Warning: Contains spoilers for Dexter: New Blood episode 5.
Dexter: New Blood episode 5 featured the surprise cameo of original series character Angel Batista, finally revealing what happened to him after the season 8 finale. Angel Batista (David Zayas) was one of the most beloved main characters of Dexter’s original series, having served as Dexter’s best friend, Deb’s coworker at the police station, and future Miami Metro police lieutenant in season 8. The last time Angel was seen, he got the call from the Coast Guard that Dexter’s boat was found shipwrecked at sea, with him and the police coming to the conclusion that Dexter had died.
New Blood has given very few clues to the resolutions of Dexter’s original characters aside from Hannah McKay, who Harrison revealed died a few years before from cancer. While the lives of characters like Vince Masuka and Joey Quinn still remain a mystery, they're the only few original series characters actually left alive in the finale. Before Angel’s surprise cameo, New Blood had only confirmed the return of three additional characters outside of Dexter himself: Debra Morgan, Arthur Mitchell, and Harrison Morgan - the former two of whom died in the original show.
Angel Batista appears in Dexter: New Blood episode 5 at a law enforcement conference in New York City, with Miami’s lawman featured as a special speaker. Dexter Morgan’s new Iron Lake girlfriend and police chief Angela Bishop just so happens to be at this conference as well, looking to get advice on how to deal with her missing persons cases. As Angela and true crime podcaster Molly Park sit down to listen, Angel walks up to the podium and gives a speech on making connections between cases performed by one suspect, giving The Bay Harbor Butcher (Dexter) as Miami’s main example. After the speech, Angela and Batista get a drink at the hotel bar where he gives her advice on Iron Lake’s missing persons, likening the case to Dexter’s Trinity Killer. At the end of their conversion, Batista mentions Deb and Dexter Morgan’s deaths, while also revealing Dexter left behind a son named Harrison - leading Angela to piece together Dexter’s fake identity as Jim Lindsay.
While David Zayas’ return to Dexter’s universe was fairly short-lived, New Blood gave a hopeful update on the life and career of Angel Batista. For starters, he’s introduced at the conference as Police Captain Angel Batista, revealing that he has been promoted from lieutenant to captain in the decade since Dexter’s original series ending. Angel’s cameo also suggests that he’s still single in New Blood’s timeline considering he openly flirts with Angela, but, then again, Batista was known for being flirtatious whether in a relationship or not. The most important revelation from Batista’s New Blood appearance is that he solves a major mystery from Dexter’s season 8 finale. It was left ambiguous whether Batista, Quinn, and Masuka knew that Dexter was The Bay Harbor Butcher by the end, and New Blood finally reveals that Miami Metro is still in the dark about his identity. The way Angel talks about The Bay Harbor Butcher and Dexter implies he still has no idea they’re the same person.
Aside from Harrison, Angel Batista is the first living original Dexter character that has physically appeared in New Blood. While it’s been revealed that Joey Quinn will not be mentioned in New Blood, it’s possible that characters like Harrison's siblings Astor and Cody, Masuka, or Lumen will either make an appearance or be featured in some capacity before the series ends. While it’s possible that Dexter: New Blood episode 5 is Angel Batista’s last on-screen appearance, the series still gave him a perfectly organic short cameo.
Dexter: New Blood releases new episodes Sundays on Showtime.