Highlights

  • Ethan's sacrifice in Village ties up his story, but the Shadows of Rose DLC hints at more mysteries with Rose's powers.
  • Mia's shady past as a bioweapon researcher should not be forgotten; her connections to The Connections need to be explored.
  • A balance between original characters like Chris and newcomers like Rose is key for the next installment in the Resident Evil series.

The final events of Village saw the story of Resident Evil come full circle as the beginnings of Umbrella were revealed. After Resident Evil 7 and Village took new protagonist Ethan Winters on a harrowing journey to find his missing wife Mia and their child Rose, the next Resident Evil game would make a mistake by dropping these characters completely.

Although Ethan ultimately sacrifices his own life at the end of Village to save his wife and child, the series offers a follow-up story with the Shadows of Rose DLC. This DLC follows a now-teenage Rose as she figures out how to live with her superhuman abilities, and provides a little more insight into the Winters family. However, if rumors are to be believed, and the next Resident Evil game focuses more on the series' past characters, it would be a letdown.

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Resident Evil 9 Shouldn't Completely Ditch the Winters Saga

Rose and Her Special Powers

The franchise's legacy characters definitely need to start making a comeback to the overall series, but that doesn't mean the franchise's newest additions to Resident Evil's roster have to be dropped completely. Ethan may be long gone, but there are still plenty of questions surrounding Rose and Mia, especially the former. Rose and her superhuman abilities can't just be swept under the rug, and if Resident Evil 9 chooses to avoid giving more answers to her nature, the game already runs the risk of failing to give satisfying closure.

These powers that Rose was born with hold huge implications for the broader Resident Evil universe. Furthermore, this also puts Rose in the position to be a compelling character who could teeter on the fine line between hero and villain. Such great power could potentially corrupt her into being the next big villain, or she could use it to assist Chris Redfield and his unit, especially since it seems like he's become her caretaker.

Mia's Shady Past

Ethan's wife, Mia, is a character who seems to have been completely forgotten in the grand scheme of things. In Resident Evil 7, she disappears after things go wrong while she's on assignment caring for the bioweapon Eveline. Mia is an operative and researcher for The Connections, a crime organization that is focused on creating various bioweapons. So, technically, Mia is a terrorist, and that's too compelling of an angle to just completely forget.

Also, Mia is nowhere to be found in the Shadows of Rose DLC. There's no clear answer as to her whereabouts in the DLC, which is a shame since she could have so many answers about The Connections and their inner workings. As the franchise moves forward, the storyline that Resident Evil 7 and Village established has far too much potential to just set aside, and they need to continue with the characters that brought it to life in the first place.

Bringing Original Characters and Newcomers Together

It feels highly likely that one or multiple characters from the original Resident Evil trilogy will be making their way back into the franchise, but they need to work in tandem with the newcomers. Chris Redfield is the branch that connects both the old games and the new era, so it's not impossible to have the best of both worlds. Bringing Jill or Leon back while also exploring Rose and Mia's lives doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. It will be exciting to see which direction Resident Evil will go with its next installment, but the franchise hopefully won't drop the ball after presenting such a compelling storyline in the past two games.