| Lumen Pierce | |
|---|---|
| Dexter character | |
 Julia Stiles as Lumen Pierce | |
| First appearance | Practically Perfect (2010) |
| Last appearance | The Big One (2010) |
| Created by | Clyde Phillips |
| Portrayed by | Julia Stiles |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Lumen Ann Pierce |
| Gender | Female |
| Significant other | Oliver (ex-fiancé) Dexter Morgan (ex-boyfriend) |
Lumen Ann Pierce is a fictional character portrayed by Julia Stiles in the Showtime television series Dexter, season 5. Lumen is introduced in the third episode ("Practically Perfect") as a survivor of rapist-serial killer Boyd Fowler. She remains for the rest of the season, and leaves following the season 5 finale, "The Big One".
In season 5, episode 5, "First Blood", Lumen is revealed to have been beaten and gang raped by a group of men, including Boyd Fowler. She witnesses Dexter Morgan kill Fowler, and thus becomes a key player in Dexter's life. Dexter rescues her, but initially thinks he has no choice but to kill her in order to eliminate a witness. He eventually decides to spare her life, however. To earn Lumen's trust, Dexter shows her the fate of Fowler's dead victims, tells her he saved her from the same fate, and confides his wife Rita was murdered by someone like Fowler.
Lumen asks Dexter to help her seek revenge against her abusers. He initially refuses, but after Lumen continues on her own and targets the wrong suspect, Dexter intervenes to teach her the importance of knowing a person is guilty before killing them. He entreats her to leave Miami; she agrees at first, but decides to stay after a pat-down at the airport triggers traumatic memories of her abuse. She goes out on her own and shoots one of her attackers, but panics, not knowing what to do with his body; she calls Dexter, who reluctantly helps her cover up the murder. That night, she tells him that killing the man brought her a sense of peace that she knows will not last; she believes she will have to kill all of her attackers to get over her abuse for good. Dexter realizes that she harbors a "Dark Passenger" much like his own, and agrees to help, in part to find his own closure following Rita's murder. The two then systematically hunt down and kill Lumen's abusers, and in the process become lovers. Lumen leaves Dexter in the season finale, however, after realizing she no longer feels the need to kill.