Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Orphan: First Kill.Orphan: First Kill sees the age-defying villain Esther return to wreak havoc on another family, and one mirrored storyline from the original Orphan movie is even more chilling in the prequel. Orphan is remembered for its shocking revelation that Esther, the seemingly young girl adopted by the Coleman family, is actually a 33-year-old woman named Leena. Featuring a refreshed group of characters, Orphan: First Kill is a prequel to the original horror movie and tells the history of Leena and how she created her alter-ego.
In Orphan: First Kill, Leena escapes an Estonian psychiatric hospital and disguises herself as Esther Albright, a young American girl who has been reported missing for four years. “Esther” is sent “back” to America where she tries to get used to her new life as part of the Albright family, but as with Orphan, it doesn’t take long before the family starts to think something is wrong with their daughter. Orphan: First Kill draws several other parallels to the original 2009 movie, including the Orphan franchise’s villain’s love of creepy art and hatred for her “brother.” But one copied storyline from Orphan is even more distressing in the prequel.
After being with the Albright family for a few days in Orphan: First Kill, Leena packs her belongings and secretly leaves with the intention of not coming back. But as she starts to walk away, she sees Allen Albright painting and is drawn back to the house. Leena’s attraction to Allen mirrors her romantic feelings for John Coleman in the first Orphan movie. Despite looking like a child, Leena is a woman who longs to be with a man and mistakes the fatherly affection of both of her dads —neither of whom know Esther’s real age or identity — for a reciprocal desire to be with her.
Why Esther Kills Her Adoptive Fathers
![Somehow, First Kill Makes Orphan’s Most Disturbing Trait Even Worse](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Untitled-(2000-×-1000-px)-(29).jpg)
Leena kills John Coleman in Orphan and Allen Albright in Orphan: First Kill because they both reject her as a potential partner. Her delusion that she could be with either of the married men, who see her as a child, is a sign of how unhinged the character is. John and Allen’s disgusted reactions to her sexual advances lead to a twisted take on cinema’s “if I can’t have you, then no one will” trope as Leena kills both men in brutal fashion.
John’s death in Orphan is gruesome, but Allen’s is more disturbing. At the end of Orphan: First Kill the Albright family house is burning down and John has the choice to save either his wife, Tricia, or “Esther.” He chooses the latter and Tricia falls to her death. With Tricia dead, Leena reveals her true identity in the hope of being with Allen. Except he still believes that she is Esther, his long-lost daughter, so he rejects her and labels Leena a monster, leading her to kill him. Allen’s death is sad and tragic because he is Orphan: First Kill‘s most innocent character, having truly believed his missing daughter had been found. If he had saved Tricia rather than “Esther,” he would have also saved himself and prevented the events of Orphan.