I dunno if he's dead for good then how are they gonna keep cutting off his hands, which is what Resident Evil is about now I'm pretty sure.

Well considering the entire point of Village is that no one is ever really dead once their consciousness is absorbed into the mold plant I can see them bringing him back - although his daughter is a much more interesting option for the final game of the “mold trilogy” they’ve established.

I liked where the arc went as a whole. I don't know that I was fully sold on him sacrificing himself, I don't think they did a good job of explaining why he was suddenly falling apart more than normal. But the actual explanation of why he's been able to be so resilient and retrofitting it into the events of 7 actually made me like that game more in retrospect. Felt like they actually delivered on this OTT hyper-injury mechanic that they'd been using over the course of the past two games.

It was such a good twist that he had died before, the start of 7 even, but it really does explain how he slots his hand back on. He wss a cool protagonist, interesting how they never revealed his face.

His daughter seems interesting, hope she is the main character next time. Ethan is seen at the end but who knows if that's in her head or even meant to be seen.

Were there really a lot of people who got to that hand part and thought "Dat don't make no sense!"? Because when I got there I immediately thought "Oh, there must be some residual E-type infection from 7." It does get explained but I was expecting a slightly more technical aspect to it, like that the cure he takes in 7 wasn't a cure, but rather a vaccine. I mean he gets Bruno Bucciarati'd essentially where his body is moving based on his last will and testament of "save my family at all cost" until his task is complete. I'm mixed on his ultimate fate because while I think Ethan might be my fave RE protag, I don't really care that much that this is the end of his story (maybe someone should change the game's wiki header). I think Rosemary is already a more interesting protag if they go forward with her based on VIllage being one big bizarre origin story for her. What IS she...? We'll have to wait and see.

@humanity: The very end of the game ties a knot on Ethan's story. It says this at the end "The father's story is now over.". I think that basically confirms that Rosemary will be the main character of RE 9. Given that a time skip takes place, perhaps it will tie into the ending of RE Revelations 2. If you remember, the end of that game hinted at what could happen in the future.

@mezmero: Rosemary is an interesting character indeed, she could also be a great antagonist.

I mean, after the hand bit, I figured something was up. In the end, it's just the twist from Prototype, right? I guess it's cool that they went back and put the twist in the previous game, but honestly, it wasn't that big a shock. I really liked Village, too, including the 'twist'. I don't have to not see it coming to enjoy it.

That said, I do sorta agree, Ethan isn't great as a protagonist because I'm not a huge fan of blank protagonists you imprint yourself on, I prefer those that have a defined personality that perhaps you can steer a bit but remain themselves, ala Geralt or Ezio. Ethan technically isn't a tabula rasa silent protagonist, but he almost may as well be.

@mechashadow84: Yah I doubt they will bring him back as the main protagonist but I can definitely see them just bringing him back because Resident Evil likes to do stuff like that and the story seems to have left an opening for them to do so. Unless bombing that village somehow killed the mold hive mind for good. A lot of things in Village are sort of hazy on how they even work.

@mezmero: I mean he gets Bruno Bucciarati'd essentially where his body is moving based on his last will and testament of "save my family at all cost" until his task is complete.

That's such an interesting train of thought - like a mold golem, of sorts.

Ethan was a total blank slate, so I didn't care at all. After he gets killed by Miranda it's like: oh, hmm, I wonder if the guy with insane regenerative capabilities will come back to life.

My way bigger problem is, and I understand the instinct, but they totally botched the execution on the ending. I get it -- Chris has been Ethan's main point of contact throughout the game, so they figured he should be the last person Ethan sees before he dies.

But -- and crazy idea here, I know -- what if, the last person that Ethan sees, instead of the meathead who got everyone into this mess in the first place, is... HISWIFE!?

It would create the cleanest closing point to the opening scene of the game, and not to mention, would be more dramatic. What does Chris have to say to Ethan? "No!" "You can make it!" "God damn it!"

What would Mia have to say to Ethan, after god knows how long locked up, after Ethan has thought she's dead this whole time, and with Rose between them? I don't care how inept a writer you are, that scene writes itself. And would have been a much more appropriate close to not just Village, but Ethan and Mia's arc in 7 and Village in general. If I'm supposed to care about his family, why does the writer (figurative here, I know there were probably multiple writers working within harsh constraints,) not care at all outside of that opening scene and motivation?

Rose and Mia are just plot drivers. But they could have been more. And don't misunderstand me, this isn't some EDGE review of DOOM "but what if you could talk to these monsters" level armchair game designer thing; the pieces are all there, and it feels like that's what they're building up to by having Rose, Mia, and Ethan all in the same place. Why not have it be Mia that finds Ethan in the village? Sure, Chris can try to pull rank and be all "I'm a military guy you gotta listen to me," but Mia has the ultimate shorthand motivation trump card: her husband and child are in there. You can justify so many actions, especially just running to see them against Chris' wishes, with that motivation.

But no, the more important thing is the Greater Resident Evil Saga and giving Chris closure. It's his guilt for not saving Ethan that is centered, it's closure for seeing him shoot "Mia" at the beginning, the last 20 minutes is pretty much centered entirely on Chris' character: HIS guilt at Ethan dying, HIS inability to tell Mia what happened, HIS move on the BSAA.

In a game supposedly about Ethan trying to save his family, we get not one moment of catharsis in that vein -- and it would have been really easy to accomplish that. But, this is Resident Evil, and Chris Redfield is Chris Redfield, and he's on the cover, so we have to center him even as the story pulls us in other directions. And it comes off incredibly unnatural.

But yeah, zero shits about Ethan himself. Just annoyed at the obvious missed opportunity in the story.

I feel like there were definitely missed opportunities with RE8 but I still think its going to potentially be my Game of the Year. I didn't need Rose or Mia to be more in the story. Ethan is 100% a blank slate BUT I think the reason it fails is because he emotes, talks to himself, etc and you can't have a "blank slate" that's 100% not a blank slate.

Chris Redfield being handled poorly is...old hat for Capcom? I can't remember the last time I wasn't annoyed with how they used him...maybe Code Veronica? I like Chris, in theory, but at this point I'm mostly interested in how the characters (who haven't been shown to have died) are fairing in the world. Also with the BSAA that has to be DLC for Re8, right? Massive dangling plot thread they didn't touch on at all and then we get a time jump that SEEMS to be like 12-15 years in the future?

@sammo21: See, that's partially what rankles me so much -- the stuff I'm talking about isn't a wish list of "man, Mia and Rose should have shown up in every mission and been developed more throughout" -- I was A-Okay with the story they were telling and how utilitarian it was from getting you from one haunted house to the next, only for them to miss that obvious a choice at the ending?

It's the smallest thing, but it's the difference between "wife dying for dude's motivation as a prop" and an actual ending for a couple who are the two main characters of this arc in Resident Evil. And I would normally not expect that, (this is Resident Evil, after all, and I've loved every moment of the schlock,) but they actually had a decent setup to get some more oomph out of the finale, and just... left it. 7 had a better understanding of this, but I think the writers just fell for the "well Chris has had more screen time so this is who needs to say bye to Ethan."

Money left on the table.

@lapsariangiraff: I think it was handled quite poorly in RE7 as well. The choice you're given between saving Mia and...the sister (cannot remember her name) ends up being awful on both ends in my opinion. I think the writing across the board is kind of a missed opportunity in both of these games so far and the whole "The Father's Story Is Over" bit at the end just annoyed me too but I feel like there hasn't really been a "father's story" for Ethan. I see where you're coming from and I think I am probably 99% with you on it. The stuff I think I end up being more annoyed about is all the BSAA stuff that's going on they don't really talk about at all. The revelation of the BSAA using bioweapons is a big deal for that world...I guess it will end up being DLC?

@sammo21: I think we are simpatico on this as well.

@lapsariangiraff: I would also like to know how, and why, they split Rose into 4 parts. That feels like a massive plot hole to me. Not only do I not understand HOW it happened but I also don't really get WHY. I assume Ethan was really turned over to Heisenberg because she knew he was the one most likely to turn on her and this would appease him...but that's just me assuming it. I read everything outside of 3-4 notes I missed and I doubt the answers are in those 4. Like you said, everything dealing with "Blue Umbrella" and the BSAA was teased with 0 resolution or explanation. I'm also confused WHY Ethan finally died at all because if it had to do with mold why didn't we see ANY mold creatures like what was seen in RE7? Meh...I loved playing RE8 but talking about all this in detail makes me like it way less ><

@sammo21:

@sammo21: I was similarly curious why they needed to split her into pieces at all. My only theory is that the "ceremony" they were waiting on required some more.. waiting.. for whatever reason. So they quite literally put her "on ice" and then split her between the lords for safe keeping. It's convoluted as all hell and seems really pointless but I don't know why else they would do it especially since they seemingly put her back together in the end. Also the fact that her body parts become a big totem key used to move an elevator is just head shaking dumb. He just leaves her there too, in that big elevator.

Also I haven't played RE7 so I'm not clear on this but was Mia already pregnant in that game or are we entertaining the extremely gross thought that Ethan made entirely out of mold actually conceived the child with her. I assume Rose has special abilities - also left unclear what those are - because of the mold stuff in her? It's a fun ride but the moment you start picking at any loose strings the whole thing just kind of falls apart.

People hate on Ethan, but I liked him. He responded to events how a real person would. You could boil his entire personality down to “What the...” or “What is going on?!” but that’s all I’d be saying too if I ran into any of the shit in 7 or 8 as a fresh newcomer human to the RE-verse. Not a fan of Village letting down its guard and sliding back into the old RE campiness & overcomplexity. I prefer the less actiony, less mob-heavy, slower-paced spooky gameplay that made up Ethan’s sections of RE7.

So all that is to say I’m bummed that we’re either going to play as an RE alum in RE9, or — even worse — they’re going to add yet another layer of nonsense with Rose and her special abilities. I really just want a full reboot but I know they’re pot-committed at this point.

In Resident Evil 9, he discovers he has no head in the first cutscene.

It's not magic, it's mold!

@humanity: At the start of RE7 Mia has been missing and held captive at the Baker estate for 3 years, so Rose wasn't conceived until well after Ethan "died", so yeah, Rose is...some sort of Human/mold hybrid I guess. I think a bigger question that's a hanging thread from 7 is that...post 7 Ethan and Mia got a happily ever after despite Mia being a bioterrorist? Like...we find out in 7 that she was working for "The Connections" and was involved in the development and care of Eveline, but that kinda never comes up again? Also how the heck did Chris not know about Ethan being mold, which Mia did seem aware of? Like how did they get rescued from the Baker Estate and get cleared as totally virus free??? I know RE storytelling isn't particularly great but I don't feel like the other games have been quite THIS messy.

Oh another question...so in 7 Chris is working for Blue Umbrella, but it's elaborated on in the DLC that he's on loan from the BSAA. Cut to Village and Blue Umbrella doesn't seem to be really mentioned at all, Chris and his group aren't working for the BSAA, and now the BSAA are themselves using BOWs??? I feel like I missed a spin off in between games....

My extremely weird take is that Chris is basically the Wesker of this game. Doesn't seem to hold water since he is technically on the side of the angels but in terms of doing shady shit behind the scenes, knowing more than he lets on, and to top it off literally working FOR Umbrella I found him immensely unlikable in a similar way I did with Wesker. But it's like if you scaled Wesker waaaaay back from the mustache-twirling, inexplicably British?, super villain that he had become and instead made him more of an ambiguous faction whose goals are unclear. Kind of like how he was in the very first game. I found it interesting that Chris straight up refers to Miranda as a "bio weapon". It implies some sort of other entity deliberately deployed her in this European locale.

@miserywizard: Well if you go by Dungeons and Dragons rules he's more of a mold revenant. Golems typically can't heal themselves and need to be manually repaired to regain hit-points whereas revenants continue regenerating until their unfinished business is complete.

@panfoot: Well then thats just gross.

Good! We're hoping for Rosemary to be the protagonist of RE9.

Honestly I am hoping that Chris, Wolf Hound, and Rose are the protags of RE9. I would love to have a co-op mode for RE8 DLC where we play as wolf hound people. They had so much stuff they cut and changed from RE8 they all seemed to originally have different abilities and stuff. Even Chris had a wicked axe in one of the images.

Awesome, that makes a lot of sense! It's a cool way of looking at the game, and gives the character some depth that it cannot otherwise create with his vapid bro personality lol

I spent all of RE7 lamenting how lame and one-note Ethan was, and I was worried that RE8 would just be more of him being Save Family Man, the most specific superhero. So, I was happy that RE8's bonkers-ass direction complemented the "normal-ness" of Ethan really well. He actually feels like a good example of a flat character, who's defined entirely by the other characters he plays off of. Plus his intentionally bad (they're intentionally bad, right? They have to be) one-liners are pretty charming in a weird way. "You-- You're the one who's cursed!" Wow got her, Ethan.

As for what actually happens at the end, I thought the scene with Eveline was actually really affecting and sad. I think the VA for Eveline is really good; her and the music made that scene for me. I appreciated the nod to 7, the surprisingly aware reasoning of "yeah... why WOULDN'T Jack have just killed him and covered him in mould? That's the obvious choice", and the justification for why Ethan can get so fucked up constantly. So I voted "good" because I liked it, not because I'm glad he's dead or something.

Also, if I had to put money on it, I'd say it's unlikely Ethan comes back, at least as the primary playable character, considering the confident "the father's story is now done" message. If 7, 8, and 9 are a trilogy, then I hope we play as Rose, and get to do some crazy stuff with her powers. Instead of a Leon roundhouse from RE4, I hope we have tentacle attacks/throws, or stuff like Wesker's super punch from RE4 Mercenaries. I'll be a little disappointed if her powers are all plot-trapped, and don't affect gameplay. If we could get some other RE mainstay characters to matter in this trilogy, that'd be cool too. Leon? Claire? Jill? Barry? ...Rebecca? Now there's a longshot. What about the Outbreak crew? 7 made them 100% canon. Let's go, Alyssa Ashcroft! Never been the biggest Chris fan. Ada got cut from the game early on, so they were clearly thinking about it.

I dunno if he's dead for good then how are they gonna keep cutting off his hands.which is what Resident Evil is about now I'm pretty sure.

It was a good twist ending, but given how the mold works, Ethan can easily be brought back to life. I believe if you look carefully during the after credits ending, you see a ghost of Ethan following behind the car Rose is in.

One thing I liked about RE7 was that it, initially, had me going "okay, so how does this connect to RE as a whole though?" It did have newspapers, articles, and a painting that you can look at that indicate it's connected, but there had to be more I thought. And so at the end, when Chris came in, it felt like you were in the middle of yet another Resident Evil outbreak, but from the perspective of some random dude caught in the middle and not one of the RE mainstays. I thought that was interesting.

I've beaten that game multiple times so while that initial thought has somewhat changed, my feeling of Ethan as a rather uninteresting part of the whole had never changed, and they kind of made him less bearable in Village. The question of him being infected telling by his hand being cut off, then leg in seven was the only interesting part but turns out he was molded. I do find it interesting I suppose, but I still didn't care. I get the feeling Ethan is dead because of the way his arm crumbled as you've seen all the molded do when they die.

Ethan's dialogue mainly consists of 'what the hell?' It puts Solid Snake (and I'll even add Commander Shepard) to shame when it comes to incessant questioning. I will say, however, that I am not someone that hates him and goes "He is the absolute worst! GUH!" He's just a bore. As for RE9, although I agree with most that assume we'll probably play as Rose, I'd actually like to see Mia back as playable, and even protagonist. She has some history with The Connections. I'm also under the assumption that the end with Rose is not as far ahead as some may suspect since it hints that Rose has some form of accelerated growth.