‘Dexter’ season 7 spoilers: Another returning character

If you have been checking out some of our “Dexter” season 7 spoiler articles as of late, then you know already that Sunday night’s new episode is going to feature the return of a long-awaited character in Astor Bennett. What you may not know, however, is that another face from the show’s history is going to be popping in for a visit a little bit later in the season.

Before we get to revealing the person’s identity, let’s drop a few hints. The character is a man, and will be making his first appearance of the season during the tenth episode of the season entitled “The Dark … Whatever.” His relationship with many people on the force is complicated, but none moreso than Captain Maria LaGuerta, who famously took advantage of him in order to get leverage and a better position.

That’s right: we’re talking about Matthews! The Deputy Chief will be back, but it is not entirely clear just what he is going to be up to. The promotional photo to the left is from the episode, and it features the character alongside LaGuerta obviously checking something out. Could it be some sort of clue to the Bay Harbor Butcher? When you remember how connected he was to trying to solve that case back in season 2, it certainly would not be a surprise to see him turn up here. We’ve also gotten the impression that LaGuerta has no plans to give up her hunt, and she’s closer to figuring out that Dexter is the Butcher now than she has ever been before.

Do you think that Matthews will be a valuable asset for LaGuerta in finding out who the Butcher really is, or do you think that this appearance is mostly just fan service that provides a minor role in the story?