Resident Evil might be a story about the fear and trauma that comes with the irresponsible research into human weapons by an organization that was selfish enough to think only of its goals. But there’s a flip side to that apathy. The Raccoon City Incident, and the subsequent ripples it caused over several other places that we’ve visited over the years, has another recurring theme to it: the resilience of the people who were forced to bear the brunt of its devastation.
We’ve met quite a few of those folks over the years, each of them bringing unique perspectives and a whole lot of courage to their respective stories within the franchise’s lore. We’re taking a look at a few important characters from the past, and their current place in the story.
SPOILERS BELOW!
Why, you ask? Well, it’s because of an underlying sentiment that guides each of these core characters’ narratives. We’re setting out to show you that in Resident Evil’s world, you don’t just escape the nightmare. You carry it for a long time to come.
Let’s dive in!
Familiar Faces With Varying Trajectories
Although each of these characters has suffered the trauma that comes when you’re face-to-face with a BOW, they each have their own reasons for continuing their fight, or perhaps choosing to attempt leaving it behind. Their reasons and motivations may vary, but they’re all symbolic of a character trait that has served each of them well over their adventures – an unwillingness to be cowed down by fear or helplessness.
For these individuals, survival wasn’t the end of the journey but the beginning of a new one. We’re going to be looking at their place in the overall narrative and their last known status within the franchise’s narrative framework.
Chris Redfield – The Soldier and Mentor
We begin with Chris, who we’ve seen at multiple points in Resident Evil, with his last appearance being in Village. At this point, he had already spent the better part of his life fighting BOWs whenever he found them, the last of them being Miranda.
He is currently a mentor to Rose Winters, whom he cares for owing to his guilt over the role he played in Ethan Winter’s death. He currently leads the BSAA’s Wolf Hound Squad, training Rose to be one among its ranks, although she does keep some of her mutant abilities secret from him. By the end of Resident Evil Requiem, it’s strongly suggested that he is still hunting the Connections.
Jill Valentine – The Quintessential Survivor
After her time as Wesker’s captive and mind-controlled subordinate in Resident Evil 5, Valentine continues to be driven by her determination to put an end to bioweapons. To that end, she underwent extensive rehabilitation before she was welcomed back into the BSAA by Chris and Burton, an old friend who was the then-director of the organization.
Her last known mission took her to Alcatraz in San Francisco, where she worked alongside Chris and Claire to bring down Dylan Blake, a terrorist with quite a bone to pick with organisations whose work involved BOWs. The encounter ends with her successfully ending the threat, and expressing her pleasure at being back to her old self and happiness to be among the BSAA’s ranks again.
Leon S. Kennedy – A Supercop With Secrets
Leon rubbed shoulders with Chris, Claire, Jill, and later on with Rebecca Chambers after being made to work for the DSO after he survived the worst first day a rookie cop could have in Raccoon City. While his career fighting BOWs might have started on an unwilling note, he remains committed to ensuring that what he endured never happens again.
He had a role to play in the Alcatraz incident, working with Jill to uncover the truth behind events there, and even joined Chris in distracting Blake’s mutated form while she brought it down. That brings us to Requiem, where his investigations into the Wrenwood murders lead him to the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center for a chat with Victor Gideon before all hell breaks loose. He is infected by Raccoon City Syndrome along with Sherry. By the end of Requiem, both of them are cured and Leon is able to take down Victor Gideon and his machinations.
Claire Redfield – An Empath Through and Through
As Chris’s sister, Claire has spent a lot of time following in her brother’s footsteps as his investigation into Umbrella took him to Europe. She’s come a long way from her first appearance alongside Leon, and currently works with TerraSave, an organization that assists victims of bio-terrorism.
Claire was last seen alongside other members of the franchise’s cast on Alcatraz, sharing a lighter moment with her brother, Leon, and Jill in the aftermath of their fight against David Blake.
Ada Wong – Deadly and Devious
Wherever Leon goes, you can expect Ada to be there too. The two characters often find themselves in each other’s way, with Ada often working alongside Leon despite their goals being unaligned. She’s been quite valuable to Leon’s investigations over the years, but often has her own angle in play. Her motivations are often murky, but she does seem to have a softer side to her cynical personality.
We last saw Wong investigating her doppelganger, a former research assistant working for Derek Simmons, who was betrayed by him and turned into a perfect copy of her. Wong works alongside Leon to take down Simmons and the fake version of her, and destroy the laboratory housing all of the associated research. She then left to go to another job, the specifics of which remain unknown. We’re hoping that her path brings her to Leon’s investigation once again in Requiem, but nothing’s been confirmed yet.
Rebecca Chambers – Brains Over Brawn
Chambers is an interesting one. Her academic inclinations hide her abilities as a capable operative in the field, a facet of her character that we’ve seen during her investigations of the Ecliptic Express and the Spencer Mansion. However, she went on to become a consultant for the BSAA, supporting its field operatives through her research and fighting the threat of BOWs in her own way.
Her last appearance was at Alcatraz, where she was instrumental in bringing down David Blake by redirecting the drones he intended to use to spread a strain of the virus out into the world, using them to incapacitate his mutated form long enough for the others to defeat it. Once again, her last appearance was with the other cast members, celebrating their victory before they were evacuated from the scene.
Sherry Birkin – Devoted to the Cause
As the daughter of William Birkin and a carrier of the G-virus strain, Sherry’s long years in protective custody in the aftermath of Raccoon City’s destruction would see her regenerative abilities, stemming from exposure to the virus, make her a lab rat for the likes of Derek Simmons. However, Albert Wesker’s death allowed her to be free of custody and take on a role at the DSO, a development that she was all right with, having seen the devastation that bio-terrorism often wrought on the lives of those it affected.
Her last appearance was in RE6, where her effort to rescue Jake Muller, the son of Albert Wesker, while escaping from his captivity at the hands of Dr. Carla Radames. After successfully taking her and Simmons out of the equation and convincing Jake to provide samples of his blood as a means of developing a vaccine for the C-virus, Birkin continues to work for the DSO and is currently among their ranks alongside Leon. Interestingly, she too was infected in Requiem and is cured by the end of the game.
Barry Burton – A Father and Friend
Barry’s history with Chris would lead him down a road in which STARS and the BSAA would benefit from his weapons and combat expertise. However, as a family man, his fight against bio-terrorism would often leave him torn between his duties as a father and soldier, a facet of his character arc that came to a head in Revelations 2.
The last we saw of him was in that game, his search for Moira after her abduction from Terrasave leading him to a confrontation with Alex Wekser. He’s last seen enjoying life with his daughters, his friendship with Claire continuing after the events that led him to rescue her and Moira. His affiliation with the BSAA likely continues as well.
Carlos Oliveira – A Rare Survivor
Carlos worked with Jill to escape Nemesis and the devastation of Raccoon City, enduring a lot of hardships to manage that feat. He didn’t let his affiliation with the UBCS stop him from working with the former STARS member, displaying bravery and a cool head on his shoulders that reflected his training as a heavy weapons expert and a sort of jack of all trades within his unit.
He was last seen in Mexico, having escaped the US, and harboring a grudge against Umbrella for what the corporation’s actions had put him through.
HUNK – The Insane Warrior
As one of the most enigmatic characters in the franchise, HUNK’s time in RE2 is followed by a mission for Umbrella that would put him in the path of Alfred Ashford, a base commander whose secretive nature was a cause for suspicion in HUNK’s eyes.
After Umbrella’s fall from grace, he would go on to become a very famous mercenary and develop his own fighting style called Close Quarters Quarantined Battle Zone, and a bunch of cool gear that assisted that style. Hunk faces off against Leon in Resident Evil Requiem, and is taken down. However, there are hints that he may be alive.
Ethan Winters – More Than Just A Memory
The protagonist of Biohazard and Village might have heroically sacrificed his life to give his daughter Rose a fighting chance against Miranda, but a part of his consciousness would continue to live on in it until Rose needed a guide to help her take it down. He succeeds in helping her out, giving her the last of his power to help her gain the upper hand over Eveline.
It’s currently unknown whether that fragment of his soul survived the encounter, but it looks like he’s gone for good, with Rose now at peace with her powers and fondly looking back at her time with him.
Characters That Go Beyond Their Stories
Among the Resident Evil franchise’s greatest strengths is the fact that its many protagonists are more than just characters in a story. They’re an immune response to the virus that has devastated so many lives. They are evidence that survival is not only a possibility, but also a stepping stone to greater pursuits, each of which has prevented more suffering as a result.
But any immune response is only as good as the system that sustains it, and the franchise has had too many bad eggs that go directly against the noble intentions of the few good people who want a world without bio-terrorism.
