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and her relationship with Dexter, sometimes seemed like just a prop to help Dexter hide behind the mask of normality that he wishes to portray. But the story of Rita herself was much more nuanced. We saw her develop from a battered woman to a confident wife and mother, all the while managing her own, though frequently repressed, anger at injustice. We saw her get mad, get even, and then emerge as a complicated woman who struggled with the traps and triumphs known to many women who are married and raising children. Even those viewers who thought of her as annoying cannot deny the significant changes she underwent. But Rita’s success story is short-lived: at the end of season four, we learned that although Dexter has not yet gotten “caught,” Rita did, with her untimely and gruesome murder.

Is Rita Really Unaware of the Dark Passenger? Her Motives

Rita, who was alternately whiny and naïve in the beginning of the series, developed into an assertive (some would say nagging) wife and mother over the first four seasons. While this description coaxed us into viewing Rita as a woman who had overcome considerable adversity and may have even caused us to feel sympathetic toward her, questions remained as to how much she was really in the dark about Dexter’s actions. In fact, the juxtaposition of Dexter’s aggression and Rita’s denial of it are what made the dynamic between these two a fascinating aspect of the series. At times the couple seemed to have some aspect of connection, while at others merely seemed to be playing “house,” with both of their characters appearing numb and only acting as if they were a family, as opposed to really being engaged in a more meaningful way.

In “Dexter” (1-1), Dexter remarked about Rita, “She’s perfect because Rita is, in her own way, as damaged as me.” Rita was introduced to us as having survived a violent relationship with her ex-husband Paul, a heroin addict. Her fantasy about Dexter was that she had found the “the one good truly decent man left on the planet” (“Crocodile,” 1-2). Though Rita initially appeared weak and superficial, we saw glimpses of the woman she wanted to be and, in some aspects, would become. In the first season, she stole her neighbor’s neglected dog and gave it to a needy family. In regard to her keeping her fruit trees in good health, she grinningly said, “I kill things” (“Popping Cherry,” 1-3). Rita’s clumsy, apologetic stance did seem to be masking a more hostile side, which perhaps made her more like Dexter than we initially thought.

And yet, it was easy to ignore her. Amid the other action in the first season, from the compelling Debra to the Ice Truck Killer, it was easy for Rita to fade into the background as we anticipated Dexter’s next move. As the story of season one unfolded, with the identity of the Ice Truck Killer begging to be known and the horror of Dexter’s childhood slowly being revealed, it was hard for Rita’s story to compete in either excitement or pathos.

Perhaps we ignored Rita because Dexter did, too, using her only insofar as she supported his cover of normalcy. It wasn’t until the second season that we learned more about Rita’s own hostility and need for justice and her potential for destructiveness, as she became a major player in Paul’s demise and gained both Dexter’s attention and ours. When Rita found the shoe that substantiated Paul’s claim that Dexter attacked him and shot him up with heroin, we saw glimpses of her darker side, as well as evidence that Rita understood how violent Dexter can be. Dexter did away with Paul (by sending him to jail) and Rita knew it, yet she protected Dexter. This suggested not only that Rita wanted to be rid of Paul, but also that the story of Dexter’s true behavior may have substantiated her belief that, in him, she had found her savior: unlike Paul, Dexter would do anything to protect her and her children. But did she protect Dexter because she was in denial about him and was desperately clinging to her fantasy? Or was she relieved that she could vicariously stand up to Paul and have a hand in his demise?