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| “ | La pasión! | „ |
| ~ Angel's most famous quote. |
| “ | Angel: You think I'm just gonna back off? Let you get away with what you did to María, and Doakes… and Deb? Dexter: You don't wanna get into this. Angel: Or what? What are you gonna do? Pretty damn coincidental, you becoming a rideshare driver just when there's a serial killer taking out rideshare drivers. That's a move right out of the Bay Harbor Butcher's playbook. Dexter: If I really am who you think I am… this can't possibly end well for you. Angel: I'll take my chances, buddy. |
„ |
| ~ Angel confronting Dexter Morgan, foreshadowing his fate. |
| “ | Dexter Morgan… fuck you. | „ |
| ~ Angel's final words. |
Angelo "Angel" Juan Marcos Batista is one of the two tritagonists (alongside Harrison Morgan) of the Dexter television franchise.
He is a detective, later captain, in the Miami Metro Homicide Department who frequently helps catch serial killers and solve murder cases. Angel is generally a compassionate, honorable, and loyal officer with a strong sense of integrity. He is frequently seen trying to do right by his colleagues and friends, such as Debra Morgan, Joey Quinn, Vince Masuka, and his eventual ex-wife, Maria LaGuerta.
He also sees himself as a good friend to Dexter Morgan, the show's main protagonist; that is until he realizes Dexter is the infamous vigilante serial killer "The Bay Harbor Butcher." Thereafter, he makes his way to New York City intending to bring him to justice, while also happening across his son Harrison.
Unfortunately, Angel meets his demise when his suspicions lead him to Leon Prater; although Dexter tries to save him when he's kidnapped, Angel gives into rage and attempts to kill Dexter, only to be shot dead by Prater, thus marking him as another innocent collateral victim of Dexter's.
He was primarily portrayed by David Zayas in Dexter, New Blood and Resurrection, and James Martinez in Original Sin.
Quick Answers
What role did Angel Batista play in Dexter's investigations?
How did Sergeant Batista contribute to solving cases in Dexter?
What was Angel Batista's relationship with Dexter Morgan?
Why is Angel Batista a key character in Dexter's storyline?
What made Detective Batista suspicious of Dexter's actions?
Personality[]
| “ | Angel… If I got to choose a person – like a real person – to be like… out of anyone, it'd be you. | „ |
| ~ Dexter to Angel. |
Throughout Dexter, Angel is among the more warm and caring characters. He is very intelligent and skilled at his job, and has both a strong work ethic and a desire to stick to the principles of his job, yet he is also rather easygoing and lenient. Angel is optimistic and tends to see the best in people, getting let down when they disappoint him. He also believes in doing the right thing and always tries to admit his mistakes and stay honest and loyal to his coworkers, whom he sees as family. Unlike Dexter's lethal methods, Angel thinks vigilante killing is "the wrong kind of justice."
| “ | Batista couldn't go home. He spent 20 years thinking you were his best friend, then another 10 mourning your death, only to find out you're a murderous psychopath. | „ |
| ~ Dexter's hallucination of Brian Moser after Angel's death. |
A notable shift in his demeanor and approach is seen in Dexter: Resurrection, where, after realizing his old friend Dexter is the infamous Bay Harbor Butcher, he becomes colder, vindictive, obsessive, and manipulative (even towards his son Harrison) in order to achieve his goals. He also begins tracking Dexter without legal authority. But this again comes from his loyalty, wanting justice for Dexter's innocent victims, like Maria LaGuerta and James Doakes. He also still extends sympathy to Harrison and seems to think he can be steered away from the "dark path" he's on after killing Ryan Foster.
However, while seemingly sympathetic to Harrison and claiming that he won't tell on him to the NYPD, Batista soon after does exactly that while getting their help with hunting Dexter. In quieter moments, Angel's face shows his devastation and heartbreak at having to hunt Dexter and the realization that he really is a serial killer. While on this path, Angel's theories, though often correct, come across as wild and increasingly unhinged to the NYPD detectives helping him. After learning of Angel's past from Dexter and that he has become a vigilante himself, Angel's credibility is destroyed with the NYPD, and he is even forced to surrender his shield.
Before Angel's death, Dexter tries making it clear that he did not murder LaGuerta and Doakes himself; however, Angel sees him as responsible anyway, cursing out his old friend with his last words. Despite his supposed psychopathy, Dexter is shown to be enraged and devastated by Angel's murder, having seen him as a true friend, even referring to Angel as his life-long friend in his head as Angel was attacking him before being shot by Leon Prater.
Biography[]
Dexter[]
Season 1[]
While driving with Sergeant James Doakes, a foot chase erupts after spotting a suspect. Upon arrival, Angel discovers the man dead. During initial Internal Affairs questioning, Angel initially protects Doakes (who had fired first, knowing that the man was a war criminal named Jacques Bayard) by lying but ultimately honors his father's promise of honesty by revealing the truth, causing the other officers to view him as a snitch.
Thankfully, things get better for him after Doakes himself stood up for him. Batista also confesses his past infidelity to his wife, leading to their separation, which he attempts to conceal from colleagues.
At a club, Angel encounters a woman with a prosthetic hand matching refrigerated truck finger tips, connecting her to a customer with an amputee fetish. Consulting Vince Masuka, the department's forensics specialist, he's directed to prosthetist Rudy Cooper, unknowingly the Ice Truck Killer. Angel subsequently gets stabbed by Rudy. During recovery, he finalizes his divorce and identifies Brian Moser by matching his prints from a Tampa mental hospital. He is also visited by by his wife, who told him that she'd always care for him, but that she'd never be with him again.
Season 2[]
The department works to comfort victims' families of the Bay Harbor Butcher. Angel becomes deeply involved with Oscar Sota's case, initially having a contentious interaction with his wife by suggesting her husband's a killer before sincerely apologizing. She subsequently shares critical information about the hidden weapons in their home.
Angel pursues Lila Tourney for a romantic relationship after her breakup with Dexter, though Dexter warns that she is unstable. Lila ends up filing false rape charges against Batista in order to blackmail Dexter into coming back to her. Dexter compells Lila to withdraw the charges, and Batista insists that it wasn't Dexter's fault as he had been warned by him.
Season 3[]
Promoted to Sergeant, Batista replaces the deceased Doakes. His divorced life makes him lonely and he nearly botches his career trying to sleep with an undercover prostitute, Barbara Gianna, in order to find affection through any means. He then begins a relationship with her. After she's assaulted, Dexter prevents Batista from violently retaliating, and ultimately their relationship ends. He later attends Dexter's wedding with Barbara.
Season 4[]
Angel and Maria LaGuerta initiate a relationship, but their superior, Tom Matthews, used their lack of professionalism by failing to disclose their relationship as an excuse to end their careers. His attempt was thwarted when Angel and LaGuerta got married after initially separating to maintain professional boundaries, Dexter being the sole witness.
Season 5[]
After Batista drunkenly defends LaGuerta's honor by beating an officer making crude remarks about her, an Internal Affairs investigation happens. When LaGuerta blames Debra Morgan for an informant's death, Batista supports Debra instead of Maria and becomes more assertive in their relationship.
Season 6[]
They separate due to strains and too facilitate LaGuerta's ambitions of being captain. Unexpectedly, Debra becomes Lieutenant instead, as she was promoted by Mathews just to spite LaGuerta, and she had promised the position to Angel. Angel manages his disappointment professionally by congratulating Debra. He attempts to discourage his daughter's relationship with Louis Greene and is later saved by Joey Quinn when he's restrained by Travis Marshall.
Season 7[]
Burnt out, Angel considers retiring and becoming a restaurant owner. Quinn financially supports this decision. He becomes an intermediary during LaGuerta's investigation and arrest of Dexter as the Bay Harbor Butcher and pleads with her to drop the case. LaGuerta is subsequently killed during his New Year's Eve party by Debra.
Season 8[]
Now Lieutenant, Batista delivers a eulogy for LaGuerta. He chooses Angie Miller over Quinn as Sergeant, disappointing Quinn. He encourages Debra to return to the force and offers her a detective badge. He assists in the Brain Surgeon case, eventually arresting him at gunpoint when Dexter tries to catch him at the hospital, and supports Dexter leaving the team and departing from Miami. He defends Dexter after he kills Oliver Saxon in "self-defense," and later, he expresses shock after learning of Dexter's alleged death.
New Blood[]
At a Missing Persons conference, Batista discusses serial killer investigation techniques as Miami Metro's new captain. He meets Iron Lake's Angela Bishop, sharing his connection to Debra and Dexter. When Angel discovers Dexter is alive and well, he promises to provide information about the past investigations into the Bay Harbor Butcher.
Resurrection[]
At the Seneca Nation Clinic in Iron Lake, Batista arrives to find Dexter Morgan alive. He tells Dexter that Angela Bishop said that he was the Bay Harbor Butcher. Since Batista was the one to sign Dexter's death certificate, he was also the one who legally resurrected Dexter; as a result, Dexter correctly believed that Batista did it to prosecute him, causing Dexter to flee the clinic, initially without Batista's knowledge.
Learning Dexter is in New York, Batista tells Quinn and Masuka he plans to retire to pursue something that's been haunting him. He tracks down the truck that Dexter owned in Iron Lake and discovers that Harrison (now a hotel bellhop) sold it. Batista reunites with Harrison and, pretending Dexter is dead, tries to get him to reveal whether Dexter was the Bay Harbor Butcher. Harrison's coworker Elsa accidentally tells Batista that serial rapist Ryan Foster was murdered at the hotel, so Batista assists NYPD Detective Claudette Wallace on the case.
Meeting Harrison again, Batista suspects Harrison killed Ryan, who dismisses him. Batista tells Harrison he hopes he won't become like his father. After serial killer Mia LaPierre is arrested for Ryan's murder, Batista doubts that she's actually guilty of the murder and asks to join Wallace and her partner in questioning Mia, looking to show her Dexter's photo. When they arrive at the prison, they find Mia dead via "suicide."
Eventually, Batista tracks Dexter down at his house, where he lives with his friend Blessing. Dexter offers to drive Batista home; in the car, Dexter urges him to stay away from him and Harrison, but Batista insists on avenging the innocent victims of Dexter, even if it means risking his life. Without Dexter realizing, Angel slips a pair of AirPods in the passenger side door’s drink holder, allowing him to track Dexter’s movements throughout New York City for a few days while determining his routine.
Batista is led to a wig shop, where Dexter was planning his next kill. He breaks in and finds a man named Vinny Valente wrapped in plastic, who runs into Batista and knocks him down while fleeing. Dexter had already left after letting Vinny go as he only wanted to scare him, not actually kill him. Batista looks around the kill room and sees how it's covered in plastic sheets everywhere, and some of the plastic at a table is cut where Dexter freed Vinny. Batista decides to call Wallace, but when she arrives with her partner, his explanation sounds completely absurd to them, especially since there was no victim to be identified and the AirPods were destroyed by Dexter. In addition, Batista broke into the shop, and his theories are seemingly getting wilder.
Batista is left with no help. When Wallace calls Quinn about Batista, having looked into him after learning about Batista's past from Dexter, she learns he's actually retired from police work, something Batista never told anyone by still calling himself Captain Batista. Thus, his credibility has been destroyed by investigating outside the law, and he's asked to hand over his badge.
Death[]
Batista notices Dexter with Leon Prater and believes the latter's life is at risk, visiting him at his mansion to save him. However, Prater and Charley kidnap him and bring Dexter there to kill him on the same table he killed Brian Moser, thus indicating that Dexter is the Butcher without a shadow of a doubt. Despite everything, Dexter chooses to free him from his restrains, but Batista attacks him anyway in a rage and tries to choke him out, declaring it was for Doakes, LaGuerta and everyone else Dexter had killed.
While this happens, Prater shoots Batista several times in the back, sealing his fate. After Prater and Charley escape, Dexter rushes to Batista's side and admits he was the Bay Harbor Butcher but insisted upon how he didn't kill directly LaGuerta or Doakes. A dying Angel blames Dexter for all the deaths anyway, including his own, and passes away after cursing his old colleague and former friend's name for good. Dexter is distraught at Angel's death and lets out a primal yell.
Gallery[]
Images[]
TBA
Videos[]
Quotes[]
Dexter
| “ | Son of a whore. (…) I'm talking about this hijo de puta, this asshole killer, this maric*n savage who makes us work on a Friday night. (…) Of course, cońo, be reasonable. Who wants to work on a Friday night? I have my needs. | „ |
| ~ Angel at the crime scene for one of Brian Moser's victims. |
| “ | Angel: She don't mind who I flirt with as long as I bring home la pasión. Dexter: La pasión? Angel: Yeah, it keeps the relationship alive. Dexter: …Ay, what about, uh… Communication? Trust! Angel: La pasión! Dexter: Wait, what if she wants something more? Angel: Then you reciprocate, you know. Dexter: Ah, I meant what if she wants something more emotionally? Angel: Don't go down that emotional road. Just go down on her. It's easier; she'll be distracted. |
„ |
| ~ Angel giving Dexter advice; one of his most famous scenes. |
| “ | It's just that… I destroyed my marriage. I lost my little girl. I'm a divorced cop halfway down the road to a full-blown cliché. A divorced, alcoholic cop. And I needed to fight that… loneliness. So I found affection any way I could. | „ |
| ~ Angel to Barbara Gianna. |
| “ | Don't do that. Deb's a good detective. Better than you ever were. | „ |
| ~ Batista defending Deb's position as lieutenant to Maria LaGuerta. |
Resurrection
| “ | Honestly, that guy Ryan sounded like a real asshole. Good riddance. Did your dad make it seem like that's all he was doing? Taking out the worst criminals? Making the world a better place? Like he was some sort of Dark Avenger? A lot of innocent people died because of your dad. People that I loved. My ex-wife Maria LaGuerta, your aunt Deb, your mother. (…) This is a dark path you're going down. I truly hope you don't become like your dad. | „ |
| ~ Angel talking to Harrison in New York City. |
| “ | For the official record, this is Captain Angel Batista. I am currently in New York, collecting evidence to prove that my former colleague, Dexter Morgan, is in fact, The Bay Harbor Butcher. I have placed a tracer in Mr. Morgan’s vehicle and I will be logging locations where Dexter spends significant periods of time. Dexter lives in a basement apartment, 7701 Forest Avenue in Queens. Dexter’s son, Harrison Morgan, works at the Empire Hotel; home, unknown. Most days and evenings, Dexter drives for a ridesharing service. He often stops for up to 30 minutes to pick up fares around JFK, LaGuardia and Grand Central Station. Dexter is a man of routine. He frequents two different diners and a Cuban joint. The Cubano’s decent, but… Well, anyway. Mr. Morgan doesn’t spend too much time away from home, except to do his rideshares. By establishing his routine in the city, I intend to note any anomalies from his daily pattern - so I can be there when he strikes again. [Recording off] Where are you now, Dexter Morgan? | „ |
| ~ Angel recording on his phone his plan to track Dexter. |
| “ | Fuck! This is what Dexter does. He twists things out of context. He's a-a master manipulator. He lies and lies, winning people over with his goddamn gee-whiz smile of his. He burrows into your life until he's the last person you suspect of… of just about anything. But I'm telling you, Dexter Morgan is the Bay Harbor Butcher | „ |
| ~ Angel to Claudette Wallace. |
| “ | Dexter: I need you to know: I didn't kill María, or Doakes. I may be the Bay Harbor Butcher but I promise you I didn't kill them. Angel: It's your fault. And now I'm dying. Because of you, just like they did. Dexter: I'm sorry. Angel: Dexter Morgan… fuck you. [Angel collapses on the floor, dead] Dexter: No… [Screaming] NO! |
„ |
| ~ Angel's final conversation with Dexter. |
Trivia[]
- In "Love American Style," Dexter asks Batista for relationship advice at bar, who tells him to bring home "la pasión" and avoid going down "that emotional road." This became a meme, with fans often referring to Angel as "La Pasión."
- Angel is the last main character shown in the original series, other than Dexter.
- David Zayas (Batista) was an NYPD officer himself for fifteen years before acting.
- In Season 8, David Zayas's son sometimes stood in for him in shots as Angel since they look very similar. David Jr. also did stunt work in Season 7 episode 10.
- Angel is the only character besides Dexter who physically appears in all four TV series (excluding flashbacks or illusions).
- Despite telling Angela Bishop he's happily married in "Sins of the Father," Batista's wife isn't mentioned in Resurrection.
- Even if Batista hadn't retired, he would have no jurisdiction to track Dexter in New York City.
- In the original novels, unlike the television show, Angel is a background character with almost no lines or relevance to the story.
- In the novels, Angel jokingly refers to himself as "Angel No-Relation" to differentiate himself from Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.
External Links[]
- Angel Batista on the Dexter Wiki
- Angel Batista on Wikipedia
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