But disaster struck Dexter at the start of series two, when his macabre, underwater graveyard was discovered. Suddenly the city of Miami was buzzing with the news that a new vigilante serial killer was on the loose among them. They nicknamed him the Bay Harbour Butcher. Dexter was appalled at this cult of celebrity. He was also appalled that his killing would have to stop.

Dexter also had to contend with Lila (Jaime Murray). A pyromaniac and Olympic-standard mentalist, she and Dexter enjoyed a sparky, intense relationship. She helped him express himself sexually, which sated his murderous urges for the first time. They stalked each other, they taunted each other, and they both knew their relationship was both fatally addictive and, ultimately, dangerous (some scenes featuring Dexter and Lila, especially at the aquarium, crackled like no other on television this year). Unfortunately Lila turned out to be more psycho than Dexter, which is saying something.

Then there was Doakes. Sweary, toilet-for-a-mouth Doakes. He had always been suspicious of Dexter, and, now armed with evidence, was determined to bring him down. He didn’t quite have the nous to do it, but his and Dexter’s tit-for-tat, cat-and-mouse game was exciting and enthralling.

Elsewhere, there was lovely Rita, Debra and Lundy’s touching but odd relationship, Laguerta’s relationship with her new boss’s fiance, Batista’s promotion, and new revelations about Harry and Dexter’s mother.

Some wondered whether Dexter becoming the hunted took away the essence of the show, but I found this to be a clever way to keep the story moving and to develop the characters.

Michael C Hall was, again, magnificent as Dexter, I loved Jennifer Carpenter as Debra and the whole thing was just stunning in the way it managed to keep up the tension, explore the cult of the serial killer and remain utterly ambiguous on the subject of vigilantism.

Must-watch stuff.