Lilith is one of the most controversial figures in the history of Diablo. In Lord of Hatred, the latest expansion of Diablo 4, she appears to show a seemingly selfless side. Has the demon suddenly become an angel – or is there more to it?
Most of you probably already know this, but Lilith is the Mother of Humanity, quite literally. And yet we fight her. When she was announced as the antagonist of Diablo 4, there were cheers of joy everywhere.
Consequently, many fans were disappointed when Lilith simply … vanished at the end of the campaign. Dead. Or at least it seemed that way, because with Lord of Hatred she made a reappearance, something many players had hoped for.
The entire story of the expansion revolves around her and her father Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, and leads to some confusion at times. I’ll try to shed some light on this.
Spoiler Warning: This should be clear from the title, but this is about one of the most important, perhaps the most important moment in the story of Lord of Hatred. If you haven’t played the expansion and want to experience everything “blind,” you should not read on.
Can a mother really be evil?
This question has been asked many times by fans and the answer has always been: “Yes.”
Lilith and Inarius created Sanctuary together as a kind of refuge, a world that neither demons nor angels can see and where their children are safe from the eternal conflict.
Nevertheless, both the demon and the angel had their own plans:
- Lilith wanted to use humanity – or more precisely: the Nephalem – for her own goals, virtually as a weapon.
- For Inarius, the Nephalem became too powerful over time, and out of fear of them, he even wanted to destroy them, at least weaken them. Something for which Lilith takes bitter revenge.
Still, both Lilith and Inarius often manage to convince humans that they only want good for them, partly even succeeding even with players who know more than the people in the world. Lord of Hatred has added to that.
Lilith protects her children from Diablo, makes the ultimate sacrifice
During the campaign, it is revealed that Lilith is not truly “dead”, a part of her still lives on in the player character. This connection is ultimately the reason why Mephisto can exert influence over the world.
Lilith helps you fight Mephisto and even provides you with a weapon forged from her own bones to defeat him. In the perhaps best cutscene of the entire franchise, she asks you to kill her – to loosen Mephisto’s grip over you.
In the game, this seems like the sacrifice of a mother who wants to ensure her child can continue to live, especially since she has just shown almost maternal feelings for her first son Rathma. However, this is a great deception.
A demon remains a demon – And only rarely stays dead
The fact is that Lilith just recently called you unworthy and downright despised you, no comparison to her “real” children. Even if her feelings for Rathma and the first Nephalem were genuine, this is hardly the case for the Wanderer from Diablo 4.
Speculation can only be made about the reason for her sacrifice, but two reasons seem likely:
- She is pursuing other plans, which she could only achieve if Mephisto was defeated first, and for that, she is willing to risk her own death.
- Or her hatred for Mephisto was even greater than her will to survive, after all, she is the daughter of hatred.
However, it is very likely that she has already spun intrigues that will enable her return someday, as in the world of Diablo, demons rarely die for real. They are reborn in the hells or are banished into the void until someone manages to summon them back. That is exactly what has now happened with Mephisto and probably also Lilith.
While it might be possible that Blizzard comes up with some sort of “redemption arc” where Lilith becomes the first angel born of a demon, the likelihood that she cannot change her evil nature is greater. Demons are, by definition, evil and remain so. This, along with the fact that she literally is the mother of humanity, does not stop players from having strange wishes: “Hey, I didn’t want serious answers” player demands naked Lilith in Diablo 4, sparking amusing discussion
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