Original Sin’? Christina Milian Dishes on the Possibility

In the original Dexter series, Maria LaGuerta and Angel Batista made for one divisive on-screen pairing. Some fans loved to see the good lieutenant and the otherwise-unlucky-in-love detective fall into each other’s arms halfway through the series, while others might’ve groaned at the predictability of their pairing… and the messy aftermath.

Could it be, though, that they were fated to hook up in the events of the original show simply because they’d been there before? Judging by the set up in Dexter: Original Sin‘s latest episode, “Miami Vice,” it sure seems that way.

The third episode in the Paramount+ with Showtime prequel series introduces audiences to Maria LaGuerta (this time, played by Christina Milian) as she first sets foot in Miami-Metro Police Department with a massive chip on her shoulder — much to the chagrin of the current captain (Patrick Dempsey). 

“The force was against her… There’s no silver spoon in her mouth. There’s nothing that’s given to her. She works really hard for this,” Milian told TV Insider of the character’s disposition when joining the department with such ferocity of spirit. “I think, at the beginning, she wants so badly to not to fit in, but to actually solve these crimes, and to solve to make a difference … Walking into this, she has to not only trust her own intuition, but she’s meeting characters like Dexter Morgan, and she’s got these partnerships with people that you know she’s gotta build trust with. And not only do they have to gain her trust, she has to gain their trust. It goes both ways. They’re all detectives, and she’s the one female homicide detective, the first one to walk into this office to the bullpen. So she’s not going to get it easy, but I like that she earns it.”

As tough as she is upon arrival, though, there’s one person in the station who takes an immediate shine to her, and that’s Angel (played by James Martinez), who isn’t afraid to flirt with her right away. Maria ignores it at first, but will she be able to keep him at bay for very long?

“She’s so focused on work, and she’s so used to this one woman in a male-driven and very powerful world of men. I’m sure there’s a lot that goes on throughout time, but I think Angel has the motive to actually engage with her at some point. He’s just gotta gain the guts to do so because she’s so strong and she’s so smart, but it’s nice to kind of see this spark in his eye that happens the first second that they meet,” Milian teased. “And she’s not going to initially give in to it too soon because she’s a working woman. She’s focused. But you’ll see there’s something… He’s gotta work for it.”

Dexter: Original Sin, Fridays, Paramount+ with Showtime