- Dexter Morgan: I don't get birthdays; the party, the song. Celebrating another year just being alive feels... forced.
- Dexter Morgan: Eventually, most serial killers get caught. There's really not much of a retirement plan.
- Dexter Morgan: [voiceover] I shouldn't even be here. Rita will be devastated if I'm arrested. Her husband was a crackhead and her boyfriend's a serial killer. It's hard not to take that personally.
- Dexter Morgan: I don't have bad dreams. When I sleep, all of me sleeps. Nothing ever goes bump in Dexter's night.
- Harry Morgan: Keeping the truth from the people closest to you is how you'll survive, and how you'll protect them if anything ever goes wrong.
- Dexter Morgan: [reading Deb's profile of Valerie Castillo's killer] The similar manner in which the victim's body was displayed suggests this killer feels a connection to the Ice Truck Killer, excited by what he's doing. The cut on the victim's cheek, while not fatal, appears to be a signature of sorts. Because of the lack of evidence collected from the crime scene, the suspect may be familiar with law enforcement or forensics procedure. Huh.
- Debra Morgan: I don't know, he's just got this spirit about him. Guy's missing body parts because of this Ice Truck Killer asshole, and he's still hitting on me.
- Doakes's Mother: That's because men only think with one body part, and that one was not cut off.
- Dexter Morgan: [voiceover] I was wrong about birthdays. Maybe the reason to celebrate them is what they offer: the hope of living to see another one.
- Dexter Morgan: What am I even looking for?
- Vince Masuka: Wait for it.
- Dexter Morgan: This is a prelim. I don't have time to...
- Vince Masuka: M-fucking-99.
- Dexter Morgan: Etorphine hydrochloride?
- Vince Masuka: An animal tranquillizer more powerful than morphine. Causes total paralysis. That mark on her neck kept bugging me, so I ordered up a tox screen.
- Dexter Morgan: [voiceover] That's it. No more doughnuts for Masuka.
- Debra Morgan: Let me ask you a question. Why do you have it in for me?
- Lt. Maria Laguerta: You're loud, you're impulsive, and you constantly question authority.
- Debra Morgan: Fair enough.
- Lt. Maria Laguerta: I hear you have an interesting theory on who...
- [door shuts as Deb leaves]
- Dexter Morgan: [voice-over] My neat little world of lies is crumbling all around me. And I can't tell a soul. Especially not Deb.
- Sergeant James Doakes: You've been asking who's been calling. My mom lives here.
- Debra Morgan: Did you forget your laundry?
- Sergeant James Doakes: She's been on me to stop by for dinner. So I'm stoppin' by. And here's the plan. We go in. We eat. We out before the cheesecake. You got it?
- Debra Morgan: I'm, what, your exit strategy?
- Sergeant James Doakes: Look, you can stay out here if you want. That gives me a better excuse to leave earlier or... you can come in and have some free food. It's your call.
- Sergeant James Doakes: Shit! My sisters are here, too.
- Debra Morgan: Fucking family reunion!
- [first lines]
- Dexter Morgan: [voice-over] Life is so fleeting. So fragile. Every breath of potential may not last.