Summary
Nobody likes a hypocrite, but in the world ofResident Evil, where survivors need to be sure that they can trust each other when the going gets tough, it can be an especially bad character trait to have. Despite that, several characters in this immensely popular survival horror franchise have presented themselves in this sort of hypocritical way, spouting out personal beliefs and ideologies, before then acting completely differently not long after, proving them to be someone who isn’t all that honest about their true intentions.
Sometimes, these sorts of hypocritical characters will be villains who care little about how they look to others, but there have even been several heroes who have ended up becoming the thing they once hated, sometimes without realizing it. This can happen for a variety of reasons, so with that being said, it’s time to take a closer look at the biggest hypocrites of theResident Evilfranchise to see exactly what made them act against their own supposed beliefs.
Irving is aminor antagonistinResident Evil 5who becomes an irritating thorn in the side for Chris and Sheva during the early portions of the story. On the surface, Irving presents himself as a “businessman with standards” who is always in charge of his own destiny, but behind the scenes, this isn’t exactly the case.
It’s revealed in small flashes that Irving is actually a coward when confronted by his evil boss, Excella, and despite claiming he would never answer to anyone, it turns out that’s exactly what he’s been doing. Considering he views himself as a proud and fashionable weapons dealer, it’s ironic that Irving would end up mutating into a grotesque aquatic beast, becoming the useful pawn that Excella had always intended for him to be.
Before Rebecca enters the train at the beginning ofResident Evil 0, she’s already fully aware that there’s a serial killer on board, and as a member of S.T.A.R.S., she’s determined to do all she can to bring him in. Once she actually runs into the man, though, whose name is Billy, Rebecca, realizing the situation has gotten way out of hand thanks to the zombies showing up, begrudgingly decides to go back on her orders and teams up with him.
Though this is a very hypocritical move from Rebecca, it’s ultimately one that ended up working out for the best, since the two of them would eventually rely on each other to make it out of not only the train, but also the Umbrella Training Facility and laboratory, which are crawling withanimalistic mutants.
Frederic Downing is a newcomer introduced in theResident Evil DegenerationCG movie. Initially, he seems like a pretty well-intentioned businessman whose work with the Wilpharma corporation was doing good work in creating vaccines for those who need them most. Considering he’s the figurehead of the company, Fredric puts on a persona, acting like some kind of innocent guardian angle, while simultaneously using the business to line his own pockets.
Wilpharma wasn’t only creative vaccines — they were also creating the viruses too, though Fredric would do a good job of hiding this by using his clever way with words to present him and his company as one that truly cares about keeping people safe. By the time he’s apprehended at the end of the movie byLeon and Claire, he’s a completely different person, showing his true colors to the world as he cowers away in fear for his selfish deeds.
Clive O’Brian, the head of the BSAA, comes across as a trustworthy and reliable leader to both Jill and Parker, whom he sends on a dangerous mission to theQueen Zenobia shipin the hopes of finding a kidnapped Chris. However, at roughly the halfway point ofRevelations, it’s revealed O’Brian actually lied to his own agents as a way to lure the Veltro terrorists group out of the shadows.
O’Brian did his best to maintain a facade so that Jill, Parker, and the other agents wouldn’t suspect a thing, but the fact he was so willing to assure their safety, only to then drop them in the middle of danger, makes him someone who isn’t easy to rely on considering how easily he lies.
Heisenberg, one ofMother Miranda’s four lordswho shows up inResident Evil Village, is a tricky character to get a read on. Considering his prestigious status among Miranda’s ranks, Heisenberg acts like a loyal lapdog whenever he’s in her presence, being more than happy to obliterate anyone who looks at her the wrong way with his bizarre magnetic powers.
Behind the scenes, though, Heisenberg has been creating an army of mutants all for the sake of taking down his own master, Miranda, whom he secretly hates with a burning passion. None of this is revealed until much later in the game, but it exposes Heisenberg as a massive hypocrite who tries to act as a guardian to Miranda, despite being one of her biggest enemies in reality.
As the head of the RPD, Chief Irons should be someone that the rest of the police force can look up to as a role model. After all, he was the one who committed his life to fighting back against crime and injustice within the city, but in reality, this grotesque officer has been conducting plenty of shady business under everyone’s nose. As a way to protect Birkin’s illegal experiments from getting out, Irons had his men stationed in the sewers — in exchange for a hefty pile of cash.
In the mainline story ofResident Evil 2, he would be more than happy to kidnap Sherry and even aim a gun at Claire’s face despite still technically being the chief whose duty is to protect, not harm. After Irons' cowardice got the better of him, though, he immediately ditched all the core beliefs of his position, making him one of the most dangerous antagonists inResident Evil 2.
For much ofResident Evil Village’sstory, the motive behind Mother Miranda’s actions, specifically her decision to kidnap Ethan’s daughter Rose, remains a mystery. Byacquiring filesand listening to a few tales from the Duke, players will eventually come to learn that Miranda intends to sacrifice Rose as part of a ritual to revive her own daughter, who tragically died years ago due to the Spanish Flu.
During her boss fight, Miranda tries to give Ethan a lecture on the love that a parent should always have over their child, and that he, more than anyone, should understand what it’s like to have a child ripped away from them. However, saying all of this after kidnapping and almost killing Ethan’s own daughter paints her as a pretty big hypocrite, to the point where it’s hard to gauge whether she even realizes how far she’s willing to take things in order to bring back her beloved daughter.
