Leading up to the launch of Resident Evil Village, fans could be forgiven if they thought that the towering Lady Dimitrescu was the main villain. After all, much of Resident Evil Village's marketing revolved around Lady Dimitrescu and her castle, but once the full game was out, it was clear that her time in the game was relatively short and she was an underling to the true villain of the story: Mother Miranda.
Anyone that has completed Resident Evil Village and has made sure to read most of the files in the game can attest that Mother Miranda is hugely important. Not only does she serve as the primary antagonist in Resident Evil Village itself, but Miranda has a far-reaching impact on the Resident Evil franchise as a whole. In fact, even though she has only ever appeared in one game, the argument can be made that Mother Miranda is one of the most important characters in the entire series.
To properly explain how Mother Miranda is one of the most important Resident Evil characters requires one to delve into spoiler territory. With that in mind, the rest of this article will have MAJOR SPOILERS for Resident Evil Village, and so anyone that has yet to complete the game should turn back now.
Mother Miranda in Resident Evil Village
Mother Miranda has an impact in Resident Evil Village from the very first scene, though fans won't realize it until much later. It's revealed that Mother Miranda has shapeshifting abilities, and is essentially able to transform herself into anyone that she wants. Miranda uses this ability throughout Resident Evil Village, perhaps most notably using it to take the place of Mia Winters at the beginning of the game.
While posing as Mia Winters, Mother Miranda is able to get close to Ethan's daughter Rose, who she plans on using to resurrect her own daughter who died from the Spanish flu. Chris Redfield and his team then swarm Ethan's house, shooting "Mia" to death, and believing that they have succeeded in killing Mother Miranda. However, Miranda merely shapeshifted into the form of a corpse, later reanimating herself to successfully kidnap Rose.
Miranda has a presence throughout the rest of Resident Evil Village. She can be seen talking to her four Lords, who reign over specific regions near the titular village, and Ethan also witnesses her killing one of the villagers in a field. The mysterious old woman that talks to Ethan throughout the game is revealed to be Mother Miranda in disguise, and eventually Ethan fights Mother Miranda in a one-on-one battle.
Miranda defeats Ethan in their first battle and believes him dead, so she heads off to complete the ritual. However, Ethan's regenerative abilities help him stay alive long enough to fight Miranda yet again. Ethan defeats Miranda in this second fight, but it takes too much out of him, and so Ethan Winters dies as well.
Taking a look at Resident Evil Village by itself, it's already clear why Mother Miranda is hugely important. She is directly involved with most of the major plot beats, and she also causes the death of new Resident Evil protagonist Ethan Winters. This will undoubtedly have huge ramifications on the Resident Evil franchise's story moving forward, so Mother Miranda's impact should be felt long after Resident Evil Village's conclusion.
Mother Miranda Earlier in the Timeline
Resident Evil Village is the latest game in the Resident Evil timeline, but Mother Miranda's influence actually predates the original. While playing as Chris Redfield late in Resident Evil Village, fans come across a letter that was written by none other than Oswell E. Spencer. For those that may not remember, Spencer was the founder of Umbrella, and the one who originated the research into the T-Virus. Spencer is also responsible for building the mansion that the first Resident Evil game takes place in, so he is hugely important to Resident Evil's lore.
However, if there was never a Mother Miranda, there would never have been an Oswell E. Spencer. In the letter, it comes to light that Mother Miranda mentored Spencer, and is ultimately the one that influenced him to create the Umbrella Corporation and develop the T-Virus. It's also revealed that Spencer and Miranda explored a cave together where they found the Umbrella symbol, which Spencer would later adopt as the symbol of his company.
This new information makes Mother Miranda easily one of the most important characters in the entire Resident Evil franchise. Without Mother Miranda's influence on Spencer, the events of the first Resident Evil game would have never taken place. This means that Miranda is essentially responsible for the entire Resident Evil storyline.
With Mother Miranda being such a hugely important character in the Resident Evil mythos, it will be interesting to see how the villain is topped in the inevitable Resident Evil 9 game.
Resident Evil Village is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.