Dexter Postmortem: Now That Deb Knows, What's Next?

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Sunday's Dexter premiere. Read at your own risk!]

Dexter's in troooouble!

After being caught red-handed in last season's finale, Dexter's titular serial-killing blood spatter analyst spent most of Sunday's premiere trying to convince his sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) that the murder she saw him commit was an impromptu act of self-defense. But as evidence to the contrary piled up, Deb grew more and more suspicious of Dexter (Michael C. Hall) until she finally tore apart his apartment. It was then that she uncovered the scary truth: After finding his blood slides and Ice Truck Killer hand, Deb assumed that Dexter is likely the Bay Harbor Butcher. And since he was left with no other choice, Dexter admitted that he is, in fact, a serial killer!

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So what now? TVGuide.com turned to showrunner Scott Buck to get our burning questions answered. Among them: How will the Morgan siblings move forward now? And just how far will LaGuerta get with her investigation? Get the scoop:

Deb found everything! And Dexter admitted being a killer! What does the beginning of Episode 2 look like?
Scott Buck: Episode 2 is Deb trying to figure out what does she do with this [information]. For Dexter, how does he handle damage control? How can he control Deb? He hasn't told her everything. He told her he's a serial killer, but there's a lot more to it than that. She's been involved in some of these kills in ways that she's not even fully aware. If you recall, she came up to that plastic curtain and let him walk away, completely unaware that that was her brother on the other side. There's a lot of stuff to figure out. And the whole idea that her dad was the one who taught him to do this is a huge thing to deal with as well. It also really helps explain a lot about her brother. Deb is a much smarter cop than we would think. There's always had to be some sort of voice in the back of her head saying, "There's something off about Dexter." Not necessarily that he was a serial killer, but there was something mysterious about him that she couldn't quite put her hand on, but now she knows exactly what that is.

Do you think Dexter is partially happy that his secret is finally out?
Buck: Happy is not necessarily the right word, but he's relieved. It's a huge burden off his shoulder. He's lived with this secret his entire life. In one sense, it's a little scary not to have this secret anymore. He's always sought comfort in his own private little world, and now to be exposed this way, it's kind of frightening for someone who's not used to being frightened. [But] yes, it's a huge stress relief to finally be able to tell someone who you are.

Dexter: Now that Deb knows, it's the beginning of the end

Isn't he now in ever-present danger that she might turn him in?
Buck: It's a real risk. It's one thing [for Deb] to learn that [he] used to do this' it's another thing to learn that [he's] still doing this and doesn't intend on stopping.

Dexter is a great liar, but Deb's not good with that. How will that start to weigh on her conscience?
Buck: It gets very aggravating for her because she never knew. To learn that your brother has been lying to you your whole life, suddenly you're wondering what's true and what's a lie. Not just all the things he said in the past, but everything that comes out of his mouth now makes her wonder. It becomes very difficult for Deb to deal with.

Quinn (Desmond Harrington) had suspected Dexter at one time or another. Will that be brought back up again?
Buck: It may come up again. Quinn is the kind of cop who is happy to let things lay the way they are, unless there's some benefit to him. Just because Deb knows something, Quinn certainly doesn't know. It's something that may come up again in an interesting way later on in the season, but it's not going to be a big part of our season.

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LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) is taking the Bay Harbor Butcher investigation off-the-books. Is it that she doesn't trust anyone?
Buck: What she recalls from back when Lundy (Keith Carradine) was investigating the Bay Harbor Butcher was that he believed it was someone involved in the police department and that's what helped them become convinced that it was Doakes (Erik King). So if she believes it's not Doakes, it still may well be someone in law enforcement, someone who may work in Miami Metro Homicide, even. Also, the case is solved, so if it were to suddenly come out it wasn't solved, people may not be interested in that, particularly in light of the fact that everyone knows she had a relationship with Doakes. So until she has absolute proof of what she's doing, she's going to keep the investigation to herself.

Lastly, it seemed like Viktor (Enver Gjokaj) pulled a bracelet off that girl, and then Dexter threw his bracelet-wearing body in the water. Am I crazy?
Buck: He did. The bracelet will turn up again. It becomes something you wish Dexter had been more careful with, but he was completely unaware of the significance. It will come back to haunt him.

What did you think of the Dexter premiere? Hit the comments!

Dexter airs Sundays at 9/8c on Showtime.