, sassy and sincere and Jennifer Carpenter literally SLAYED her role. Her acting is so good that some of the scenes in the series had my stomach in literal knots. She made me feel like I related to her character, and that's rare (and I've watched a lot of series). However, after browsing this subreddit long enough, I got the impression that literally everyone hates Deb for some reason and finds her annoying (with some people even saying that she's untalented, which I really don't get). Why is that?

EDIT: I love seeing how people have rallied to defend Deb, haha, I guess i was wrong after all :D I love Deb <3

Hi. I've been doing some research on welding lately and I figured it would be something that I'd like to do for a living. Since welding is in such high demand in Finland, I'm curious what it would actually take to become a welder. I looked up vocational schools and it seems like Vamia is offering a 2-yr Plater-Welder program. Is this enough to work as a welder in Finland or do you need additional certifications? Also, has anyone else done this specific program and found employment as a welder? Are there shorter pathways that I'm not aware of? I know that Meyer-Turku offers a similar program with the possibility of working there after their training, but unfortunately the program is in Finnish and my Finnish is not good enough yet.

I would like to add that I've never actually welded anything in my life. I would love to try it out to see if I actually enjoy it in practice. Are there places where I could try welding to see if I enjoy it? I wouldn't want to commit to a 2-3 yr program without knowing for sure that this is something that I enjoy doing and would like to do as a full time job.

Hi. You'll probably say that this is a very bad idea and you might be right. However, I am really interested in welding and might have an opportunity to pursue a welding school next year. There's only one problem: I have some back pain, mainly in the neck and shoulder area.

I'd like to better prepare myself for this job, but I don't know what to do to fix my back pain until then. My back pain was caused by working an office job (sedentary + poor posture). Also, I've noticed that the pain has gotten REALLY bad since I've lost a lot of weight (over 20kg). I was eating very little, therefore I might have lost a great deal of muscle.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I am in an otherwise good physical condition. I started walking daily and being more mindful of what I eat, how much I sleep, etc. Unfortunately my back pain is my biggest stressor right now. I am worried that it will prevent me from going into welding and I really don't know what else to pursue :( has anyone else here succeeded in fixing their upper back pain? How?

Hi. I want to reinvent myself and switch to welding from an entirely different field (been working in IT for the past few years, I hate it and want to escape). Standing in front of my laptop for so many years has completely killed my soul and my psyche and I really want to quit white collar for good. I've been researching welding for the past few weeks and it seems like it would really suit me. I have never been "book smart" or an "academic" person. I enjoy hands-on work, instant gratification from seeing my own work come to life, and I enjoy being physically active. I have researched the risks and disadvantages of welding...uncomfortable positions, heat, physical strain, risk of injury and health problems and weirdly enough I'm insane enough that I don't care about them. I take good care of my body, I'm in good physical condition and I will always prioritise PPE equipment and safety measures once I'll start working in the field...these being said...

I currently live in a country that has a very high unemployment rate (Finland) and it's very hard to break through the linguistic and job market barrier. I'd like to specialise in welding and I found a welding school that lasts 3 years and offers some practice/unpaid work during the studies (though not a lot, a few weeks max). I'm curious if I have any chances of finding jobs abroad once I finish welding school, to have some sort of alternatives in case I don't find a job here. So, I have a few questions:

1. Could I find a welding job in Europe once I'm out of school, considering that I'll have very little practical experience?
2. I'm a woman. Would employers discriminate me based on that?
3. Could I work in Europe as a welder without knowing the local language? I did some research and it seems like a lot of places allow English, is that the case where you live?
4. Is my plan realistic? What happens if I finish school and cannot find a welding job? I'd hate having to requalify again :( would I have some sort of alternatives/plan B?
5. How should I apply for welding jobs? I am not familiar with the blue collar application process. What kind of CV do I need and which strategies should I approach?

Thank you in advance :)

Just a few reasons why people get rejected nowadays:

• not enough experience (but nobody gives you the opportunity to build experience so you're stuck in a loop)
• too much experience (they'll think you have high expectations and will ask for too much $$$)
• older than 45 (because young applicants are cheaper)
• overqualified (god forbid you're trying to make a living and not STARVE during low hiring periods in your industry)
• underqualified (you only know 49 out of the 50 tools mentioned in the job description, surely you are not capable enough to learn the 50th tool on the job /s)
• disabled (you don't deserve to live lol)
• resume gap (because people who choose themselves over a job cannot be controlled/manipulated as easily)
• other demographic characteristics such as ethnicity or gender
• you were self-employed for too long (again, cannot be controlled and manipulated)
• career pivots, even within the same industry (because they're not willing to hire you unless your last 3 jobs had EXACTLY the same job titles)
• not finding work in your industry 1 year post-graduation (because surely all the knowledge you've been building for the past 3/4/5/6 years in school will be lost within 12 months, trust me bro /s)
• not have connections/a network (your resume can be perfect and you might still get rejected because they hired internally or hired through connections and the new hire is probably less competent/qualified too!)

They literally expect people to have a PERFECT career progression, even in economically difficult times like these. Anything that they might perceive as a red flag will send your resume into the dumpster. How are we supposed to live like this? How are we supposed to cope with the pressure of having the perfect career progression or else starve and become homeless?

Salut. Am 3 ani de experiență pe frontend (React, TypeScript) și momentan îmi caut de lucru. Știu, sunt absolut cooked cu nivelul de experiență și tech stack-ul actual, plus că n-am nici facultate. Sinceră să fiu, chiar mă întreb dacă mai are rost să încerc să lucrez în IT sau nu, pare că situația mea nu e una chiar roz iar competiția e momentan foarte mare, mai ales dacă ești un dev fără prea multă experiență și cu un tech stack generic.

Categoric, frontend-ul nu mai merge. Așa că, as a last resort, încerc să fac tranziția spre altceva...dar ce? QA e mort, cybersecurity devine la fel de suprasaturat (plus că e greu să intri dacă n-ai deja experiență fix în cybersecurity), habar n-am ce să aleg. Știu și un pic de backend, și aș putea poate să încerc pe fullstack dar sincer, webdev-ul s-a cam dus dracului cu totul.

Oare puteți să îmi dați ceva sfaturi? Idei?

Avem aici persoane care au ales să facă facultatea în Finlanda? Dacă da, cum v-ați adaptat, cum vi s-a părut, v-ați găsit job după absolvire? Și dacă da, ați găsit tot în Finlanda, sau în România?

Sunt într-o situație cel puțin "interesantă". Eu și prietenul meu ne-am mutat în Finlanda în 2024. Eram sătui de România și deja ne pusesem de multă vreme în gând să plecăm undeva în străinătate. Lucram amândoi remote în IT (webdev) deci asta ne-a dat libertatea să plecăm din România.

Din păcate eu mi-am pierdut jobul în primele 6 luni după ce ne-am mutat aici și de atunci n-am mai găsit altceva și nici n-o să găsesc de curând la cum merg lucrurile în IT, mai ales la nivelul meu de experiență în domeniu (2 ani). Deja e aproape un an de când nu mai lucrez, și simt că o iau razna. Locuim în Vantaa, adică la 20km de Helsinki, și aș avea posibilitatea să încep o facultate aici. Dilema mea e următoarea: momentan, Finlanda trece printr-o criză economică groaznică și șomajul a urcat la aproape 12%. Majoritatea studenților de aici sunt disperați că nu reușesc să găsească internship-uri și că e competiție de 700-1000 de aplicanți pe un singur internship. Mi-e frică să nu cumva să fac o facultate în Finlanda degeaba și să nu îmi găsesc deloc de muncă. Iar dacă aleg să mă întorc în România, nu știu cum se pupă studiile de aici cu cultura din România (probabil o să mă evite, crezând că am pretenții salariale mari fiindcă am studiat în străinătate, din păcate am auzit că e destul de comună chestia asta și se practică).

Credeți că ar fi o idee bună să încerc, sau mi-aș irosi încă câțiva ani din viață?

I moved to Finland together with my boyfriend back in 2024 and have been living here ever since. We were both freelancers doing web development for companies abroad. However, my boyfriend had 7 years of industry experience and I had merely 2 yoe. I knew that my career in the industry was not yet established. I knew that moving to a new country in my situation would be a huge risk and that I might become irrelevant and unable to find work/employment any longer, and I took that risk anyway. And it was kind of dumb, but honestly, I knew that if I didn't move I would have to break up with my boyfriend so I chose to do a leap of faith and hope for the best because I really wasn't ready for a breakup (and long distance relationships don't really work). So I told myself that I would just move, strive to integrate and hope for the best outcome.

Well, as you might imagine, things didn't pan out the way I had hoped. I lost my contract job within months and couldn't find anything else. It's now been a year and I'm still unemployed and getting more and more depressed with each passing day. I will be starting the official integration course in June but I'm scared that even afterwards I will still not be able to secure any kind of employment in Finland. To make matters worse, I don't have any in-demand skills or education. All I have is 2.5 years of software development experience (with no CS degree, since I'm self taught) which doesn't mean jack shit in the current job market where even seniors with 10+ years of experience are struggling to find jobs (and most of them compete by the hundreds or even thousands for a single position). I have an irrelevant degree in humanities from my home country but that didn't matter even while living there, let alone here in Finland.

Anyway, I've been rambling too much, I've made my point. I'm not here to whine, I feel like I am 100% to blame for the situation, but I'd like an honest outside perspective and maybe some personal experiences of yours if you were/are in my shoes. My boyfriend is understanding and willing to support me financially while I learn Finnish, re-qualify, and find a job here. However, that is easier said than done and it might take me entire years to reach my goal.

For those like me (no relevant degree, work experience or career) who are now forced by the circumstances to build a new life in today's difficult Finnish job market...how are you coping? How do you plan on navigating this period?

Salut.

Am 29 de ani, sunt femeie, și aș dori să mă întorc în România. Atâta tot că nu știu de unde să încep, pentru că sunt într-un punct mort în carieră. Am terminat o facultate pe partea umană care nu mi-a folosit niciodată. În ultimii câțiva ani, am lucrat în IT însă m-am potrivit în domeniul ăsta fix ca nuca în perete (nu mi-a plăcut, nu m-am descurcat, a devenit prea competitiv, m-a dus într-o stare de burnout, etc).

Situația mea financiară nu e una prea roz, așa că nu mi-aș permite să stau câțiva ani pe tușă ca să mă întorc la școală pentru o recalificare...plus că știu că e f greu să împaci munca cu școala din cauza că orele de lucru și cele de la școală de obicei se cam suprapun (și știu din experiența mea din facultate că profii nu prea oferă studenților flexibilitate). Deci ideal, aș vrea să găsesc un job care mi-ar oferi posibilitatea să mă reprofilez fără să mă întorc la școală și care să îmi ofere perspective de viitor și să îmi ofere un training inițial (e ok și dacă încep pe minimul pe economie, atâta timp cât nu mă plafonez acolo și există potențial de a câștiga mai mult după ce acumulez experiență). Ar exista ceva opțiuni pentru mine? Ce mi-ați recomanda? Sunt deschisă la orice fel de sugestii, în afară de call center sau customer-facing jobs. Nu mă deranjează turele de noapte sau de weekend, condițiile mai puțin ideale sau joburile care presupun muncă fizică. Vreau o șansă la un nou început și înțeleg că asta de multe ori necesită anumite sacrificii (timp, energie, bani, etc).

Vă mulțumesc pentru eventualele sugestii.