When it comes to live-action Resident Evil adaptations, fans expect one thing: to see their favorite characters appear onscreen. Do legendary heroes like Leon S. Kennedy or Chris Redfield appear in Netflix’s show? They do not but based on season one’s ending, the second season could offer more fan favorites. Hopefully, Netflix will renew it.
The only character fans will recognize is Albert Wesker. He died in Resident Evil 5, which may cause fans to raise an alarm. Everything will be explained in Resident Evil, so give this new Netflix show a watch. There are plenty of new characters to love besides Wesker. To properly rank each, there will be spoilers.
8 Simon
Simon is Jade’s love interest in Netflix’s Resident Evil. He can be charming, but he’s a low-tier character on the list because there is not much to him. He’s kind of there to be just that, a love interest. He’s also the hacker friend that keeps helping Jade no matter how many times Billie glares at him, or Jade dismisses him. There’s no reason why he should like Jade. So, Simon is a character in the show, but he doesn’t have a character.
7 Angel Rubio
Angel Rubio is a reporter that is desperate to uncover the seedy underbelly of Umbrella. His mission is compelling, but the show doesn’t give him enough time to expand his story. When things start to get interesting, he gets captured by Umbrella and eventually gets an overdose of Joy via Wesker.
Unfortunately for Wesker, he inadvertently created another Tyrant on the scale of Nemesis or Mr. X, Angel may be dead, but he will live on in season two as this new creature.
6 Jade
Jade is the main character of the show which should mean she is the most compelling. She is far from the best character in Netflix’s Resident Evil, though, and there are a number of reasons for that. As a teen, her angst toward her father Wesker feels unwarranted.
Also, as previously mentioned, she uses Simon like a toy. Billie says it best as Jade treats life like the “Jade Show.” In the present, she also makes bad decisions like inviting a zombie onboard The University, which leads to her pregnant friend dying. Her husband, Arjun, and daughter, B, deserve a quick mention too. They’re unfortunately not given enough time to establish what kind of characters they are, though.
5 Billie
Billie’s slow roll into becoming a zombie was a compelling part of season one. Not only was she a teenager trying to cope with typical issues, like making friends, but she was battling a deadly disease too. That scene between her and Jade in the end wherein she tried to hold her hand, but Jade hesitated, was heartbreaking.
She didn’t mean to bite Simon, but it happened, and she felt terrible. Her adult form is less compelling, but season two should shed some light on why her character turned into a loyal Umbrella lapdog.
4 Wesker
Wesker has some high highs and some low lows. One of his best scenes in the show is when he intimates his fellow father at school, David. He breaks him down by telling him how insignificant he is as an Umbrella employee. Season one should have included more intimidation scenes like this, but it’s understandable why there weren’t.
Netflix’s Resident Evil wanted to show that this Wesker was not the same one as in the games. He can be intimidating and a little morally corrupt, but he isn’t a power-hungry leather daddy like the original Wesker.
3 Richard Baxter
Richard Baxter is the bigger Umbrella employee that is chasing Jade around for the first four episodes of the show. His name isn’t mentioned specifically in the show, so at first, it may not sound familiar. As a villain, he fits the typical corporate lapdog bill perfectly.
He’s high on the list for episode four alone. He makes a fun callback to the games wherein he calls himself the master of unlocking like Jill Valentine. He is a proud dad to two dogs, which is sweet. Plus, he kills zombies like they were ants. As bad as he was, it was sad when he died, which was another strike against Jade’s character.
2 Evelyn
Evelyn is the perfect charismatic female villain for a Resident Evil show. She’s the type of character fans love to hate, sort of like Cruella de Vil. That’s a perfect analogy because Evelyn’s antics can sometimes be a bit too cartoon-like. She is almost too evil, like when she cuts the head off of the rat with scissors or when she drugs her wife.
One of her best scenes is when she starts dancing to Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now.” Also, her range of outfits throughout season one is top-notch.
1 Bert
Bert steals the show as the only other surviving Wesker clone. He is revealed at the end of episode six in the prison cell next to Wesker’s. The best scene featuring Bert was in Olive Garden, wherein he couldn’t get over the unlimited breadsticks. His childlike wonder brought some joy into an otherwise dark void. Hopefully, he can keep up his goofy side in season two.
As a side note, it’s funny that Olive Garden keeps making the rounds into live-action video game adaptations. First, it was the Sonic movie, and now Netflix’s Resident Evil. What’s next for the Italian giant?