What if Ethan Never Encountered the Mold? How It Would Have Changed Resident Evil

by

Ethan Winters‘ survival in Resident Evil 7 is heavily dependent on a pivotal occurrence: Jack Baker kills him at the start of the game. This fact isn’t revealed until Resident Evil Village, but it’s crucial because it marks the time when Ethan is revived by the Mold, unbeknownst to him, turning into something more than human. Without this transformation, he wouldn’t possess the regenerative capabilities that allow him to recover from injuries such as severed limbs, impalements, and direct attacks from Molded, Bakers, and bioweapons.

In essence, if Resident Evil 7 had eliminated that critical turning point, Ethan’s journey wouldn’t have been exciting or sustainable. Even if Ethan managed to dodge Jack’s lethal blow, he lacked the resilience to endure the hardships that lay ahead in the game. Shortly thereafter, he gets impaled in the hand, disfigured, thrown around by superhuman adversaries, and thrust into prolonged combat situations that would certainly claim the life of any ordinary civilian.

Moldless Ethan Would Have Died Early Either Way in RE7

In the game RE7, Ethan experiences a persistent and increasingly gruesome level of violence. For example, his hand is severed with a chainsaw, then reattached using staples. He’s also thrown down stairs, buried under debris, and attacked by the game’s Molded creatures, who can kill fully armed soldiers in the game’s storyline. Given that even these less intelligent enemies pose such a significant threat to armed personnel, it’s safe to say that Ethan, without the protection of the Mold, would have had no hope of surviving the game.

In the town of Village, you’ll find Lycans, powerful mutants led by Miranda, who possesses the ability to manipulate cells at a fundamental level. Incredibly resilient, Ethan, equipped with abilities powered by mold, endures being shot, losing fingers, walking on frozen feet, and even continuing after his heart is ripped out. It’s the mold that preserves his entire nervous system beyond clinical death, ensuring his survival when it should have been impossible. Even Chris Redfield’s rescue team wouldn’t have arrived in time to save Mia or halt Miranda’s ritual without Ethan’s extraordinary biology keeping the mission from failing. In other words, the mission’s success hinged on Ethan’s unusual physiology.

Ethan, Without the Mold, Would Die, and the Entire Winter’s Line Would End

In the first hour of Resident Evil 7, Ethan’s death would have removed all major plotlines from The Village, including his absence from Rose, the confrontation with Miranda, the mold-resistant vessel, an explanation for Eveline’s containment, and a connection to Chris Redfield’s struggle against the BSAA’s corruption. Ethan’s resurrection by the Mold, however, served as the crucial event that maintained the continuity of the entire storyline. If Jake Baker hadn’t killed him, the narrative and gameplay would have required significant changes for the game to remain coherent.

If Jack Never Killed Ethan and the Mold Was Never Introduced

As a fan, I’d imagine if Ethan had survived Jack’s attack without bonding with the Mold, Capcom might have opted for a more traditional survival horror approach. This would mean that Ethan’s health would be more realistic, requiring him to use limited medical items for healing, and every encounter would need to be carefully balanced for authenticity.

In this scenario, the Baker family could have been portrayed as biologically enhanced, similar to RE4’s Ganado, rather than invincible Mold-based regenerators. This would make them challenging yet beatable adversaries.

Moreover, boss fights might have focused more on tactics like stealth, escape, or the use of unique, one-time-use weapons, rather than prolonged combat. This shift would have added an extra layer of challenge and realism to the gameplay.

In the game “Village”, a significant rewrite of the storyline might be necessary if Rose doesn’t have a Mold-based lineage. Instead, Capcom could consider altering the focus to a global Mold outbreak originating from Eveline’s remains or perhaps a leaked Cadou prototype from Eastern Europe. Ethan’s role would then change from a sacrificial father to an investigative survivor, potentially uncovering hidden activities within the BSAA or The Connections. This shift in narrative would remove the Mold-as-resurrection device and instead delve into bioengineering through parasitic or synthetic Bio-Organic Weapons (BOWs), expanding on this aspect of the story.

Read More

2025-05-18 02:10