Blood, betrayal, and shocking twists await! Join us as we count down the most jaw-dropping moments from the hit series about everyone's favorite forensic analyst with a dark secret. From unexpected deaths to startling revelations, these scenes left fans gasping for air and craving more.
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00:00Look out!"
00:02I didn't want to do it this way."
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:06And today we're looking at the times where this dark thriller series
00:10left fans open-mouthed in surprise.
00:17Nine holes tomorrow?
00:21You bet.
00:22Based on the setup for the big moments and the impact they had on the story.
00:27In case you didn't already know, the spoiler alert is in effect.
00:31Number 20.
00:32Finding Gellar's body.
00:34"...and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."
00:41So it's begun?
00:42Yes, it's begun.
00:46Season 7 opens with a misguided young man being manipulated by his radically evangelical mentor.
00:52Travis Marshall assists in multiple murders while under the guidance of Professor James Gellar.
00:58Or so we're made to think.
01:00Believing Gellar to be behind the doomsday killings,
01:03Dexter teams up with Travis to track down the maniac.
01:07However, Dexter is ultimately stupefied to discover
01:10Gellar's frozen remains in a concealed icebox.
01:13It turns out that Travis was only imagining his teacher's presence the entire time,
01:18and it's the student himself who's been committing the crimes.
01:22So if you remove Travis's dark passenger, what are you getting out of this?
01:27Maybe I can learn to control my own.
01:30This revelation radically changes the show's direction,
01:33and it establishes Colin Hanks's role as the primary villain.
01:38Some viewers might have seen this one coming,
01:40but the scene is still noteworthy as a narrative monkey wrench.
01:44Did Travis act alone?
01:45Did Travis kill all those people?
01:54Number 19.
01:55Dexter Frames Paul
01:56Paul, you can't just walk in here whenever you want.
01:58You don't live here anymore.
02:01Oh, sorry about that.
02:03Old habits.
02:04Rita's ex-husband was an unloved demon who just wouldn't dissipate.
02:08Paul was abusive and possessive of Rita,
02:11as well as the family that she and Dexter were trying to have together.
02:16In violation of his restraining order,
02:18he visits and manipulates both Rita and his children.
02:21Despite Paul's efforts to appear like a changed family man,
02:25Dexter sees through the lies, and gets really tired of it.
02:36Is that it?
02:38Yeah.
02:40After an altercation and some choice words about Rita,
02:43Dexter knocks Paul unconscious and sets him up for a convenient arrest.
02:48Though the obvious answer to the problem might have been Dexter's table and plastic wrap,
02:53the framing ultimately became an unexpected and more intelligent way to dispose of this creep.
02:59The climactic scene was equally disturbing and satisfying.
03:02It's time for you to go away.
03:04Number 18.
03:06Killing Lila
03:07And you belong to it.
03:10To this shadow.
03:13Dexter's efforts to conceal his nature from Rita led him into N.A. meetings,
03:18and there he met Lila West.
03:20Lila's past was comparably complex,
03:23with arson and malevolence being just the beginning.
03:26I'm sorry Dex, but she is gross.
03:29And pale.
03:30And nobody is pale in Miami.
03:32She is obviously a vampire.
03:35While Lila became an intricate love interest for Dexter,
03:38she ultimately threatened the lives of his established family
03:41and conjured the blazing end to James Doake's.
03:44Despite the layers to their relationship,
03:47Dexter's choice to eliminate Lila was never a guarantee.
03:50Though she clearly meant something to him,
03:53the concluding moments of Season 2 saw Dexter claiming Lila's life.
03:57It's unclear whether the decision was propelled by Dexter's urges
04:01or a grappling sense of family and justice.
04:05Either way, he defied an alliance with someone attempting to come to his side.
04:09It was complicated.
04:11I'm just like you.
04:23Hey!
04:24Number 17.
04:25Dexter learns he will be a father.
04:27What should we do?
04:32I don't know.
04:32Dexter grew up with Harry Morgan as a morally gray father figure.
04:37Harry taught the boy many things,
04:39but he never showed Dexter how to be a dad himself.
04:42So when Rita's cravings for chocolate led to a realization of pregnancy,
04:46our anti-hero was just as unprepared as we were for the news.
04:50I've done this before.
04:52What do you mean?
04:54I'm pregnant.
04:55Dexter began his relationship with Rita as a tool to disguise his dark passenger,
05:00but a biological son drastically elevated his real-world responsibilities.
05:04And it gave us Harrison,
05:06who would become an instrumental figure in molding Dexter's character.
05:10I thought you didn't know me.
05:17You were right.
05:18Fatherhood helped bridge the gap between the psychopath and the hero.
05:22It helped bridge the gap between the psychopath and the human,
05:25a story that was continued in Dexter New Blood.
05:28But it was this jaw-dropping scene at the kitchen table that started it all.
05:32But it has to evolve, become my own.
05:37Change is good.
05:38Number 16.
05:40Hello, Dexter Morgan.
05:41I made that when I was still confused.
05:45The later seasons of Dexter have garnered mixed reviews,
05:48but John Lithgow's performances as the Trinity Killer has been undeniably praised,
05:54deservedly so, as he helped create one of the most intimidating rivals to Dexter
05:58that the series has ever known.
06:00One of his scariest power plays happens here,
06:03when Arthur Mitchell appears at Miami Metro and stares his counterpart directly in the eye.
06:09The Kyle Butler alias dissolves as Trinity threateningly shows his hand,
06:13and Dexter instantaneously understands that his life and loved ones are now threatened.
06:19Hello, Dexter Morgan.
06:25The appearance sets up a kill-or-be-killed ticking clock
06:28that propels the season finale towards its violently tragic conclusion.
06:33And we'll never forget the way Lithgow's stare into the camera
06:36left our terrified spines convulsing.
06:39You've done me a kindness.
06:4415. Zach Hamilton's Death
06:50You have this, like, way of living that allows you to do what you and I have in common.
07:01An unexpected development in Dexter's final episode
07:04suggested that he would be taking on a protege.
07:08Initially figuring Zach Hamilton to be his next victim,
07:11Dexter changes his mind when he learns that both he and Zach
07:15grew up with similarly violent tendencies.
07:17We made a lot of mistakes, but for a first try it's not bad.
07:23It's not bad.
07:24With the help of his father's former psychiatric associate,
07:27he takes steps to teach Zach the Code of Harry.
07:30For a moment, they all seem to be a twistedly affectionate family,
07:34but the prospect gets derailed when Dexter comes home to find his new student murdered.
07:39There's no time to mourn,
07:40since this event directly helps to uncover the true identity of the brain surgeon,
07:45the season's principal antagonist,
07:47and the tales of all three killers make for some difficult viewing.
07:57Mom.
07:5814. Freeing Hannah McKay
08:00When it comes to you and killing, feelings never enter the equation.
08:05A side effect of Dexter's sinister desires
08:07allow him to recognize identical impulses in others.
08:12So it didn't take him long to realize that Hannah McKay came with a murderous background.
08:16This time, Dexter used a first date as his guise to lure Hannah towards her premeditated doom.
08:23Killers they may be, but there was something heartbreaking about seeing Hannah on Dexter's
08:27table, only moments after they'd romantically held hands.
08:31We expected the worst, until Dexter unpredictably diverted his knife.
08:36Instead of a victim, our homicidal protagonist suddenly had a lover.
08:40I'm thinking the three of us could leave together.
08:45I like the sound of that.
08:47Until now, Rita had been the closest Dexter had come to a healthy relationship,
08:51but Hannah became a partner who could actually understand him.
08:55And we can't forget how she fearlessly met his menacing gaze.
08:59Do what you gotta do.
09:07Number 13.
09:08Debra's feelings for Dexter.
09:10You're making it sound like I want to be with him or something.
09:17Well, do you?
09:18There's a lot to unpack about Deb and Dex's kinship,
09:21but this development took it a little further than what we were prepared for.
09:25During one of her therapy sessions, Debra talks deeply about her brother
09:29and the elaborate history that they both share.
09:32Deb's counselor offers the detail that they're not biologically related,
09:37trying to ease her client's mind about the arguable romantic emotions that she may be manifesting.
09:42We hope that this isn't the first scene of the show that you watched,
09:46because it could be hard to take out of context.
09:49Regardless, Dexter and Debra spent their entire chaotic lives backing each other up.
09:54While a declaration like this may be earned,
09:57it still fastened us to the edge of our seats.
10:00I went to the church that night that you killed Travis Marshall
10:02to tell you that I'm in love with you.
10:08Number 12.
10:09The Blood Room.
10:10Hey, hey, you okay?
10:12Dexter's role for the Miami Metro has been fueled by blood and his gift for analyzing it.
10:18So nobody, Dexter most of all,
10:20expected a blood-ridden crime scene to shake this expert to his core.
10:24You want to talk about what happened today?
10:27Already did.
10:30Dexter, the last time I saw you like that was when Dad died.
10:32The scene calls back to one of Dexter's most significant repressed memories,
10:36the one that quite possibly made him the way that he is.
10:39The setting was arranged by the Ice Truck Killer,
10:42with the direct intent of thwarting Dexter's resolve.
10:45But the psychological trap did its job of forcing our anti-hero
10:49to face his literal and figurative demons.
10:52Fans engaged in the show with high hopes of seeing this forensic analyst
10:56and secret serial killer's history.
10:58The Blood Room was our first chance at finally doing so.
11:01I don't share my problems with her or with anybody.
11:06Harry taught me that.
11:07Secrecy, self-reliance, and a well-stocked cupboard of hefty bags.
11:11Number 11.
11:12Debra's Death.
11:14You don't know Deb.
11:15She'll, uh, she'll pull through this.
11:17I hear about miracles all the time.
11:20Well, that's just it, I'm afraid.
11:22It would be a miracle.
11:24Dex and Deb's bond has been a through-line that held the moral
11:28and dramatic compass of the show together this entire time.
11:32Some fans might have thought that the end would involve Dexter taking his sister's life,
11:36but perhaps not in this way.
11:39After a gunshot injury sends Deb into a volatile coma,
11:42Dexter decides that his choices are few and grim.
11:46In an act that he perceives as merciful,
11:49Dexter pulls the plug on Deb's life support,
11:52later disposing of her body.
11:54Seeing him as the cause for all of it,
11:56he fabricates his own demise and abandons the family that he fears to harm.
12:01While much can be debated about this finale,
12:03Debra's fate was undoubtedly paramount in the story's legacy.
12:07I would change everything if I could.
12:17Number 10.
12:18Debra discovers Dexter and Lumen's vigilante partnership.
12:22The fifth season's story involves Dexter helping Lumen catch Jordan Chase,
12:27the man responsible for nearly killing her.
12:30So all this right here is a colossal waste of my time and yours.
12:33Well, I've got nothing but time,
12:35so you can keep fooling everybody in your little seminars,
12:38but I'm onto you.
12:39You're obsessed with me.
12:40Dexter and Lumen begin a partnership and take down all of Chase's cohorts
12:45until they get Chase himself,
12:47Debra, who deduced Chase's truth herself
12:50and is aware of two vigilantes moving against him.
12:53I know who you are.
12:58Number 13.
13:00And I know what they did to you.
13:04I've seen the tapes.
13:06I watched them over and over.
13:08Catches Dexter and Lumen after their act of retribution,
13:12although with their identities obscured behind plastic.
13:16However, Debra chooses not to capture them.
13:19Having been disillusioned by Chase's protection through legal technicalities,
13:23Debra offers the vigilantes the chance to escape.
13:26In an hour, this place will be swarming with police.
13:36If I were you, I'd be gone by then.
13:38This moment is certainly adrenaline pumping as Dexter comes so close to getting caught.
13:44For a while there, I wasn't sure.
13:48It's like what your sister said.
13:52It's a miracle.
13:53Debra's need to prove herself made us think she'll snag the culprits,
13:57but her own sense of justice ultimately prevails.
14:00Number nine.
14:01Trinity is a family man.
14:03The fourth season's arc revolves around capturing the infamous Trinity killer.
14:08Although Dexter gets involved halfway through.
14:11Debra is shot while investigating Trinity,
14:13and Dexter decides to find the killer to make him pay.
14:17If Deb dies, I'll be lost.
14:22Paramedics think the bullets are going through.
14:26She's gonna be okay?
14:27It's looking good.
14:32We did this.
14:33Despite tracking Trinity down, Dexter is unable to stop the latest killing spree.
14:38If he's here, then where's Trinity?
14:51He's still successful enough to follow Trinity back to his house,
14:54but is completely unprepared to see what's next.
14:57No way I lose you again, Trinity.
15:05The Miami nobody sees.
15:07He's scurrying back to whatever hole he crawled out of.
15:10As it turns out, the man who's killed hundreds of people across decades
15:14has a family of his own.
15:16Dexter, who's faced marriage problems with Rita,
15:19is baffled how a killer like him can balance both lives.
15:22While Dexter's seen horrifying things,
15:25watching Trinity with his family scares him more than anything else.
15:29Trinity's a husband, a father.
15:32He's... like me.
15:36Number 8.
15:37Doakes is captured by Dexter.
15:39Surprise, mother f***er.
15:42Having never bought into Dexter's facade of being a normal man,
15:45Doakes relentlessly pursues Dexter to learn his secret.
15:49There's something off about you, Morgan.
15:51I should have seen it before.
15:53The fake smile, the donuts.
15:56You don't even walk like a normal person, you glide.
15:59You don't even walk like a normal person, you glide.
16:02He finally finds success when Dexter scrambles to cover his tracks
16:05as the Bay Harbor butcher.
16:07Confronting Dexter, Doakes looks to bring him to justice.
16:10What can I say? You were right about me.
16:13I never held it against you.
16:16I don't now.
16:17My buddies thought I was crazy for becoming a cop.
16:20I had skills, I could have written my own ticket.
16:23And lately I thought they might have been right, but this?
16:25However, he doesn't account for Dexter's killer instinct,
16:29as the latter turns the table on Doakes to capture him instead.
16:32The shocking aspect here doesn't just come from the capture,
16:36but the potential consequences to follow.
16:38Since Doakes doesn't qualify for Dexter's kill code,
16:41watching him take down Doakes carries the possibility of Dexter breaking his oath.
16:46It also seemed as if this was supposed to be Doakes's winning moment
16:49after having been defied by Dexter so many times.
16:52You finally decided to fight back.
16:56I've been waiting.
17:01I hope you don't expect me to comment on that,
17:03so you can record it on your hidden tape recorder I wasn't born yesterday.
17:07Frank Lundy's death
17:09A key character in the second season,
17:11Frank Lundy began a romance with Debra that was cut short
17:14after the Bay Harbor butcher case was closed.
17:16When do we leave?
17:18Now we. Me.
17:21Debra, I just got a call from DC.
17:24A pattern of bodies was identified in Oregon.
17:27My flight leaves tonight at seven.
17:29He returns in season four and begins the search for the Trinity killer.
17:33In working with you,
17:37that noise has gotten...
17:42loud.
17:45Deafening.
17:46Things are on track for Debra for once as she gets back together with Lundy,
17:50which is when everything comes crashing down.
17:53Debra and Lundy are shot at by an unknown assailant,
17:56leaving Lundy dead and ending this short reconciliation.
18:00Don't go disappearing on me again.
18:04Not a...
18:10Lundy's death reinforced the idea that anyone can die in the show,
18:14as his return was initially set up as a big deal.
18:17The ambiguity behind the shooter spreads a sense of fear throughout the scene,
18:21making the Trinity killer seem even more dangerous.
18:24Who did this?
18:25We got here just before you did.
18:27Quinn was first on scene.
18:29He says it's smelling like a vacation murder's ammo.
18:33Then that's...
18:34Lundy.
18:36Number six.
18:37Dexter discovers Miguel lied all along.
18:40Assistant D.A. Miguel Prado witnesses Dexter killing Fribo,
18:44the man involved in his brother's death.
18:46The knife ended up in his neck.
18:58I'm gonna tell you something.
19:00I wasn't sure that I could do this.
19:02He wins Dexter's trust after giving him a shirt stained with Fribo's blood
19:06that could be used as evidence.
19:08I gave you my shirt linking me to Fribo's death.
19:12I wish I had another one to prove to you
19:14how important this partnership is to me.
19:16Take a little remorse.
19:18Their partnership reaches its peak when they kill together,
19:20but Miguel begins straying too far by breaking the code.
19:24Not a good idea?
19:31That would be against your code, huh?
19:34Sorry.
19:35Needing leverage, Dexter investigates the shirt,
19:38only to learn it was cow's blood all along.
19:40An incensed Dexter realizes Miguel played him to learn how to be a killer.
19:45It's bovine, cow's blood.
19:49He's been using me the whole time.
19:52I didn't create a monster, I was used by one.
19:55He used me.
19:58Having been charming and seemingly loyal,
20:00it turns out Miguel was so calculating he could even fool Dexter himself.
20:04This changes the entire context of the season,
20:07as Miguel is revealed to be far more dangerous than originally thought.
20:13Dexter's association with Lila proves to be a toxic influence,
20:17as she makes him alienate his family and friends.
20:20Why would you try to have me killed?
20:23You weren't going to get killed.
20:25As why I did it at the bowling alley,
20:27so all your police officer friends would be there.
20:29What were you thinking?
20:30Are you insane?
20:32I was trying to bring us back together again.
20:35Lila becomes obsessed with Dexter even after he dumps her,
20:39following his whereabouts to the cabin where Doakes is being held.
20:42Although clearly a villain, Lila wasn't presented as a killer until here,
20:46when she decides to cover Dexter's tracks.
20:49You can't leave me in here like this.
20:51You'll be an accessory.
20:53I'm not gonna leave you.
20:57Not like that.
20:58Mercilessly leaving Doakes to die in a cabin explosion,
21:01we watch as Lila leaves Doakes to his pleas of mercy.
21:04Doakes was a main cast character and a parallel to Dexter,
21:08so it was unexpected to see him meet such a horrible demise.
21:11There's also the fact that Doakes was technically the hero here,
21:14and his death meant there was no justice to be found in this story.
21:18Nobody mourns the wicked.
21:21Sorry, James.
21:22Number four.
21:23Deborah learns Dexter's truth.
21:26During a widely disliked plotline,
21:28Deborah's therapist convinces her she's in love with her adoptive brother Dexter.
21:32He actually said I love you.
21:34Wow.
21:35That's big, isn't it?
21:36Yeah, I mean, I don't think he understood that I'm in love with him,
21:39but still, he said the actual words for the first time.
21:44Meanwhile, Dexter tracks down Travis Marshall, the doomsday killer,
21:48and takes him to the church that operated as his hideout.
21:51You are a shining example of how putrid man has become.
21:58I am a father,
22:00a son,
22:03a serial killer.
22:05Having been told by Dexter that he was running forensics at the church,
22:08Deborah arrives to tell him her feelings,
22:10only to witness Travis's demise.
22:12The episode's focus was mainly on Dexter's hunt for Travis and Deborah's arc,
22:17both of which are instantly shut down in this scene.
22:20If there's a purpose to my darkness,
22:23maybe it's to bring some balance to the world.
22:29To the world.
22:30With mere moments left before the end of the season,
22:33we're left with the reality that Dexter has finally been caught.
22:36Significantly, it's one of the few times that Dexter expresses pure terror,
22:40as Deborah sees who he really is.
22:45Oh, God.
22:46Number 3.
22:47The Ice Truck Killer's Identity
22:49The Ice Truck Killer has the drop on Dexter the whole time and looks to recruit him.
22:58Merry Christmas, Miami.
22:59In the penultimate episode of the first season,
23:01Deborah's boyfriend Rudy proposes to her,
23:04which she happily accepts.
23:06Oh, my God.
23:07Hold on, hold on.
23:09Wait.
23:09Well, you're sort of forcing my hand here.
23:11I wanted to wait until we were out in the water,
23:13but here it goes.
23:16It's here when Rudy suddenly changes his attitude,
23:19going from a nice person into someone filled with malicious intent.
23:22Rudy reveals he only got close to Deborah because of her status as Dexter's adoptive sister,
23:28and captures her.
23:29You're a cop.
23:36I think a real cop would at least have a sense that she was the presence of that person.
23:41She was hunting.
23:43In an even bigger shocker,
23:45he confesses to being Dexter's biological brother, Brian,
23:48and sees his identity as the Ice Truck Killer as a compliment to Dexter's own killing nature.
23:53You remember now?
23:59Blimey.
24:01You always had trouble saying Brian.
24:06I have a brother.
24:08A real brother.
24:09This revelation brings all the plot points of the season together,
24:12with an outwardly harmless man becoming the main villain.
24:15Number two, Deborah kills LaGuerta.
24:18LaGuerta deduces Dexter is the Bay Harbor butcher and arrests him.
24:23It might be best if you take Harrison to another room.
24:26Because?
24:29Because I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of Hector Estrada.
24:34Although Dexter manages to wriggle out,
24:36he realizes she will never stop pursuing him or Deborah, and decides to kill her.
24:41I used Estrada's gun to shoot LaGuerta.
24:43So it'll look like they killed each other.
24:46Yes, Dexter.
24:51Where will this end?
24:53Luring her into the kill room for another victim,
24:56Dexter successfully ambushes LaGuerta,
24:58but is interrupted by Deborah, who tries to convince him otherwise.
25:02Deborah is faced with the impossible choice of killing her brother or protecting him,
25:06and chooses the latter.
25:08It's okay.
25:18Do what you gotta do.
25:19This results in Deborah killing LaGuerta, something that absolutely shatters her.
25:24In a truly overwhelming moment, we watch as Deborah mourns her act of murder,
25:28with even Dexter feeling remorse.
25:31It signifies how far Dexter has gotten,
25:33clearly coming across as the true villain of the series.
25:37So when we break those rules, we risk losing ourselves
25:40and becoming something unknown.
25:43Who is Deb now?
25:45Who am I?
25:48Is this a new beginning?
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26:06Number 1.
26:06Rita's Death
26:08In the fourth season finale, Dexter finally captures Arthur, the Trinity Killer.
26:13Hello, Arthur Mitchell.
26:19He even contemplates leaving his dark passenger behind for his family,
26:23but comes home to find his world upside down.
26:26Hey, sweetie. I'm a dope. I was in such a rush to get Harrison organized,
26:30I forgot my ID for the plane. So I'm zooming home for it.
26:33Means we'll be on a later puddle jumper, but we'll still be there waiting for you.
26:37It's revealed that Arthur had tracked Dexter's home and caught Rita,
26:41who becomes the final tragic victim of the Trinity Killer.
26:44I accept nothing. Nothing is inevitable. It's already over.
26:52Dexter ultimately loses when he should have won,
26:55as Arthur gets the last evil laugh from beyond the grave.
26:58The moment breaks the foundation of Dexter,
27:00as Rita's death means nothing will ever be the same.
27:03It gives Dexter a painful reality check,
27:06with his decision to let Arthur live earlier coming back to haunt him.
27:10I'm a child of the big knife.
27:13You dream of a heaven you'll never see.
27:15I don't believe in heaven.
27:16Oh, but you do.
27:18Rita's demise also represents the loss of innocence,
27:20as her son is left to weep in her blood.
27:24Which shocking Dexter reveal do you think should have made the cut?
27:27Let us know in the comments.
27:29I have moved on from my father, but I still need his code, now more than ever.
27:34Did you enjoy this video?
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