Debra Morgan
Encyclopedia
Debra 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 has featured in every novel since.
Debra is introduced in the first episode
as the adoptive sister of Dexter Morgan
. In the first episode it is revealed that Dexter was adopted by Debra's father Harry Morgan
when she was very young. Debra has been involved in many different relationships and has been through a lot of character development. In season one, Debra falls for a man calling himself Rudy Cooper; it is eventually revealed that he is in fact Brian Moser, "The Ice Truck Killer", and Dexter's biological brother. She is kidnapped by Brian, and rescued by Dexter. In season two
, Debra is still struggling with the fallout of the events in season one. She works alongside Special Agent Frank Lundy. They eventually begin a relationship while working on a relatively large investigation. Lundy is murdered in the fourth season episode "Dex Takes a Holiday". After her sister in law Rita Bennett
is murdered by Arthur Mitchell, Debra helps Dexter take care of his child, Harrison Morgan.
. A tough, foul-mouthed tomboy, she craved her father's attention, and envied Dexter for all the time that Harry spent with him — unaware that Harry was teaching him how to get away with murder
.
When she was 16, her mother died of cancer
. From then on, she wanted to become a detective
like her father, and started learning to shoot a gun
by taking her father's. Dexter found out and told Harry, who punished her. Hurt, Debra told Dexter that she wished that Harry had never brought him home; she was immediately remorseful for saying it, however, and apologized.
She was distraught at her father's death and, inspired by his legendary police career, she followed in his footsteps and joined the police
and yearned desperately to become a Homicide Detective. She spent three years in patrol and then another two years in vice before being promoted by Captain Tom Matthews (a friend of her father), becoming a Homicide officer at the start of the first season.
Debra starts dating, and eventually falls in love with, Rudy Cooper; unbeknownst to her, he is actually the Ice Truck Killer, and is only dating her in order to get close to Dexter. At the end of the season, Rudy proposes to her and she accepts. Rudy — who is actually Brian Moser, Dexter's biological brother — then kidnaps her to reveal himself to Dexter. She is bound to a table in the same manner that Dexter kills his victims, while Dexter and Brian discuss her fate. Dexter ultimately saves her life, and reluctantly kills Brian to keep her safe.
Debra is appalled when she finds out that Dexter is cheating on his girlfriend, Rita Bennett
, with his Narcotics Anonymous
sponsor, Lila Tournay, of whom she is immediately suspicious; Debra eventually threatens to have her deported upon finding out her true identity. In the season finale
, she helps Dexter rescue Rita's two children from a fire that Lila had started.
By the end of the season, she has regained her confidence, and she is more determined than ever to improve her career and get a detective shield.
officer who tells her that her partner is being investigated for corruption. She refuses to assist in the investigation, however. She is originally part of the team investigating the murder of Miguel Prado's brother Oscar, but because of her lack of tact and people skills she is removed from the case by the newly-promoted Angel Batista. The case she has been assigned to (the murder of a young woman) is eventually found to have been connected to the ongoing case of a serial killer called "The Skinner", which she solves with the help of Anton Briggs, a confidential informant with whom she starts a relationship with after saving his life. Because of her success on the Skinner case, she receives her detective shield at the end of the season.
After consulting with Vince Masuka
, however, Debra deduces that Trinity could not have been the shooter. During a Thanksgiving dinner with Dexter's family, Debra remembers a conversation she had with reporter Christine Hill, and realizes Hill has knowledge of the shooting that no one outside the police department knew about, and concludes that she was the shooter. (This is proven true in a later episode revealing that Hill is Trinity's daughter.) Hill later confesses to Debra that she killed Lundy, moments before she commits suicide
. Debra then renews her search for Harry's mistress, and finds out about Laura Moser, and the fact that Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer are brothers. She tells Dexter the news (which he already knew), and then tells him that he is "the one consistently good thing" in her life.
d, torture
d and murdered by a group of men, and left in barrels in a swamp. The police find DVD
s the killers recorded of the crimes, and Debra is assigned to study them. She figures out that Jordan Chase, a prominent public speaker, is involved with the group of men killing the girls, but cannot prove her suspicion because he never appears on the DVDs. However, she is able to track him down by the end of the season, and finds his body, moments after Dexter and Lumen Pierce
have killed him. She sees them at the crime scene through a wall of plastic sheeting, and tells them that she needs to call in the crime scene, but gives them an hour head start, because she sympathizes with Lumen, the surviving victim. She doesn't find out that it was Dexter and Lumen who were responsible for the deaths of the Barrel Girl killers.
In the middle of the season, Debra finds out that Quinn, who believes that Dexter was involved in Rita's murder, has been investigating Dexter behind her back. Debra is very upset at Quinn and confronts him. Quinn decides that his relationship with Debra is more important than his (supposedly) unfounded suspicions about Dexter, and stops his investigation. At the end of the season, they have reconciled, and attend Dexter's son Harrison's birthday party together.
In Season two, she starts going out with a man named Gabriel whom she met at the gym, and whom she suspects (incorrectly) of trying to use her notoriety following the Ice Truck Killer case to jumpstart his writing career. After that ends, she goes out with Frank Lundy, a man 20 years her senior who has to leave Miami at the end of season two, although she resumes her relationship with him in season four. She then starts a relationship much later with her Confidential Informant Anton Briggs. In the season five premiere she sleeps with her partner, Joey Quinn, who since then has been trying to have the relationship develop into something more than purely sexual.
and the follow-up novels, Deborah finds out that Dexter is a serial killer
, and appears to accept it, although she is sometimes torn between her love for her brother and her duty as a cop; in the TV series, Debra remains unaware of Dexter's "hobby", and it is suggested that she would not be able to handle this knowledge.
At the conclusion of Dexter is Delicious
, Deborah is pregnant by her boyfriend, Kyle Chutsky, and in Double Dexter
we learn that she gave birth to a son, Michael, and raises him alone.
's portrayal of the title character's sister has impressed some critics, with Australia
n journalist Jack Marx
describing her "cool and clumsy" performance as "so perfect that many viewers appear to have mistaken the character's flaws for the actor's."
For her portrayal of the character, she has been nominated for three Saturn Award
s for "Best Supporting Actress in Television", in 2007, 2008 and 2010 and she won the Saturn Award in 2009 for her performance in Season three. She has also been twice nominated as part of the ensemble cast for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2009 and 2010.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by Jeff Lindsay
Jeff Lindsay (writer)
Jeff Lindsay is the pen name of American playwright and crime novelist Jeffry P. Freundlich , best known for his novels about sociopathic vigilante Dexter Morgan. Many of his earlier published works include his wife Hilary Hemingway as a co-author. His wife is the niece of Ernest Hemingway and an...
for his Dexter book series. She also appears in the television series
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
, based on Lindsay's books, portrayed by Jennifer Carpenter
Jennifer Carpenter
Jennifer Leann Carpenter is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Emily Rose in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Debra Morgan on Dexter, and the lead role in the 2008 horror movie Quarantine.-Early life:...
. In Lindsay's novels, she first appeared in Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay, the first in his series about serial killer Dexter Morgan. It has formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter and won the 2005 Dilys Award and the 2007 'Book to TV' award....
, and has featured in every novel since.
Debra is introduced in the first episode
Dexter (episode)
"Dexter", or "Pilot", is the pilot and first episode of the first season of American television drama series Dexter, 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...
as the adoptive sister of Dexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan is a fictional character in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, including Darkly Dreaming Dexter , Dearly Devoted Dexter , Dexter in the Dark , Dexter by Design , Dexter is Delicious and Double Dexter...
. In the first episode it is revealed that Dexter was adopted by Debra's father Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan (Dexter)
Detective Harrison "Harry" Morgan is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. In the television series he is portrayed by James Remar. Harry is Dexter Morgan's adoptive father, now deceased...
when she was very young. Debra has been involved in many different relationships and has been through a lot of character development. In season one, Debra falls for a man calling himself Rudy Cooper; it is eventually revealed that he is in fact Brian Moser, "The Ice Truck Killer", and Dexter's biological brother. She is kidnapped by Brian, and rescued by Dexter. In season two
Dexter (season 2)
The second season of Dexter premiered on September 30, 2007, and ended on December 16, 2007. "It's Alive", the season premiere, attracted 1.09 million viewers in the United States, making Dexter the first Showtime series to attract more than a million viewers with a season premiere...
, Debra is still struggling with the fallout of the events in season one. She works alongside Special Agent Frank Lundy. They eventually begin a relationship while working on a relatively large investigation. Lundy is murdered in the fourth season episode "Dex Takes a Holiday". After her sister in law Rita Bennett
Rita Bennett
Rita Bennett is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his book series about a vigilante serial killer named Dexter Morgan. She also appeared in the television series Dexter, based on Lindsay's books. She was the girlfriend and later, wife of Dexter in both media...
is murdered by Arthur Mitchell, Debra helps Dexter take care of his child, Harrison Morgan.
Early life
Debra was born to Doris Morgan and Harry Morgan and later became foster sister to Dexter MorganDexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan is a fictional character in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, including Darkly Dreaming Dexter , Dearly Devoted Dexter , Dexter in the Dark , Dexter by Design , Dexter is Delicious and Double Dexter...
. A tough, foul-mouthed tomboy, she craved her father's attention, and envied Dexter for all the time that Harry spent with him — unaware that Harry was teaching him how to get away with murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
When she was 16, her mother died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. From then on, she wanted to become a detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
like her father, and started learning to shoot a gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
by taking her father's. Dexter found out and told Harry, who punished her. Hurt, Debra told Dexter that she wished that Harry had never brought him home; she was immediately remorseful for saying it, however, and apologized.
She was distraught at her father's death and, inspired by his legendary police career, she followed in his footsteps and joined the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and yearned desperately to become a Homicide Detective. She spent three years in patrol and then another two years in vice before being promoted by Captain Tom Matthews (a friend of her father), becoming a Homicide officer at the start of the first season.
Season one
Debra is characterized as smart and capable, yet unsure of herself, and so she relies upon Dexter's seemingly limitless expertise on murderers to solve difficult cases. Initially assigned to Vice, she is desperate to be transferred to Homicide. After Matthews promotes her, she starts to grow self-confident, relying less on Dexter's abilities and more on her own.Debra starts dating, and eventually falls in love with, Rudy Cooper; unbeknownst to her, he is actually the Ice Truck Killer, and is only dating her in order to get close to Dexter. At the end of the season, Rudy proposes to her and she accepts. Rudy — who is actually Brian Moser, Dexter's biological brother — then kidnaps her to reveal himself to Dexter. She is bound to a table in the same manner that Dexter kills his victims, while Dexter and Brian discuss her fate. Dexter ultimately saves her life, and reluctantly kills Brian to keep her safe.
Season two
Debra is frail at the start of season two, still recovering from her ordeal with the Ice Truck Killer. She feels that she is not a good detective because she didn't spot that her fiancé was a serial killer, but FBI agent Frank Lundy reassures her otherwise and they, mid-season, develop a romantic relationship, which ends when he is called away from Miami. She stays in Dexter's house while she deals with the trauma.Debra is appalled when she finds out that Dexter is cheating on his girlfriend, Rita Bennett
Rita Bennett
Rita Bennett is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his book series about a vigilante serial killer named Dexter Morgan. She also appeared in the television series Dexter, based on Lindsay's books. She was the girlfriend and later, wife of Dexter in both media...
, with his Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous is a twelve-step program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous describing itself as a "fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem," and it is the second-largest 12-step organization...
sponsor, Lila Tournay, of whom she is immediately suspicious; Debra eventually threatens to have her deported upon finding out her true identity. In the season finale
The British Invasion (Dexter)
"The British Invasion" is the twelfth episode and finale of the second season of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on December 16, 2007 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Daniel Cerone and was directed by Steve Shill. In the episode, Lila...
, she helps Dexter rescue Rita's two children from a fire that Lila had started.
By the end of the season, she has regained her confidence, and she is more determined than ever to improve her career and get a detective shield.
Season three
As Season three begins, Debra has had her hair cut to shoulder length, has "sworn off men, liquor and smokes". She is working with a new partner, Detective Joey Quinn, but has been approached by an Internal AffairsInternal affairs
Internal affairs may refer to:* Internal affairs of a state* Internal affairs , a division of a law enforcement agency which investigates cases of lawbreaking by members of that agency...
officer who tells her that her partner is being investigated for corruption. She refuses to assist in the investigation, however. She is originally part of the team investigating the murder of Miguel Prado's brother Oscar, but because of her lack of tact and people skills she is removed from the case by the newly-promoted Angel Batista. The case she has been assigned to (the murder of a young woman) is eventually found to have been connected to the ongoing case of a serial killer called "The Skinner", which she solves with the help of Anton Briggs, a confidential informant with whom she starts a relationship with after saving his life. Because of her success on the Skinner case, she receives her detective shield at the end of the season.
Season four
At the beginning of the season, Dexter tells Debra that their father slept with one of his confidential informants. She investigates the files on Harry's informants and interviews them, hoping to find the one Harry slept with. One of the files is shown to be Laura Moser. Her relationship with Anton begins to suffer at this point, especially when Lundy returns to Miami to hunt the Trinity Killer. They sleep together and renew their relationship, but the very same night they are both shot — Lundy fatally — by an unknown assailant. She eventually figures out the Trinity Killer is the shooter, and opens an investigation.After consulting with Vince Masuka
Vince Masuka
Vincent "Vince" Masuka is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. In the television series he is portrayed by Korean-American C. S. Lee. Masuka is the Miami Metro Police lead forensics investigator and works alongside...
, however, Debra deduces that Trinity could not have been the shooter. During a Thanksgiving dinner with Dexter's family, Debra remembers a conversation she had with reporter Christine Hill, and realizes Hill has knowledge of the shooting that no one outside the police department knew about, and concludes that she was the shooter. (This is proven true in a later episode revealing that Hill is Trinity's daughter.) Hill later confesses to Debra that she killed Lundy, moments before she commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Debra then renews her search for Harry's mistress, and finds out about Laura Moser, and the fact that Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer are brothers. She tells Dexter the news (which he already knew), and then tells him that he is "the one consistently good thing" in her life.
Season five
Debra begins an intimate relationship with her partner, Joey Quinn. She and Quinn are assigned to the "Barrel Girls" case, the main case of season five. Debra is deeply affected by the case, in which 13 women were rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d and murdered by a group of men, and left in barrels in a swamp. The police find DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s the killers recorded of the crimes, and Debra is assigned to study them. She figures out that Jordan Chase, a prominent public speaker, is involved with the group of men killing the girls, but cannot prove her suspicion because he never appears on the DVDs. However, she is able to track him down by the end of the season, and finds his body, moments after Dexter and Lumen Pierce
Lumen Pierce
Lumen Ann Pierce is a fictional character portrayed by Julia Stiles in the fifth season of the Showtime television series Dexter. Lumen is introduced in the third episode of the fifth season as a rape victim of Boyd Fowler...
have killed him. She sees them at the crime scene through a wall of plastic sheeting, and tells them that she needs to call in the crime scene, but gives them an hour head start, because she sympathizes with Lumen, the surviving victim. She doesn't find out that it was Dexter and Lumen who were responsible for the deaths of the Barrel Girl killers.
In the middle of the season, Debra finds out that Quinn, who believes that Dexter was involved in Rita's murder, has been investigating Dexter behind her back. Debra is very upset at Quinn and confronts him. Quinn decides that his relationship with Debra is more important than his (supposedly) unfounded suspicions about Dexter, and stops his investigation. At the end of the season, they have reconciled, and attend Dexter's son Harrison's birthday party together.
Season six
At the start of the season, Debra is living with Quinn. She and Quinn go out for dinner and Quinn plans on proposing, but is interrupted when a shooter opens fire in the establishment. Debra subdues the shooter. Later, she is informed by Deputy Chief Matthews, that she will be receiving the promotion to Lieutenant that LaGuerta had attempted to blackmail Matthews into giving to Angel. She tells Angel over coffee, and he is happy for her and gives the job his blessing. In a further act of punishment, LaGuerta is forced to publicly promote Debra.Romantic relationships
Debra is known to have very bad relationships with men. Her first boyfriend was a mechanic called Sean who turned out to be married. Then she had a relationship with Rudy Cooper, who ended up kidnapping her and trying to kill her twice, once via Dexter and once at Dexter's apartment.In Season two, she starts going out with a man named Gabriel whom she met at the gym, and whom she suspects (incorrectly) of trying to use her notoriety following the Ice Truck Killer case to jumpstart his writing career. After that ends, she goes out with Frank Lundy, a man 20 years her senior who has to leave Miami at the end of season two, although she resumes her relationship with him in season four. She then starts a relationship much later with her Confidential Informant Anton Briggs. In the season five premiere she sleeps with her partner, Joey Quinn, who since then has been trying to have the relationship develop into something more than purely sexual.
Differences from the novels
In the books, the character's name is spelled "Deborah", and she is described as "voluptuous," in contrast to her slim appearance on the TV show. In the novel Darkly Dreaming DexterDarkly Dreaming Dexter
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay, the first in his series about serial killer Dexter Morgan. It has formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter and won the 2005 Dilys Award and the 2007 'Book to TV' award....
and the follow-up novels, Deborah finds out that Dexter is a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
, and appears to accept it, although she is sometimes torn between her love for her brother and her duty as a cop; in the TV series, Debra remains unaware of Dexter's "hobby", and it is suggested that she would not be able to handle this knowledge.
At the conclusion of Dexter is Delicious
Dexter is Delicious
Dexter Is Delicious is the fifth novel written by Jeff Lindsay, and the fifth book in the 'Dexter Morgan' book series. The book was released in the UK on July 8, 2010 and September 7, 2010 in the United States.The book contains elements of cannibalism...
, Deborah is pregnant by her boyfriend, Kyle Chutsky, and in Double Dexter
Double Dexter
Double Dexter is the sixth novel written by Jeff Lindsay, and the sixth book in the 'Dexter Morgan' book series. The book was released on October 18, 2011.-References:* at Amazon.com...
we learn that she gave birth to a son, Michael, and raises him alone.
Reception
Jennifer CarpenterJennifer Carpenter
Jennifer Leann Carpenter is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Emily Rose in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Debra Morgan on Dexter, and the lead role in the 2008 horror movie Quarantine.-Early life:...
's portrayal of the title character's sister has impressed some critics, with Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n journalist Jack Marx
Jack Marx
Jackson Gregory Marx , known as Jack Marx, is an Australian journalist and author. He was born in Maitland, New South Wales and is the second youngest of four children.- Career :...
describing her "cool and clumsy" performance as "so perfect that many viewers appear to have mistaken the character's flaws for the actor's."
For her portrayal of the character, she has been nominated for three Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
s for "Best Supporting Actress in Television", in 2007, 2008 and 2010 and she won the Saturn Award in 2009 for her performance in Season three. She has also been twice nominated as part of the ensemble cast for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2009 and 2010.