Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness sees Claire Redfield entangled yet again with the undead during her volunteering efforts. Set almost a decade after Raccoon City, Infinite Darkness is the first animated Netflix series from the acclaimed survival horror franchise. With Claire largely absent from main games past Resident Evil 2, Infinite Darkness becomes a fresh look into Claire’s character.
Infinite Darkness is a great interlude to reveal Claire's motivations against bioterror. Similar to her brother Chris and his life-changing events before RE Village, Claire confronts the horrors of her past with a decade’s worth of maturity. Fans of steadfast Claire Redfield may notice key differences between her depictions in other media and this recent take.
9 In Her Most Coincidental Involvement Yet
Claire Redfield in most Resident Evil media outside the games consistently started her story tangentially involved with the plot. Now that Claire is part of TerraSave, it's normal for people to expect her to respond to bioterror events. For example, her knowledge about TerraSave's efforts against WilPharma became invaluable in the Harvardville Airport incident.
In stark contrast, Claire's participation in Infinite Darkness is her most coincidental yet. Claire helped in the relief efforts in Panemstan specifically out of a love for volunteering. Had it not been for the boy's depiction of zombies, Claire would've discovered the bioterror connection way after Leon resolved the crisis.
8 An Outfit Closer To Home
Fans know Claire for her RE 2 appearance – the defining reds of her jacket with the "Made in Heaven" print. If outfits define a significant aspect of a character's design, then Claire's outfit in RE: Degeneration strikes a huge contrast in her wardrobe. In contrast to her iconic red vest, Claire's Degeneration outfit was a white button-up shirt over a red long-sleeved shirt. This attachment to red is eerily similar to that of Ada Wong's portrayal in the games.
This displeasure might be compounded with the fact that Degeneration served as Claire's only appearance in an animated film. Thanks to Infinite Darkness, Claire gets a return to form. Compared to Degeneration, Claire in Infinite Darkness returns to her original color scheme. In the recent series, Claire wore a red leather jacket over a white shirt. This getup is almost identical to her outfit in Resident Evil: Revelations 2.
7 The Absent Marksmanship
Claire will surprise newcomers to RE 2 with her fine marksmanship. Quite unlike her college student portrayal, Claire knows a thing or two about firearms. This knowledge is thanks to her brother Chris Redfield, who used to give her shooting lessons whenever he came from after tours in the military. These sessions became invaluable as Claire had to use them to help her survive Raccoon City, and she honed these skills throughout her adventures in other games.Â
Therefore, fans might be surprised to see a somewhat restrictive Claire in Infinite Darkness. Contrary to Degeneration where she managed to kick a zombie before catching a gun mid-air, Claire in Infinite Darkness certainly struggles in the more action-packed scenes. This trait is something she shares with Leon, and perhaps was a way for the series to portray their skills more realistically.
6 More Detective Than A Respondent
Infinite Darkness showed a stark contrast to the usual depictions of Claire busting zombie heads and rescuing people. In the series, Claire becomes more of an investigator after her interactions in Penamstan. It's the survivor's zombie drawing that urges Claire to investigate incidents connected to the civil war. Viewers eventually see an entire wall in Claire's motel with the stereotypical detective's map overlaid with pictures, news clippings, and post-it notes.
Claire's investigative approach serves as a stark surprise for her character, and particularly against Chris. This more intellectual side of Claire is a great "other side of the coin" counterpart to Leon's more direct approach to events.
5 Thinking On Her Feet
As expected of video game protagonists, both Claire and Leon demonstrated impressive survival skills in Infinite Darkness. Compared to other media, lore fans will find it delightful to see Claire actively thinking on her feet in the latter parts of Infinite Darkness. Whereas other media show Claire just "knowing what to do" at the moment, Infinite Darkness shows her allotting time to think.
One could say Infinite Darkness does this as a callback to the games' puzzles and quick-time events. Viewers may imagine the screen just prompting button presses while Claire tries to escape her chair before the building gets filled with acid. And Claire operating the building's sets of cranes and platforms is a nice reference to the franchise's puzzles.
4 Sending The Outbreak Expert Outside An Outbreak
After the events of Raccoon City, Claire became an active member of TerraSave. As implied in Degeneration, TerraSave is a human rights NGO that provides relief efforts to various places, especially those hit by bioterror events. It's through the efforts of TerraSave and other organizations that they managed to shut down Umbrella Corporation.
It makes sense for TerraSave's anti-bioterror advocacy to attract the likes of Claire Redfield. While TerraSave's widespread focus makes it plausible for Claire to participate in non-bioterror relief missions, it's odd to send a Raccoon City survivor outside a bioterror incident site.
3 Build-Up From Previous Media
Unlike more standalone portrayals in other media, Claire in Infinite Darkness certainly makes a lot of callbacks to her previous experiences. Whereas Claire was simply "one of the rare survivors of Raccoon City" in other appearances, Infinite Darkness subtly shows the impact of these experiences on Claire's personality.
The slightly delayed transition from panic to thinking on her feet might not be a coincidence on Claire's part. Lore fans may see this as a good reflection of Claire switching to her "survival mode" after Raccoon City. Lore fans could say her more vigilant approach against bioterrorists reflects her distaste for malignant laboratories and corporations.
2 The One With The Separation
Unfortunately for Claire, her approach to her investigation led to quite a different outcome with Leon than she expected. Claire wanted the government data on activated bioweapons to reach the world stage. Contrary to her stance, Leon opted to keep it to avoid spreading unnecessary fear.
This is possibly the first time that Claire and Leon had moral differences regarding bioterror. This separation may hint towards the lack of interaction between the two ever since. These events may also urge Claire to have a more active role against bioterror, especially outside of the games. Claire's most prominent involvement against bioterrorism outside the games would be in Biohazard: Heavenly Island, set in Sonido de Tortuga where a reality show becomes a zombie outbreak.
1 Possibly An Attachment To Reds
Perhaps a conscious choice by the creators, Claire in Infinite Darkness had quite the attachment to reds. While Leon experienced the most color association here, Claire got her own color treatment throughout her appearances in Infinite Darkness as well.
Albeit a small detail, the series screenplay almost made it a point to highlight the red-blue dichotomy between Claire and Leon from way back in RE 2. In the case of Infinite Darkness, Claire received predominant attention thanks to her colors. For example, Claire's reds made her stand out in the desert colors of Penamstan. Claire also wore a distinctly red tank top while doing her independent investigation of the Penamstan civil war.