Does Dexter Morgan Ever Get Caught?

The Showtime series "Dexter" aired nearly 100 episodes from 2006 through 2013, and the series finale frustrated some fans. Original showrunner Clyde Phillips had left long before then, and he has revealed that he would have ended the series with Dexter being executed for his crimes. He had a chance to make that happen in "Dexter: New Blood," a bonus ninth season in the story of Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) that aired for 10 episodes in 2021 and 2022. This mini-series had plenty of shocking moments of its own, and "Dexter: New Blood" ended with his arrest in upstate New York. He had been dating police chief Angela Bishop (Julia Jones), and it's she who finally solves one of Dexter's many murders.

After dozens of killings in Miami, it's Dexter's first murder in upstate New York that lands him in jail. After a confrontation with local privileged moron Matt Caldwell (Steve M. Robertson) in his general store over the sale of a rifle, Dexter catches Matt poaching a rare white deer on his property. Dexter kills Matt in the woods and eventually burns his body in the town's incinerator. 

Dexter is later arrested for Matt's murder, but he breaks out of jail and tries to persuade Harrison to run away to Los Angeles with him. After an emotional conversation in the woods, the two men determine that the best course for both of them is if Harrison shoots Dexter dead. Harrison shouts to his father to "open your eyes and look at what you've done" before killing him, and the faces of the most innocent of his victims flash before Dexter's eyes in his final moments.

Dexter is arrested after Iron Lake Police Chief Angela Bishop (Julia Jones) receives one of Matt's titanium surgical screws in the mail along with a note reading "Jim Lindsay killed Matt Caldwell" (Jim Lindsay is the alias Dexter uses in Iron Lake). She contacts Angel Batista (David Zayas) in Miami, and by the end of their conversation, it's evident to both of them that Dexter/Jim is the Bay Harbor Butcher. Bautista tells Bishop he is on his way to her, and she questions Dexter until he reveals that the local serial killer she has been pursuing for years is Matt's father Kurt (Clancy Brown). When she goes to investigate Kurt's cabin, Dexter lures Sergeant Logan (Alano Miller) to his cell and kills him.

It's Dexter's last murder, and ultimately the only one for which he faces justice. Harrison seems willing to join his father in Los Angeles until he realizes that Dexter killed Logan, who was also Harrison's high school wrestling coach. It's at this moment that Harrison truly fears that he is close to following his father on a similar path, and he grabs his rifle. Dexter acknowledges that this is the best course for them both, and forms a target on his chest with his hands in one last guiding act for his son. Knowing he will face the death penalty in Florida, Dexter chooses execution by Harrison's hand hoping it will free his son to live a different life.