James Doakes
From Dexter Wiki
| CHARACTER | ||
| James Doakes | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| First appearance | 1x01 "Pilot" | |
| Last appearance | 2x12 "The British Invasion" | |
| Reason | Murdered by Lila | |
| Age | late 30s (deceased) | |
| Profession | Homicide detective | |
| Status | Deceased | |
| Portrayed by | Erik King | |
Contents |
[edit] Early Life
Much of Doakes' earlier life is unknown though it is known he may have had a rough childhood as his father was an abusive man working as a butcher (this would later on fuel his status as a prime suspect for the Bay Harbour Butcher).
Sgt. Doakes apparently worked as a special forces black ops operative, being deployed to Venezuela at the time. As described in the show, Doakes had a very promising military career and was described as somewhat 'mad' by his comrades. Despite his impressive career, he would leave the military to become a police detective. [citation needed]
Doakes was married to and later divorced a woman who turned out to be a ATF agent. [citation needed]
[edit] Personality
Doakes is the only one on the force who doesn't like Dexter. [citation needed] The cheery, innocent-seeming young man gets on his nerves, and his passion for blood spatter gives him the creeps. What irritates him even more is that Dexter is usually right about cases, being in the right place at the right time. He hates Dexter to the point wherein he physically assaults him, but Dexter fights back and could have broken Doakes' arm had they not been interrupted. [citation needed]
Later, Doakes discovers that Dexter practiced martial arts, explaining Dexter's skill in hand to hand combat. [citation needed]LaGuerta refers to Doakes by his first name and he listens to her, since they used to be partners before she arrested a high-profile drug dealer in a drug bust and got promoted, a fact which does not bother Doakes. Doakes is also very foul-mouthed especially towards Dexter, badly-tempered and very serious. He is also trigger-happy compared to his fellow comrades; he once shot an enemy he knew from his military service while on patrol with Angel and was more than willing to shoot an ex-soldier (who shot his wife) from the same military unit as him.
[edit] Season One
When he is angrily hounding innocent Dexter, Maria, the Lieutenant, tells Doakes to back off because of his unprofessionalism. Doakes follows her orders. However, At the end of the first season, Doakes begins to follow Dexter around when he is off duty to follow through with his suspicions.
[edit] Season Two
After finding Dexter attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Doakes comes to erroneously believe that Dexter is a drug addict. However, Doakes' false conclusion works in Dexter's favor, as he believes Dexter's (non-existent) drug addiction is caused by work-related stress which, as Doakes recounts, led many policemen down the same path. Feeling sympathetic towards Dexter, he apparently ends his stalking, but not before telling him to "stay clean". Eventually he realizes Dexter was lying about having an addiction, and stalks him once more. Then he stumbles upon Dexter's secret (that Dexter was the Bay Harbor Butcher), but not before Lundy made Doakes his prime suspect as the Butcher after finding Dexter's blood slides in Doakes' car. Doakes attempts to apprehend Dexter himself in the Everglades, but fails and Dexter locks him in Jimenez's cabin where he waits to decide what to do with Doakes. However, Lila finds the cabin using a stolen GPS device and makes the decision for him. After finding out from Doakes that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher, she blows up the cabin by igniting propane tanks. Doakes's burned remains are found along with the dismembered body of Jose Garza. His funeral is largely unattended, with the exception of LaGuerta, Doakes' mother and sisters, and Dexter, who sat discretely in the back with a part of him thoughtfully mourning the loss of another person who seemed to understand him.
