Dexter Season 7: How Crazy Will It Get?

Fans of the Showtime thriller Dexter have been anxiously awaiting the premiere of Season 7 since Season 6 ended on December 18, 2011. The cliffhanger was game-changing — Dexter’s sister, Deb, walks in to find her brother shoving a knife through the heart of the Doomsday Killer. This is the moment we’ve been waiting six years for, the moment that someone else finds out Dexter’s secret. What will she think? What will he tell her? Will this be the end for our lovable serial killer? We’ve all assumed that the series would end with Dexter’s secret getting out, and Dexter either dying or going to prison. But there are two seasons left! How on earth are they going to play this out?

A 2-minute sneak peek was released in July, and a full trailer followed in August. Both offer some clues on what’s in store for the upcoming season. The show’s creators haven’t been that quiet, either. Below is a round-up of what we know and what we don’t about Season 7.

What We Know:

1. Deb finds out Dexter’s secret – Or, at least, part of it. Season 6 ended with Deb watching Dexter murder the Doomsday Killer. Season 7 will open with the aftermath. Dexter tells her he snapped, she doesn’t seem to believe him entirely. The 2-minute preview ends with Deb calling for backup. The full-length trailer offers a few more clues. Deb helps Dexter burn the DDK body to hide Dexter’s crime. Deb revisits prior cases, presumably to see if Dexter was the one responsible. The back-and-forth between Dexter and Deb will be the major arc of the season.

2. Deb’s not the only one on the case – La Guerta finds a blood slide at Dexter’s crime scene, which causes her to revisit the Bay Harbor Butcher case in the hopes of clearing her friend, Sargeant Dokes.

3. Miami Metro Homicide is losing a major player – Detective Mike Anderson, who joined the team in Season 6 as Deb’s replacement when she made Lieutenant, will be killed off early on.

4. That creepy intern will not be the season’s main villain – Louis, the weird intern from Season 6 who seems to be oddly fixated on Dexter, will not be Season 7’s big bad guy, but he will definitely be around.

5. There’s a new blond in Dexter’s life – Yvonne Strahovski joins the cast as Hannah, a woman with a troubled past who crosses paths with Dexter.

What We Don’t Know:

1. Will Deb turn Dexter in? I think not, given that this story arc will be stretched over two seasons. I think the bulk of Season 7’s drama will be Deb’s uncovering of all of Dexter’s secrets, and Season 8 will deal with her struggle after she discovers them.

2. Will Deb and La Guerta join forces? Again, I think not. I think each will handle her investigation off the record, not trusting anyone else to be involved. I do think at some point their investigations will cross paths, but I think there is so much distrust between these two characters that they will never work together on such personal journeys.

3. Will Deb still have sexy-feelings for Dexter? I think the whole “Deb secretly loves her brother” thing from Season 6 was kind of weird and unexpected, though the writers have been toying with the idea since Season 2. I think now that Dexter is a target, any romantic feelings Deb might have had (or thought she had) about him will be replaced with The Job. I think Deb will be switching to Cop Mode and putting aside all her personal feelings.

4. Who will be the bad guy? Or will there even be a bad guy this season? I can’t imagine the writers moving the season forward with only the Deb/Dexter drama to propel it. There will still be murders. Miami Metro will still have to do its job. But will there just be one-off crimes with no main villain? We don’t know. I think the addition of Yvonne Strahovski will play into a larger story arc, but right now there’s just so little information.

Fortunately for us, we don’t have to wait too much longer to find out what happens. Season 7 premieres on Sunday, September 30.