Debra Morgan
From Dexter Wiki
| CHARACTER | ||
| Deborah Morgan | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| First appearance | 1x01 "Pilot" | |
| Last appearance | Recurring | |
| Reason | ||
| Age | late 20s | |
| Profession | Homicide detective | |
| Status | Alive | |
| Portrayed by | Jennifer Carpenter | |
Detective Debra "Deb" Morgan is a detective with the Miami Metro Police Department Homicide division. She is the sister of Dexter and biological daughter of Harry Morgan.
Deb is currently partnered with Joey Quinn.
Contents |
[edit] Personality
Debra is not shy with curse words but is lonely despite the rough persona she presents. Debra's ability to be "one of the guys" is what allows her to be so effective at her job. She is headstrong and wears her emotions on her sleeves, but deep down she is caring and sensitive. She is a lot of things that Dexter is not; crass, impulsive, emotional, trusting and thus serves as a perfect foil for Dexter. She highlights his shortcomings in his attempts to be "human".
Debra believes she truly knew her father, but is in reality completely unaware of the secrets he kept--especially concerning Dexter (who she sees as a true brother). Inspired by their fathers' legendary police career; Debra joined the police and desperately yearned to become a Homicide Detective. Initially assigned to Vice, she was desperate to be transferred to Homicide, a goal that was accomplished in Season 1. Despite being smart, she is unsure of herself, so instead relies upon Dexter's seemingly limitless expertise on murderers to solve difficult cases.
She rose through the ranks despite harsh feelings her lieutenant, Maria LaGuerta, harbored toward her, but she and the rest of the department soon grew to respect Debra as an officer. Her keen eye as a detective and loyalty to her fellow officers earned her praise from Captain Matthews and (during Season 2) FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy.
She is known to have a very foul mouth (in the first episode Dexter describes her as "his foul-mouth foster sister"), and there is hardly a sentence that she speaks in which she does not swear (she does this in normal conversation, but swears more often when angry). This has nearly gotten her into trouble on several occasions as she often speaks profanely to her superiors, only to realize afterwards and apologize. It finally got her into trouble in the 3rd season, as a poorly-timed public comment caused her to be kicked off the Freebo case. However it has been revealed she is able to control herself at times when around children, as when holding onto baby Harrison she said "fu---dge". She is also known for being easily angered and frustrated by suspects (even more evident when something happens to someone close to her). Despite her foul mouth and anger issues, it is evident that Debra really loves her brother. Though she is frustrated at his inability to open up to her, she has defended him on more than one occasion. For example, she threatened Quinn when he called Dexter a "dweeb."
[edit] Career
Deb's career has been advanced at almost every point by her brother.
A common trait in each season is to show her advancing in the police force, in some way.
In season one she is transfered from vice to homocide.
In season two she is made part of Lundy's task force.
In season three she is promoted to full detective.
In season four she is made lead detective in the trinity case.
[edit] Early Life
Like her brother, she joined the Miami Police Department, but unlike Dexter, her main reason was an attempt to please Harry, who always paid more attention to her brother. [citation needed]
As a result, she often jokes about herself as "the other Morgan" and her problems from adolescence rise from time to time. [citation needed]
Debra spent three years in patrol and two years in vice. (Lost Boys)
She eventually earned a promotion to homicide thanks to a combination of Dexter's guidance and her own intuitiveness. [citation needed]
[edit] Relationships
Debra also has a very poor track record with relationships which is another contrast to Dexter and his steady (except for part of Season 2) relationship with Rita.
She dated Rudy Cooper (during Season 1), unaware that he is actually the Ice Truck Killer and also Dexter's biological brother. Rudy eventually proposes to Debra and she accepts, but soon after he reveals his identity and drugs her, to use as bait against Dexter. Dexter rescues Debra and later kills Rudy "for the safety of (his) sister."
In Season 2, she becomes romantically involved with Frank Lundy and they have a healthy relationship despite their age difference. Debra is attracted to him partially because of his success as a detective but also of the approval he has for her viewpoints. He inspires confidence in Debra; something she never received from Harry. Unfortunately, his job forces them to end their relationship.
Later they started things up again while she was seeing Anton, but they were both shot and Frank was killed. (Dex Takes a Holiday)
In Season 3, she seems to have finally found a match in Anton, her "CI" for the George King case. When her case might be in jeopardy due to her romantic involvement with Anton, she chose him over the case, and still received her detective's shield, with approval from Lt. LaGuerta. She also served as Dexter's "Best Man" for the wedding.
It has been joked by some fans that Debra May have something of an Electra complex. First she (unknowingly) starts a relationship with her foster brother's (Dexter's) biological brother (Rudy/Brian). Then she begins a relationship with Lundy, who is aproximately her father's would be age, and like him, a respected police officer(albiet for the FBI rather than Miami PD). And finally she begins seeing a CI, something her father once did.
