Quick Links
Fans ofDexterknow the biggest spoilerfrom Season 1of the series: the mysterious killer who was murdering women, dismembering them, and draining their bodies of blood while taunting Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was his older brother, Brian Moser. Played by Christian Camargo, Brian eventually reveals his true identity to his little brother, and it sets the storyline on a course that fans didn’t see coming. Notably, this involves Dexter having to choose between his blood brother and his adoptive sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter).
There was no expectation of Brian Moser being seen or mentioned in the prequel seriesDexter: Original Sin, aside from the child portrayal of him in flashbacks. This is crucial to show Harry’s (Christian Slater) relationship with Dexter’s mother, Laura Moser (Brittany Allen).Yet an adult Brian pops up in the present day in a way fans might not have expected.
Dexter: Original Sin
What Happened to Brian Moser in ‘Dexter’?
Dexter’s backstory is that his mother, Laura Moser, was involved with bad people, and when she was caught, Harry offered her a deal. Help him take down the leader of a massive drug cartel, and they will wipe her slate clean. During their almost year of working together,Harry grew close to Laura and her two sons, Dexter and Brian. In fact, he hada brief affairwith Laura that stopped once Debra was born.
Laura got close to achieving her goal, but she was found out and brutally murdered in a storage container. She was chopped up as her two boys were made to watch, and they were left to sit in her blood for two days. Upon arriving at the horrific scene, Harry was mortified, and guilt swept over him. This was all his fault. He got Laura in too deep and put her in danger.
‘Dexter: Original Sin’ Just Featured One of the Most Horrific Scenes in the Whole Franchise
It’s no surprise that ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ shows heinous murders and tragic deaths, but this deviation has fans thoroughly disturbed.
Harry decided to adopt Dexter but opted not to take Brian in. He was never as close with Brian and always suspected that something was off about the young boy. Brian appeared to lack empathy and would do things that suggested he had sociopathic tendencies. Harry didn’t detect anything like this in Dexter, however. It seemingly didn’t dawn on him that rejecting Brian and splitting up the boys would have ramifications down the line.
Together, Harry and his wife raised Debra and Dexter. In the present day, Dexter is already 20. Brian is a distant memory for Harry, and Dexter doesn’t recall anything about his childhood, including his biological mother and brother. He repressed the dark memory, and Harry made sure to wipe all files so Dexter would never find out what truly happened to him and to his mother.This also meant Dexter didn’t remember having a brother.
How Brian Shows up in ‘Dexter: Original Sin’
While Brian himself isn’t seen inDexter: Original Sin, his name comes up in a way that shakes Harry to his core and further contributes to the breakdown of his mental state right before his death. While investigating a series of murders that have been occurring to individuals like prostitutes and drug addicts, Harry and Maria (Christina Milian) come upon a lead. Theytake a road trip, but when they arrive at the man’s house, they see the door covered in tape, indicating it’s a crime scene.
They contacted the local police department, and two detectives took them inside and revealed that the man was a psychiatrist who specialized in child behavior disorders and worked at a local mental hospital along with running a private practice in his own office. The perpetrator is suspected to be one of his former patients. They agree to give Harry and Maria access to all the files they have on his patients since they think this murder could be connected to the ones they are trying to solve.
Do You Really Need To Watch ‘Dexter’ Before ‘Original Sin’?
‘Dexter: Original Sin’ is a prequel series to ‘Dexter’, which ended more than a decade ago. Is it really necessary to go back and watch the original?
Since this is the ‘90s, long before smartphones and even the internet as we know it today, Harry and Maria need to go through the files one by day, writing down each person’s name to cross-reference with their data back home.As Harry goes through one set of files, he sees the name Brian Moser and is taken aback. He flips to a photo of the man, which is clearly an older version of Brian (who looks like a younger version of Camargo).
He asks Maria to get them coffee so he can look through the folder in private and learns that Brian was institutionalized but has since been discharged. He was diagnosed with several mental illnesses, including borderline personality disorder and major depressive disorder. The attending nurse who was last working with him is indeed one of the victims, which leads Harry to realize that Brian is likely the killer they’re looking for.
Looking through the notes in the files, Harry sees that one says Brian knew of the affair between his mother and a police officer named Harry and that his little brother Dexter called Harry father. He grabs the piece of paper, crumples it up, and puts it in his pocket. He then takes the entire file and puts it in his briefcase, clearly unsure of what to do with this newfound information. (Maria later finds it, and it’s unclear how he explains why he stole that folder).
What Implications Will This Have for ‘Dexter: Original Sin’?
This seemingly small moment suggests huge implications for the show. Fans know that Brian continued to kill for a decade and a half until he arrived in Miami to taunt Dexter asthe Ice Truck Killer. This means he was never caught, so either the string of murders Harry and Maria are investigating this season remain unsolved, or Harry steers Maria in a different direction, and they pin the murders on someone else.
It also further explains why Harry was in such a headspace to die by suicide. He does come upon Dexter dismembering a victim, which is what seemingly puts him over the edge, according to the story told inDexter. He also likely eventually learns that his friend, mentor, andcaptain Aaron Spencer (Patrick Dempsey) is a child kidnapperand maimer at best and a child murderer at worst.
Compounded with the guilt of keeping Dexter’s secret is now the knowledge that perhaps adopting Dexter wasn’t enough penance for Laura’s heinous murder. He left Brian alone to navigate the foster care system. The troubled young boy who had suffered horrible trauma, older than Dexter and likely about to recall every moment in that storage container, became the worst possible version of himself.
How ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ Connects to the Original Series
The prequel is poised to fit smoothly into the ‘Dexter’ timeline.
Yes, Harry had recognized these tendencies in Brian long before his mother was murdered. But it’s likely that seeing this reality makes him think he could have steered Brian and his Dark Passenger in the same way he steered Dexter. Maybe both boys could have been okay. Or at least Brian would not have felt abandoned at a time when he needed someone the most and become a remorseless killer.
This is not just a wonderfulEaster Egg connectingDexter: Original SintoDexter. It’s a crucial part of the Harry story. Seeing what has become of Brian explains yet another truth that haunted Harry, driving him to make the ultimate, devastating decision that he did.StreamDexter: Original SinonParamount+.
