As much as I am enjoying my final moments in the company of The Sopranos, they do not compare to those spent with Dexter Morgan. I feel a bit disloyal making such a public admission, having been a huge fan of the New Jersey mobster drama for so long, but FX’s Dexter is quite simply stunning. Now coming to the close of its first season, Dexter has quickly become one of my TV viewing staples and with the climax to the Ice Truck Killer saga in sight, I find I can barely contain myself.

Last night’s penultimate instalment saw Dexter finally work out what we have known for a while: that Deb’s creepy boyfriend Rudy is the hunted serial killer. He was slow to become suspicious and failed to recognise clues, but once he was on the trail you knew that Dexter was going to come good. After savagely attacking Angel, Rudy was left with a cut lip and this detail was one of a number that finally helped our anti-hero piece the jigsaw together.

The police were alarmed to find a new Ice Truck Killer victim – the woman’s body parts wrapped up as presents beneath a tree at a public Santa’s grotto, but this killing helped confirm Dexter worst fears: that the Ice Truck Killer was romancing his little sister. Keen to extricate her from the killer’s clutches, Dexter desperately tried to contact Deb to warn her.

Sadly Deb had already been lured away from the police station by Rudy to a marina, where he proposed to her. Complete with a ring he had stolen from the body of one of his victims, Rudy seduced Deb into entering his yacht where he attacked her. Soon the boat was sailing away from the marina and Rudy and the unconscious Debra were travelling further and further away from the frantic Dexter.

Thankfully, next week’s trailer shows that Deb is not yet dead and I’m sure we’ll be in for a hum-dinger of a finale as our serial-killing siblings fight it out.

Now fully aware of Rudy’s true identity, Dexter became increasingly keen to investigate his own. After visiting the blood bath crime scene of last week’s episode, Dexter realised that he had witnessed the murder of his mother at a young age. Investigating his roots proved problematic as Harry had destroyed all official police documents relating to it, but with this new breakthrough into his past, it is only a matter of time before his nasty big brother fills him in on the blanks.

His sister’s safety and his elusive past might have been his main concerns, but Dexter was also embroiled in a domestic with girlfriend Rita. With her violent ex-husband Paul now behind bars (thanks to Dexter), Rita was finding that her children were upset at the absence of their father. After Rita’s son, Cody went missing (soon safely found at the park), Dexter advised her to be more honest with her children and tell them why their beloved dad was back in jail. Alarmed at this guidance, Rita raged at Dexter that a parent’s job was to protect their children and due to his being childless, he wouldn’t understand such matters.

Later Rita must have thought over Dexter’s words, as she took Cody and his sister Astor to visit Paul. She told Paul that if he wanted any kind of relationship with his children, it would have to be based on honesty and that he should inform them as to why he was being detained. Paul begrudgingly acquiesced and was soon allowed to see his children.

After his stabbing at the hands of Rudy, Angel made it through his surgery. The precinct was thrilled to have the popular cop survive his ordeal, but he was saddened to find that the incident had not prompted a happy re-union with his ex-wife. Instead, she confirmed that their marriage was dead and suggested that Angel begin to move on.

Elsewhere, Maria Laguerta was livid to find that not only was the Captain staying in his job (she had wanted it) but that he was firing her from her current position. Ranting and shouting expletives, Laguerta threatened to bring in her union but whether the ball-busting lieutenant will remain to see in season two remains unknown.

Quite simply – TV not to be missed.