Resident Evil Village: Does Ethan Winters Die?

The star of both Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village is Ethan Winters, a new protagonist for the horror series. The events of both games put him through the wringer – he seems to have a particular problem with homicidal families. The ending of Village builds toward a major revelation of Ethan’s fate, and many fans may be wondering if Ethan actually dies or not.

[Warning: Spoilers for Resident Evil Village’s ending below.]

The premise of Resident Evil Village finds Ethan and his wife Mia starting a new life in Europe with their baby, Rosemary. Tragedy strikes when Chris Redfield – normally, a hero of the series – suddenly arrives to kill Mia and kidnap both Ethan and Rosemary. This puts Ethan in the game’s namesake village, where he tries to unravel the situation and help Rosemary. Players eventually discover that Mother Miranda was impersonating Mia, and that Rosemary was needed as part of a plot to reincarnate Miranda’s daughter Eveline using something called the Megamycete.

In a sense, Ethan dies three times in Resident Evil Village. First, Mother Miranda appears to kill him, which prompts a switch to Chris’ perspective as he tries to avenge Ethan. The BSAA arrives for a climactic confrontation with Miranda’s legions, and Chris manages to rescue the real Mia from a lab. It’s a vision following this encounter that reveals Ethan’s “second” death – in truth, he was murdered by Jack Baker in Resident Evil 7, and he only exists now as a form of Molded. This is the reason why he can absorb so much punishment and re-attach limbs.

Ethan Winters’ Fate In Resident Evil Village

In fact, Miranda wasn’t successful at killing Ethan, so The Duke is able to bring Ethan to a ceremony site for a final confrontation. Ethan does manage to kill Mother Miranda, but as he, Chris, and Rosemary try to evacuate, Ethan’s body begins to crumble, so he stays behind with a detonator, triggering a bomb Chris earlier planted on the Megamycete. Village‘s post-credits scene shows a teenage Rosemary visiting Ethan’s grave.

That would seem to spell the end for Ethan and the beginning of a new story with Rosemary, given her links to the BSAA. Indeed Resident Evil Village seems to have finally brought Ethan’s story to completion. Stranger things have happened in the series, but it seems doubtful that the character would be resurrected for a third time.

About The Author

Roger Fingas
(307 Articles Published)

Originally from Ottawa, Canada, Roger now lives with his family in Austin, Texas. He has years of experience in tech writing, and his gaming specialties include FPS and VR games on the PC.

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