Killer instincts fuel his 'Dexter' moves

David Zayas explains why his bighearted lawman takes a drastic risk in 'Resurrection.'

- BY ANDREA FLORES

Can vigilante serial killer Dexter Morgan escape his dark past? Not on Angel Batista's watch.

David Zayas resumed his role as the Miami homicide captain earlier this summer in the latest "Dexter" installment on Paramount+, "Dexter: Resurrection," with a hunch that his friend and former colleague might be the notorious Bay Harbor Butcher.

The second sequel series follows Dexter, portrayed by Michael C. Hall, as he begins a new life in New York City after surviving a near-fatal gunshot wound by his son Harrison (Jack Alcott), who also exhibits murderous tendencies, in "Dexter: New Blood." Batista appears at Dexter's bedside as a friend, though it sets off warning signals for the conflicted killer, who takes off suddenly, setting up a game of cat and mouse.

"Angel Batista was a bighearted, honest person with a lot of integrity [in the beginning]," said Zayas in a phone interview with The Times. "If you were Angel Batista's friend, you were a friend for life." Former blood spatter analyst Dexter assumes a new false identity as the "Dark Passenger," another mass murderer, quickly gaining access to a serial killer dinner party, where he plots revenge on the most gory criminals.

But now halfway through the series, he can't seem to shake off Batista; a once-trusting ally who has grown more dubious of his fragmented storyline.

"I did have love for him, so it's like he's trying to negotiate his feelings," Zayas says.