प्लॉट

In the Season Three premiere, Dexter's life seems to be smoothly back on track, until he targets a dope dealer who's also in the sights of Assistant D.A. Miguel Prado; Internal Affairs pressures Debra to rat on her new partner.

After a very, very long "previously," Season 3 begins with Dexter in the dentist's chair getting a crown, telling the doctor a little blood is "not a problem." Get it? It's funny because hes a serial killer who works blood in forensics.

We see via some voiceover and a breakfast scene that Dexter's personal life is awesome at the moment. The relationship with Rita is going good and her kids are beginning to view Dexter as a father figure. "Everything is falling into place," says Rita, effectively dooming her stability.

Dexter details his next target, a scumbag named "Freebo" who got away with a killing a pair of female college students due to some shoddy police work. We also learn that Dexter's deceased father's birthday is coming up and that killing Freebo will be a gift.

Dexter heads into the office with some doughnuts and agrees to proof a journal article Vince is writing about the Bay Harbor Butcher case. Debra is mad at Dexter for not noticing her new haircuts and tells her brother she has given up "men, liquor and smokes" for the past month. They agree to meet at a bar to celebrate their father's birthday.

After some uncomfortable conversation between Maria and Angel, she announces to the entire room that Angel is being promoted to sergeant. Debra realized that this means Angel is now her supervisor and tells Dexter she's a "lock" for her detective shield.

Dexter begins recon for Freebo, posing as a junkie wanting to score some drugs. A kid lets him into Freebo's house, where Dexter learns Freebo is having money problems and has a girlfriend he finds annoying. Dexter sets up his Freebo-killing area in a drug den recently cleaned up by the police.

While drinking her morning coffee Debra is approached by a Yuki Amado from internal affairs. Amado says I.A. is interested in Joey Quinn, who has recently joined homicide from narcotics. Debra basically says 'no', but does ask Amado about Quinn as she leaves.

It's go-time for Dexter and he arrives at Freebo's place that night. Music is blaring and Dexter walks into another man violently choking Freebo. The man immediately comes at Dexter with an enormous knife, knocking him into a wall and causing Dexters crown to fly out of his mouth.

Dexter eventually turns the table and shoves the knife into the man's chest as he asks "Who are you?" Dexter asks the same question back and frantically searches for his crown as someone knocks on the door. No luck, and so he grabs the knife and goes to his killing room and begins tearing down his preparations. Dexter begins to panic because he has never killed anyone he didn't completely research beforehand. This was "outside the code."

Rita calls and Dexter heads over for some post-accidental murder sex. The pair enjoys post-coital chocolate pudding while cooling off in front of the open fridge.

Dexter is finally called to the scene the next morning, and learns from Debra as he arrives that she is on the case and that it is "huge". The reason is that the man Dexter killed is the younger brother of Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits), who happens to be the top prosecutor in Florida and goes "way back" with fellow Cuban-American Maria.

Angel tells Dexter the word is that Prado's brother is a youth coach and was there to confront Freebo for selling drugs to his kids. Dexter finds his crown and manages to grab it without Vince noticing.

Back at the station Dexter inner-monologues further about this killing being against his fathers code and Angel tells Dexter Maria had a romantic relationship Prado. The department discusses the information it has gathered thus far, and we find out Prado's brother was 26 and the initial theory is that he died a hero sticking up for his kids. There are no leads on Freebos whereabouts.

Angel thinks Freebo is the murderer and Quinn thinks if that is true they won't be able to find him. Dexter doesn't buy that Prado's brother was at Freebos place defending kids and looks him up in the police database. He finds just a few traffic tickets.

Dexter decides hes going to blow-off meeting Debra to celebrate their fathers memory. Quinn hooks Debra up with one of his past informants to help track down Freebo. The informant has nothing on Freebo, but before she leaves Debra shows him the picture of Prados brother.

Dexter talks about his job at a Dad's Day function at Rita's son's school, making the boy happy and bringing Rita to tears. Prado calls him on the phone and Dexter meets the prosecutor at the crime scene. There, Prado confronts Dexter about digging into his brother's police record and after seeming satisfied with the explanation invites him to the wake that evening.

Debra proudly walks into the office and tells the gang Prado's brother owed Freebo a lot of money. At the exact moment Prado and Maria walk in behind her she loudly proclaims that the brother was "a (expletive) junkie." Prado walks back out of the room with Maria following.

Maria tells Angel he should consider talking Debra off the case because of the political significance of the case, but leaves the final decision to him. Dexter speaks with Prado at the wake, telling him that Debra's comment didn't bother him and that his brother did not suffer from the "tragedy of perfection."

Dexter has a moment near the casket, wondering to himself why this victim bothers him so much. While getting stood up by Dexter, Debra is joined at the bar by Angel. He tells her hes going to take her off the case and she turns from cranberry juice to hard liquor as they discuss her career.

Dexter is called to a Debra's new case, and before getting to the victim she yells him about blowing her off the night before. Dexter responds that he is "in a whole other place when it comes to Dad." It turns out the Jane Doe is Freebos girlfriend, who has been strangled. The reason Dexter was called in because the body has an enormous square patch of skin missing from the right shoulder, perhaps a removed tattoo. Dexter thinks this might mean Freebo is still in Miami.

Before heading into the bar to celebrate Angel getting his Sergeant badge, Amado grabs Debra on the street. Amado makes it sound like as if Debras shield may depend her cooperating with I.A.

The final scene is Rita making chocolate pudding by herself when Dexter gets home from the dentist. "I've done this before," she tells him of the pudding obsession, "I'm pregnant."