- 7/10/2025
He slices, he dices, and he always follows the code... Join us as we count down the most memorable executions from America's favorite serial killer! From airport bathroom surprises to crematorium sendoffs, we're examining the most shocking, satisfying, and significant moments when Dexter Morgan delivered his own brand of justice.
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00:00It doesn't have to come to this. But it always does.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 best Dexter kills.
00:11Beware of spoilers. I was following my path.
00:17So was I. Number 20. Victor Bazkov. Mike Anderson is one of those rare cops in Dexter. Sharp,
00:26principled, and just getting started at Miami Metro.
00:34Sadly, he's gunned down by Victor Bazkov, who's trying to cover up a crime. Mike wasn't that
00:40close to Dexter, but his death must have struck a nerve. So Dexter does what he does best. He
00:45investigates, tracks Victor down, and catches him right before he can skip the country.
00:50In a quiet airport bathroom, Dexter drugs him up and sets up the kill.
00:55Victor tries to bribe his way out, but we all know Dexter didn't come to negotiate.
01:00When Victor realizes this, he accepts his fate.
01:03Is there anything I can do to keep you from killing me?
01:07No. Then get it over with!
01:10Sure, a kill room at the airport sounds wild, but if anyone can pull it off, it's Dexter.
01:16Number 19. Nathan Martin.
01:19While Dexter claims to follow a code, he's bent the rule more than a few times,
01:23and Nathan Martin is proof. We first meet Martin at a supermarket where he shows too much interest
01:28in Aster. If there's one thing Dexter's good at, it's spotting predators. After taking note of
01:42Nathan's license plate and doing some digging, he confirms his gut feeling. Still, Nathan doesn't
01:47stop there. He starts stalking Aster and taking photos. After a public confrontation, Dexter breaks
01:53into Nathan's home, and what he finds seals the deal. Driven by the fierce need to protect his
01:59children, Dexter strangles him. Honestly, we can't blame anyone who thinks it's a well-deserved death.
02:05Nathan had it coming.
02:06Number 18. Clint McKay. There's no denying that Clint McKay was an awful father. After the traumatic
02:16childhood Hannah had because of him, he comes back again, and for a moment it seems like he's changed.
02:22Now, I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't see any reason that you should, not after everything I
02:29put you through. But it's important, you know, no matter what, I always loved you. I always will.
02:40But no, he's just back for money. When Hannah doesn't hand it over, the monster resurfaces. He plows
02:46through her greenhouse with his truck and tears her down with harsh words. Then he resorts to blackmail.
02:53Code or no code, that's when Dexter decides he must die. Dexter ambushes him in a parking lot,
02:59and dispatches his lover's father like any other target. Just before the fatal stab to the chest,
03:06Clint gets a glimpse of the devil inside Dexter.
03:09You got the devil inside you, boy. No, I think it's just me.
03:16Sometimes being a jerk can get you killed.
03:19Number 17. Rankin. At first, Dexter was all about Harry's code, and in a twisted way,
03:25it made sense. But sometimes Dexter kills simply because he can't control that strong urge.
03:32What's your problem? Nothing.
03:34That's exactly how Rankin becomes a victim. Like Clint McKay, Rankin's an obnoxious man,
03:40and he crosses Dexter at the worst possible time, while he's still dealing with Rita's death.
03:46This loudmouth hurls insults at Dexter, and when Dexter confronts him, he goes on to insult
03:52dead Rita. It's enough to unleash the beast. I never meant to hurt her.
03:56Though Rankin puts up a fight, a rage-filled Dexter bludgeons him without mercy. Another reason you
04:06should never pick a fight with a stranger, you never know what they're capable of.
04:10Number 16. George King. He was known for skinning them alive. He manages to evade capture for a while,
04:18until he ends up on Dexter's radar, thanks to Miguel, who hires him to kill Dexter.
04:23On Dexter's wedding day, King kidnaps him and prepares for torture. But this is Dexter's show,
04:36after all, and the tables quickly turn when Dexter frees himself. What follows is a violent clash
04:42between these killers, made even more intense by the sound of approaching sirens. In the end,
04:47Dexter brutally snaps King's neck. If you ask us, it's an easy death for someone so cruel.
04:54I heard you nab George King?
04:56Yeah. Great big scary contra-bogeyman gets surrounded and takes the chicken shit way out.
05:02Number 15. Ray Speltzer.
05:04When it comes to the most sadistic killers in Dexter, Ray Speltzer ranks high.
05:10Even after getting arrested, Speltzer walks free on a technicality.
05:20Dexter takes matters into his own hands. Things get complicated when he ends up inside Speltzer's
05:26maze, but he figures out the game and escapes. By now, the tension is already at a boiling point,
05:31and we're eagerly awaiting Speltzer's downfall. It finally comes when Dexter lures him to the cemetery,
05:38and one shovel hit later, Speltzer wakes up on Dexter's table. Taunting him like he did his victims,
05:44Dexter stabs him before shoving him into the flames of the crematorium.
05:50Goodbye, friends.
05:52Brutal, but deserved.
05:54Number 14. Mike Donovan. To the outside world, Donovan was just a nice preacher, helping the
06:00underprivileged in his community. But behind the holy facade was a perverted killer who targeted young
06:13boys, and has already taken several lives. After doing his research, Dexter finally confronts him
06:19with photos of his victims. Though Donovan pleads that he can't help himself, Dexter isn't buying it.
06:26I couldn't help myself. I couldn't. Please, you have to understand.
06:34Trust me, I definitely understand. See, I can't help myself either.
06:40He delivers his own brand of punishment, executing the kill with precision, and disposing of the body
06:46neatly. It's a standout moment because it's our introduction to Dexter's dark impulses and his
06:52ruthless code. Number 13. Ken Olsen. If you're trying to copy a killer like Dexter Morgan, you
06:59better be flawless. Otherwise, you'll end up on his table. That's exactly what happened to this sloppy
07:05copycat who claims to be the Bay Harbor Butcher. But impersonation wasn't the major reason Dexter
07:19killed him. Under the disguise of being Dexter's other identity, Ken Olsen had killed two people,
07:25and tried to kill a third, his boss. For Dexter, killing is permitted by his code, not personal
07:31gain. But Olsen, he killed for himself. So, Dexter hunted him down, showed him what a real kill room
07:38looked like, and decided there could only be one dark defender in Miami.
07:43Well, I mean, I knew you weren't going to kill me. No, I'm going to kill you. I have to.
07:47I just don't need to. Number 12. Joe Walker. Being a jerk in high school might be forgivable,
07:54but being a jerk who kills your own wife to dodge an expensive divorce? That's a whole different level.
08:00Hey, I was sorry to hear about Janet. Yeah, that was tough. But I understand you kind of went through
08:10the same thing. Yeah, it's true. We both lost our wives way too early. Joe Walker crosses that line,
08:17and Karma catches up with him in the form of Dexter at their high school reunion. After confirming that
08:23Janet Walker didn't take her own life, Dexter lures Joe into a shed where things go sideways. The two
08:30brawl, but Dexter proves he's the better fighter. What's darkly funny about Walker's death is his
08:35rants about how divine justice would protect him. Dexter's answer? A giant sledgehammer to the head.
08:45For someone who spent his life playing the tough guy, Joe did not see that coming.
08:50Number 11. Santos Jimenez. If Santos Jimenez and his crew hadn't murdered Dexter's mother and left him
08:57lying in the pool of her blood, maybe things would have turned out different. So, if anyone deserves a
09:02spot on Dexter's table, it's this notorious drug dealer. 34 years after Laura Moser's murder,
09:20Dexter tracks him down to his tavern, but fails to finish the job. Instead of backing off,
09:25Jimenez makes the big mistake of coming after Dexter. Dexter then lures him out of his cabin
09:32and onto his table. Jimenez goes from begging to threats, but Dexter kills him in the same way
09:38he killed his mother. What goes around comes around.
09:46Number 10. Matt Caldwell. Dexter spent years resisting the urge to kill, so the return to his
09:52instincts had to be worth the wait. If you had died first, I would have been lost in the world without you.
10:02You're a changed man. Almost 10 years without a kill. Having decided not to get involved with Matt
10:10Caldwell, the entitled son of villainous Kurt Caldwell, Dexter is infuriated when Matt nearly
10:15shoots him and takes the life of a deer he was attached to. After he captures Matt, Dexter feels
10:20a return to his former self, as if his true persona is seeping back in. Although the kill room is
10:35crudely put together, the essence of a Dexter ritual can be felt when he gets Matt to admit to his sins.
10:40It's true, I admit it. I was wrong. I was wrong. Just please, please. You shot my deer and you almost
10:50killed me. The moment after he ends Matt is memorable, because we finally see Dexter acknowledge
10:56who he truly is. Hello, Dexter Morgan. Number 9. Lila West. Lila Tourne, or Lila West, is a toxic
11:05influence on Dexter, which he realizes after she tries to eliminate Rita and the kids. She seals
11:10her own fate after causing the demise of James Doakes. Knowing that finishing Lila off is now an
11:15option, Dexter's first attempt fails, but he makes sure he gets another. Despite Lila's escape to France,
11:21Dexter arrives to incapacitate her. In a rare act of mercy, he makes her last moments painless,
11:37although Doakes is avenged. After watching Lila destroy Dexter's life and eliminate the innocent
11:42Doakes, it's worth seeing her get what she had coming. It also fits into Dexter and Lila's twisted
11:53romance, with Lila receiving the grand gesture she kept wanting Dexter to make for her.
11:58You taught me to accept what I am, and to trust in the one thing I know with absolute clarity.
12:06Number 8. Travis Marshall, the Doomsday Killer.
12:09Travis Marshall becomes the Doomsday Killer when he's convinced himself he's on a divine
12:23mission of killing people. Travis and Dexter's conflict reaches its breaking point when he
12:28abducts Dexter's son, which makes things very personal. Dexter ends up outsmarting Travis to
12:33capture him, in order to bring an end to Travis with poetic justice.
12:36I've known people who believed in God. They would never use their faith as a convenient excuse to
12:43kill ten people. You used God. The conversation preceding the kill is what makes the big impression,
12:51as Dexter and Travis share their contrasting beliefs in faith and the inevitable.
12:55I am a father. A son. A serial killer.
13:07You're going to burn in hell. There's a definite sense of tension
13:10during this sequence, as Debra's arrival is imminent, which leaves a whole lot of ambiguity
13:15in the air when the killing blows land. Travis's demise leaves the season with a perfect mix of shock
13:20and intrigue. 7. Boyd Fowler
13:26Dexter is more of a vigilante in the fifth season, where he takes down the gang behind the barrel
13:31girl killings. Uncovering the finisher's identity, Dexter falls into a tight situation when Boyd manages
13:46to simultaneously render him unconscious. However, he eventually outsmarts Boyd at his house,
13:52creating a makeshift kill room to maintain his ritual. Dexter even describes Boyd's victims to
13:57him since he doesn't have his stock of photos. They were young, just starting their lives.
14:04Now they're floating in formaldehyde and stuffed into barrels, stirring around a swamp.
14:10Having recently lost his wife, Rita, Dexter sees this as his way to carry on with his life
14:15and deliver retribution to men who find pleasure in harming female victims.
14:19I've recently suffered a loss. My wife was murdered by someone like you. Someone like me.
14:29I turned my life upside down. We're encouraged to root for Dexter because of Boyd's lack of remorse,
14:37and it's grimly fitting that he meets a gruesome end, just like his victims did.
14:41I did them a favor. They were all suffering and I put them out of their misery.
14:49Yeah, you'll be doing one more favor tonight.
14:516. Dr. Emmett Meridian
14:54A psychiatrist who gained a sadistic sense of pleasure by influencing women in power to take
14:59their own lives, Emmett Meridian falls on Dexter's radar.
15:02You took women who trusted you at their weakest possible moment, but rather than help them,
15:07you suggested they end it all. God, you even gave them permission to use a gun.
15:12Funny enough, the sessions Dexter undergoes just to get close to Meridian actually end up helping,
15:17although they're still not good enough to get the doctor off the hook.
15:20It's all good, doctor. I even stopped worrying about that friend of mine who's been out of touch.
15:26You can't control other people, you know?
15:28This is a real breakthrough. You should be proud of yourself.
15:30I am proud.
15:32Dexter chooses to scare Meridian before capturing him,
15:35openly admitting to being a serial killer, and then making his move.
15:39I'm not joking. I kill people.
15:43There it is again.
15:44You should try it.
15:50The kill is mainly significant because it's one of the first times that Dexter's code borders on
15:54vigilantism, as he ensures the doctor doesn't emotionally manipulate anyone else.
15:59You're awake. Shall we analyze your dreams?
16:07That's right, you've already told me everything I need to know.
16:10It's a mixture of dark comedy and the thrill that Dexter evokes whenever a plan comes together perfectly.
16:16Number 5. Zoe Kruger
16:18While Dexter isn't supposed to be a good person,
16:21his actions do often deliver justice where it should have been served.
16:24Leave me alone.
16:26You threatened me.
16:28You think that was a threat?
16:30What, are you gonna murder me too?
16:33Like you murdered your family?
16:36Your own daughter?
16:37Dexter deduces Zoe Kruger as the person who took the life of her own child and blamed it
16:42on her husband, and realizes she's a shrewd tactician who's onto him.
16:46She's going to make it look like I walked in on a home robbery.
16:49Got myself killed.
16:51She's good at creating the narrative of a crime.
16:53Zoe proves to be a tough target for Dexter to catch,
16:56before successfully luring her to his house and then capturing her.
17:00Zoe is the victim who confirms to Dexter that he truly appreciates having a family,
17:05and that there might be monsters worse than him out there.
17:08I couldn't breathe.
17:10You did it to survive.
17:15You understand?
17:16Dexter makes Zoe realize that her actions were an excuse to run away from responsibility,
17:21and in his way, taking her life is Dexter being responsible.
17:25You will choose your life over theirs.
17:28I won't.
17:30I'd rather risk them knowing the truth than lose them.
17:36Number 4. Oliver Saxon, The Brain Surgeon
17:40The villain who deals Dexter's life in Miami the overwhelming blow is Oliver Saxon,
17:44also known as The Brain Surgeon.
17:46I don't need to kill you.
17:52Then don't walk away.
17:59I will.
18:00Dexter manages to catch Saxon, but lets Debra apprehend him.
18:04This comes back to haunt Dexter, as Debra eventually ends up brain dead after Saxon's attack on her.
18:09Is she going to recover?
18:10It's possible that she could breathe on her own, but she won't be able to eat without a feeding tube,
18:16and according to the brain scans, she won't be able to think.
18:20Filled with vengeance, Dexter arrives at the jail under the pretense of doing his job.
18:25In a chilling show of Dexter's mastery in killing,
18:28he outright tells Saxon his intentions to finish him off with a pen.
18:32Foolish dream that I could have a happy life.
18:35Is that why you're here? Tell me all this?
18:41No, I'm here to kill you with that pen.
18:44This leads to a fight to the death where Dexter delivers on his promise.
18:48As the final villain in the original series, Saxon gets a distinct and memorable send-off,
18:52while the kill itself is cathartic for Dexter for the retribution he gains.
18:57I wanted to make sure everything was handled perfectly by the book, no mistakes.
19:00And I wanted to look him in the eye.
19:073. Miguel Prado
19:09Miguel becomes Dexter's best friend after Dexter learns he accepts him for his dark passenger.
19:14It's like there was an imbalance in the world, and we righted it with our own hands.
19:21He was deserving.
19:22I don't know, I feel real, like maybe for the first time in my life.
19:26As it turned out, Miguel was using Dexter from the beginning so he could become a killer himself,
19:30with the two falling out big time.
19:33When Miguel targets Maria LaGuerta, Dexter steps in to put an end to the monster he's made.
19:38I'm not like them.
19:40You are. Admit it.
19:44I'm like you.
19:45No, no, no, no, no, no. I know I'm a monster.
19:49Ambushing Miguel where he thought he was going to find Maria, Dexter then straps his former friend
19:54to his kill table. This moment brings out the real Miguel, whose lies to sway Dexter's intentions
20:00fall on deaf ears.
20:01Friends forgive.
20:06Friends forgive.
20:10But I don't forgive you.
20:11Miguel's elimination confirms Dexter's status as the apex predator, with their relationship
20:16brought to a close through an appropriately violent end.
20:19You're a little freak!
20:21You think I'm done with you?
20:23You think this ends here?
20:24It doesn't!
20:26It does for you.
20:28Number 2.
20:29Brian Moser, The Ice Truck Killer
20:31This is Dexter's most heartbreaking kill.
20:34Brian is his own brother.
20:36You remember now?
20:36Brian, you always had trouble saying Brian.
20:48I have a brother.
20:50A real brother.
20:51After learning Debra's boyfriend is actually the Ice Truck Killer, his brother masquerading with a
20:56different identity to get close to Dexter, Dexter nearly gives in to Brian's proposal to team up.
21:01However, he has no choice but to turn the tables on Brian, when he realizes that Brian intends to
21:06take Debra's life.
21:07Don't, don't say that.
21:09I'm very...
21:13...fond of her.
21:14You can't be a killer and a hero.
21:17It doesn't work that way!
21:19While Dexter is usually gleeful when he has someone on the kill table, this one plays like a true tragedy.
21:25You're the only one who ever wanted to set free.
21:30The woman needs setting free, little brother.
21:35Your lies, your lies.
21:36Having seen Dexter claim that he can't feel human emotions, we watch as he breaks down after
21:41ending his brother for good.
21:43I'm sorry.
21:45I can't hear you more.
21:50You're right.
21:50It's incredible how the show makes us feel bad for two serial killers in one scene.
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22:091.
22:12Arthur Mitchell, the Trinity Killer
22:15The Trinity Killer's death is something that fans looked forward to the whole season.
22:19Arthur Mitchell's reign of terror comes to an end when Dexter ambushes him.
22:23He's brought to a unique kill room adorned by the pictures of the many people Arthur slew over
22:34the years, along with reminders of his childhood. The most interesting aspect of this kill is how
22:39Arthur gradually shifts from horror to complete acceptance of his fate.
22:44You can't control the demon inside of you any more than I could control mine.
22:52Did you ever actually try?
22:53Oh my god, yes.
22:55It's to the point where Dexter feels the shift in control,
22:58and brings an end to the Trinity Killer, and thinks he's won.
23:01Now it's over.
23:09Arthur's acceptance is understood when Dexter returns home to find his own wife dead,
23:14thus adding an additional layer of horrifying subtext to the Trinity Killer's death scene.
23:20I accept nothing. Nothing is inevitable.
23:26It's already over.
23:27What do you think is the best Dexter kill? Let us know in the comments.
23:36No, Mr. Jimenez. I'm gonna kill you tonight.
23:53So
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