We’re going to start this one off with a massive spoiler warning. We’re going to be diving deep into Requiem’s plot, and if you’re yet to finish the story, you might want to hold off on watching this one. But we do encourage you to come back to it, as Requiem sets things up quite nicely for the games that are going to follow it.
But wait, didn’t the story wrap things up quite well, with both Grace and Leon in a fairly good place at the end of it all? Well, yes, but things are more complicated once you think about all of the loose ends the story left us with, many of them tied to Victor Gideon, its antagonist. Leon might have dispatched him with brutal efficiency at the end of the story, but we believe the man’s actions are going to have consequences that reach beyond the game’s narrative boundaries.
Why do we think so? That’s the question we’re here to tackle. Let’s dive in and find out more about how Gideon could be a presence hovering in the background of whatever Resident Evil could bring us in the future.
A Mysterious, Malevolent Man
Let’s start with what we know about Gideon from our time in Requiem. Our first encounter with him was Grace’s abduction, his calm, almost emotionless manner being a very unsettling part of his personality. He was callous enough to just dose a bunch of innocent bystanders with the virus just so he could get away from Leon. We knew that this man was going to be a source of trouble.
At the Rhodes Hill Care Center, we saw a more calculating side to him as he cleverly cut Leon off from Grace, ensuring that his captive was isolated and easier for him to eventually capture. But the cracks began to show, at least for us, when he failed to ensure Leon didn’t have any tools on him when he had him tied up. Did his fervor for finding Elpis cause him to overlook a simple knife?
And yet, he quickly regained control of the situation, managing to evade Leon and continue to try to recapture Grace, taking her to Raccoon City after her meeting with Zeno. Gideon seemed happy to play second fiddle to the Wesker-wannabe, and we kept wondering why he would do so when he was clearly quite knowledgeable and did most of the heavy lifting in that partnership.
And then came the final leg of the story, in which Gideon showcased his brawn alongside his brains, and a fervor for Oswell Spencer that bordered on fanatical. He chased Leon, showcasing an ability to take a lot of punishment in the process. He dispatched Zeno with nothing more than a cursory flick of his newly formed tentacles. He’d clearly made the most of his T-Virus symptoms, even harnessing it to transform into a Nemesis variant that Leon summarily dispatched. But that battle raised several important questions. Whose side was he really on?
Shifting Loyalties
Gideon’s origins were left largely murky over the course of the story, and we never really know where he got his extensive knowledge of Elpis from, aside from his former employment at Umbrella and the subsequent work he did for The Connections. And while the story eventually revealed the true origins and intended function of Elpis, and the fact that it was The Connections who lobbied for the bombing of Raccoon City to cover up its existence at the ARK Lab, Gideon’s intentions have largely been left unexamined.
Did he want to acquire Elpis for his own personal gain, selling it to the highest bidder? Was his zealotry towards Spencer’s work a factor in his desire to unlock its secrets? Did he intend to use it as a cure for himself, an end to his infection? He’d clearly turned his infection into a source of strength and power, but was it something he hated about himself, and a potential cause for his outbursts of anger?
That there are no answers on offer to any of these questions makes us wonder about whether Gideon’s really dead, a nagging doubt made even more incessant by the mid-credits scene where soldiers from an unknown organization acquired something after killing all the BSAA operatives present at the time. Could that have been tissue from Gideon’s Nemesis form, which could be used to bring him back? The man did showcase some excellent regenerative abilities, after all.
It’s clear that Gideon’s time with The Connections was nothing more than a means to an end. But what goal did all of his research serve if it wasn’t in service to the shadowy organization? Does his past factor into Chris Redfield’s investigation of the BSAA, considering that his Wolf Squad knew exactly where to look for Grace and Leon? We could write that off as Sherry contacting the BSAA, but Chris’s willingness to help might have more to it than meets the eye. And if it does, we’re almost certain that Gideon has something to do with it.
His ties to Umbrella are also a part of why we think his part in the franchise’s lore isn’t fully done yet. He has an understanding of the T-virus that has allowed him to harness its benefits while largely mitigating its malignant effects. That’s something even Leon and the entire DSO, BSAA, and rival organizations hadn’t managed to achieve so far, not on the level that he did. We’ve speculated that Blue Umbrella might not have entirely altruistic motives guiding its efforts to combat bioterrorism. Could Victor have been the one guiding it from the shadows, its operatives being the ones who revisited the scene of his demise after the main story?
We’re going to have to wait for answers, but all of these unanswered questions are a great example of how Victor Gideon has managed to steal away Grace and Leon’s spotlight despite their harrowing adventure coming to a relatively pleasant end.
A Compelling Character
We feel Requiem should’ve been more restrained in how it handled Grace and Leon, keeping their roles and revelations under wraps for longer. The fact that the latter had a personal stake in investigating Gideon was more than obvious from the game’s promotional materials. That kind of took away some of the shock value that his condition should have invoked in us when we learned more about his condition, and the fact that he was on borrowed time for the majority of the story.
While Grace’s story was a little more engaging thanks to her being a new addition to the cast, it was easy to see where her path was taking her, the twist regarding her true relationship to Alyssa aside. And while her raw vulnerability and determination to make the best out of a bad situation did make her a nuanced protagonist, it was Gideon who we kept wanting to see more of.
His unsettling presence, distinct lack of loyalty to one faction or the other, and the fact that he could pose quite a threat to anyone trying to take him on in a fair fight made him our favorite new character in the franchise, and perhaps even our most favorite antagonist to boot.
It’s also why we’re sure we’re going to see more of him, either in person after he makes a miraculous recovery, or through finding more of his work as Grace, Leon, Sherry, and potentially Chris work towards uncovering more of what The Connection was up to in the days since Raccoon City’s bombing. We suspect that even Emily has a part to play in the franchise’s next chapter, and perhaps has a connection to Gideon that we haven’t seen coming at all.
Irrespective of the angle from which you look at his presence in Requiem, Victor Gideon is a sort of narrative hub, a catalyst for events from the past and the present that the franchise can further develop in future instalments. Of course, Grace and Leon are going to be a part of those investigations, but it is thanks to Gideon’s machinations that they even have one to begin with. And that’s a testimony to how well-written his character was.
We find ourselves almost hoping that we didn’t see the end of this deliciously deluded doctor in Requiem. It’s quite a novel feeling to find ourselves rooting for an antagonist, but if anyone has the power to bring new twists to Resident Evil’s overarching narrative, it’s Victor Gideon. He’s a character who shouldn’t be relegated to the background thanks to the immense narrative potential he carries. It helps that he’s also quite commanding when he’s on screen, his quiet voice and a tendency to play mind games making him fit well within the franchise’s tone and setting.
Time will tell if our guesses are either partially or fully correct, but we’re sure hoping that the road ahead for Resident Evil has more of Victor Gideon along the way.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
