dexter season 4 finale

Dexter has topped itself again.

Last night's shocker season finale wasn't just the most watched episode in the show's history, but it was the most watched, well, anything in the Showtime network's history.

The finale (you can read my review of it here) racked up 2.6 million viewers. That topped the previous record held by the second-to-last episode of the current season of 2.1 million viewers, which at the time was the highest rated show for the network in the last 10 years.

I really feel sorry for the poor bastard who has to write the fifth season. Not only does he have to craft a plot that tops the genius of the Trinity Killer angle, but he has to top the ratings record the show has just set. And I thought I was the most sleepless writer on the face of the planet.

What happened on this week's 'Dexter' season 4 episode 12, 'The Getaway' -- in 100 words or less.

'Dexter' ends with a bang ... and a whimper. After an awkward meeting at the station, Dexter pursues Arthur, but a fender bender sidelines him, allowing Arthur to flee.

Debra and crew storm Arthur's house, only to find a bewildered family. Debra learns that Laura Moser was Dexter's biological mother, and Brian -- the Ice Truck Killer -- his brother.