‘Dexter: Resurrection’ Star Teases Unfinished Business After Season 2’s Surprising Return

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Dexter: Resurrection Season 2, Episode 1

Dexter: Resurrection is back for another bloody chapter, but Michael C. Hall’s Dexter Morgan can’t seem to escape his past. After killing Angel Batista (David Zayas) in Season 1, Dexter is still struggling with the guilt of murdering his longtime friend. But while he’s convincing himself that hunting more serial killers makes up for that very human ache he feels, Season 2 has another surprise in store: Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington) is back, and he’s looking for answers about Batista’s death.

In an exclusive interview with Collider ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Dominic Fumusa, who plays Detective Melvin Oliva, teased that Batista’s story might not be as finished as Dexter would like. While discussing Quinn’s return and the investigation surrounding his old colleague, Fumusa explains, “The audience knows one thing and the cops know something else,” before adding, “The show has such a great history of revisiting storylines, and so nothing’s ever done-done.”

Of course, Dexter has plenty of other problems. The premiere opens with a hilariously cheesy buddy-cop dream featuring Batista, only to reveal that Dexter is reliving that guilt. Meanwhile, Dexter’s latest killing spree has already cost him an important moment with his son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), who graduates from the police academy without his father present. But brewing beneath all of that, Brian Cox’s New York Ripper and Dan Stevens’ Five Borough Killer are keeping the NYPD busy. So, really, it’s all just another ordinary week in Dexter’s life.

Speaking with Collider, Fumusa, Alcott, co-stars Kadia Saraf, Bokeem Woodbine, and Nona Parker Johnson discussed the investigations ahead, Harrison’s complicated new career that will surely create some tension with his old man, and the growing pressure surrounding Dexter’s increasingly messy life.

‘Dexter: Resurrection’ Season 2 Isn’t Done With Batista’s Death

Quinn’s return could reopen the investigation into Batista’s death.

Image via Matt Infante/Paramount+

Dexter might be trying to move on from killing his longtime friend Batista, but the Season 2 premiere makes it clear that his past isn’t going anywhere if that buddy-cop dream sequence is any clear indicator. We can see how his guilt is eating him alive, and even killing Al Walker (Eric Stonestreet) does little to ease it. But to make matters worse, Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington) is back and asking questions about his former colleague.

Speaking with Collider about Quinn’s return, Saraf, who plays Detective Claudette Wallace, teased that the investigation into the former cop’s death could still resurface, even as she and Oliva focus on the New York Ripper. “Whether he’s going to open that Pandora’s box or not, we will find out later in the season. But in terms of Claudette and Melvin, they are busy. I mean, all of that that has to do with Batista is put in a box — for now.”

One of the things that also pops up for Saraf this season is her relationship with the New York Ripper. During a moment of concentration with her signature track, “Staying Alive” playing by the Bee Gees, we see images of blood spatter on a record player. The actress admits there’s a lot behind the moment. “This is all cumulative. It’s like when you keep trying to cover up a wound; underneath, it’s still so raw and painful,” she says. “That image shows how deeply painful and traumatic this experience was for her. We’ll see this unfold, what this actually means.”

As for the New York Ripper investigation, Fumusa explains that Claudette and Melvin face an unusual challenge. They believe Cox’s Don Framt is their killer, but proving it is another matter entirely. “Usually, you’re looking for who did it. Well, now we think we know who did it, but how can we prove it? And that’s a different set of objectives and challenges.”

Woodbine’s Captain Mixon is equally cautious about rushing the investigation, with the actor explaining that his character has learned to temper his expectations. “I’ve had wonderful victories, and I’ve also withstood brutal defeats. So, I’m not going to celebrate till we cross the finish line.”

Harrison’s Big Reveal Could Create Serious Tension With Dexter

Harrison is caught between two very different versions of justice.

Image via Matt Infante/Paramount+

Image via Matt Infante/Paramount+

Image via Matt Infante/Paramount+

After showing an interest in law enforcement in Season 1, Dexter is officially following the family’s career path by becoming a cop. When asked what joining the police means beyond getting a job, Alcott explains that Harrison is trying to reconcile his father’s approach to justice with his own. “It means a myriad of things. It means following in his family’s footsteps — to some degree, his father’s. It means, to a degree, reconciling what his father does with what he does, with what Harrison does.”

Despite their different methods, Alcott believes the father and son duo are ultimately after the same thing, although those differences will become a source of friction. “For now, there is a mutual understanding that we want to help innocent people and protect them and deliver justice, in whatever way we choose, to those who hurt innocent people.”

Harrison will also find himself looking to Claudette for guidance, leaving him torn between two people who have very different ideas about how justice should be delivered. “Harrison’s going to be torn. He’s got two people he can be leaning on for guidance, and they both make pretty compelling cases,” he says. “Claudette really cares about justice; Dexter really cares about justice. They do it very differently, and both of them have, I think, pretty significant influence over Harrison, and that’s definitely going to be a source of tension for him and both of them, as well.”

Meanwhile, Harrison’s new career brings him into his training officer and new love interest, Fiona’s orbit. Johnson teases that viewers will get to see another side of her character as the season unfolds. “I think for Fiona, you’ll be seeing a lot of her tough exterior kind of fall away, which was really fun to do, and a new perspective and a deepening of the relationship she has with her father,” she says, adding that she hopes viewers get to see the “very true essence” of someone guiding Harrison along the way.

Watch the full interview above for more from the Dexter: Resurrection cast, including Woodbine on why fatherhood becomes Captain Mixon’s biggest priority, Johnson on Fiona’s evolving relationship with her father, and Fumusa on working opposite Brian Cox as the terrifying New York Ripper.

Dexter: Resurrection Season 2 streams every Friday on Paramount+ in the U.S.