A major non-serial killer twist in Dexter’s sixth season involved Deb falling in love with Dexter, but this odd revelation actually made sense. Dexter Morgan – Miami Metro Police Department’s blood-spatter analyst who moonlights as a vigilante serial killer – is the older adoptive brother of Debra Morgan, whose policeman father Harry took in Dexter after finding him at a crime scene. The two were raised as siblings, but Deb was always envious of being left out of her father’s priorities as he taught Dexter how to evade being caught from his serial killer life.

Deb and Dexter always had a close relationship, one that Dexter never really had to fake or use as a cover story in his life – he truly felt connected to Deb as his sister. Similarly with Deb, she had a difficult time maintaining relationships with people and letting others get close besides Dexter, who was always there for her unconditionally and incurred many of the same losses she had. After a string of failed relationships, Deb realized in therapy she didn’t just love Dexter as a brother, she was in love with him. While the revelation is a little bit Game of Thrones Lannisters, a little bit Cruel Intentions step-sibling romance, Dexter’s adoptive sibling relationship acknowledges the romance’s taboo nature and never implies it will be acted on or truly reciprocated by Dexter.

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While Deb being in love with Dexter is still unconventionally taboo because they were raised as siblings, being non-blood relatives made it possible for her to realize her feelings were more than just a brother-sister bond. Dexter was never going to actually make them a couple, but Deb being in love with Dexter makes sense. She constantly talks about how he’s the only person she has and the only one she could rely on. After the string of guys she dated that ended up including a serial killer, murdered FBI agent Frank Lundy and a confidential informant, going to Dexter, the shy, dependable guy who is the only person she’s been able to consistently tell she loves was – as Dexter himself describes – logical.

Since season 1, the Morgans always had a certain level of chemistry that extended beyond a normal brother-sister relationship. While it may have seemed to be unintentional chemistry, Debra Morgan’s actress, Jennifer Carpenter, revealed to Red Carpet News TV she always knew Deb was in love with Dexter on some level, so she played it like that from the start. In this way, it felt even more organic, especially since the chemistry obviously connected behind-the-scenes since Dexter and Deb’s actors, Michael C. Hall and Carpenter, were married for a few years during the show’s run.

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The two were always connected and even though their deep connection could never go anywhere, they were the saving graces in each other’s lives. For Dexter, it was always having someone he actually cared about and made him appear more normal, while for Deb, he was the one person that allowed her to maintain a consistent relationship. While their familial relationship was strained after Deb found out Dexter’s secret, she still always loved him for everything they had gone through together – though realized she wasn’t in love with him in a romantic sense anymore. Their bond may have extended beyond the normal sibling relationship, but it was their everlasting platonic love in Dexter’s season 8 finale that allowed them to move on, with Dexter finally saying the words “I love you” allowing her to die, and Deb’s death being the catalyst for Dexter to abandon Hannah and Harrison.

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About The Author


Jordan Williams
(809 Articles Published)

Jordan Williams is a Movie/TV Feature Senior Staff Writer for Screen Rant. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Media Studies.

Jordan is based in Seattle, Washington and enjoys exploring the natural beauty the PNW has to offer. She runs on coffee and classic movies, taking pride in having watched every film on AFI’s 100 Greatest Films list and every Best Picture Oscar winner.

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