What does Resident Evil Village’s ending mean? Final scenes explained

With players beating Resident Evil Village for the first time, many may be left wondering what the ending actually means. The final sequence includes several bombshell revelations from the game’s connection to VII’s Baker family to the origin of Umbrella Corporation itself.

Taking place three years after Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Village directly continues the story of Ethan and Mia Winters. Not only does the game give major answers to its predecessor, its explosive ending reveals one of the series’ biggest mysteries.

Below, we will break down who Mother Miranda really is, how she played a role in the Baker’s demise, and why she wanted baby Rose. And if you are completely confused by what Megamycete is, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. *Note: This guide obviously contains spoilers for the ending and the post-credits scene*

Contents

• Resident Evil Village ending explained
• Why Ethan’s daughter is a vessel
• Mother Miranda’s plans
• Rose Winters
• Resident Evil VII connections
• How Village ties into Umbrella Corporation
• Ethan Winters’ fate after Village

Resident Evil Village ending explained

After defeating Heisenberg, Ethan Winters finally comes face to face with Mother Miranda. It is explained that the mysterious villain has a connection to the Megamycete, which is the source of the mold throughout the series. The villain then reveals that she used the power of the fungus to disguise herself as Mia Winters.

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Sometime before the game starts, Miranda kidnaps Ethan’s wife and takes her place within their home. This explains why Chris Redfield shoots her at the beginning of the story as the agent knows it’s the antagonist in disguise. Unfortunately, Miranda is able to recover from her wounds while being transferred by Redfield’s agents and she breaks free and kidnaps baby Rose.

Why Ethan’s daughter is a vessel

In a major revelation, we learn that Ethan Winters actually died at the start of VII. He was resurrected by the mold after the Baker family infected him. This explains why he is able to attach his limbs back on and take an insane amount of damage. Because the protagonist and his wife Mia are infected with the fungus, their baby is a human hybrid with the life form.

After learning this, Miranda realizes that Rose is the perfect vessel to bring her dead daughter back to life in. This is why she disguises herself as Mia and steals Ethan’s child so that she can perform the ritual and bring back her own offspring.

Mother Miranda’s plans

Through her backstory, we learn that Miranda was a scientist from the 1900s. The character loses her child, Eva, to the Spanish flu in 1919. Distraught, the character travels the countryside where she discovers the Megamycete in a cave tucked away behind a European village (the setting of RE8). The scientist gains immortality and others powers by connecting herself to the mysterious life form.

She then spends years researching the mold, desperately trying to bring her child back to life. This explains why the village has Lycans and other monsters as she used the villagers as subjects to run her experiments on. Even the Four Houses – Lady Dimitrescu, Karl Heisenberg, Salvatore Moreau, and Donna Beneviento – were once Miranda’s experiments, although none of them were strong enough to be a vessel.

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However, when she learns about Mia and Ethan Winters’ child’s connection to the fungus, she kidnaps Rose to use the baby as a vessel to bring back her daughter. Though Ethan and Chris Redfield put an end to her ritual before she can pull it off.

Rose Winters (post-credits scene)

After Ethan sacrifices his own life to kill Mother Miranda and stop the ritual to bring her daughter back, the game features a post-credit scene that takes place 15-20 years later. We now see a grown up Rose Winters who is mourning the death of her father.

We quickly discover that she has been taken under the wing of Chris Redfield who is training her as an agent. Winters gets into the car with one of his agents and drives off, setting her up to be the potential protagonist of Resident Evil 9.

Resident Evil VII Biohazard connections

In Resident Evil VII, a little girl named Evie is the one responsible for infecting and controlling the Baker family. We learn in Village that she was actually one of Mother Miranda’s experiments based on her daughter, Eva.  The antagonist created the life form in collaboration with a group called “The Connection” which is the same shadowy organization that Mia Winters worked for.

So in effect, Miranda’s actions are what led to the Baker family becoming monsters. After all, it was her failed experiment which led to the fungus being spread from the cave in the village to the Southern locale in the United States. This is largely how Capcom ties the two games together.

How Resident Evil Village ties to Umbrella Corporation

Perhaps the biggest revelation of all is that the Umbrella Corporation’s founder, Oswell E. Spencer, was a student under Mother Miranda. It was his experiments with her connection to the Megamycete which led him to create the evil group in the first place.

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The name and its iconic symbol that represents a top-down view of an umbrella was actually taken from a cave painting near the Megamycete. This plot point has major repercussions for the franchise and sets up Miranda as an antagonist that has been impacting events throughout the series.

Is Ethan Winters really dead?

During the post-credits scene, we see Rose Winters in a car with one of Chris Redfield’s agents. However, the final shot shows the car off in the distance with a shadowy figure seemingly walking towards them. Players on PC using a free-roam camera mod were able to zoom in and discover the model of the person appears to be Ethan Winters.

This by no means is proof he is alive as the developer may not have intended us to ever see this. It’s actually common for games to re-use assets as a stand-in for objects in the distance. Still, the new discovery is incredibly tantalizing. It also wouldn’t be the first time the series brings back a character from the dead.

While there is no telling which direction Resident Evil will go in next, there is dialogue that implies Redfield’s next target is the BSAA. Given that Rose is later discovered to be trained under him, perhaps she will help put a stop to them.

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Village does a fantastic job connecting the plot between itself and VII Biohazard, while also making some epic revelations about the series as a whole. It will be interesting which plot points Capcom tackles with upcoming DLC.