Dexter Breaks His Promise To Protect Innocents in Resurrection Season 1, Episode 9

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dexter: Resurrection season 1, episode 9.Dexter broke a promise he made to Harrison in Dexter: Resurrection, and he did it after just a few episodes. Dexter and Harrison’s relationship has been a key part of Resurrection since the beginning. The father and son have only recently started to trust each other again, and it’s partly because Dexter has made some big changes to his serial killer lifestyle.

For example, instead of killing Mia Lapierre, one of Resurrection‘s new serial killers, Dexter turned her over to the police and framed her for Ryan Foster’s murder. He’s also promised not to try to turn Harrison into a killer like himself, and he’s mostly been good about it. The most recent episode of Resurrection, however, could throw a wrench in their already damaged father-son relationship.

Batista’s Death Goes Against Dexter’s Work To Stop Innocent People From Dying Because Of Him

Zach Dilgard/Paramount+

In Dexter: Resurrection episode 5, Dexter told Harrison that Rita’s death was his fault, and Harrison asked what Dexter was going to do to keep more innocent people from dying due to his mistakes. Dexter responded by saying that Harrison has a goodness in him that Dexter doesn’t, and he said that having Harrison in his life would help him keep innocent people from dying.

It wasn’t an outright promise, but Dexter’s declaration that Harrison’s help would keep people alive was a big reason the father and son have reunited. Even though Dexter claimed that Harrison’s good influence and giving him a reason to live would help keep innocent people from dying, Angel Batista still died in Resurrection episode 9.

Dexter may not have killed Batista himself, but Angel still died because of him. He was investigating Dexter as the Bay Harbor Butcher, and he never would have met Leon Prater if it Dexter hadn’t gotten Maria LaGuerta killed in Dexter season 7. Just four episodes after he told Harrison that he’d be better about keeping innocent people alive, Dexter got another innocent person killed.

Batista’s death could also be disastrous for Dexter and Harrison’s relationship. As previously mentioned, Dexter saying that he would keep innocent people alive was a big reason Harrison agreed to restart their relationship. Now that Batista is dead, Harrison’s strong moral code may force him to leave Dexter yet again. It is, after all, the same reason he shot Dexter at the end of New Blood.

Dexter Tried To Avoid Batista’s Death At All Costs

Zach Dilgard / ©Paramount+ with Showtime / Courtesy Everett Collection

To be fair to Dexter, he really did do just about everything he could to keep Batista alive. Dexter’s original plan – to convince the NYPD to ignore Batista by ruining his reputation – very nearly worked. Claudette and Oliva took Batista’s badge, and he was about to go back to Miami and end his investigation. It was Batista’s own choice to walk into Prater’s building, even if he couldn’t have known the consequences.

Dexter even tried to save Batista’s life once he was in Prater’s vault. As Resurrection episode 9 showed, Dexter cut Batista’s restraints and hoped they could escape together, but Angel tried to choke him to death instead. That was a super risky move that could have gotten Dexter shot, so he quite literally exhausted every possible option to keep Batista alive.

The fact of the matter is, however, that Batista still died because of Dexter. He was in the building because of Dexter, and Prater only kidnapped and shot him because of Dexter. No matter what Dexter does, no matter how careful or smart he is about separating his killer and regular lives, innocent people die. It’s a tale as old as the franchise; Dexter: Resurrection just continued it.

Dexter: Resurrection

9/10

Release Date

July 13, 2025

Network

Paramount+ with Showtime

Directors

Marcos Siega

Writers

Scott Buck