So, about Infinite Darkness...

I’m gonna try to be as succinct as I can (I failed) about all the problems I had with it, but my list is pretty long... Yes, this has spoilers. Let me state upfront: if you’re not a hardcore RE fan, you can skip the show. Below I’ll tell you why.

Story: What a mess. Honestly, they turned me off right at the beginning with all the military stuff. It’s the same reason people didn’t like Chris’ campaign in 6; didn’t they learn anything from that? So, the story wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen. Honestly, it had more plot holes than anything and so many points where I went: “I don’t care about this.” Again, it was a jumbled mess. Capcom, hire me and I’ll do better, I swear. Let’s just sum it up by saying it’s a rehash of things we’ve seen SEVERAL times in the series before. If you’re gonna do it AGAIN let’s make the story unique and interesting. Oh, there are shady people in the military that want to use bioweapons in war? Okay, we’ve known that since the first game. We’ve seen it time and time again. Look to re8′s ending for example: the BSAA are now starting to use engineered soldiers - THAT was a reveal that was far more interesting. The way it was addressed and overcome in this show was just... so lackluster. Ultimately, it just felt like this entire thing didn’t need to happen. It changed nothing, it impacted nothing, and I’m aware that it really couldn’t since it was after re4 and before re5. There was just no lasting point and all the ‘themes’ (if you can call them that) made absolutely no sense, but I guess I’ll get into that with the characters? Pacing: Absolutely god awful. One minute we’re in the White House fighting zombies then I blink and it’s over and I’m like: Oh, we’re done? Another we’re in a sub and then I blink. Oh, that’s over, too. Also, the creators must’ve taken a page from the last couple of seasons of Game of Thrones (which is an abysmal idea, don’t fucking do that) because with a few cuts here and there we went from Guam to China back to DC. Guess everybody learned how to teleport so they got exactly where we needed them to for the “climax”. Let’s talk about that climax: There was none. Let’s look at Degeneration and Damnation (no I won’t talk about Vendetta). Both had their weaknesses but Leon and the climaxes were BADASS. Leon doing parkour in Degeneration? Leon going against Lickers and the huge Tyrants in Damnation? Those were amazing scenes. He did a few cool things here and there but nothing that got more of a laugh out of me. My man is coming off re4 where he rampaged through a village, a castle, and an island of mutated creatures to save one girl. C’mon now. Characters: By now (if anybody is even reading this rant), you’ve noticed that I’ve talked a lot about Leon. But what about Claire? Yeah, they lied to us about them working together. She got sidelined again. A lot of people are upset about this -- and yeah, it sucks because I do love Claire. Leon has just happened to be my favorite since 1998 so I wasn’t as heartbroken. That doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed, I’m just not very surprised. Leon - My main problem with Leon is Nick, his voice actor. I’m so sorry for all those who like him, but he just isn’t good enough for me. Paul Mercier (re4, Degeneration, Darkside Chronicles) and Matt Mercer (Damnation, Re6, Vendetta) would have been more appropriate. Nick tries his best, but he’s just too soft sounding to be post-re4 Leon. This is a man who is quipping one-liners left and right a couple of years ago. Now he’s barely smiling and doesn’t feel confident at all, and I think a lot of that is because of his portrayal. There are times where the lines hit, but more often than not they fall flat. I never felt that way with Paul who is my favorite Leon or Matt who gave emotional performances every time. Also, his decision at the end? I can understand it, but explain to Claire! Claire - I like Stephanie as Claire, I have no problems with her. She makes her sound tough and ready to do what she thinks is right. Unfortunately, the story completely sidelines her and makes her role obsolete. Everything she uncovers (because that’s her role apparently, just there to Nancy Drew) is already told to us through flashbacks and other characters. Why even have her? Was it just to show us WHY her and Leon don’t talk often? A waste. Shen Mei - I don’t care. I felt nothing for her. They tried really hard, but they just failed to flesh these new characters out and when her time was up I once again went: Oh? That’s it, then. ‘Kay. I think I laughed a bit, sorry girl. Her whole plotline was to get that chip in Leon’s hand, nothing more. Jason -  I don’t care. A character I thought I felt sorry for with his ptsd but nope. Once his story unfolded - messily, I might add (I hate the REPEATED flashback shit. Tell me once and stop teasing me.) I just went... okay, what the hell is your plan? To spread fear? ‘Kay. It was dumb and made no sense. What, he wants everyone to feel terror so they know? It needed to be clarified. It’s like they couldn’t figure out more synonyms for fear and terror. So, what? It helps keep Leon from going public with the chip and that information? Because he knows it’ll just cause mass hysteria? And then you’ve got Claire’s side - she’s not an agent and she believes the people have a right to know. They’re both right, but there’s no goddamn communication between ANYONE in this show. I just felt exhausted by it, nothing else. Not to mention it’s useless angst because of the plot of Degeneration. Wilson - Our bad guy. Let’s just sum up really quickly in case people were confused by the plot: He was putting infected soldiers into war zones so that even after they died they’d kill anybody involved, then he’d bomb the area and clean up the evidence. These soldiers didn’t show any symptoms because they had inhibitors that kept the virus at bay until they died, so they had to take regular shots to stay human. He’s the one who gets the zombies into the white house so that he could blame it on China and get the US into a war with them. That way he could send in his soldiers and infect the populace. From there, he’s the only one with the cure so he could rake in LOTS of money selling it to the world. AKA: he wants to use the US military to infect everyone so he can make a profit. He gets infected by Jason and gets away... then meets up with someone who gives him an inhibitor. This someone is working for Tricell, the big bads of re5 who work under Wesker. So it leads right into the fifth game. That’s all he is, a tie in and yet another example of someone in power trying to profit off the viruses of the RE world. Honestly, nobody else is worth mentioning. Animation: They’re getting better at it. Leon and Claire looked especially pretty, but there’s still a stiffness here and an issue with everyone’s mouths while they talk. I want to praise how different SOME of the characters look - the president and his aides all look appropriately aged and grizzled and distinct. Same with Jason. Other characters (side characters mainly) kinda look generic. Shen Mei for example isn’t very distinct. I mean, her grandpa and brother (both one scene wonders) were more realistic looking than she was. Even Claire - they gave her a bigger nose and made her look more in line with her Revelations 2 model (thank god I love that model). Movement was pretty fluid, I wish we’d seen more fighting and cool action -- though not to the extent of Vendetta. Maybe that’s what they were trying to avoid, but it didn’t make it any fun to watch. Enemies: This is the last thing I’ll comment on. The zombies were fine - they always are. I heard a ton of reused sounds from remake2, as well, but I thought of it as an Easter Egg more than anything. They looked good, their gore was good, all set there. Problem was, they were basically the only bad guys. That’s a huge fucking disappointment. I know people recognize this series as ‘the one with the zombies’ but that’s not true. Every game (save 7) had MULTIPLE enemy types all created through bio engineering. In this show we see three types. THREE. Zombies. Zombie rats - a one-scene wonder that Leon dispatches fast and easy. I’ll admit, they looked cool but there was nothing else to them. “They’re a bioweapon” and then Leon fries them all with some electricity and we’re done. Jason’s mutated form. Okay, I have to admit, I really loved his design. He was cool, I liked that he could talk and emote. But, other than that? He didn’t DO anything cool. He mutated once and hopped around a lot. That’s it. I mean, a bioweapon that keeps his mental capacities? C’MON! We could’ve done so much more with him. Again, this goes back to why the climax was so bad -- he and Leon didn’t fight. One jumped, the other ran around to catch up and fired a few bullets and a rocket at him. Then he used an acid bath to finish the job. (Also, explain to me WHY he mutated into a tyrant-like creature while everyone else with that specific virus was another form of zombie? We see Jun (Shen’s brother) mutating almost crystal-like at one point but... what? You leave them off for a while and they turn into crystal zombies? Make it make sense.) I’m sure there’s more to say, but honestly, unless you’re a hardcore RE fan like me, I’d say you can skip it. It wasn’t a fun ride, there weren’t any stakes, it wasn’t emotional... it just... was. I will end on one good note that made me smile, though: I loved seeing the Ashley Easter Egg.

Back To Where We Started

So this is it huh? He knew it was bound to happen regardless.

Red painted the white blanket that he laid upon as pain flared from his side. Yet, he didn’t take heed of it. Merely, he gave a sigh of resignation as he felt his body grow colder with each passing second. It wasn’t a question if he would die in the fight against bio-terrorism. It was only a matter of when.

He could have retired, could have just settled down and lived to a ripe old age. Perhaps, he could have watched his dear sister get married and watch her start her own family.

But he didn’t retire. Instead, he chose to honor Piers by continuing to fight in the war against bio-terrorism. But no matter how hard he fought, the war only grew worse. No matter how many bioterrorist organizations he would destroy, many more would rise from its ashes.

But what was worse was that the governments around the world, the very same governments whom swore to work alongside the B.S.A.A. to help them stop all bio-terrorism, would help the very same organizations that threaten to destroy the world.

So long as it benefited them, they could care less. And then when the dealings would come to light, they would pretend and say they have no idea of such dealings.

The same old story told time again and again.

And then Claire died. Killed during an outbreak that occurred in the city she was visiting for a holiday.

She had always come out of those outbreaks alive. She had survived Raccoon City for crying out loud. But he had forgotten that she was only human.

And humans bleed and they die.

In the end, everyone that he loved had all died and left him.

In time, he started to realize that his former Captain was right.

The world was rotten to the core. There was living proof. Those folks he worked with, those whom would smile and promise aid, those were their masks. At the end of the day, they would choose to destroy themselves rather than stop this madness. They would willingly let themselves fall over the cliff all for a small measure of victory against their foes not caring of the consequences of their actions.

The dwindling hope he had was completely extinguished until all that was left of him was a hollow shell of the man that he once was. A jaded man whom hated this very world. But even as he hated the world, he still chose to fight. He didn’t know what else he could do now. He had spent decades of his life in a war that he barely knew what he could do if he chose to stop fighting.

So he left the B.S.A.A to join Blue Umbrella. His reason? Throw himself into the war deeper and make sure to wipe out every single one of them without a damn care of his own life.

Jill had tried to persuade him to stop this crazy mission but he remained adamant on his decision. He even cut all ties he had with Jill, Barry and the B.S.A.A. He didn’t need loose ends in his new life.

He fell deeper and deeper into the darkness where the lines were blurred and where everything was no longer black and white.

He had shot Mia because she was infected. Harsh but it was the only way to stop further infection and spreading of the damn virus even though it broke Ethan.

He didn’t blame the man for shooting him. Hell, he would have shot anyone whom had hurt his sister.

So now here he was. Sprawled on the cold snow inches away from death.

The crack of ice and snow suddenly got his attention and he slowly turned his head to see a person in familiar black clothing walking towards him. The stranger continued to approach him stopping only a few inches away from his side.

“Who…?”

Blinking, his vision slightly clears and much to the brunette’s shock, there looking down at him was Albert Wesker.

“You’re… You’re dead.” Was the Albert Wesker he was seeing right now simply a hallucination that his slowly oxygen-deprived brain cooked up?

“How astute of you to notice that, Chris. But you’ll soon die as well. Mr. Winters got a pretty good hit on you.” The man spoke with a calm tone not once betraying his underlying emotions.

Why does this man, his former Captain, and the one whom he fell for years ago still haunt him? Why couldn’t he just disappear and leave him be? He would have preferred seeing Claire or Piers again.

He probably figured that Wesker was here to gloat of his victory as he bled out in the snow.

“You’ve come to gloat then? Laugh it up then Wesker! Shout out your triumph over me dying at your feet!” Chris yells out, making him cough harshly coating his lips with spatters of blood.

Lowering down onto his haunches, Wesker takes his shades off. Instead of the blazing red eyes that continue to haunt him in his nightmares, Chris was met with the cool blue that he had always found endearing much to his utter shock.

“No. I’m not here to gloat.” The blonde spoke softly.  

This confused Chris. “Then… Then why are you here?”

“I figured that you don’t deserve to die alone out here Chris. Not after all that you’ve done. I may hate you for stopping my plans but even I never wished of you falling deeper into the darkness that I was in when I was still alive. And… I hated watching you spiral out of control more and more.”

“I was supposed to be the one that people fear in the dark. The monster that people would speak of in whispers. You were the hero that everyone looks up to. You’re the one that was supposed to save the goddamn world not let it pull you into its depravity.” Wesker grits out.

“I knew deep down it was only a matter of time before you see the truth. That the world truly is rotten to the core. But did I take pleasure in it? No. No I did not.” The blonde says, reaching a hand out and grasping Chris’s hand tight.

Much to the brunette’s shock, Wesker’s hand was warm. He hadn’t realized how much missed Wesker’s touch but now feeling his hand around his, it brought all the old deep feelings he had for the man to the forefront. Even as the years passed and he still hated the man for what he did, a part of him still loved and missed his former Captain.

Call him an idiot but he wasn’t a liar. Even if he tried to deny it vehemently to himself at first.

“I… I was a fucking fool. I should have known.” Chris whispers.

“Don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t know how depraved the world could truly be as much as I do. After all, I grew up in it. I was raised by such depraved people.”

“So now what? I’m going to die, Wesker.”

“…I guess we go back to the beginning.”

“…Back before this whole shitshow?”

“Yes. Perhaps in the afterlife we could have that chance. Or if we are reborn, I would not know. I am a man of science not faith.”

“You believe in such things?” Chris asks, astonished that Wesker would speak of such things. Wesker never struck him as a man who believed in an afterlife let alone reincarnation.

“If this encounter is anything but possible, perhaps it has changed my beliefs slightly.” Wesker says with a soft smile.

‘God, that smile. That damn smile.’ Chris thought as his throat tightened with emotion. He hadn’t realized how much he missed that smile that was only reserved for him back in S.T.A.R.S. until he saw it once more. “I would like that again, Wesker. I just… I just want to live a normal life for the both of us.”

Leaning in, Wesker plants a soft kiss on Chris’s forehead. “I’m glad to hear that.”

The pain by now was long gone and it was getting harder to keep his eyes open. He just wanted to close them and finally sleep. He was tired of fighting, tired of it all.  

“I’m so tired, Albert.” Chris murmurs tiredly.  

“Just sleep, Christopher. When you wake up, I’ll still be here. Just sleep.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

And with that Chris was able to relax and let Death claim him.

As he watches the brunette close his eyes and breathe out his last, Wesker gently tugs on Chris’s limp hand and from the cooling corpse emerged Christopher. But it wasn’t the haggard, jaded brunette that Wesker watched die before him. No, it was the young, hopeful man that Chris once was.

No longer was there pain in his eyes nor cold steeliness. No longer did darkness swirl in those brown orbs but instead his eyes twinkled with joy, hope and an innocence that once was lost.

“Back to where we started?” Chris asks returning Wesker’s smile with his own.

“Yes. Back to where we started.” He replies and the two head off, slowly disappearing into the snowy night together hand in hand.