Vince Masuka

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Vince Masuka
'Dexter' character
First appearance	Book Series: Darkly Dreaming Dexter TV Series: Dexter Pilot episode: "Dexter"
Last appearance	Television: "Remember the Monsters?" (episode 8.12)
Created by	Jeff Lindsay
Portrayed by	C. S. Lee
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Forensics specialist
Children	Niki Walters (daughter)

Vincent "Vince" Masuka (Masuoka in the books) is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which the series is based. On television he is portrayed by Korean American C. S. Lee. Masuka is the Miami Metro Police lead forensic science investigator; he works alongside Dexter Morgan in the lab and at crime scenes.^[1] He often cracks tasteless and inappropriate jokes, invokes his Japanese heritage only when convenient, and harbors unrequited desire for Dexter's foster sister Debra. Although goofy and obsessed with sex, he is clever and very good at his job, causing Dexter to worry from time to time that Masuka will uncover his secret.

Character overview[]

He is portrayed as obsessed with sex — the kinkier the better — and is not shy about propositioning every woman he meets, although he is able to tone it down when the situation calls for it. Detective Joey Quinn once confronts him about his behavior, stating it is the reason that no-one likes to be around him. However, he seems to accept Joey′s explanation when no one comes to see his speech on his newly published work, for which he has cleaned up his act and dressed formally. (His disappointment at this quickly evaporates when Debra and others defend his assessment of a crime in front of the doubting agents from another enforcement agency by exclaiming that ″Vince Masuka is published″). At Debra's request, he returns to his old self at the end of the episode, although his demeanor appears less vulgar.

One of his saving graces is his sense of personal loyalty to his colleagues. He is greatly distraught after seeing Dexter's wife Rita kiss another man, and tries to tell Dexter.

Notable events[]

It is shown he has terrible luck with new staff and also interns. In the sixth season, he begins guiding around a group of interns, bringing them through the labs and to crime scenes. He is attracted to one of his female interns, but ends up firing her when he finds out she steals a prosthetic forearm and hand (evidence from the Ice Truck Killer case) and sells it online. He replaces her with Louis Greene, a tech-savvy game designer who helps Masuka with database analysis. In the seventh season, however, he quickly learns that Louis was the actual buyer of the stolen prosthesis when Dexter mails it back to Miami Metro with a letter of complaint. Masuka fires Louis on the spot.

In the eighth season, he discovers he has a daughter, Niki, who was the result of a woman using one of his sperm donations. At first, Masuka suspects that Niki is using him for his money, and even has Debra (who has quit Miami Metro and started working as a private detective) look into her past. This was proven false when he learns that she works in a topless sports bar. He gets her a job as a forensics assistant at Miami Metro, allowing them to work together and get to know each other better.

Differences from the novels[]

In both the television series and the novels, Vince is socially and emotionally awkward. In the novels, Dexter views him as a kindred spirit, believing that Masuka is also "pretending to be human", and asks him to serve as the best man at his wedding. In Dearly Devoted Dexter, Vince throws a large bachelor party for Dexter within a few hours of finding out about his engagement, and in Dexter in the Dark takes his role as best man so seriously that he calls in favors to hire Manny Borque, a famous caterer, for Dexter's wedding.

In the novels, Dexter feels a kinship with Masuka; he senses that Masuka is also hiding who he truly is. As in the television series, Masuka sets up Dexter's bachelor party and kidnaps him to get him there (where, in the belief that he had been kidnapped by a serial killer called the Skinner, Dexter slugs him in the eye just as he opens the car trunk).

References[]

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