The events of Resident Evil Village occur a few years after Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Ethan Winters appears to finally be living a peaceful life with his wife, Mia Winters, and their child Rosemary. They moved away from the states to settle down in Eastern Europe, and although they are trying to move on from what happened at the Baker house, it's not as easy as they hoped.
Their peaceful life is interrupted, and Ethan has to once again fight for survival. Although Resident Evil is a horror series, there have been many characters in moments that were much more sad than they were scary.
10 Mia Getting Shot At The Beginning
Mother Miranda, believing Rosemary Winters would be a perfect host for the child she lost years ago, kidnapped Mia and infiltrated her home. She seamlessly blended in, as Ethan never suspected a thing. During a seemingly ordinary night, Chris Redfield and his unit, learning the truth, shot and supposedly killed the disguised Miranda.
Miranda fooled them into thinking she was dead, and Ethan, receiving no explanation for the events, was knocked out cold. He would later awaken in a forest, convinced that his wife was dead while his child was missing.
9 All Of The Villagers Trusted In Mother Miranda For Protection
The residents of the village trusted Mother Miranda, worshiping her and believing that she was there to protect them. Unfortunately, the villagers were only tools for Miranda to experiment on, and once she finally got her hands on Rose, she decided to send the Lycans into the village.
Many of the residents were turned into Lycans— like Leonardo Lupu— or mercilessly killed. Even Miranda is seen killing Iulian despite his pleas.
8 Lady Dimistrescu Isn't Too Different From Ethan
While Alcina Dimitrescu was undeniably cruel to any mortal unlucky enough to enter her castle, she cared for her daughters the same way that Ethan cared for Rose. Ethan went to his castle in search of Rose, only to receive a painful greeting from Bela, Daniela, and Cassandra.
From then on, he is forced to play a game of cat and mouse, avoiding Alcina and her daughters until he can exploit the daughters' weakness to cold. He starts killing the daughters one by one, and Alcina becomes relentless in her pursuit of him. Neither can forgive the other, despite fighting for similar reasons.
7 Ethan Found Rose In Pieces
After defeating Alcina, Ethan finds a golden flask and picks it up without knowing its value. When he takes it to the Duke, he informs Ethan that he is actually carrying a piece of his daughter in his hands.
Ethan wipes some of the grime off of the flask's label to reveal that it contains his daughter's head, and he drops it in shock. For a short moment, he thought that his daughter was dead, but Duke reveals that Ethan still had a chance to save her.
6 Donna Beneviento Lived A Life Of Solitude After Losing Her Parents
Donna Beneviento was orphaned as a child. This, combined with the scar on her face, made Donna isolate herself from others. According to the gardener's diary, she would lock herself up and talk only to Angie, the doll that her father made for her.
After receiving powers from Miranda, who was her adoptive mother, she started to talk to others more, but only through Angie. However, Donna's shame about her appearance never went away, as the scar turned into a horrific mutation after being infected by the Cadou.
5 Beneviento Psychologically Attacked Ethan Within Her Estate
Ethan's time in the Beneviento estate was the most mentally taxing for him. He is quickly effected by her ability to cause hallucinations, and he finds himself following his supposedly dead wife into the house. He is forced to solve puzzles which involve him taking apart a doll resembling his wife, and is frequently interrupted by the sounds of her growing increasingly frantic, stating that something is wrong with the baby.
Ethan, still convinced that his wife is dead, struggles to keep it together, which is especially difficult when he is confronted by his own fear of Rose becoming a grotesque monster like the house lords.
4 Salvatore Moreau Longed For Love But Got None
Salvatore was the least compatible with the Cadou, as being infected with one turned him into a hideous, fish-like monster. Both his "siblings" and Mother Miranda were repulsed by his appearance, and Salvatore is seen living alone.
Despite this, he is completely loyal to Miranda, displaying fear at the thought of losing his piece of Rose and thus being abandoned. At the same time, he expressed jealousy towards Rose, fearing that Miranda would no longer act as his mother if she revived her real child.
3 Mother Miranda's Desperation To Revive Her Daughter
After losing her daughter Eva and discovering the Mold, Miranda became single-minded in her purpose to revive her deceased daughter. Over a century of research and experimentation led to her finding and capturing Rose.
She later realized that forcing Eva's consciousness into Rose wasn't as simple as she expected, and she grew increasingly frantic when she fought Ethan for possession of her. She continued to mutate more and more in her attempt to overpower Ethan, but it was all in vain.
2 Ethan Dies Twice
Immediately after he kills Karl Heisenberg, Miranda appears to taunt Ethan. She kills him, and the player can feel his frustration, given that he had worked so hard and done so much without being able to realize his goal.
After the game follows the perspective of Chris Redfield for a short while, the player is filled with a temporary relief when Ethan is revealed to be alive. However, this relief is mercilessly crushed when Ethan stays behind to sacrifice himself in order to allow Chris to escape with Rose.
1 Ethan Discovers The Truth About His Body
After losing his heart to Miranda, Ethan is confronted by Eveline. While he struggles to move, she mocks him, revealing that he actually died years ago in the Baker residence when Jack Baker stomped on his head. Thanks to the Mold, he was revived and able to regenerate from all of his wounds.
It was a shocking reveal that he had already lost his humanity and his life without realizing it, which is something that he naturally struggles to accept.