Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is a 2021 Netflix original anime web series based on the Resident Evil series by Capcom.
Set two years after Resident Evil 4, a viral outbreak has been set off at the White House, with Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield investigating these mysterious outbreaks. However, there are more dark secrets than they realize.
The series has a Blu-Ray release worldwide on December 21, 2021.
This series provides the examples of:
- Actionized Sequel: The series takes place two years after the events of Resident Evil 4. This shows with more action sequences, including war sequences.
- An Arm and a Leg: Jun See had all of his limbs blown off when Jason's unit came to rescue him. Leon also blows one of Jason's arms off during the climax.
- Arc Welding: The pharmaceutical company Secretary Wilson is working with is revealed to be TRICELL, the corporation headed by Excella Gionne, Albert Wesker's accomplice from Resident Evil 5.
- Book Ends:
- In the first and final episodes, Claire tells Leon that his outfit doesn't suit him. The atmosphere during the two moments is different, however, as the first time is meant to be humorous while the second is an insult.
- Also in the first and final episodes, Patrick thinks Leon is just lucky he managed to rescue Ashley Graham from the Los Illuminados cult in Spain until Jason shoots him down for underestimating him. In the final episode, Patrick calls him a hero, but Leon denies it, saying he was just lucky.
- Bittersweet Ending: The crisis has been averted. However, Wilson is still at large and working with Tricell, and Shen Mei and Jason are both dead with their plans to expose the truth regarding Penamstan ending in failure due to Leon refusing to release the information recorded in Jun See's chip. Leon's decision to not go public with Wilson's crimes causes a rift between him and Claire, causing them to part ways on cold terms for the moment (ultimately, it hadn't stopped them from working together in the forseeable future).
- Call-Back:
- Needless to say, Raccoon City is mentioned numerous times throughout the series.
- Leon's mission in 4 is mentioned during the first episode. In President Graham's office, there's family photos of him and Ashley together.
- There's a few call backs to Resident Evil: Degeneration, especially during the final episode. The final battle takes place in a cylindrical facility that self-destructs in the presence of an outbreak, the main villain is a tragic hero who mutates to uncover the dark past of B.O.W. use that the female lead tries to reason with though it goes far worse here, and the diverging paths of Claire and Leon is discussed once again, if more bitter this time.
- Continuity Snarl: Leon tells Jason that the events of Raccoon City were covered up by the government. From a narrative standpoint, it's supposed to give the two something to bond over, but it goes against canon; Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles show the events of Raccoon City were very public and led to the downfall of Umbrella. Possibly justified in that while the events were public, the depth of the US government's involvement with Umbrella (up to being a client of theirs) was covered up.
- Countrystan: The series features a fictional South Asian country called Penamstan.
- Dramatic Irony: By choosing not to hand Jun-See's chip over to Claire and reveal how deep Wilson's crimes are in order to prevent public panic and keeping the false illusion of peace, Leon's actions have made him similar to Derek Simmons, whom also kept the US' dealings with Umbrella a secret, and a contrast to what future President Benford would eventually do.
- Expy:
- Press Secretary "Spacer," the first zombie to die in the first episode's attack on the White House, recalls ex-press secretary Sean Spicer, although they don't bear a physical resemblance to one another.
- Wilson is effectively a beerslam of Donald Rumsfeld and Henry Kissinger.
- False Flag Operation: Secretary Wilson started a hacking attempt, a biohazard in the White House, and sabotaged a US Navy submarine to provoke President Graham into declaring war against the People's Republic of China in order to earn a fortune from selling bioweapons and weaken one of the US's most powerful rivals for global political supremacy.
- Government Conspiracy: In true Resident Evil fashion. Secretary Wilson has been working in cooperation with TRICELL to develop B.O.W.s and an inhibitor for infected people. Penamstan served as a testing grounds for those bio-weapons and, when Jason's unit became infected, Wilson blackmailed them to perform covert operations for him in exchange for the inhibitors to prevent them from turning into B.O.W.s. This allowed Wilson to rise through the ranks of government while gaining wealth, and he now plans to frame China for a series of attacks on the US so as to provoke an all-out war between the US and China that will result in B.O.W.s being deployed to the field, thus making him richer.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Tricell is the company backing Secretary Wilson's bid to introduce bioweapons for conventional military use worldwide and profit from it.
- Homage: The opening scene is one to Black Hawk Down, right down to the shot composition and sound design.
- Ironic Echo: Dances around borderline Straw Hypocrite nod. Towards the series ending, Leon shows the same self-preservationist fallacy that future Big Bad Wannabe Derek Simmons shows in regards to protecting national interests. An incredibly poor showing that gives credence as to why keeping such critical subjects from seeing the light of day can cause so many things to inevitably go wrong. Hence him and Claire semi breaking associations off.
- Meaningful Echo: Early in Episode 1, when Claire and Leon first reunite, Claire gives Leon a friendly jab, saying that his fancy government agent attire "doesn't suit you." At the end of the final episode, after Leon refuses to give Claire the evidence from Jun See's chip, Claire delivers the same line, only much more coldly. Considering this is chronologically Leon and Claire's last known interaction in the series, the barb stings far more the second time.
- No Full Name Given: Every character introduced in the series is only known by their first name.
- Offhand Backhand: Well, more of an "offhand backshot", but Leon does this in the first episode to a zombie while he casually guns down two other zombies during the White House zombie outbreak.
- String Theory: Claire has this for her investigation of a possible viral outbreak in Penamstan during the country's civil war and the US military's intervention.
- Sub Story: There is a section of the story taking place in a government-owned submarine with Leon and his team on it.
- Suggestive Collision: Leon and Claire have one during Episode 4 after the former pulls the latter to safety, causing Claire to fall on top of Leon in an intimate position.
- These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: Deciding that defending hope for the future is more important than bringing justice to a few people, Leon ultimately withholds the true fate of the Mad Dogs Unit and the true extent of Wilson's crimes from the public eye. It's ironic considering that his future enemy Derek C. Simmons would also try to keep the dark secrets of the American government hidden, albeit for more selfish reasons.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: Leon and the other STRATCOM agents are tasked to investigate the zombie outbreak at the White House with a trail that leads to China. Claire uses her Terrasave job to look into Penamstan and whether it's related to the case of Mad Dog veterans killing themselves.
- Underestimating Badassery: Patrick believes Leon was just lucky that he managed to rescue Ashley from the Los Illuminados cult in Europe. Jason immediately shoots it down, recognizing Leon's skills. Leon immediately proves Patrick wrong when he kills a zombified Secretary Spacer.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Claire disappointedly gives one to Leon at the end, when he reluctantly decides not to hand over Jun See's chip, thus covering up Wilson's crimes and the truth about the events in Penamstan, without even bothering to tell her why.
- The White House: The inciting incident of the story in present-day is an hacking of confidential White House documents, followed by a zombie outbreak within the White House.
- You're Insane!: Claire calls Wilson "fucking nuts" for trying to turn people into bioweapons for profit.
