TV - Movies
The Ending Of
Orphan
Explained
By SAMANTHA BAMBINO
Released in 2009, "Orphan" offers a fresh spin on the creepy kid concept, one that goes beyond a youngster becoming zombified or possessed by an evil entity. “Orphan” centers on Esther, a seemingly intelligent, respectable 9-year-old from Russia who's up for adoption, but when an unhappily married couple brings her home, they soon realize she’s not as sweet as she appears.
While digging around Esther's room, Kate, her new mom, uncovers a Bible stuffed with pictures of middle-aged men and the label "Saarne Institute." Upon contacting the facility, Kate learns that it's a mental institution from which Esther, who is actually a 33-year-old Estonian woman named Leena with a rare form of proportional dwarfism, escaped.
Ultimately, inappropriate attention from a paternal figure is the only kind of affection Esther knows, and she seeks out this attention from unsuspecting adoptive dads. From infancy, her own father sexually abused her and even though she is the root cause of many heinous crimes, her unnatural upbringing caused her to be trapped in a continuous cycle of insanity.
Kate has struggled with alcoholism in the past and always felt guilty for her daughter Max's near-death experience in a nearby frozen lake. In the final moments of "Orphan," Kate and Max find themselves fighting Esther at the very same lake, and Kate forcefully kicks Esther in the face, breaking her neck and leaving her body to sink into the icy depths of the water.
The ending of “Orphan” allows Kate to redeem herself, making it clear that Esther’s clearly not a child in need that isn’t worthy of Kate's motherly love. This time, instead of putting Max’s life at risk, she saves it.