Esther wasn't always on the hunt for children in Dead Boy Detectives. However, this was her way of recovering from Lilith's spell on her. So, what was Lilith's trick on Esther in Dead Boy Detectives? Here's what we know.
CONTENT SPOILERS: This article contains spoilers for Netflix's Dead Boy Detectives, so proceed with caution.
Who is Esther in Netflix's Dead Boy Detectives?
Esther Finch (played by Jenn Lyon) is portrayed as one of the villains of Neil Gaiman's Dead Boy Detectives, as seen from her origins story alone.
Centuries ago, Esther was one of the so-called pioneers of Port Townsend where they cut down the forests to build the town.
However, when Esther caught her husband cheating, she ended up using her mother's "books of blasphemous magic" and killed him.
Esther may have been scorned and turned away from town for her witchcraft, but she sought Lilith, the ancient goddess Lilith from the ocean, aka humanity's first woman and Adam's wife before he turned to Eve.
Lilith is an "avid supporter of scorned women", which explains why she heeded Esther's wish, just... not in the way Esther thought she would. So, what was Lilith's trick on her?
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Lilith Tricked Esther About Her Wish
Esther was seeking eternal life, but you know what they say about wishes. You'd have to be specific. In this case, Esther wished for "eternal life", which Lilith interpreted in the literal sense.
While Lilith granted that Esther could live as an immortal, Esther didn't exactly say that she would keep her youth over the years.
Because of this loophole, Esther finds out she can only regain her youth by constantly feeding little girls to a huge snake, or else she'd end up a "living skeleton" wandering about.
Unfortunately, for Esther, this doesn't end well as for her, despite the justice she wanted from Lilith. As Crystal found out when she swooped into Esther's memories, the only way to defeat Esther is by slaying the snake.
Once the beast is slayed, it "turns Esther into what she really looks like." By the end of the series, Esther transforms into a skeletal old lady and gets dragged away by Lilith.
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Meanwhile, all episodes of Dead Boy Detectives are available to stream on Netflix.
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