Netflix Resident Evil: Why there was too much focus on Jade Wesker.
Let’s talk about Netflix’s Resident Evil.
I’ll come out and say it! Lance Riddick was the best part of the show. His commitment to reimagining Albert Wesker in the form of a conflicted clone-father was commendable.
I know some people had an issue with the race change of the character. Still, with more seasons of this iteration most likely in the works, and the fact that Albert is a clone in this series, perhaps the viewing public will find out that the actual Wesker was experimenting with his race in clones as well. Then again, to have to justify the decision may be going overboard.
>> Some Spoilers beyond this point 🙂 Jump to my spoiler-free concluding thoughts by clicking here. <<
Read more: Netflix Resident Evil: Why there was too much focus on Jade Wesker.The Main Protagonist
Netflix’s Resident Evil show had two timelines. One in the future of 2036 and one in the present of 2022. In the 2022 timeline, one of the main characters, Billie Wesker, managed to shoehorn the fact that Covid-19 exists in this fictional universe.
Two twin sisters born via a surrogate move to New Raccoon City after Albert Wesker (their father) is summoned by the new CEO of Umbrella, Evelyn Marcus, to work on an anti-depressant drug called JOY. As nefarious as that sounds, the story mainly follows Jade Wesker as the story protagonist as she searches for evidence of evolution in the zombies, now dubbed Zeros, and looks for possible avenues to a cure to stop the spread of the T-virus.
The problem is Jade is awful.
From the moment she is introduced in the 2022 timeline, Jade is hostile and foul-mouthed, and every action she makes regarding her father is disrespectful.
I get it, she had some teenage angst, and she’s mad her dad made her move. Let’s not forget that every decision she makes, whether in 2022 or 2036, makes no sense!
- She frames her sister for beating a bully in the head.
- She doesn’t talk her sister, Billie, out of breaking into Umbrella to take pictures of the rabbits.
- She never had a decent conversation with Wesker about Billie’s condition after the dog bite or regarding Umbrella.
- She unplugged Wesker’s secret computer causing his lab to catch on fire.
- She used everyone who helped her in EVERY episode without reciprocating any favors, and most of the characters that helped her got killed (i.e., Baxter and Simon).
- She trusted Umbrella not to track her back to her haven.
- She allowed a zombie to kill her friend
- She told her daughter to jump out of the haven without her father (and didn’t tell her husband).
If that is not enough information to make you think twice about the protagonist of this story, I don’t know what is. Jade continuously makes ill-advised decisions and gets bailed out because of plot armor. Does anyone remember the giant caterpillar or spider?
Anyway, despite making some advances in a zombie attractor and zombie repellant serum because … SCIENCE, Jade fails miserably at saving the day, and Billie, the revealed big bad in 2036, shoots her in the stomach and takes her daughter, Bea, into season two presumably.
Even the loss at the end of the season doesn’t hold Jade down. After a kill shot from Billie, she stands up as if made of bulletproof armor to glare at the Umbrella helicopter leaving the area.
Why not have her get rescued by her husband to suspend the disbelief of the viewing public. Make me guess if Jade will survive the shot to the stomach. Show me her getting surgery or something. Make me wait until season two.
I wish…
Beyond what I did experience with Jade, I must admit Albert Wesker, and Bart’s dynamic with Evelyn Marcus was interesting. The season touched on their relationship just enough to explain some issues in the story, but I could have used a bit more.
Resident Evil, at its core, has always been about a corrupt company with a stake in all of society. The development of the T-Virus collapsed an entire nation (and then some) by spawning mutations (i.e., mold and las plagas).
Can you imagine if the story was about clone Albert Wesker’s rage in searching for a cure to save his daughter, Billie, after a JOY infected dog bit her? Can you imagine how the dynamic between Wesker and Evelyn could have shifted over the span of 8 episodes?
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