Welcome To New Raccoon City – As the first episode of Resident Evil begins, Jade Wesker (Ella Balinska) climbs out of her tent in the morning and retrieves a rabbit from its cage. She puts it in a transporter cage and walks away. Scientists said the world would end in 2036 because of climate change and pollution. They claimed you wouldn’t be able to breathe the air so millions of people would die, but they were wrong. It is 2036 in London just 14 years after the end. Later, Jade talks to a little girl and her father about her birthday. Jade tells the little girl that she went to Disneyland with her sister when she was nine. Daddy tells Bea to go get her present so she can show her mother. While Bea leaves to get it, daddy tells Jade that it is Shakespeare’s complete works.

Jade is surprised since Bea was working her way through A Wrinkle in Time before she left. It has been six months so things are going to change. Jade knows she has been gone for too long and misses them so much. He tells her to be careful before the conversation ends. Jade sprays her body with perfume and grabs her trail camera. She sets up the camera on a tripod and causes the rabbit to bleed. Jade places the rabbit nearby before turning on the trail camera. Zombies come out and try to grab the rabbit. Jade records her observations saying that there is no sign of leadership structure or higher brain function among pack 2426. When Jade cuts her arm, the zombies turn their attention to her. She is eventually tackled to the ground but manages to start the defense system to deal with the zombies.

It creates a fire shield that burns the zombies when they try to approach her. Once the zombies are dead, Jade gets up and curses about wasting six months due to a stupid accident. The ground begins crumbling as a caterpillar-like monster comes up from the ground and goes after her. We jump back to 2022 to New Raccoon City three months before the end. Jade rides with Billie (Siena Agudong) and Albert (Lance Reddick) to their new residence. Jade sends a text to Billie saying she wants to die, but Billie doesn’t think it is that bad. Albert thinks they’re going to love it here and tells them about the STEM program at the school. Jade asks Billie if she saw the freaks in the park because they looked too fine. Billie doesn’t think much of it though.

Jade says they’re in South Africa, but there are only like five black people so the place is weird. They agree that the house is nice. Jade wonders if they can go home if she burns it down. The neighbor, Carol (Lauren Steyn), comes over to greet them. She believes the girls are going to love it here so she offers to give them a tour later. They learn that Cape Town is just an hour away and they were voted the best place to live in the world last year. Jade makes a joke that seems to stump Carol. Billie tries to calm her sister, but Jade isn’t going to stop. Once they go inside, Carol welcomes them home on behalf of the Umbrella Corporation. New Raccoon City used to be an old factory town that was nearly abandoned when Umbrella bought it. When Albert gets a call and excuses himself, Jade says he is super important.

As he goes up the stairs, he learns that something has happened in Tijuana. Billie follows her sister outside and tells her to drop the b!tch act although Jade says it isn’t an act. Billie reminds her sister that she didn’t want to move either. Jade says she at least tried by yelling. Jade tells her that she has gotten boring, but Billie says it is okay to just get along sometimes. They begin discussing the hot guys nearby. Jade gets up and introduces herself to Simon (Connor Gosatti) while Billie finds a strange bug on the rocks. In the present, Jade tries to hide from the monster only for it to grab her and pull her out. She is slammed onto the car nearby and gets knocked out. It nearly killed her until three guys show up and kill the monster. When they check Jade’s wrist, they find a tattoo confirming she is a survivor.

In the past, Jade turns her music up to the maximum volume. Albert asks Billie how much she hates him only for Billie to say nobody hates him. He knows the move was hard, but he didn’t have a choice. Billie knows because Umbrella gets what it wants. Albert injects something into Billie before receiving a call that she thinks he should answer. Once he steps out of the room, Jade interrupts with her sample that he forgot to take. She took it herself because she can work a needle. She jokes that she is going to be awesome at heroin. Later, Billie tells her sister that their father is worried about her. Jade is tired of taking a blood test every two weeks even though they’ve never been sick.

Billie claims it is for their own good. They discuss going to a new school tomorrow. While Jade wants to own the kids in this town, Billie would prefer to be invisible. Jade tells her that she broke Alex’s leg because he kicked a first grader. Billie complains about going to counseling and everything thinking she was a psycho. Jade tells her everything good about her and tells her to say screw everything else. Albert injects his daughters’ blood. During lunch, Jade sits with a small group while Billie sits alone. She is eventually joined by another girl who calls her a freak when she learns that they’re basically twin sisters. They also talk about Billie being a vegan. She is warned that vegans will be eaten first when the end of the world comes.

When Billie flips the girl off, she is taken down to the ground and beaten up until the fight is broken up. We see an advertisement for Umbrella’s new product called Joy. Albert tells his coworkers that he hates the advertisement. He thinks they should take a step back because of what is happening in Tijuana, but it is too late for that. When Billie and Jade get home, Jade curses her father for not picking up his phone. Jade watches a video of the fight as Billie hides in her room. Once Albert tries to find out what is going on, he is told to go back to work. Billie finally lets her sister in. Billie says she didn’t sit with her sister because she was busy owning them. Jade insists she only cares about her sister and nobody else. Billie wants to apologize, but Jade thinks she should go after the girl and shut everyone up.

In the present, Jade gets up and checks the map. She is told she is in the Brighton Freehold. Tate (Nicholas Pauling) introduces himself, but Jade is only interested in getting back to her camp to get her gear. He says they’re like scavengers because there is still a lot of old tech around London. The rich people in Auckland and Oslo want that tech. Although they brought her in using a helicopter, Tate says they can’t drive out. He shows her all the zombies around their camp. Back at the school, Jade gives her sister advice about beating up the bully. Billie approaches the girl to apologize only to get a sandwich in her face. Billie gets angry and walks away. Albert goes through the last footage from Tijuana and learns there were six injured and three dead.

They’re worried that it could be happening again. The bully, Tammy (Haseena Allie), is stalked around the school by someone in a raccoon mask. When she goes into the bathroom, the bully is attacked. Billie is pulled out of class and taken to her locker. She walks past the bully and sees her injuries. Once Billie is forced to open her locker, she is surprised to see the raccoon costume inside. In the principal’s office, Dave (Ashish Gangapersad) complains about Billie attacking his kid. He thinks she is crazy so he is going to press charges and make Billie spend the next ten years in a cell. Dave’s attitude changes when he learns that Billie is a Wesker. Albert finds out that Dave is a server admin for Umbrella. Albert tells him that thousands of people could do his job, but only one can do Albert’s job.

Albert confesses he works too much so he isn’t much of a father. Plus, Umbrella needs him. He suggests he could call Umbrella and get them to fire Dave. Albert would prefer him blacklisted so no tech company will ever hire him. Dave tries to smooth things over by saying he is not going to call the cops. He says the whole thing never happened. Albert doesn’t believe Billie did it and he doesn’t care who did. He tells Tammy that she owes Billie an apology since she attacked her twice. He doesn’t stop until she gives a heartfelt apology. Albert thinks Billie should have tomorrow off as a mental health day. As they leave, Albert invites Billie to the lab for lunch. Jade catches up with her to ask what happened.

Billie brushes past her and tells her she knows what she did. In the present, Jade and Tate talk about the hundreds of zeros outside the gates. There were thousands in summer. Jade tells Tate that they can smell them. Their smell gets better and people stink in summer. She also says they’re not dead because the T-virus only rewires their brains. When it goes cross-species, it triggers rampant cell growth. They agree that it makes animals big and mean. Jade reveals she was out there doing her job since she studies zeros. She thinks the virus is going to weaken and the zombies will be smarter, but Tate isn’t sure they’ll ever change. Tate wants to kill them all while Jade argues they’re going to have to learn to live with them. He knows she is one of the survivors from the first wave in New Raccoon City when the outbreak started. He believes she was in the thick of it.

Jade learns Umbrella is coming here because they have a bounty on survivors and Jade is their number one most wanted. Billie goes to the lab to catch up with her father. We see that Umbrella is ready to begin marketing Joy to children. While waiting for her father, Billie sees that the Umbrella workers are doing something with rabbits. Later that night, Jade enters Billie’s room to apologize. She says nobody is laughing at her anymore and they don’t think she is a psycho. Instead, they love her now. Billie says Umbrella does animal testing even though they say they don’t. Jade doesn’t think that is their problem. Billie wants to steal the rabbits if they can. She just wants to take pictures and put them online so people can see what is going on. She doesn’t care if their father finds out.

Billie says the front door is voice-activated and they’ll have to get past some security cameras. Jade believes the Internet can help them do that. They sneak into Albert’s room to get his pass before riding to the lab. The girls use their dad’s phone to replicate his voice and get a one-hour after-hours pass into the facility. Then, they go into the elevator. In the present, Jade tries to convince Tate not to hand her over to Umbrella. He believes they’ll give him a pass to Umbrella territory if he does, but Jade says they won’t because he is damaged goods. After the planes land, Mr. Baxter (Turlough Convery) comes down the stairs to talk to Tate. He immediately kills Tate and tells the other soldiers to kill everyone else. Jade breaks free and tries to run away. In the past, the girls find the rabbits that they’re going to take pictures of. They wonder what else Umbrella could be hiding.

Since they can’t get a signal, Jade uses the computer to log into her father’s account. She finds a video of the Tijuana incident on the computer. Billie unlocks a door using her dad’s pass so she can get pictures. However, a zombie dog comes out and goes after them. They make it to the elevator and close the door before the dog can get them. The girls find a place to hide as the dog searches for them. When Jade tries to get up, she turns on the Joy hologram causing the dog to bust into the room. They eventually lock the door in the room and try to escape through the front door only to find that it is locked. They try to use their dad’s voice to get the door open, but the dog breaks through the glass before they can. Billie is attacked by the dog. Jade grabs a fire extinguisher that she uses to attack the dog.

In the present, Jade finds herself cornered by Mr. Baxter who tells her that her sister has been looking for her. She tells him to stay away from her. She runs and jumps from the wall down into the zombies below as the episode ends.

 

Resident Evil Review

After the first episode of Resident Evil, it is clear that this television series has very little in common with the source material. Besides the names, it doesn’t follow the same story and it doesn’t even have the same feeling as the classic video games. It would likely be more acceptable if the series added something to the deep history of Resident Evil, but it hasn’t through the first episode. Using a different name might’ve removed the need to live up to a higher standard.

It is a bit disappointing that Umbrella has a bounty out on Jade since we just saw the same thing in Halo which was also underwhelming. Some members of the cast stand out more than others although the choices aren’t true to the source material. The story so far is uninspired because it feels more like a teenage drama than a genuinely horrifying tale that made the Resident Evil games so good.

The pacing could be a lot better without the constant time jumps and it is going to be very difficult to connect with any of the characters because they’re so unlikable. Truthfully, this is just disappointing in every aspect. There was really no sense of horror, tension, dread, or desperation. It is hard to imagine that longtime fans of the franchise will find anything to elicit optimism after the first episode.

There is still time for Resident Evil to change course and develop into a frightening, unforgettable experience. We can only hope this happens because the franchise deserves a good small-screen rendition that feels like playing the game for the first time again. The opening episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Resident Evil can be found on Reel Mockery here. Want to support an independent entertainment website? Find out how to support us here.