Since the title character in Dexter is a literal serial killer, it's quite hard to top him when it comes to series villains. Dexter Morgan himself, being one of the smartest and most capable characters in the show, makes everyone else look less terrifying. Still, every story needs a villain of some sort. While some don't hold a candle to Dexter's bloodlust and discretion, others have made up for it in showmanship.

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Granted, the Bay Harbor Butcher is still the top dog, but some serial killers have proven quite a handful for both him and the MMPD. Some of Dexter's most formidable villains aren't even outright bad people, but law-abiding and vigilant detectives. Dexter's killing spree is always challenged by these characters throughout the series. Hopefully, some of them get considered for the reboot, Dexter: New Blood.

Updated on May 7, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: Dexter is a series that needs no introduction. After making a strong impression with its first two seasons, the quality of the series wavered quite a bit before ending on a rather disappointing note that fans weren't particularly appreciative of. That being said, everyone's favorite serial killer came back for one final season that was appreciated by many as a fine and brief return to form for Dexter, helping many people remember why this series captivated them so long ago. Dexter wouldn't work without compelling antagonists, and this has been more of a mixed bag for the series. Thankfully, there are many great Dexter villains that have been a blast to engage with, elevating Dexter's quality and helping it reach new heights time and time again.

18 Johnny Rose & Nikki Wald

Season 4

• A murdering, robbing couple dubbed the Vacation Murderers

The Vacation Murderers are a couple that serve as a major thorn in the side of Miami P.D. and are the primary antagonists in a rather engaging subplot. They have a major hand in some notable events in this season, although their individual characters aren't all that engrossing.

They do end up getting caught, and an argument between the couple causes Nikki to shoot and kill Johnny. She shortly confesses to all the murders they've committed after being arrested.

17 Matt Caldwell

Dexter: New Blood

• An obnoxious, entitled brat who's put in his place by Dexter

After faking his death, Dexter tried his hardest to live a quiet life with his adoptive son, but things weren't going to go his way anytime soon. Even though he tried to slink back into the shadows, the acts of a spoilt, entitled sociopath brought out the Dark Passenger for one final ride that was compelling in every way.

After Matt Caldwell continually ignores Dexter's warnings and deliberately provokes him, Dexter loses his cool and commits a murder after the longest time. This puts him in the crosshairs the main antagonist of New Blood, making for a delectable battle between two serial killers who want to live their lives at all costs.

16 Jacob Elway

Season 8

• Employs Debra and becomes obsessed with capturing Hannah McKay

A huge problem with Dexter's later seasons was that the antagonists slowly became unlikable to a fault. The fact that they weren't as compelling as the ones present during the series' highs posed huge problems for their impact, and no other person personifies this more than Jacob Elway.

After employing Debra, Jacob becomes obsessed with hunting down Hannah McKay, much to the detriment of his relationship with the Morgans. His insistence to grab the bounty on Hannah's head becomes a thorn in everyone's side, and not a very compelling one at that.

15 Isaak Sirko

Season 7

• One of the leaders in the Koshka Brotherhood

An antagonist that was pretty compelling, if somewhat forgettable, Isaak Sirko is a hitman who tried to kill Dexter several times before eventually letting him go due to a string of events. After being shot in the gut and left for dead, Isaak ends up with Dexter in his final moments as they have a genuine heart-to-heart.

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He's a decent antagonist but nowhere near as compelling as the other people whom Dexter had to deal with. As a result, his impact is flat and pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of things.

14 Stan Liddy

Season 5

• A corrupt police officer who discovers Dexter's secret

In the fifth season, Stan Liddy is a corrupt officer who is tasked with investigating Dexter by Joey Quinn. While this investigation is stopped by Quinn after a while, Liddy is in too deep and discovers Dexter's dark side.

He tries to confront the protagonist, but things end up taking a turn for the worse when the altercation gets physical. This leads to Dexter fatally stabbing Stan Liddy.

13 Miguel Prado

Season 3

• A rather unlikable character who tries to sympathize with Dexter's dark urges

Miguel Prado is one of the unlikeliest villains one might find here, as he's actually one of the highest law-enforcement entities in any given state, an Assistant District Attorney. However, that doesn't stop him from descending into madness after finding out that Dexter is a serial killer.

Miguel befriends Dexter and allows him to just jump into his life-long obsession with Bay Harbor Butchering. It's one of the show's least believable notions, but the plot had to advance somehow. In any case, Miguel was a sloppy ticking time bomb and even one of the least competent villains in the show. Still, he managed to kill a powerful figure and became a thorn in Dexter's side.

12 Lila West

Season 2

• A dangerously obsessive partner who becomes a thorn in Dexter's side

Speaking of thorns in Dexter's side, Lila West was one of the most intimate with Dexter out of all the villains in the show. She even managed to compel Dexter to cheat on Rita Bennett. Like Miguel, Lila also discovered Dexter's deepest secret, the "dark passenger," albeit unintentionally.

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This didn't end well, and Lila ended up wedging herself — sometimes forcibly — into Dexter's life and circle. She not only killed James Doakes but also nearly ruined Angel Batista's life. The reason she's so low in the ranking is that most of her actions were only possible through luck or plot convenience.

11 Maria Laguerta

Became A Villain In Season 7

• Tries to incarcerate Dexter in a bid to clear Doakes' name

One of the few villains with a straight moral compass, Maria Laguerta, who was Captain of the MMPD by Season Seven, continued Sgt. James Doakes' legacy. At that point in the series, she finally caught on to why Doakes was accusing Dexter all along.

Laguerta even managed to arrest Dexter in a rather unceremonious fashion, but that didn't matter much for the Bay Harbor Butcher, thanks to Deborah Morgan. Dexter's sister reluctantly saved him from Laguerta's vigilance — something he otherwise wouldn't have been able to wiggle out from due to the MMPD Captain's power and influence.

10 George King

Season 3

• A twisted ex-soldier who loved to skin his victims alive before killing them

This ex-Nicaraguan soldier was one of the few villains on the show who was more or less as capable as Dexter. King was also head of the Nicaraguan army's interrogation unit and applied his veteran experience to his Miami victims. What he did was even more painful and grotesque than Dexter's modus operandi — King skinned his victims alive before killing them.

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Dexter at least had an intact moral compass, whereas King was a true sadist and didn't care much about his victims' feelings. At one point, he nearly managed to kill Dexter and even went close to skinning him alive. He was simply underutilized to make way for Miguel Prado's character.

9 Oliver Saxon

Season 8

• A serial killer who loved to scoop out a piece of his victims' brains

One of the last villains in the show, Oliver Saxon caused quite a lot of trouble for Dexter's family. He's the one who was finally able to kill Deborah Morgan, what with all the harm that constantly surrounded her. Granted, Deb's death at Oliver's hands was poorly executed and unjustified, but he still pulled it off.

As a serial killer, he's proven to be even more effective than Dexter, especially in situations that need improvisation. Oliver is better than Dexter at mimicking human emotions and is well-trained enough to be able to kill a US Marshall and a highly decorated detective.

8 Jordan Chase

Season 5

• Hunted down young women and performed unspeakable atrocities before killing and stuffing them in barrels

So far, plenty of villains in Dexter haven't displayed enough negative traits to be considered truly deplorable, but Jordan Chase is the most hateful among them. He's definitely one of the most justified Dexter trophies in the series. Jordan Chase preys only on young women whom his gang kidnaps and violates before stuffing them in barrels and killing them.

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It doesn't help that they have a front where they get an endless supply of vulnerable victims. Hence, Jordan Chase proves a fitting villain because of his depraved actions. By the end of the season, Dexter did the world a favor by getting rid of him.

7 Christine Hill

Season 4

• Obsessed with pleasing her father, committing numerous crimes to win her approval

The daughter of the Trinity Killer had a pretty major daddy complex, causing her to do whatever possible to gain her father's approval. This leads to her shooting and killing Frank Lundy, with a bullet hitting Debra as well.

After realizing the gravity of her crimes, she ultimately kills herself. It's a sad ending to the tale of a damaged character who was mentally tortured by her unhinged father time and time again.

6 Santos Jimenez

Season 2

• Participated in the butchering of Dexter's mother

The death of Dexter's mother played a crucial role in turning him into the serial killer that fans of the show recognize. There were three men who participated in this butchering, with Santos Jimenez being one of the culprits.

Dexter finally hunts down and kills this person in Season 2, and he does this in a poetic fashion. He breaks out his code and uses a chainsaw to perform this grisly deed, exacting revenge for his mother's murder.

5 Kurt Caldwell

Dexter: New Blood

• The mayor of Iron Lake, who masqueraded as a serial killer

The antagonist in Dexter's newest chapter is a sick person who likes to abduct and imprison innocent people before letting them go and hunting them down in a rather twisted manner. He's a great villain who reignites the passion people had for the show.

Watching Dexter go back to his dark side as he hunts down this man is a blast for fans of this show to witness. Michael C. Hall hasn't lost his edge in playing this killer, and this shows when he hunts down and kills Kurt Caldwell.

4 Travis Marshall

Season 6

• A serial killer with a twisted mind who believes his father is still alive

Travis Marshall made quite the splash in Season Six after he introduced himself as the Doomsday Killer. That's an even better moniker than the Bay Harbor Butcher, and it's all thanks to his presentation of his kills. He usually parades off his kills or crime scenes in biblical iconography inspired by the Book of Revelation itself.

He actually doesn't kill that many people, but his murder sprees left so many freaky intricacies that he quickly became one of the most interesting and enigmatic villains in the series. Like Dexter, he has his own dark passenger who compels him to carry out his murder.

3 Arthur Mitchell

Season 3

• The Trinity Killer is one of the series' best antagonists

It's not often Dexter gets to meet possibly someone who's better and has had a lot more experience than him. Hence, Arthur Mitchell, a.k.a. the Trinity Killer, fascinated Dexter. Mitchell was an uncaught serial killer who grew up to be an aging family man. Even an FBI agent considered him a "myth."

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Sure enough, this drew Dexter's attention, and he even tried to cozy up to Mitchell in hopes of learning some techniques and habits. Mitchell didn't like that, naturally, and he quickly found out Dexter's true identity. Along the way, though, his haunting mood shifts and complex persona, coupled with John Lithgow's seamless performance, made Mitchell a memorable serial killer.

2 Brian Moser

Season 1

• The Ice Truck Killer who turns out to be Dexter's long-lost brother

One of the reasons why Dexter found it difficult to introduce better villains is that it peaked in the very first season. Brian Moser, a.k.a. The Ice Truck Killer, was such an effective, significant, and dramatic character that most of the following Dexter villains just paled in comparison.

Dexter's long-lost brother also turned out to be a serial killer like him. The whole season plays out like a classic black-and-white chess match between the two killers. It's even made more exciting by the fact that they're brothers and that their serial killer nuances are held only by Dexter's fragile sense of morality. Hopefully, the reboot re-captures the same idea.

1 James Doakes

Seasons 1 & 2

• A sergeant who always felt something off about Dexter, confirming his suspicious over the course of two seasons

Between Brian and Sgt. James Doakes, it's a tough call, but the latter managed to hound Dexter down and was the first "normal" person to discover Dexter's true identity through his own wits. While Brian was a creepy serial killer and individual, he didn't share the same chemistry that Doakes had with Dexter.

What makes Dexter vs. Doakes work is that viewers don't often know who to root for between the two. Doakes sometimes pulls ahead with his natural swagger and competence, but Dexter always finds a way to outsmart him. Their contrasting ideals and personalities made their character dynamics more entertaining than any relationship in the series. Doakes' unorthodox — and sometimes unethical — method of solving and fighting crimes, as well as his penchant for treating Dexter like prey, is a series highlight that sadly ended too early. Sadly, it seems actor Erik King won't be reprising his role as James Doakes in Dexter: New Blood.

Dexter

Crime

Mystery

Drama

Release Date

October 31, 2010

Cast

David Zayas , Michael C. Hall , Lauren Velez , C. S. Lee , James Remar , Jennifer Carpenter , Desmond Harrington , Julie Benz

Creator