Ethan Winters finds himself in Dulvey, Louisiana, looking for his missing wife, Mia. While the house appears to be abandoned, Ethan quickly finds out that evil indeed resides there.
Players assume the role of Ethan in Resident Evil 7. You experience the horrors in 1st person, contrasting the 3rd person view of previous Resident Evil games. Since we spend so much time up close and personal with Ethan, let’s get acquainted, shall we?
10. He’s Not Like the Others
Ethan is completely different from past Resident Evil characters
Previous Resident Evil protagonists generally had a boatload of combat training. Whether they were police officers or special agents, they knew more than an average citizen. While this provided an advantage for our protagonists, it didn’t quite make people feel as immersed.
Ethan, on the other hand, is an everyman. His purpose is to integrate the player with a character that reacts the way a typical person would. When he enters the Resident Evil scene, he has no prior knowledge of what he’s walking into or how to handle it.
It’s one thing to get through a survival horror scenario with a buffed special agent. It’s a whole new ballgame to scrape your way through it without the specialized gear, weapons, and knowledge.
9. A Young Man With Humble Roots
Mia's Driver's License implies that the couple came from Texas
According to Resident Evil lore, Ethan Winters was born circa 1984. Before the events of Resident Evil 7, he worked as a system engineer at an unspecified company.
When Ethan finds Mia’s driver’s license, you can see that it’s a Texas license. You can reasonably assume that Ethan hails from Texas as well, which would explain how Mia was close by in Louisiana.
By all accounts, Ethan appears to have been a charismatic southern gentleman with a determination to bring his wife back home.
8. Trouble in Paradise
Mia expresses her love for Ethan in her first video
In 1 of the videos that Mia sends Ethan before her disappearance, she tells Ethan, “You were right. I did lie to you.”
This implies that Ethan had expressed suspicion surrounding Mia’s job. Clearly, Ethan was right to suspect her since she was claiming to be a babysitter while actually working for The Connections as a special agent. The Connections is a notorious crime syndicate that deals in Biochemical research, weapons, and more.
While she technically was a caretaker for Eveline in her childlike state, she neglected to mention the guns, explosives, biochemicals, and volatile experimental children. Obviously, that’s a bit more than casually lying by omission.
7. A Presumed Widower
Mia was assumed dead after a hurricane swept her out to sea
While Mia is away on a mission escorting Eveline for The Connections, she sends Ethan 2 videos. After receiving the 2nd video, Ethan doesn’t hear from Mia again for 3 years.
In the 1st video, Mia excitedly tells Ethan that she’ll be coming home soon. Her light, bubbly personality is in sharp contrast to the dark nature of the 2nd video and the rest of the game.
The 2nd video shows that the ship Mia is aboard has taken significant damage and is being ravaged by a storm. She cautions Ethan to stay away, and the gravity of the situation is apparent through the urgency in her voice. Since none of Mia’s remains were found, her loved ones believe her to have died during a hurricane.
Ethan spent 3 long years as a widower (as far as he knew). While the game doesn’t elaborate on Ethan’s time as a presumed widower, he clearly struggled with the loss of his wife.
6. The Email Beckons Him
An email he might wish he had ignored
Ethan’s journey starts when Mia sends a vague email to him after 3 years of ghosting everyone. The email specifies Mia’s location, closing with a simple, “Come get me.”
Ethan’s hopefulness expands into naivety. He drops everything and heads to the Baker Farm immediately without considering how shady the situation is. Sure enough, he wasn’t prepared for the situation at hand.
When he confronts Mia about the email, she has no knowledge of the email and insists that it wasn’t from her. Unfortunately, it’s too late to go back and send that email to your spam folder.
5. “It’s Just a Flesh Wound!”
That's going to be sore for a while
Much like the Black Knight on “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” severed limbs don’t stop Ethan from fighting the good fight.
The first severing blow comes from his own wife when she removes his left hand with a chainsaw. Talk about some major marital issues, right? Ethan spends the next few minutes fighting his chainsaw-wielding wife without a left hand. Luckily, Zoe Baker sneaks in to reattach Ethan’s hand while he slips in and out of consciousness.
Not long after losing a hand, Jack Baker chases Ethan around the house after Ethan escapes his dining chair bindings. If Ethan takes too long to open the hatch that leads under the house, Jack makes a clean slice through Ethan’s leg with his shovel.
So what does Ethan do next? Much to Jack’s amusement, Ethan lines up the limb for reattachment, pours first aid med over it, and resumes his harrowing race to escape Jack.
4. Down With the Sickness?
The Infection Report details the symptoms of infection
While it hasn’t been directly stated, the game heavily implies that Ethan became infected, just like Mia and the Baker family.
The evidence behind this implication is the “Infection Report” file found in the Salt Mine. This report seems strategically placed so the player would realize that Ethan had been showing symptoms of early infection, and would later experience progression of infection symptoms.
In the initial stage, the subject gains regenerative powers that allow for rapid wound healing and limb regeneration. Yes, that’s right. Limb regeneration. Many players have pointed out that Ethan’s ability to rapidly heal reattached wounds and have complete function of the limb immediately is a sign of his infection.
Towards the end of the game, Ethan begins having hallucinations of Eveline, the Baker family, and earlier events of the game. In the middle stage of infection, subjects become mentally attuned to others infected with the E-Series mold. Ethan’s progression from early to middle stage infection symptoms throughout the game seems too heavy to be a coincidence.
If the implication holds weight, what does Ethan’s escape mean for the outside world when the infection rages out of control? Will his infection lead to the events of a future Resident Evil game? All we can do is wait!
3. Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
Too bad Jack doesn't stay down
Ethan seems equipped with an unbreakable iron will as he endures inhuman amounts of physical pain and emotional turmoil.
Without hesitation, he places himself in harm’s way to find Mia. When he finds her, she tries to kill him and cuts off his hand, yet Ethan doesn’t break down. He stays focused on his mission to save Mia and escape the nightmarish situation.
From there, he sees gore and violence that would disturb even the most level-headed person. He takes ridiculous amounts of damage in stride. He eventually adopts a sarcastic, almost nihilistic attitude toward his predicament.
Still, Ethan doesn’t leave until he finishes what he started. After escaping the wrecked ship, he doesn’t attempt to bolt for safety. Instead, he traverses the swamp and salt mines to confront the terrifyingly powerful source of the infection, Eveline.
2. The Finisher
Ethan and Chris Redfield make an epic power-duo
During Ethan’s final fight with Eveline, Blue Umbrella arrives at the scene.
Blue Umbrella is the reopened American chapter of the pharmaceutical company called the Umbrella Corporation. This original chapter was providing bioweapons to the United States government. It declared bankruptcy after a dangerous viral strain leaked into the water supply in Raccoon City, leading to an epidemic that caused people to become zombie-like.
Blue Umbrella changed the original red logo to blue to distinguish them from the bad reputation of the former Umbrella Corporation. When they hear of the situation at the Baker Farm, they send reinforcements, including a familiar Resident Evil character, Chris Redfield.
After a few minutes of fighting a futile battle, Blue Umbrella sends Ethan a powerful bioweapon called the Albert-01, already loaded with specialized ammunition. Blue Umbrella taps into Ethan’s codex watch, instructing him to use the weapon on Eveline. Ethan follows the order, ultimately dealing the final blow to Eveline.
1. A Promise Is a Promise
He meant what he said, and he said what he meant
After meeting up with Zoe and Mia, Ethan is left with only 1 syringe of serum and a hard decision to make. While some people choose Zoe, the overwhelming majority of players rule in favor of curing Mia. If Ethan cures Mia, he tries to assure Zoe that he will send help for her. She angrily sends him off and tells him not to bother sending help.
In the “End of Zoe” DLC, Zoe is slowly becoming calcified as a result of Eveline’s final punishment to Zoe for being disobedient. Joe Baker, the brother of Jack Baker, comes to Zoe’s aid as the player assumes his role.
After Zoe and Joe are safe, thanks in large part to Blue Umbrella, Zoe hears from Ethan. He reveals that he kept his promise to send help by informing Chris Redfield of her situation.
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