Dexter: I know the truth, because Harry always told me the truth. He had to, he was teaching me principles. A Code. He knew what I would become without it.

Dexter: I'm going to tell you something that I've never told anyone before.
Dr. Emmett Meridian: Okay.
Dexter: I'm a serial killer. [pause] Oh God. That feels ... so amazing to say out loud.
Dr. Emmett Meridian: Well, you must be letting go, 'cause I've never heard you make a joke before.
Dexter: I'm not joking; I kill people. Whoo. There it is again. [pause] You should try it. I know -- your big bad wolf has racked up a tidy little death toll.

Dexter: I've lived in darkness a long time. Over the years my eyes adjusted until the dark became my world and I could see.

Dexter: I've never had much use for the concept of Hell, but if Hell exists, I'm in it. The same images running through my head over and over. I was there. I saw my mother's death. A buried memory forgotten all these years. It climbed inside me that day, and it's been with me every since. My Dark Passenger.

Dexter: Marina View Hotel. It's a key. Maybe some sort of promotional gag � stay the weekend, get a free jar of blood.

Dexter: My sister's right, I don't share my problems with her. Or with anybody. Harry taught me that. Secrecy, self-reliance ... and a well-stocked cupboard of Hefty bags.

Dexter: So this is doom. I've been the architect of so much of it, it's only fair that I should know what the fuss is all about. He left me this room for a reason. Five women gave their blood, their lives for this moment. There's only one way to find out why.

Dexter: The FBI estimates that there are less that 50 serial killers active in the United States today. We don't get together at conventions, share trade secrets, or exchange Christmas cards ... but sometimes I wonder what it's like for the others.

Dexter: The Ice-Truck Killer drains the blood from his victims, freezes the bodies, and only then severs their limbs. It's clean and efficient, that's his psychological signature. Neil Perry, on the other hand, stuffs roadkill.
Debra: Yeah! And turns 'em into fucked up fantasy shit.
Dexter: But the fantasies are all wrong! The guy we're looking for wouldn't turn dead dirty things into living cartoons, he'd find that pathetic.
Debra: How do you know?
Dexter: [pause] Because it is pathetic.

Dexter: We have an elephant in the room, and its name is sex.
Rita: [laughs weakly] Tell me about it.
Dexter: Hey, as far as I'm concerned, it can just stay in the corner and mind its own damn business.
Rita: [softly] Easier said than done.
Dexter: Yeah, [gently brushes her hair back] but it needs to be right, for both of us. Or, it won't be right for either of us. I don't want that, do you?
Rita: No. [pause] You know, [hugs Dexter tightly] I can't believe I found the one good truly decent man left on the planet.

Dexter: When'd you first notice it? This darkness inside the guy you fell for?
Rita: Well, I always knew it was there. I guess I just didn't think I deserved better � until I met you.
[Long pause]
Dexter: I have a dark side, too. [Rita laughs] What? I do.
Rita: Somehow, I doubt that. You have a good heart, Dexter. You're not like Paul; you don't hurt people.
Dexter: [another pause] Innocent people. I don't hurt innocent people.

Dexter: You killed again. I told you, I warned you. Don't kill anyone who doesn't deserve to die. Why did you do it?
Jeremy Downs: To feel something different.
Dexter: Different than what? What do you normally feel?
Jeremy Downs: Nothing. Fucking nothing at all. I hate every fucking goddamn second of it. I can't stand it � living my life in my head.
Dexter: Does killing make it better?
Jeremy Downs: No. Worse. Fucking worse than ever.
Dexter: I'm a lot like you, you know.
Jeremy Downs: [scoffs] Yeah, right. You're a killer?
Dexter: [gives him a look] I'm empty. But I found a way to make it feel less ... bottomless.
Jeremy Downs: How?
Dexter: Pretend. You pretend the feelings are there, for the world, for the people around you. Who knows? Maybe one day they will be.

Doakes: Morgan, get your ass over here.
Dexter: Ass en route.

Doakes: You just found out that somebody who's supposed to be your friend is going to live. Does that make you feel anything? Anything at all? [grabbing Dexter's shoulder]
Dexter: Take your fucking hand off me.
[Cold silence]
Doakes: Just what I always thought.

Harry Morgan: When you take a man's life, you're not just killing him. You're snuffing out all the things that he might become. As a cop, I only fire my weapon to save a life � that's a code I live by. Killing must serve a purpose. Otherwise, it's just plain murder.