Analysis - World Building & Contextual
Contextual - Grace's Report
At the end of the game, when we finish the exciting story, we unlock a bonus, which is Grace’s full report, covering the events of the past 30 years, with everything involving Umbrella. The report is fairly detailed as it goes over the true history of Umbrella and their past 30 years of Bio-Weapons. While Requiem is clearly meant to be a love letter to the fans who have endured so much over the years, it’s also a good way to educate players unfamiliar with the series about just how deep the roots of evil grow.
It’s a useful tool to truly understand the extent to which Spencer did what he did and how far he was willing to go to achieve human perfection. It also acts as a retrospective as Grace highlights many other secrets that have not necessarily been shown to the public before. If you are as interested in Resident Evil lore as I am, then, like me, I think this report definitely appeals to us.
It was certainly interesting to see just how far the history of the series reaches and just how much turmoil the world has seen since the start of The Raccoon City outbreak.
World Building - The Fall of Umbrella?
When Umbrella was bankrupted by the courts, years after the Raccoon City outbreak, we had hoped that would be the end of Umbrella and their bio-weapons. Sadly, this was not the case. For years their bio-weapons have continued to sporadically appear all over the world. While we had all hoped Umbrella were gone, it turns out they were just co-opted by “The Connections” and continued to sell & distribute their bio-weapons all over the world from the safety of the ARK.
As Leon & Grace have uncovered the truth about Elpis and revealed the secret facility beneath the lab to the authorities, we might hope this is the end of Umbrella. I, however, am remiss to admit that this is the last we have seen of Umbrella. For years, Umbrella has also consolidated resources from other companies, like Tricell, Albert Wesker’s company. We thought they were gone once before, but it’s possible there are pockets of Umbrella still operating all over the world.
What’s worse is that “The Connections” are still out there, and with no leads on who they are and just how deeply embedded they are in the U.S. Government and even the world.
Wolrd Building - The Connections
The Connections were first introduced in 2017, with the release of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Hidden in the Shadows, they are responsible for some of the recent bio-terror attacks Worldwide, starting in Dulvey. They may even have had links to Mother Miranda in Resident Evil: Village, since the original Mould infection originated with her.
From what little we have been able to glean, “The Connections” is an organised crime syndicate that has power and influence on several governments, specifically the U.S. They also arranged for the President to be assassinated in 2012, when we thought that was Simmon’s plot. The former National Security advisor had his own plans for the world, but like all Resident Evil Villains, he met a Particularly grim end.
They have been pulling the strings behind nearly every major outbreak and group that we have encountered in the Resident Evil lore, and they may not be done just yet. At the end of the game, their soldiers have eliminated several BSAA troopers that were guarding the ruins of the ARK, and they took something. What exactly is anybody’s guess, most likely Zeno’s body, but who knows what they have planned for the future.
Contextual - The BSAA
The BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) is one of the largest organisations fighting bioterrorism worldwide. Perhaps what is most notable for them is their greatest veteran, Chris Redfield. Chris has been fighting bio-weapons since the original Spencer Mansion in Raccoon City. After 2021, Chris made a maddening discovery that the BSAA had been using bio-weapons to fight other bio-weapons.
Naturally, Chris was bereft with this decision, and the last we saw of him, he was heading to the HQ for BSAA Europe, but that was the last we heard about it. After finding a BSAA camp in Raccoon City, it was clear that they were trying to get into the city as well, but failed horribly. Judging by the bodies left behind, it was clear they invested a lot in trying to get their hands on Elpis. For what purpose, exactly, is certainly up to the imagination. As we learn from Leon, they recently had an internal shift.
I like to think it means Chris has broken off the North American branch from the Global network and is using it to target Umbrella & Connection pockets worldwide. Ever since the events in RE7, Chris has been obsessed with finding “The Connections” and putting an end to their plots, but has been sabotaged at several turns. This makes even more sense when you realise “The Connections” may even have their own agents embedded in the BSAA.
Whatever the future of the BSAA, we know that those working under Chris, especially his Hound Squad, will leave no secrets unturned as he hunts down “The Connections”. What exactly is happening to the BSAA is anybody’s guess; with so little information being fed to us, we can only guess. Whatever has happened, the BSAA we saw at the end of Requiem, I think we can be certain that they are on the right side of things, since Chris sent them to ensure Leon & Grace’s safety.
