Showtime’s Dexter is one of the smartest TV shows in recent memory, with the captivating premise of a killer who tracks and takes down other killers. Dexter Morgan was definitely a tactical genius, having dispensed with intelligent villains like the Trinity Killer, Jordan Chase, and the Doomsday Killer, among others.
In addition to Dexter, the series had a number of characters who were billed as part of the main cast. Most of them were officers and staff of Miami Metro where Dexter worked and they, too, got to show their level of intellect. To this end — and to gear up for the anticipated revival — it’s fascinating to see where all these characters rank here when put together.
Jamie Batista
Jamie wasn’t exactly built for the world Dexter explored, being a naive innocent who was easily manipulated. Despite staying around Dexter for years, she never suspected his killing activities and ate up whatever excuse he gave.
Moreover, Jamie was fooled by Louis Greene into thinking he had real feelings for her when he was using her to get to Dexter. Jamie was definitely among the nicest people on the show but she wasn’t the sharpest, although she wasn't put in many situations that allowed her to showcase her intelligence.
Rita Morgan
Rita was too sweet a character to stay alive in a series like Dexter, although it’s somewhat a relief that she never got to learn her husband’s truth before her tragic demise. Rita didn't possess a keen intuition, seeing as she lived with Dexter and didn’t suspect anything.
There were several red flags a smarter love interest, such as Hannah or Lila, would have picked up on, but Rita’s nature of seeing the best in Dexter meant she didn’t use her wits around him.
Thomas Matthews
As far as what was shown in the series, Tom made a number of foolish decisions that saw him frequently come up short against Maria LaGuerta. Apart from that, his other smart feat is burying evidence of Harry's connections to Dexter's mother.
Tom was strong-armed by LaGuerta several times, to the point where he had to promote her twice in just a couple of years as she consistently found dirt on him and exploited it. The only reason Tom doesn’t land at the bottom is that he found cunning ways to get himself positioned as the chief.
Joey Quinn
Much of Quinn’s arc in the series was to be a loser, with the few times he really was on to something being foiled by Dexter. He was still relatively astute, as Quinn was able to piece together clues that tied Dexter to the Trinity Killer.
However, Quinn was also too much of a hothead to use his brains, as his tendency to get into fights came back to bite him. In addition, he didn’t catch on to the fact that Christine Hill was only using him to get information for Trinity as she was his daughter.
Vince Masuka
Masuka was most definitely not a sharp guy as far as the quickness of wit is concerned. On the other hand, his status as a lab geek was only outmatched by Dexter as Masuka was the go-to guy to uncover a crime scene.
His competency in fieldwork made characters like Debra and Batista trust his judgment, making him smart in terms of his profession. Still, Masuka was still duped by his interns Ryan and Louis, both of whom took evidence from the Ice Truck Killer case right from under his nose.
Angel Batista
Batista’s competency was more of an informed attribute than him actually being shown that way. He was never given a moment that displayed a superb bit of intelligence, but Batista was rarely presented as a fooled man either.
The only instance was him being manipulated by Lila and then framed for abusing her. Apart from that, Batista was considered a very capable cop who deserved to be promoted to the position of lieutenant. As seen in Season 8, he was pretty good in that role.
Maria LaGuerta
As far as playing politics is concerned, LaGuerta was unmatched and she was smarter than anybody else. LaGuerta was able to get her people off the hook despite mounting evidence through her tactical nature and talent for finding weaknesses in the opposition.
Moreover, she deduced Dexter’s identity as the Bay Harbor Butcher by herself in Season 7, although she needed a stroke of luck to get there. The only weaker aspect of her intelligence was her inability to realize Dexter’s truth sooner, apart from which LaGuerta was among the most cunning characters.
Debra Morgan
Debra always carried a chip on her shoulder due to her thirst to prove herself, but this is what allowed her to tap into her smarts. Her aptitude was such that she was able to prove Arthur Mitchell was Trinity and solved the Barrel Girl case.
After finding out about Dexter’s status as a killer, Debra was instrumental in covering up his tracks to avoid him being caught. In Season 8, she became a private investigator due to her intelligent nature, and like others, the only place she wasn’t smart enough was in figuring out who Dexter was on her own.
James Doakes
It’s a shame that Doakes died so soon as he deserved more screentime for being such a compelling character. As Dexter put it, they were both very similar, in that they had high skills of deduction, gut instinct, and could read people like nobody else.
For all his plans, Dexter could never anticipate Doakes and the latter caught on to him each time. In fact, being too smart was Doakes’ downfall since he became too high-minded to realize that Dexter had planted evidence against him. His death was also a fluke as Lila stumbled upon him as Dexter’s captive and decided to kill him.
Dexter Morgan
A serial killer who never got caught even after killing over one hundred victims easily qualifies as the most intelligent character. Despite the change of his character in later seasons, Dexter retained his tactical nature and remained one step above law enforcement to capture his victims undetected.
The presence of his father's ghost as a vision who guided him meant Dexter could remain level-headed even when his death seemed definite. In every season, Dexter was able to figure out where the main antagonists were and got to them before anyone else even got close. All in all, outsmarting Dexter seems like an impossibility for characters in the show's universe.