This takes a different approach to the material than what we've seen in the other show on Netflix, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. It is a much more mundane tale. It is focused around the Weskers: Jade (Tamara Smart), with her “twin” sister Billie (Siena Agudong), and their father, Albert Wesker (Lance Reddick) at two different points in the time line. We get introduced to Jade Wesker in 2032. She is studying the infected to learn more about them and how the virus could be affecting them. She wants to get back to her own family but she is looking for something within the infect. The second point is Jade with her family in 2022, when they have just moved to New Raccoon City.

One thing this series gets some credit for is establishing elements of how the Zombies work: the rules of the world and these Zombies. Watching it with Captions, it is revealed that the Zombies are refereed to as “Zeroes.” These are not very smart zombies, working more as pack animals. They count on smell more than anything to find their prey. Apparently, it does not take much blood for them to hone in on a target. They will then relentlessly charge after their target: swarm and devour being their “pack tactic.” The virus which brought them to the state of undeath largely manifests in simple ways. A few show boils and other dermal malformations. It's clear the “Zeros” can't heal. We later learn that sight and hearing are gone within the first year, but smell just keeps improving.

Something that they do make a statement with is the entrance to New Raccoon City. Just the look over the security, the literal white washed. Almost immediately it has a very sterile and controlled feel. The tall walls, every house everything else just being white. Even the bushes have white blooms on them if you pause and look at them. Everything else sits in a pastel shade. Everything about it just screams about the controlled, sterile setting of the City. All of it, even the shape it, shows the totality of Umbrella's reach and influence here. From the first episode, it is not clear at all what happened with Umbrella. By all rights, the company has gone bankrupt. It could be just a small part of it was affected and forced to shut down.

Something I do want to compliment on is Jade and Billie. They feel likely siblings. Given that last show that Andrew Dabb ran was Supernatural, it is hardly surprising he can do siblings pretty well. This is also easily the backbone of the 2022 section of the story. Jade and Billie needing to adjust to New Raccoon City and just trying to help each other (and looking out for each other). Things definitely get complicated at the end of episode 1 in that regard. But Resident Evil isn't Resident Evil without plenty of mysteries to solve.

As a Destiny player, seeing Lance Reddick is a bit of a change, but know this is a character I'm going to appreciate throughout. Seeing that he's playing Albert Wesker goes a long way to setting pretty high expectations. Him sitting at the head of a division and is an irreplaceable person to Umbrella. When he speaks, everyone below him listens. There are not many above him either. There is plenty of mystery with what he was doing with his daughter's blood as well. Most of the time he's being the overworked father who cares for his daughters but can't find the time. When he moves to protect them, he does so decisively. A brief aside here: a quick search can tell you what is going on with Wesker and how he is alive with his canonical death in Resident Evil 5, which happened years prior to the events of this episode (in 2022). Nothing is revealed here in the first episode, just the hint with the blood injection. I can't wait to watch more and see where all this goes.

Now, there is a big question, which is if the series is canon to the games. The inverse is decidedly true, the lead showrunner, Andrew Dabb, has confirmed. The games events have happened in this world. The original Raccoon City was blown up to hide what happened there with the T-Virus. The STARS team got ambushed within the Spencer Mansion, the president's daughter was kidnapped by a mysterious cult, etc. It really would just be an official announcement from Capcom to confirm if it is canon one way or the other. It sits at the latest points (as of writing) within the Resident Evil timeline. It takes place, with the 2022 sections, only a year after Resident Evil 8: Village. It is confirmed that these events have happened in the show's world. Given the locations of South Africa and Europe, not much of the present canon of Resident Evil has reached out to those locations. Dabb has stated that he intends to incorporate the game canon into the show. We could see a lot of characters, depending on how long the show runs. Presently the rumor mill has it that we could see Ada Wong in the next season. But until it happens, it is just words on the wind.

All that said, time for my thoughts on the show. It's a decent start. Definitely is handling the stranger elements that are unique to Resident Evil very well. We are only getting slow reveals throughout the series from the look of it. It is hard to really know at what pace overall right now. No trends can really be figured out from just 1 episode. I like the sisters, Jade and Billie. I want to see the sisters plenty more as they settle in (and deal with the consequences of their actions). I am loving Albert Wesker and his role in things. He sits in a position of immense power and I can't wait to see the extent of it. It is going to take time to really see it. I'm fine with that. This show has most of what I'd like in a new series premiere episode. I see, overall, what is happening with the world. It can only build up from here for sure. Give me the foundation, or at least something to start working from here. This episode did that. I'm not a hardcore Resident Evil fan. It remains that I've seen more of the movies than beaten any of the games. But that doesn't matter here, so far. While those events are a part of the show's cannon, so far they are unimportant. Only time will tell for the rest though.