What Happens To Dexter’s Biological Brother, Brian Moser

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dexter: Original Sin episodes 2 & 3 and Dexter season 1.Laura Moser (Brittany Allen), Dexter’s (Patrick Gibson) biological mother and Harry Morgan’s (Christian Slater) criminal informant in Dexter: Original Sin, had another son, Brian Moser, but the prequel series didn’t explain what happened to him. Dexter: Original Sin episodes 2 and 3 dove deeper into Harry’s time using Laura Moser as a criminal informant, and it briefly introduced a few returning characters into the cast of Original Sin. One of those characters was Brian Moser, Dexter’s biological brother, but Original Sin didn’t explain all the reasons he’s so important to Dexter’s story.

Since Dexter: Original Sin‘s timeline puts it 15 years before the original series, Dexter doesn’t know anything about his biological family yet. He wouldn’t learn that Laura was his birth mother and that he even had a brother until Brian met him in Dexter season 1, so Original Sin likely won’t get a chance to explain what happened to Brian after Laura’s death. Given how important he is to the original series and Dexter’s life, however, getting to know Brian Moser and what he would become as an adult is essential for every Dexter fan.

Brian Moser Is Sent To A Psychiatric Hospital After Laura Moser’s Death

Brian Was Institutionalized For Anti-Social Personality Disorder After Laura’s Death

Brian and Dexter’s stories depart after their mother, Laura, was murdered. Hector Estrada had Laura killed for working with Harry and the police, and he locked Brian and Dexter in a shipping container in a pool of her blood for days. When Harry found the boys, he personally adopted Dexter as his son, but Brian was sent to a psychiatric hospital instead. In Dexter season 1, Angel Batista explained that Brian had been institutionalized for anti-social personality disorder at a psychiatric hospital in Tampa, and he was held there until he turned 21.

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Dexter never dove very deeply into Brian’s experiences at the psychiatric hospital, so not much is known about his life. There are, however, a few hints about Brian’s early life that help fill in some of the blanks. Brian eventually told Dexter that he was living with the memory of a family all those years, and that he never forgot how he was separated from Dexter. Laura had also told him to always take care of his little brother, which helps explain why he reinserted himself into Dexter’s life as an adult.

Why Harry Doesn’t Adopt Brian With Dexter

Harry Decided That Brian Had No Hope Of Leading A Normal Life Due To His Age When Laura Was Murdered

One of the more confusing parts of Brian Moser’s early life also relates to Dexter. After Harry found the brothers, he adopted Dexter but let Brian be taken to a psychiatric hospital and grow up without a family. Brian himself told Dexter why Harry didn’t adopt him: he was already broken when Harry found him.

“You were three, a little bird with a broken wing. [Harry] wanted to make you all better. But me, I could see it in his eyes. All they saw was a fucked up kid. They all did, so they locked me up.”

Brian also noted that Dexter was old enough to block Laura’s murder out of his memory, but since he was older at the time, he was never able to forget the trauma of being locked in a shipping container. Harry clearly understood that Brian was never going to be able to get over his mother’s murder, but he thought that Dexter was young enough that he could recover. So, Dexter got a new lease on life, and Brian got a padded cell.

Aside from Brian’s explanation, there may be another reason Harry only adopted Dexter. As Dexter: Original Sin episode 1 revealed, Harry and Doris Morgan had a biological son before they adopted Dexter. Junior drowned in a pool while Harry was watching him at about the same age Dexter was when Laura died, so there’s a very good chance Harry adopted Dexter to “replace” Junior. Brian was too old to serve as a surrogate for his deceased son, and he didn’t need to adopt two boys to fill the hole Junior left, so he let the state handle Brian.

Brian Moser Becomes The Ice Truck Killer As An Adult

Brian Used The Alias Rudy Cooper To Get Close To Dexter

Brian was eventually released from the psychiatric hospital when he turned 21, and he made his way back into his brother’s life in Dexter season 1. Their family reunion was far from wholesome, however, as Brian had become the Ice Truck Killer, and he killed at least 15 people. Most of his victims were drained of blood, frozen, and dissected to be put on display, and he was one of the best serial killers in Dexter. As the Ice Truck Killer, Brian also started leaving hidden messages for Dexter so he could connect with his brother as a fellow serial killer.

That wasn’t the only way Brian tried to connect with Dexter, however. He also used the alias Rudy Cooper to start a fake romantic relationship with Debra Morgan, which let him get to know Dexter socially. Rudy and Deb’s relationship got so serious that he went on a road trip to meet Dexter’s biological father, Joe Driscoll, and he even proposed to Debra before attempting to kill her. Everything Brian did in Dexter season 1 was to get closer to Dexter and convince him to restart their family, but his plan ultimately backfired.

Dexter Has To Kill His Brother Brian Moser In Dexter’s Season 1 Finale

Dexter Had To Kill Brian To Protect Debra & Himself

Brian’s attempts to get Dexter to join him as a brother again had one major flaw: he wanted Debra out of the picture. After Brian finally revealed himself as the Ice Truck Killer, he wanted Dexter to kill Debra and put an end to his “fake” adoptive family. Brian thought that killing Deb was the only way Dexter was going to be able to move on from Harry’s legacy and live as a truly free serial killer, but Dexter had other ideas. Dexter loved Deb too much to kill her, so he attacked Brian and freed her instead.

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Despite rejecting his offer, Dexter knew that Brian was never going to leave him and Debra alone. So, to keep Deb safe, Dexter ended up killing Brian himself and staging his death as a suicide in the finale of Dexter season 1. Dexter had wanted to join Brian, and he found the idea of being accepted as a serial killer very enticing, but he just loved Deb more. Brian’s death wasn’t the end of him, however, as he appeared in a handful of flashbacks and as the manifestation of Dexter’s dark passenger in a few later episodes of Dexter.

While there isn’t much room for Brian to crop up in Dexter: Original Sin, there is a chance he’ll play a part in the show. Brian was released from the psychiatric hospital when he was 21, which means he could have tracked Dexter down and found him as he was starting his career at Miami Metro. Brian also may have come back to interact with Harry in some way, as he likely views Harry as the reason he was separated from Dexter. If Brian Moser does have something to do in the future of Dexter: Original Sin, it’s almost certainly not a good thing.

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  Dexter: Original Sin explores the origins of Dexter Morgan as he transitions from student to serial killer in 1991 Miami. Guided by his father, Dexter channels his dark urges through a moral code while starting a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.

  Release Date

  
  December 15, 2024
  

  Network

  Paramount+ with Showtime

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  Based on the character created by author Jeff Lindsay, Showtime’s Dexter follows Miami Metro Police Department’s most skilled blood spatter analyst, Dexter Morgan, as he attempts to satisfy his Dark Passenger’s need to kill by hunting down criminals who have escaped justice. However, using the rules his adoptive father taught him to remain undiscovered, Dexter must walk the fine line of seemingly blending into society while continuously feeding his dark urges. Dexter faces several serial killers as his facade slowly crumbles around him; with every problem solved by his Dark Passenger, another one arises for his suburban fatherly life. When Dexter takes things personally or feels that the law is failing, he takes matters into his own hands and even compromises the investigations of his co-workers. Dexter aired on Showtime for eight seasons before receiving a mini-sequel series called Dexter: New Blood, which picked up ten years after the show’s events. You can buy each season for just $9.99 for Prime Day. 

  Release Date

  
  October 31, 2010