Dexter: Every Main Character Ranked Worst To Best

"Surprise mother****r!"

This brilliant but bad-tempered detective was the first one to see past Dexter's normality facade. The former US Army Ranger has hints of his own dark passenger, frequently brutalising suspects and playing poorly with others. Volatile and controlling, Doakes' once promising career has grown stagnant due to his idiosyncrasies.

Already suspicious of Dexter, Doakes grows unhealthily obsessed with exposing him in the wake of the Ice Truck Killer case. Alienating his colleagues, Doakes winds up shooting himself in the foot by becoming the primary Bay Harbour Butcher suspect. The scenes between him and Dexter in the latter half of season 2 are some of the best, most thrilling moments in the entire series.

Grappling with whether or not to kill Doakes, Dexter keeps him as a prisoner, almost succumbing to the sergeant's suggestion he turn himself in. Just as a successful escape is becoming likely, however, Dexter's crazed former lover Lila blows up the shack, incinerating Doakes in the process. It's a brutal ending to a memorable character, one made all the darker by the fact Doakes will forever be remembered as the Bay Harbour Butcher. Played with great vehemence and wit by Erik King, the whole show felt very different in the wake of his departure.