If there’s one factor Resident Evil is thought for, exterior of zombies, it’s motion heroes with impeccable hair and spectacular catalogs of one-liners. Who may ever overlook keeping off hordes of crazed villagers in Resident Evil 4, solely to have Leon say, “The place’s everybody going, bingo?” There’s an fringe of “cool” that has turn into integral to Resident Evil over the many years, however after the debacle of Resident Evil 6, Capcom knew it needed to do one thing totally different.
Ethan Winters is just not cool. He’s extra the absence of cool than anything–a dad joke dressed up as an motion hero. However maybe what’s most wonderful is how all that invariably turns him into one of the vital compelling protagonists of the sequence’ historical past. Ethan is likable regardless of himself, and a surprisingly significant piece of the puzzle in how Resident Evil 7 and Village redefined the franchise’s tone whereas nonetheless retaining its coronary heart alive. Generally, horror video games don’t want an motion hero; they simply want a dude.
Ethan isn’t a extremely skilled specialist, he’s not a member of an anti-terrorist group, or perhaps a cop–he’s a methods engineer. Oh, you didn’t know he’s a methods engineer? That’s as a result of the sport itself by no means tells you that. Maybe probably the most apt solution to outline Ethan Winters is as Resident Evil’s “spouse man.” What I imply by that’s that Ethan’s complete id is tied to his relationships, together with the driving pressure behind all of his actions. For all intents and functions, Ethan actually is just a few guy–a milquetoast middle-of-the-road common dude who simply occurred to fall in love with and marry a lady who labored on horrific bioweapons. However in a world the place zombie apocalypses occur each few years, possibly that’s not so bizarre. Mia is the one wrapped up within the ongoing cleaning soap opera about freakish creatures; Ethan’s simply alongside for the experience.
And that provides him an integrally totally different taste than the likes of Leon, Chris, or Jill. As members of the police and varied militarized authorities companies, these characters constantly discover themselves put into absurd conditions and have the talents to show issues round. However Ethan chooses these conditions; he willingly, maybe ignorantly, places himself in locations to combat among the most disgusting creatures you’ve ever seen. Resident Evil 7 was one thing of a reboot of the franchise, an effort to rediscover its horror roots, and a giant a part of that was by embracing schlock.
Ethan Winters, in all his glory.
Ethan shares a lot in frequent with the youngsters of basic horror flicks like Texas Chainsaw Bloodbath–people who usually make the worst decisions attainable. It’s an intentional design alternative seen in basic horror movies; You recognize, those that make you yell on the display screen, “Why would you try this?” However the further layer with Ethan is that a lot of his torture can be inflicted by the longstanding parts of the sequence, with villains and even heroes like Chris Redfield dragging him into the muck. So with Ethan, you’ve gotten a double whammy: a hapless man dragged into the world of bioterror by heroes that don’t take into consideration collateral, who then additionally makes jaw-droppingly questionable decisions.
However what makes Ethan particularly good is how Capcom makes use of two distinctive parts to construct on that basic horror archetype: deadpan humor and a real, real love story.
For each smarmy quip Leon has, Ethan has a stolid line that may make a movie show crowd collectively groan. The primary time he goes by way of the Baker household–a kitchen crammed with grotesque mixtures, literal corpses, and piles of blood–he intones, “One thing is incorrect with this place.” When combating the maniacal Mom Miranda on the finish of Village, the architect of all his ache, he merely says, “F**okay you, you loopy bitch.” In a means, Ethan’s probably the most relatable hero in all of Resident Evil, as a result of he doesn’t have good comebacks; he simply seemingly says the primary thought that pops into his thoughts.
That deadpan supply is completely, deliberately, juxtaposed towards the extra visceral and direct horror of those video games. The shift to first-person and doubling down on precise physique horror is fully intentional, as is our seeing all of it by way of the filter of Ethan. He’s that added factor that transforms his outings from merely good horror video games into Resident Evil video games. That factor of schlock is integral, and Ethan performs into it completely. Ethan is just like the good friend you may get a beer with each six months; He may not have loads to say concerning the current soccer sport or politics, however ask about his daughter and he’ll discuss your ear off for hours. He’s just a little boring, however there’s one thing inherently, inscrutably likable.
And the idea for that, at the very least with Ethan, is how a lot he commits to his complete shtick–how desperately, painfully dedicated he’s to his household. RE7 solely occurs as a result of Ethan will get a message from his spouse, who’s been lacking for 3 years, and decides he loves her a lot that he’s going to wade by way of the Louisiana swamp with out telling any authorities about it. Bless his coronary heart, however he’s not the brightest.
Ethan is repeatedly brutalized in each means conceivable; his fingers are bitten off by a werewolf, he’s thrown round like a ragdoll by giants, and he actually reattaches his complete forearm with nothing greater than some antiseptic fluid and, nicely, mould. This all occurs a lot that Ethan principally will get bored with it, his reactions and deadpan humor changing into extra morbid the additional you get into every sport. There’s a grim humor to his arm getting chopped off, and Ethan principally going, “oh man, not once more.”
Ethan applies antiseptic to a big gash.
Nevertheless it’s that sense of genuineness that makes Ethan so likable, regardless of his faults. He actually does simply need to save Mia and Rose, and he actually does simply need to have a quiet life as a husband. It’s an virtually charmingly easy motivation within the face of a sequence that’s packed to the brim with ridiculous lore, impenetrable villain motivations, and company conspiracies.
Resident Evil has had romantic parts earlier than, however RE7 and Village positively really feel like love tales wrapped up in horror packaging. There’s a deep layer of care between each Ethan and Mia–love, finally, is the driving pressure behind each of their actions. And therein additionally lies the tragedy of Ethan Winters–the most conventional man within the sequence, who solely desires a standard life, finally ends up being the one genuinely contaminated by the bizarre parasites, with powers he can’t do something about.
That complexity in Ethan’s story and character is emblematic of every part Resident Evil stands for, simply filtered otherwise. As an alternative of the superheroes that preserve getting drawn into bioweapon shenanigans, RE7 and Village give us a have a look at what occurs to the conventional individuals drawn into the maelstrom. It enriches the scope of not simply these particular video games, however the sequence as a complete. That integral layer of schlock continues to be there, however the brand new format of RE7 and Village allowed these video games to discover extra thematic parts inside that framework, like a love story.
A unique sort of Resident Evil demanded a unique sort of hero, one who seems to be at a grotesque creature spouting tentacles and constructing eyes and asks, “What’s incorrect with you?” Or sees a lady rework right into a spider monster and scamper away, leaving him to solely mutter, “Nicely, that’s particular.” Within the face of the weird and unnatural, what else can a median Joe really do?
Sure, Ethan dulls the horror as a result of that’s what he’s purported to do. His everyman, virtually simplistic attraction is the beating coronary heart of each RE7 and Village–the fringe of haminess that’s baked into something and every part the sequence does. Ethan Winters is probably not the brightest, or the strongest, and even probably the most good-looking, however boy, is he the simplest one to root for.