Any gamer and fan of Let’s Plays can look on their subscription feeds on YouTube and look across an ocean of Resident Evil 7: BioHazard plays, as far as the eye can see. There’s a reason for that. I am a HUGE fan of this game franchise. And I must warn you, continue only if you have beaten the game or you do not mind spoilers because…SPOILERS AHEAD.

These games have always scared me, since Resident Evil on Playstation. I remember being nine-years-old, my dad handing me the controller, I’d hear a moan or a growl and throw my controller at my dad and hide my face. Regardless of my intense love for the horror genre, not much has changed when it comes to this game.

I was so excited when I heard they were returning to their scary roots, I called my dad and told him we would have to play but expect it to be like old times. Unfortunately, my father passed away right before the game released, but I bravely(ish) played this game for him, hoping he could see.

Resident Evil 7 delivered: it was terrifying, the villains were intense (looking at you grandma, I know this boiler room isn’t wheelchair accessible, so how the hell did you get here?), and even though the beginning seems a far cry from other Resident Evil games, it was tied up in a beautiful Umbrella Corp. bow.

But, we’re not here to review; we’re here to talk about the ending. In the end, after Eveline mutated to take over the entire house and she has you pinned, you get a call on your wrist monitor telling you to use a mysterious pistol (one called the Albert 01-R…I see what you did there Capcom and I like it) that has appeared near you. You shoot her, she calcifies and a helicopter appears.

A soldier drops out of the helicopter, fully stocked and gas-masked (wait, that uniform looks familiar) and calls himself “Redfield.” But this doesn’t look like the Chris Redfield we know and love, before or after the RE5 revamp. He is in an Umbrella Corp. helicopter, but instead of the red and white insignia, it’s been changed to blue and white and they are there to “clean up the mess.”

This all leaves us with some questions: Who is Redfield? Did Umbrella make Eveline or could Tricell be back? Did Umbrella switch to the good side? Did Ethan work for Umbrella while Mia worked for another?

Who is Redfield?

Let’s go at this one question at a time. First, the popular theory is that “Redfield” is actually HUNK. Known for his use of gas masks, his blondish hair, his sub-machine gun, and his work with The Umbrella Corp.

If the character model for Redfield is compared with the character model for HUNK in RE3, the resemblance is startling and I can’t imagine Capcom would use two similar faces for two very important characters.

There is a DLC coming soon called “Not a Hero” starring none other than our boy Redfield, so I’m sure more answers will come to light when his story is revealed. If it is HUNK, then either he is using the name Redfield or is actually IS a Redfield and that opens up a whole new can of worms.

If it is Chris, why is he working for Umbrella and not B.S.A.A? Is it a truly a revamped Umbrella or did Chris go change sides?

Who made Eveline?

By the end of the game, you actually kind of feel bad for Eveline. Made from an actual human embryo injected with a newly discovered, highly regenerative fungus, she is a real person with extraordinary abilities. Now, while Umbrella has always worked with regeneration, they’ve stuck to viruses (G-Virus, T-Virus, etc.) in the past.

When Tricell picked up the baton, it was a parasite (Las Plagas and Uroboros) and everything was derived from a plant. Mold isn’t really Umbrella’s M.O. but could possibly be Tricell’s or a new company. By hinting at it in the game, it would seem that Lucas worked for one of these companies and sold out Eveline to a competing company but none are named.

Did Umbrella really leave the dark side?

That might be impossible to answer until the DLC is released. Obviously the company has gotten reworked, but for what purpose remains a mystery. It is apparent that Umbrella has been watching the testing facility under the salt mine because helicopters with the insignia were spotted by the miners.

Do Ethan and Mia both work for bioweapon companies?

The answer to Mia is easy, of course she works for the company that created Eveline. She was working as her “babysitter” to move her to Central America before Eveline got out of control. The company is never named but it seems apparent she kept it from her husband.

Ethan, however, is a different story. For the average Joe, he seems really confident to go into this plantation alone, seems cool with getting his hand chain-sawed off, and doesn’t seem too surprised when his thought-to-be-dead wife goes ape-shit and attacks him.

But what really sticks in my craw is what he said when Redfield showed up. When he zips down from the helicopters, Redfield says, “I’m glad we found you.” Cut to black and you hear Ethan say, “The fuck took you guys so long?” Check out the final boss fight and scene I’m talking about.

That, to me, says familiarity and expectation, not “OMG I’VE HAD THE NIGHT FROM HELL GET ME OUT OF HERE AND I NEVER WANT TO SEE A BUG OR EVEN MOLDY PIECE OF BREAD AGAIN!” None of it goes down easy, and it leaves more questions than answers, a sure set up for another game.

Hopefully, some of these questions in Resident Evil 7 will be answered with “Not a Hero.” At least between the “Redfield” reference and the mention of Raccoon City in game, we know it’s the same universe 19 years after the events of Resident Evil 1-3.

Now, go! Play Resident Evil 7, form your theories and let us know what you think the end means. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. And if you can’t get enough Resident Evil 7, check out the new DLC.

(Featured image courtesy of saglamoyun.com)