Capcom's revival of the Resident Evil series over the last few years has had plenty of ups and downs, but one major high for the latest remakes and new entries has been its enemies. The most recent title Resident Evil Village and its predecessor have worked to create nuanced villains that tug at the heartstrings as much as they act as imposing threats during Resident Evil's boss fights.
However, a twist from the end of Resident Evil Village adds a whole new layer into both games starring Ethan Winters and the enemies he has faced off against, especially the previous game's Jack Baker. Major Spoiler for Resident Evil Village ahead, diving into the ending of both that, Resident Evil 7, and the truth behind the megamycete mold.
Ethan's Relationship with the Megamycete
It's revealed late in Resident Evil Village's runtime that Ethan Winters isn't actually the same person that was introduced at the beginning of the previous game. He was murdered by Jack Baker and revived by the mold, which is used to explain how Ethan is able to take so much physical abuse throughout the two games without dying. This also helps to explain how first aid meds work to not only repair damage, but also reconnect severed limbs and stop excessive bleeding caused by losing several fingers.
While this acts as a clever way to explain things like Ethan's clothes healing alongside his body, it also retools how players view both the protagonist and anyone else infected by the megamycete. This also builds a connection between Ethan and the villains that he fights, helping to explain how he has been able to kill giant monsters as an average guy with little combat training before Resident Evil 7. The reveal of Ethan's fate in Resident Evil Village gives a whole new meaning to the speech given by Jack Baker, the man who killed him in the first place.
Jack Baker's Speech in the Mold
Toward the end of Resident Evil 7, Jack Baker reaches out to Ethan while they are all connected in the megamycete mold, trying to explain what the bioweapon has done to his family. He reveals that the mold changes people and makes them do things they wouldn't normally do. This is meant to explain why Mia attacks Ethen even though they are supposedly married and in love, as well as absolve Jack and his family of their wrong doings by shifting the blame onto the mold.
However, there are certain things that are still unsettling about this conversation with Jack, specifically the way he frames his family as a perfect household in which tragedy struck and turned them into monsters. The parts that are strange start with Zoe, who objects to Jack's initial conclusion that they were really nice people before the megamycete. There's also the issue of Lucas Baker, who is dealt with in Resident Evil 7's Chris Redfield DLC, but Jack claims wouldn't have hurt a fly before being infected by the mold.
Lucas Before the Megamycete
As some lore hunters familiar with the backstories in Resident Evil 7 and 8 are aware, Lucas isn't the angel that Jack Baker makes him out to be in his final speech. In fact, the games that Lucas plays with Clancy in video tapes, and with Ethan in the present game, aren't the first ones he's made. Lucas is also somehow connected to Umbrella, having communicated with the series villains from before the infection reached the Baker household in the present day Resident Evil 7.
This all means that Jack is either completely unaware that his son regularly tortures and murders people on the property, or simply doesn't want to believe Lucas is capable of the things he does. Either way, the notes found about Lucas' killing games proves that he hadn't changed much between being a healthy human and being infected by the megamycetes. It's understandable that Jack might be in denial or in the dark about his son, but this shows he is wrong about the mold, or outright lying about what it really does.
Ethan and Rose Both Born From the Mold
By the end of Resident Evil 8, players learn that both Ethan and Rose are creations of the megamycetes mold, with Rose having inherited special powers due to her parents' infections. This allows Ethan to recover from wounds as severe as having his hand completely severed by Lady Dimitrescu, and apparently gives Rose the ability to be split into four pieces and then made whole as if nothing happened. However, the one thing that the mold doesn't do is change personalities to make them walking murder machines, as Jack previously stated.
Ethan is able to not only fight against the other infected beings from throughout both games, he is still noble enough to try rescuing as many people as he can while the village is being torn apart by Resident Evil 8's Lycans. Then Ethan is able to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to put an end to the whole megamycetes infection and stop the mold spread once and for all. It's a touching moment in which Ethan does everything he can to make sure Rose survives, which couldn't have happen if everyone affected by the mold had become monsters like Jack implied.
Jack Baker's Lie and the Corruption of Power
The likely truth behind Jack Baker's speech is that he either must have been in denial, or he was intentionally lying to Ethan in order to cover for his family. Zoe understands that these interpretations of the facts in Resident Evil's new lore don't make sense and doesn't believe what Jack says, staying aloof from her father because she knows he is lying. In reality, the megamycetes turn people into the worst versions of themselves by offering them a type of power that they otherwise wouldn't be able to imagine.
This may be why Ethan is able to keep his head straight, even when every part of him down to his clothes are made of the megamycete mold. If Eveline was really able to control people through the mold, then she should have been able to control him as well. However, with Ethan managing to keep his humanity even while being a megamycete construct, it becomes clear that everyone from Jack Baker to Resident Evil 8's Miranda aren't corrupted by the mold. Instead, they were already corruptible, and only showed their true colors once the mold gave them the power to act beyond ordinary consequences.
Resident Evil 8 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.