Dexter, Season Seven Episode One: Last Night's Five Biggest Spoilers

Randy Tepper/Showtime

For fans of bloodthirsty murderers, noirish narration, and vigilante justice, last night was a long-awaited holiday. Dexter, Showtime's drama about a serial killer who kills serial killers, returned with a season seven premiere that might foreshadow one of the best seasons yet.

Past seasons of the show have dragged a bit. Sometimes, it's the fault of lukewarm characters (see: Julia Stiles' rape victim-turned-murderer, or Jimmy Smits' high-profile Miamian with a thirst for blood). Sometimes, the plot moved too slowly, or was too predictable (see: last season's reveal about the, um, "unreal" Professor Gellar). And for those of us in Miami, sometimes the scenes just didn't look realistic. (Hey, is that a mountain in the distance?)

But in last night's premiere, the cliffhanger viewers have waited nearly a year to see resolved -- what will happen now that Deb's seen Dexter kill a man -- came to a satisfying head. That, plus some fresh blood in the villain department and, yes, scenes in which Michael C. Hall drives over actual Miami causeways, gives us hope for the next 11 episodes.

If you missed it, here's a spoilery list of the last night's biggest happenings.

Randy Tepper/Showtime

Deb's an Accomplice
You had to see this coming from the many, many, many different edits of the episode's opening scenes that Showtime released as teasers in advance of the season seven premiere. Dexter talks Deb down from her ledge of rationality, explaining away a seemingly un-explainable situation. ("I snapped," he says, and it's a real testament to Jennifer Carpenter's acting skills that she can convince us she believes that crap even for a second.) Then they burn the crime scene and race home so they can get called back there to faux-investigate.