Resident Evil Village Ending Explained

Warning: spoilers for Resident Evil Village ahead

The vampires have been staked, the werewolves have been trimmed, and we've mounted Salvatore Moreau on our mantlepiece like a Big Mouth Billy Bass. If this is the case, it can mean only one thing - you're at the end of Resident Evil Village. Capcom celebrated 25 years of the zombie shooter series in style, with Village living up to the promise of being the biggest game yet. While the story once again picked up with the tormented Ethan Winters, this felt more like a spiritual successor to 2017's lauded Resident Evil 7 than a direct sequel.

Swapping the swamps of Louisiana for the snow-capped backdrop of a grey European mountain range, Village kept a modern setting but dished up some good old fashioned gothic horror. With Ethan drawn back into the madness of the mould, the story kicked off with him waking up in this foreign land and trying to rescue his daughter from the mysterious Mother Miranda. Snatching your baby from an old crone might sound simple, but before getting there, Ethan had to defeat the four heads of House Dimitrescu, Beneviento, Moreau, and Heisenberg. So, what does that Resident Evil Village ending really mean?

• Related: Resident Evil Village Review: Lycan Or Lump It?

Resident Evil Village ending explained

Resident Evil Village revs into crazy overdrive just before Ethan takes on Karl Heisenberg in THAT Transformers-inspired boss battle. When Ethan finds Chris building a tank under Heisenberg's Factory, he asks the series stalwart why he gunned down his wife in the opening scene. We'd always suspected that Chris hadn't gone full Jill Valentine, but it's all confirmed when he explains the Mia they shot dead was actually Mother Miranda. It turns out she can take the form of anyone, and actually has Mia locked up in her own dungeon.

Chris and his team shot and "killed" Mother Miranda - who was after their daughter, Rose. Miranda survived her shooting and was the one who ambushed Ethan's transport vehicle, killing the agents, snatching Rose, and leaving our hero for dead in the snowy wilderness. Armed with these revelations, Ethan makes light work of Heisenberg and goes for the endgame of rescuing his wife and daughter while toppling Mother Miranda.

Unfortunately for Ethan, a botched attack on Mother Miranda ends in tragedy when she rips out his heart Mortal Kombat-style and drinks his blood. Goodbye, Mr Winters. However, the revelations don't end there. Alongside a brief section where you get to take control of Chris, players find out Ethan has been infected with the same mould that ravaged the Bakers back in RE7. Worse than this, there's a Sixth Sense/The Others twist that Ethan has been dead this entire time. With jaws on the floor, we learn Ethan was actually killed by Jack Baker's iconic "Welcome to the family, son" punch in RE7. The only thing keeping him any form of alive is the Cadou mould coursing through him. It means Ethan himself is a Bio Organic Weapon. 

Who is Mother Miranda?

When exploring an underground lab, Chris finds a whole host of papers that flesh out Village's already complicated backstory. Ensure you absorb every piece of information in this room because it's vital to understand what in the holy Heisenberg is going on. Bringing things full circle, Mother Miranda is revealed to be much older than we first thought, and it just so happens, one of her students was a certain Oswell E. Spencer. Those up on their Resi lore will know Spencer was the founder of the Umbrella Corporation and had his own mansion built as the main locale of 1996's Resident Evil. 

Miranda lost her daughter (Eva) during the Spanish Flu pandemic, and struck with grief, headed off to a cave to die. Instead, she happened across the Megamycete mould that has been the main plot point of RE7 and Village. As well as absorbing the mould to become immortal herself, Miranda became obsessed with bringing Eva back to life and experimented on the villagers to find the perfect vessel for her deceased daughter. Four of the more successful experiments (depending which way you look at it) were the heads of the houses. 

Spencer thought the power of Megamycete should be used on a mass number of people and took the crest of the four houses as inspiration for the Umbrella Corporation. It's not quite the big reveal that Umbrella is back in action, but it's a clever tie back to the origins of the series and Spencer's later discovery of the Progenitor Virus in Resident Evil 5's own complex backstory. Remembering that Mia was infected by the mould (and then cured) - and that Ethan is a mould daddy - it means Rose is that "perfect vessel" MM has been looking for. With the kidnapped baby, she's about to complete the ritual before a resurrected Ethan launches his final assault.

Cutting off the Megamycete's supply, Ethan makes a noble sacrifice and dies alongside Mother Miranda. Chris, Mia, and Rose escape on a chopper. In classic RE style, the village and surrounding area are blown to pieces. Chris vows to take revenge on the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), and things end on a tragic note. Or do they?

Does Resident Evil Village have a post-credits scene?

Like any good movie or video game that wants to set up the future of a franchise, Resident Evil Village has a post-credits scene that teases Resident Evil 9 and the end of the Winters trilogy. The game's credits confirm "The Father's story end here", but as you can guess, this isn't the end of the road for the Resiverse. The story jumps into the future with a teenage Rose visiting the gravesite of Ethan. There's no sign of Mia, but this adult Rose seems to be under the tutelage of Chris and has powers of her own.

A sniper is watching out for Rose if she gets out of hand, while the agent she meets mockingly refers to her as "Eve" - suggesting she has powers similar to RE7's villainous Eveline. In the inevitable sequel, we're guessing players will take control of Rose as a B.O.W. being used for a force of good. Whether Chris gets his revenge on the BSAA by this point remains to be seen. If not, it's likely Rose will be a BioShock-inspired badass who works alongside a grizzled Redfield. With Rose undergoing "tests" and saying she has powers even Chris doesn't know about, expect Resident Evil 9 to make Village look like the 1996 original in terms of batsh*t storyline. Personally, we can't wait.

Images via Capcom