'Dexter' Season 6, Episode 12 (Finale) Recap - 'This Is the Way the World Ends'

CAUTION: Major SPOILERS ahead!

Of course, that's pretty much a given when you're reading a recap. But considering the magnitude of the shocking ending to season six of "Dexter," a few extra warnings may be a good idea.

Ready? Here we go:

That Deb would eventually discover Dexter's true nature was an inevitability. In fact, this season had dropped hints about it here and there. Take, for example, this bit from my recap of "Ricochet Rabbit" a few weeks ago:

"Deb: 'His sister seemed so convinced he was a good guy.'

Dexter: 'Maybe she didn't know.'

Hit us over the head with it, why don't you?"

The references to the inevitable Deb/Dex showdown were getting more and more obvious. But considering how world-shattering that would be in the "Dexter" universe, it was assumed (I would guess by almost everyone) that Deb wasn't going to figure this out any time soon.

Boy, was that the wrong assumption.

I guess it's not that big a surprise. After all, if we've learned anything from past seasons, it's that this show is not afraid to shake things up, kill off beloved (or at least tolerated, depending on how much you liked Rita) characters, and generally put Dex in seemingly impossible situations.

So when Deb walks into the church just in time to see Dexter plunging a knife into Travis' chest, maybe your words were like Dexter's: "Oh God." Or maybe they were more along the lines of "oh, duh," considering the fairly obvious build-up... Deb asking Dex to sweep the church one last time, then getting up the courage to confront Dexter about her feelings right as Dex was preparing his kill room.

So what does this mean? It's doubtful that Deb will react the way that Lila or Lumen did to Dexter's Dark Passenger, considering her moral compass and her general disgust at the Bay Harbor Butcher back in the day of the Dexter hunt. But then again, Dex does have Harry's Code on his side in explaining this one. Could it be that, given Deb's love (and loooooove) for her brother and admiration for her father that she'll understand?

Or will she totally flip out and send all of Miami Metro after Dexter, putting the likes of Batista, Quinn and Masuka to work in hunting Dex, the Bay Harbor Butcher, down? Her reaction is tough to predict: after all, considering what she knows about Dex's biological family (particularly his brother), she might not be all that surprised to see Dex with knife in hand, in sternum.

Here's what we do know: "Dexter" has already been renewed for a seventh and eighth season. So whatever Deb decides to do won't be ending Dexter's life anytime soon. And considering the number of victims Dex has killed off, he's almost definitely getting the chair. Do they still use the chair down in Florida?

Hey, maybe the two of them can team up... it always kind of sucks that Miami Metro never gets to catch the bad guy when Dex beats them there. Maybe they can stage this stuff so that Dex gets his kill and Deb closes her case?

This is all pretty fascinating. And it's a good thing, too, because without it we wouldn't have much else to talk about. As much as I've enjoyed Colin Hanks' performance at points (I like how he sometimes shares a look with God, like they're buddies), the Big Bad of this season has been a disappointment. Having him go after Harrison was a last-ditch effort to make things personal with Dex, but it just resulted in an anti-climactic scene that was once again resolved too easily... just like Wormwood was last week.

Quinn's breakdown didn't result in any lasting consequences, Louis' strange message to Dex with the Ice Truck Killer hand was so underplayed it won't have any effect until next season, LaGuerta's bitchiness subsided... we essentially got nothing out of this season, save for the Reverse Deus Ex Machina at the end.

But it was a damn good one, wasn't it?

How do you think Deb will react, knowing that her brother/secret crush is the Bay Harbor Butcher (boy, that's really messed up when you put it all together)? Let us know in the comments!