Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dexter: Original Sin season 1, episode 8.While Brian Moser's involvement in best serial killers in all of Dexter, and certainly the one with the closest relationship to Dexter himself. Despite his popularity, however, it seemed like Brian Moser wouldn't be able to make an appearance in Original Sin, as he only revealed himself to Dexter in 2006, years after the prequel show takes place.

Despite that timeline issue, Original Sin episode 8, but the show actually did quite a bit to set up Brian's arrival. From overt Easter eggs that had to be about Brian to more subtle hints that suggested he would be important and even a few plot developments that made it possible for him to go unnoticed, Original Sin had nine different hints that Brian Moser would make an appearance, and there's a good chance some viewers missed at least one.

9 Brian Tried To Meet Dexter At The Restaurant In Original Sin Episode 2

A Fan Theory About The Person Who Asked Dexter If His Seat Was Taken Seems To Be Proven Right

Early on in Original Sin, one moment in the show had many fans of the franchise theorizing that Brian Moser was going to make an appearance. In Original Sin episode 2, a young man (Roby Attal) approached Dexter while he was saving a seat for the detectives of Miami Metro. He asked Dexter if the seat was taken, but many viewers noticed that he bore a ing resemblance to Brian, and his age would have fit with Original Sin's timeline. After Harry pieced together the NHI Killer's identity, it looks extremely likely that that restaurant patron was, in fact, Brian Moser.

After Harry pieced together the NHI Killer's identity, it looks extremely likely that that restaurant patron was, in fact, Brian Moser.

Though it wasn't confirmed until weeks later, the fact that someone who seemed so similar to Brian Moser made with Dexter was a big hint at Brian's involvement in the prequel show. After all, Brian did spend all of Dexter season 1 trying to make with Dexter, so it's safe to assume that's what he was trying to do in Original Sin episode 2 as well. If Dexter hadn't been saving a seat for several police officers, Brian might have reunited with his brother 15 years earlier than he actually did.

8 Brian Is The Right Age To Have Gotten Out Of The Psychiatric Hospital

Angel Batista Said That Brian Was Released From A Psychiatric Hospital When He Was 21 & Dexter Is Only 20 In Original Sin

Original Sin's timeline was also a big hint that the restaurant patron was Brian Moser. After Miami Metro figured out Rudy Cooper was actually Brian and the Ice Truck Killer in Dexter season 1, Angel Batista (David Zayas) informed the department that Brian had been released from a psychiatric hospital when he was 21 years old. Since Brian is Dexter's older brother, and Dexter is 20 in Original Sin, that means the show is set at precisely the right moment for Brian to leave his psychiatric hospital and try to make with his estranged biological brother.

Original Sin's timeline didn't just make it possible for Brian and Dexter to meet, however, it also made it more likely. Some of the biggest inconsistencies between Dexter and Original Sin have to do with the latter's timeline. Original Sin could have easily avoided those problems by taking place several years later, thus giving Dexter time to get out of college and Deb time to become at least a teenager. The only reason Original Sin would have made such drastic changes to Dexter's timeline is to make a big connection possible, like having Dexter meet Brian earlier than expected.

7 An Ice Truck Drove Past Dexter In Original Sin Episode 6

Brian Likely Watched Dexter From The Same Company's Ice Truck He Used In The Original Series

One of the more on-the-nose hints Original Sin offered audiences about Brian Moser's twist came in episode 6. As Dexter was stalking Levi Reed through downtown Miami, an ice truck nearly hit him. Brian Moser is infamously known as the Ice Truck Killer, and the truck seen in Original Sin episode 6 was even from the same company as the truck Brian used in Dexter: "Miami Chills." In hindsight, it looks like Original Sin was very overtly foreshadowing what Harry would discover just a few episodes later.

Brian Moser is infamously known as the Ice Truck Killer, and the truck seen in Original Sin episode 6 was even from the same company as the truck Brian used in Dexter: "Miami Chills."

Interestingly, it doesn't actually seem like Brian was driving the ice truck in Original Sin episode 6. Based on the NHI Killer's victims, he doesn't need to have refrigeration yet, as he's not draining his victims of blood. Miami Chills is also apparently a real company, as Brian was able to steal one of their trucks in the original Dexter. Even though Brian probably wasn't driving the ice truck, it still serves as a big red flag indicating that his presence was lurking in the background long before audiences actually discovered him.

6 Dexter Theorized The NHI Killer Was A New Serial Killer Experimenting With His Methods

Brian's Young Age & Recent Incarceration Meant He Fit Dexter's Profile Of The NHI Killer

The NHI Killer that Dexter, Maria LaGuerta (Christina Milian), Harry, and Clark Sanders (Aaron Jennings) have been investigating was also a major hint at Brian's true role in the show. After Original Sin episode 8, it's clear that Brian is the NHI Killer, but the case also pointed to him long before Harry pieced it all together. When Dexter first identified the serial killer, he suggested the NHI Killer was a new murderer, and that the modus operandi of his kills were different because he was still figuring out the most pleasurable way to kill someone. That's a nearly perfect description of Brian, as he would have just started killing.

Back when the NHI Killer's identity was still a mystery, the fact that his methods were changing so much also pointed to Brian for another reason. As Dexter fans know, Brian would eventually hone his kills to the point where he could freeze his victims and completely drain them of blood. It would have taken a long time and a lot of experience to develop that morbid skill, so it made perfect sense for Brian to start practicing as soon as he got out of the psychiatric hospital. A new serial killer getting better at killing seems like a massive arrow pointing at Brian in hindsight.

5 Dexter Had A Unique Insight Into The NHI Killer's Mind, Like He Did With Brian

Dexter Had A Preternatural Ability To Know What The NHI Killer Was Thinking, Just Like He Did With The Ice Truck Killer

Dexter's theory about the NHI Killer's relative lack of experience wasn't the only part of his investigation that indicated Brian was the murderer. With all three of the NHI Killer's victims, Dexter had an almost preternatural ability to look into the murderer's mind. He literally envisioned all three kills as they likely happened, and he seemed to know exactly what the killer was thinking at the time. One of the few other characters Dexter has shown to have that type of connection with was Brian, as seen in their cat and mouse game from Dexter season 1.

Dexter has always had a unique insight into the minds of killers, and he frequently uses his insider knowledge to solve crimes, but it was different with the NHI Killer. Dexter wasn't just relating to him as a killer, their bond seemed to run deep, almost all the way to their blood. Dexter was so similar to the NHI Killer that it would have been strange if he hadn't turned out to be Brian Moser. There's no telling how similar Dexter and Brian really were, but their ability to basically read each other's thoughts was eerily apparent in hindsight.

4 The NHI Killer's Victims Line Up With The Ice Truck Killer's

Brian Targeted Oppressed People Who Wouldn't Be Missed As Both The NHI Killer & The Ice Truck Killer

Another key part of the NHI Killer case that pointed to Brian Moser was the victims themselves. The NHI Killer got his moniker because he targeted NHIs: a term coined by Miami Metro to describe murder victims who were homeless, addicted to drugs, or sex workers - meaning "no humans involved." Maria LaGuerta deduced that the NHI Killer chose his target specifically because no one would notice if they went missing, and the police rarely gave such murders much priority in the past. That's very similar to how the Ice Truck Killer chose his victims.

All of the Ice Truck Killer's victims in Dexter - save for Tony Tucci - were sex workers. That was partially because he wanted to recreate Laura Moser's death with his own victims, but also partially because it made it harder to track him down. If it hadn't been for Deb's previous work in Vice and Dexter's connection to Brian, Miami Metro probably wouldn't have found Brian at all. Unlike his method of killing, it seems that Brian's choice of victims didn't change much as he got more experienced.

3 Original Sin Made A Point Of Showing Brian's Disturbing Habits As A Child

Brian Used To Pull Lizards' Tails Off & Even Stabbed A Man As A Child

There has also been a general focus on Brian Moser throughout Original Sin that vaguely hinted he would be important. In some of Harry's flashbacks to his time with Laura Moser, Original Sin made a point of focusing on Brian and showing how he had psychopathic tendencies from a young age. For example, he would pull the tails off living lizards for fun and Laura referred to him as a menace to all the babysitters in the area. Brian even stabbed one of Hector Estrada's men when they invaded the Moser house, which was unusual for such a young child.

Those reveals from Brian's childhood were far more in-depth than anything Dexter ever depicted. While it's not entirely unusual for a prequel show to give more information about Brian than the original show did, it does compound with all the other clues Original Sin left behind. The fact that Original Sin dedicated several different scenes to foreshadowing Brian's life as a serial killer was a major indication that he'd get to do some killing at some point in the prequel show.

2 Original Sin Episode 8 Revealed The Origins Of Brian's Multi-Colored Nails Infatuation

Brian Painted Laura's Nails With Multiple Colors On The Day She Died

Another moment where Original Sin spent just a bit too much time on Brian Moser instead of Dexter came in episode 8, when it revealed why Brian was obsessed with multicolored nails. Several of Brian's victims as the Ice Truck Killer had their fingernails painted all different colors, and he even made a point of chopping one of his kills' fingertips off entirely. As Original Sin proved, Brian was obsessed with multicolored nails because he painted Laura Moser's that way on the day she died. Just before introducing an entire new chapter in the character's life, Original Sin helped explain a key part of his murders.

Dexter had previously shown that Laura Moser wore multiple nail polish colors at the same time, explaining Brian's obsession with them. Original Sin, however, showed that Brian himself painted Laura's nails that way, and that it was the last happy memory he had of his mother.

It would have been odd if Original Sin had dedicated as much time on showing Brian's psychopathic tendencies and revealing the cause of his obsession with fingernail polish without focusing more on him as an adult. If it wasn't going to include Brian as a young adult, Original Sin likely would have focused more on Dexter during the abduction than it did on Brian, and the show probably wouldn't have dedicated several minutes to developing Dexter season 1's villain. It was a late hint at what Original Sin had in store for Brian, but a hint nonetheless.

1 The Only People Who Brian In Original Sin Are Going To Die

Harry Morgan, Bobby Watt, Aaron Spencer, & Camilla Figg Are The Only Ones Who Know About Brian Moser

One of Original Sin's hints about what it had planned for Brian Moser only became truly apparent after it revealed he was the NHI Killer. At the start of Original Sin, only four people at Miami Metro were around long enough to Brian being in the shipping container with Dexter: Harry, Bobby Watt (Reno Wilson), Captain Aaron Spencer (Patrick Dempsey), and Camilla Figg (Sarah Kinsey). After Spencer was revealed as the kidnapper and Dexter set his sights on him, and after Bobby Watt was shot, it became clear that Original Sin was clearing the way for Brian to make an entrance without being recognized.

On top of the fact that Original Sin is killing off all the characters who could identify Brian Moser, the prequel show also went out of its way to show that Harry had already hidden Brian's existence from Miami Metro. In Dexter: Original Sin episode 4, Harry asked Camilla to double-check that Dexter had been removed from Brian's file. Any fan of Dexter already knew that Harry had scrubbed all records of Dexter being Laura Moser's child from the files, so it now seems that the only reason for such a conversation was to pave the way for Brian's unnoticed return.