Character biography
In the novels
Harry Morgan is a detective and highly respected member of the Miami Police Department, and a close friend of his immediate superior Lieutenant Tom Matthews. In the course of a high-stakes drug case, Harry begins an illicit relationship with Laura Moser, Dexter's biological mother, to gather information and evidence on the drug lord in question. The drug dealers eventually find out she is informing on them, and make an example of her; they brutally murder her and three others with chainsaws in a shipping container. Her sons Brian and Dexter are left in the container for two days, sitting in blood, until Harry and a police team rescue them. Harry adopts Dexter, while Brian is sent into a mental facility; Harry believes that the older Brian is permanently traumatized by the event and is "unsalvageable", but that Dexter is still young enough to be "saved". When Dexter is around 10 years old, Harry discovers that he has been killing neighborhood pets, and realizes that the boy has an innate need to kill.
At first, Harry attempts to manage Dexter's violent urges by only allowing him to kill animals, but he eventually comes to the conclusion that Dexter's pathology cannot be repressed, only controlled. Harry decides to train the boy as a vigilante, to hunt and kill murderers without leaving any clues. Dexter prizes these lessons as a means to satisfy his homicidal urges with his father's approval, dubbing the rules as the "Code of Harry". Harry's relationship with his biological daughter Debra, meanwhile, is more complicated; she craves her father's approval, but feels that he favors Dexter. (Harry keeps her in the dark about Dexter's "training".)
When Dexter is 20, Harry falls seriously ill and gives Dexter "permission" to kill Mary, one of his nurses, who is intentionally poisoning him with morphine. He dies a year later, supposedly of heart disease.
In Darkly Dreaming Dexter , Harry is deeply alarmed when Dexter nearly kills the school bully, and takes him to visit a serial killer incarcerated on death row, hoping the condemned man will serve as a living example of the importance of not being caught.
In the TV series
As in the novels, Harry has been dead for many years by the series' main timeline, but remains an important influence on his adopted son. For the first two seasons, he appeared only in flashbacks to Dexter's childhood. From season three onward, the dramatic device of flashbacks was replaced with Harry appearing as representations of how Dexter worked out his problems.
Late in the second season, it is revealed that he recovers from his illness. When Juan Ryness, a pimp who murders his own prostitute, is released due to a faulty search warrant, Harry loses his temper and tells Dexter he was right in training him. When Dexter kills Ryness, Harry is horrified by the way Dexter proudly shows him the pimp's dismembered body: It is Harry's first actual view of Dexter's "work", and he is ashamed of what he had trained Dexter to do. According to Matthews, Harry commits suicide three days later by deliberately overdosing on his medication, but not before telling Matthews to look after his children.
Dexter learns Harry's secrets in the third season, and inadvertently reveals to Debra that Harry had cheated on his wife several times. This revelation has a profound effect on Debra, who loses all respect for the man she had always tried to live up to. Dexter, meanwhile, begins to question Harry's "code", realizing that he is the only one in charge of his "Dark Passenger". It is also revealed in season four that Harry had slept with many of his informants, not just Laura.
In season eight, Dexter learns that Harry had confided in Dr. Evelyn Vogel (Charlotte Rampling) about young Dexter's homicidal urges, and that she had helped him create Dexter's "code".
Harry finally parts ways with Dexter in the series' penultimate episode, "Monkey in a Box", when Dexter decides to leave serial killer Oliver Saxon (Darri Ingolfsson) for the police and join his son Harrison and girlfriend Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski) at the airport to move to Argentina. Harry tells Dexter that he no longer needs him, and bids him goodbye.
Debra Charlotte Morgan is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his Dexter book series. She also appears in the television series, based on Lindsay's books, portrayed by Jennifer Carpenter. In Lindsay's novels, she first appeared in Darkly Dreaming Dexter and was featured in every novel in the series. Debra is the sister of the series' antihero protagonist Dexter Morgan.
Dexter Morgan is a fictional character introduced as the antihero protagonist of the Dexter book series written by Jeff Lindsay, as well as the television series of the same name. In the television series, Dexter is portrayed by Michael C. Hall.
"Dexter", or "Pilot", is the pilot episode of the first season television drama series of the same name, which premiered on October 1, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by developer James Manos Jr. and directed by Michael Cuesta. It was based on the opening of the 2004 novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. The pilot introduces the series' protagonist, Dexter Morgan, a Miami Metro Police Department blood spatter analyst with a double life as a serial killer. While solving murders in the Homicide division, Dexter also spends his time hunting and killing murderers and criminals who have escaped the justice system. The pilot introduces the "Ice Truck Killer", a serial killer who targets prostitutes and leaves their bodies dismembered and bloodless, and the rivalry that develops between the killer and Dexter.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay, the first in his crime horror series about American forensic analyst/serial killer Dexter Morgan. It formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter and won the 2005 Dilys Award and the 2007 Book to TV award.
"Born Free" is the twelfth episode of season one and first-season finale of the American television drama series Dexter, which aired on December 17, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode also aired on May 4, 2008 on CTV in Canada; on May 14, 2008 on FX in the UK; on September 28, 2008 on Channel Ten in Australia; and on March 21, 2011 on STAR World in India. The episode was written by Daniel Cerone and executive producer Melissa Rosenberg, and was directed by Michael Cuesta. Based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, the season featured many differences to the original source, mainly in the lead-up to and revelation of the identity of the "Ice Truck Killer". The episode received critical acclaim.
Dexter in the Dark is a 2007 novel written by Jeff Lindsay. The third book in the Dexter series, following serial killer killer Dexter Morgan, it was preceded by the 2004 novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter—which formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter—and Dearly Devoted Dexter, its 2005 sequel.
Dexter by Design (2009) is a mystery novel written by Jeff Lindsay. It is the fourth novel in the Dexter series, preceded by Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter, and Dexter in the Dark, following Dexter Morgan, a sociopathic forensic analyst with a "hobby" of killing killers, as he investigates a serial killer.
"The Dark Defender" is the fifth episode of the second season and seventeenth overall episode of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on 28 October 2007 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Timothy Schlattmann and was directed by Keith Gordon.
"It's Alive!" is the second season premiere and thirteenth overall episode of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on September 30, 2007 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Daniel Cerone and was directed by Tony Goldwyn. In the episode, which takes place five weeks after the first-season finale, Sgt. James Doakes is following Dexter Morgan at all times, but when he gets his first opportunity Dexter finds himself unable to kill. Meanwhile, his sister Debra returns to work after her ex-fiancé Brian tried to kill her, and his girlfriend Rita Bennett refuses to believe that Dexter sent her ex-husband Paul to prison in spite of the evidence in front of her.
"Our Father" is the third season premiere and twenty-fifth overall episode of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on September 28, 2008, on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Clyde Phillips and directed by Keith Gordon. In the episode, which takes place several months after the second-season finale, Dexter Morgan mistakenly kills an innocent man but forms a friendship with the man's brother, well-known assistant district attorney Miguel Prado. Dexter's sister Debra, meanwhile, has turned over a new leaf in her life and is determined to become a detective.
"The Damage a Man Can Do" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on November 16, 2008 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Scott Buck and directed by Marcos Siega. In the episode, assistant district attorney Miguel Prado asks Dexter Morgan for his assistance in killing a murderous gambler. Meanwhile, Dexter's sister Ofr. Debra Morgan finds her boyfriend and informant Anton Briggs to be missing after she tells him that he is no longer legally obligated to work for her.
"Love American Style" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on October 29, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Melissa Rosenberg and was directed by Robert Lieberman. In the episode, Dexter Morgan hunts down Jorge Castillo, a human trafficker and murderer. His sister, Ofr. Debra Morgan, attempts to extract information from a security guard whose limbs were amputated by the "Ice Truck Killer".
The first season of Dexter is an adaptation of Jeff Lindsay's first novel in a series of the same name, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Subsequent seasons have featured original storylines. This season aired from October 1, 2006 to December 17, 2006, and follows Dexter's investigation of "the Ice Truck Killer". Introduced in the first episode, "Dexter", this serial killer targets prostitutes and leaves their bodies severed and bloodless. At the same time, Dexter's adoptive sister, Debra Morgan, a vice squad officer, aspires to work in the homicide department, and Dexter's girlfriend, Rita Bennett, wants their relationship to be more intimate. Christian Camargo appears as Rudy Cooper and is a recurring character until the end of the season.
The second season of Dexter premiered on September 30, 2007, and ended on December 16, 2007. Starting with this season, the show no longer adapts the Dexter novels. The season premiere "It's Alive!" attracted 1.01 million viewers in the United States, making Dexter the first Showtime series to attract more than a million viewers with a season premiere. The season finale, "The British Invasion", attracted 1.4 million viewers, making it the program's most-watched episode until the airing of the season three finale, "Do You Take Dexter Morgan?". Including digital video recorder (DVR) usage, season two was watched by an average of 2.4 million viewers on a weekly basis through 11 full weeks, outperforming season one by 21%.
"The Getaway" is the fourth season finale of the American television drama series Dexter, and the 48th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Showtime on December 13, 2009. In the episode, Dexter goes to great lengths to stop Arthur, who now knows Dexter's true identity. Meanwhile, Debra learns the truth about Dexter's mother, the homicide division closes in on the Trinity Killer, and Rita reaffirms her support for Dexter, even as she acknowledges his hidden demons.
Captain María Esperanza di Alma LaGuerta is a fictional character portrayed by Lauren Vélez in the Showtime television series Dexter. In the series, she holds the position of lieutenant at the fictitious Miami-Metro Homicide Department. While initially depicted as a protagonist, Maria LaGuerta, who serves as the superior officer to main characters Dexter and Debra Morgan, evolves into one of the primary antagonists by Season 7.
"Hello, Dexter Morgan" is the 11th and penultimate episode of the fourth season of Showtime TV series, Dexter, which aired on December 6, 2009. The police team attempt to get Christine Hill to talk while Dexter frames another man in order to get Arthur Mitchell, the Trinity Killer, all to himself.
"Seeing Red" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on December 3, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Kevin R. Maynard and was directed by Michael Cuesta. In the episode, the Miami Metro Homicide Department team investigate a blood-soaked crime scene, where blood spatter analyst Dexter Morgan is confronted by a repressed memory of a traumatic incident from his childhood. Meanwhile, Dexter's girlfriend Rita Bennett is charged with assaulting her ex-husband Paul Bennett and risks losing custody of their children, while Det. Angel Batista investigates a hunch that the Ice Truck Killer has an amputee fetish.
"What's Eating Dexter Morgan?" is the third episode of the eighth season of the Showtime television series Dexter. The episode originally aired on July 14, 2013. It was directed by Ernest Dickerson and written by executive producer Lauren Gussis, who have both worked on the series for several years.
