Season Three

The third season of DEXTER premiered 28 September 2008 and ended 14 December 2008.

Rita discovers she is pregnant, informing Dexter that she will keep the baby and raise him with or without his help. He ends up proposing marriage to Rita, which she eventually accepts. He also thinks he has found a true friend, but unfortunately, his "friend" is merely using Dexter for personal gain.

For more info, see:
 * Dexter Morgan/Season 3

Viewers
"Our Father" the season premiere, attracted 1.22 million viewers in the United States, making it Showtime's highest-rated drama season premiere since Nielsen Media Research began compiling ratings in 2004

The season's finale, "Do You Take Dexter Morgan?" attracted 1.5 million viewers. Season Three was watched by an average of 1.1 million viewers a week.

Reviews
Season Three received largely positive reviews from critics, which ranged from being praised as "truly and incredibly exciting television" in the San Francisco Chronicle, to "lack[ing] the crackling tension the drama had supplied in previous years" by the Chicago Tribune; the aggregate site Metacritic scored the season at 78 out of 100 based on 13 reviews.

Smits and Hall received Emmy nominations for their roles as Miguel Prado and Dexter Morgan respectively, while the show as a whole also received a Best Drama Emmy nomination.

Main Cast

 * Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
 * Julie Benz as Rita Bennett
 * Jennifer Carpenter as Debra Morgan
 * C.S. Lee as Vince Masuka
 * Lauren Velez as Maria LaGuerta
 * David Zayas as Angel Batista
 * James Remar as Harry Morgan

Special Guest Star

 * Jimmy Smits as Miguel Prado

Recurring Cast

 * Desmond Harrington as Joey Quinn
 * David Ramsey as Anton Briggs
 * Valerie Cruz as Sylvia Prado
 * Kristin Dattilo as Barbara Gianna
 * Jason Manuel Olazabal as Ramon Prado
 * Christina Robinson as Astor Bennett
 * Preston Bailey as Cody Bennett
 * Jesse Borrego as George King
 * Anne Ramsay as Ellen Wolf
 * Liza Lapira as Yuki Amado
 * Katherine Kirkpatrick as Laura Moser
 * Margo Martindale as Camilla Figg
 * Tasia Sherel as Francis

Guest Cast

 * Marc John Jefferies as Wendell Owens
 * Jane McLean as Tammy Okama
 * Vincent Pagano as Toby Edwards
 * Jerry Zatarain Jr. as Mario Astorga
 * Mike Erwin as Fred "Freebo" Bowman
 * Nick Hermz as Oscar Prado
 * Ray Santiago as Javier Garza
 * Jelly Howie as Teegan Campbell
 * Larry Sullivan as Ethan Turner
 * Blake Gibbons as Clemson Galt
 * Jeff Chase as Billy Fleeter
 * Todd Giebenhain as Zack Adelman
 * Rudy Quintanilla as Francisco (Sadie's Donuts)

Crew
Longstanding executive producers John Goldwyn, Sara Colleton, and Clyde Phillips all returned for the third season. They were joined by new executive producer Charles H. Eglee. Eglee was accompanied by consulting producer Adam Fierro, the two had previously worked together on The Shield. Second season co-executive producers Scott Buck and Melissa Rosenberg retained their roles. Series star Michael C. Hall also became a co-executive producer for the third season. Executive Story Editor Tim Schlattmann and Story Editor Lauren Gussis were promoted to the production team as producer and co-producer respectively. Robert Lloyd Lewis returned as the on set producer. Gary Law joined the production team as a co-producer mid-season. Chad Tomasoski remained an associate producer.

Dexter's Victims

 * Cal Rooney
 * Oscar Prado
 * Fred Bowman
 * Nathan Marten
 * Ethan Turner
 * Clemson Galt
 * Camilla Figg
 * Miguel Prado
 * George King

Summary

 * "Our Father"

Several months after the Season Two finale, Dexter hunts down drug dealer Fred "Freebo" Bowman but mistakenly kills a man who happens to be the younger brother of Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado. Dexter frames Freebo, but begins to question the necessity of his father's code. Meanwhile, Debra has reformed her life and is determined to become a detective, but refuses an Internal Affairs officer request to co-operate in an investigation of Joey Quinn. Quinn introduces Debra to his informant Anton Briggs, with hopes of finding clues to Freebo's whereabouts. Also, Rita realizes that she is pregnant.


 * "Finding Freebo"

Dexter and Rita try to decide what to do about her pregnancy, as Dexter wonders whether he is fit to raise a child and commit to a family. However, Rita decides to keep the baby. Meanwhile, Debra tries to identify a body, which Dexter recognizes as that of Freebo's girlfriend, Teegan Campbell. Debra later learns her identity from a pimp. Dexter assumes that Freebo is still in town and tracks him down to Teegan's house, where he kills him. Miguel also searches for Freebo, seeking revenge for his brother's death, and finds Dexter after killing Freebo. Dexter confesses to killing Freebo in self-defense, and manages to convince Miguel to leave. The Internal Affairs officer continues in her attempts to get Debra to take part in her investigation of Quinn. Angel and Quinn arrest a drug dealer who offers an alibi for a convicted carjacker, who was prosecuted by Miguel. Dexter tells Angel about Rita's pregnancy, and Angel shares his joys of fatherhood with him.


 * "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

Dexter starts questioning the inclusiveness of Harry's code when he realizes that Nathan Marten is a pedophile targeting Astor. A second murder victim, skinned in a similar manner to Teegan, is discovered. Knowing that the victim cannot have been killed by Freebo, Dexter helps Debra to identify the body in hope of proving that Freebo was not the culprit. After Dexter tells Debra that Rita is pregnant, Debra offers Dexter advice on fatherhood. Debra arrests Anton when he refuses to co-operate in the investigation and he lights a joint of cannabis in front of her.


 * "All in the Family"

After an unsuccessful marriage proposal, Dexter must convince Rita that he is looking for more than a convenient merger of finances and parenthood. Miguel's brother, Ramon, criticizes the police for not finding his brother's killer, and when Miguel suggests telling Ramon the truth, Dexter realizes that he must prove that Ramon cannot be trusted. After a short-tempered outburst at a hotel guest, Rita is dismissed from her job, leaving her wondering about her prospects for a career. Debra and Quinn are assigned to the case of a man who was killed by his fiancee. Angel becomes entangled in a sting operation when he picks up a prostitute who is actually Vice Detective Barbara Gianna.


 * "Turning Biminese"

Miguel tells Dexter of Ethan Turner, a man who has killed two of his wives. After he decides that Turner fits Harry's code, Dexter finds Turner in Bimini. Rita is hospitalized after a medical emergency, and Dexter cannot be found. On Dexter's return and Turner's reported disappearance, Miguel asks Dexter whether he killed Turner. Debra finds herself attracted to Anton while working with him on finding one of Freebo's confidants. Dexter is hesitant to agree when Rita suggests that they buy a house and move in together.


 * "Sì Se Puede"

Miguel discovers Dexter has killed at least two people. Dexter's true body count and his alternate identity remain unknown to Miguel. Dexter distracts Miguel with the idea to release a jailed murderer and kill him. He soon realizes that Miguel has a far darker plan for his vigilantism than Dexter could have imagined. Debra is upset when she realizes that she may be partially responsible for the death of Freebo's skinned doorman, Wendell Owens. Dexter learns this his old friend, Camilla Figg, is dying of cancer. Angel asks Barbara out on a date. Sylvia invites Rita to work alongside her as an estate agent. Debra and Quinn apprehend Ramon when they find him torturing someone he believes to know the whereabouts of Freebo. After Quinn praises Debra's work in front of LaGuerta, Debra tells him about the internal affairs officer investigating him.


 * "Easy as Pie"

Miguel suggests Ellen Wolf as a potential victim to Dexter, but after vetting her, Dexter believes that she does not fit Harry's Code. Miguel's wife, Sylvia, tells Rita that she suspects Miguel of having an extramarital affair. Debra reveals to Anton that he is being used as bait to lure The Skinner and decides to find the murderer another way. After finding a lead in tree trimmers, Debra visits Anton and they kiss. Camilla asks Dexter for help in ending her life. Dexter struggles to write a list of his friends to invite to the wedding.


 * "The Damage a Man Can Do"

Miguel finds Dexter another victim, a debt enforcer called Billy Fleeter, whom Miguel wishes to kill. Debra discovers that The Skinner is a tree-trimmer and learns that Anton was never registered as an informant. When she tells Anton that he was never legally obliged to work for the police, he disappears. Rita loses control due to her pregnancy hormones and is angry at Dexter for not helping organize their wedding. After Ellen expresses her concern about Miguel's behavior towards LaGuerta, he makes an unannounced visit to her house and kills her.


 * "About Last Night"

In the wake of Ellen's disappearance, Dexter believes that Miguel strayed from Harry's Code and killed her. Dexter tries to prove that he is still in control to Miguel, but realizes that Miguel had been dishonest from the beginning of their friendship. Rita confronts Miguel about his actions when Sylvia becomes convinced that Miguel is having an affair. Debra realizes that Anton has been kidnapped by The Skinner, whom the police believe to be George King. Unfortunately, the only witness, King's employee Mario, is too afraid to talk to the police.


 * "Go Your Own Way"

After realizing that he was manipulated by Miguel, Dexter is furious. However, he cannot gain the upper hand as Miguel threatens to launch an ethics investigation into Debra's relationship with Anton. Having rescued Anton after his encounter with The Skinner, she wonders if their relationship is worth jeopardizing her career. Dexter steals Ellen's ring, a memento of the kill, from Miguel's house to use as evidence against him. Dexter also takes Miguel's shirt stained supposedly by Freebo's blood to a laundry shop. Angel is on the warpath after Barbara is attacked, and Dexter gets into trouble with LaGuerta for running the blood for Angel without a case number. Rita tells Sylvia that Miguel is having an affair with LaGuerta, while Miguel contacts The Skinner and tells him that Dexter is the only person who knows Freebo's whereabouts.


 * "I Had a Dream"

Dexter struggles to distance himself from Miguel, who will be his best man at his wedding, and starts plotting to kill him. LaGuerta begins to believe that Miguel is Ellen's killer, and searches his car for forensic evidence after inviting him over for dinner. Miguel realizes that LaGuerta suspects him of Ellen's murder, and decides to kill her. When Debra starts avoiding Anton, Dexter tells her of their father's affair with his informant, Laura Moser, without revealing that she was his biological mother. Debra discovers The Skinner's whereabouts, but he escapes when Quinn is injured. Dexter's relationship with Miguel comes to a violent end.


 * "Do You Take Dexter Morgan?"

After killing Miguel and framing The Skinner, Dexter is targeted by Ramon. LaGuerta tries to persuade Dexter to expose Miguel as a murderer when she learns that a highway will be named after Miguel. Angel's recommendation of Debra for promotion to detective is threatened when Angel learns that Debra slept with Anton. Dexter discovers that Rita has been married twice before, once when she was sixteen, which she hid from him. Dexter is captured and held prisoner by The Skinner, who demands to know of Freebo's whereabouts, but Dexter escapes (and kills him) in time for his wedding.

Seasons
Tercera temporada