Resident Evil Village ends in a unexpected manner, with a post-credit scene that includes a grown Rose Winters seemingly 15 years after the finale of the main story. Although not much is revealed concerning any storylines for the upcoming Resident Evil 9, Capcom dangles one plot thread with Rose and Chris Redfield at the center. With this pairing, Capcom has set up the potential for the Resident Evil franchise to draw inspiration from an unlikely game: The Last of Us.
The Last of Us franchise is considered to be some of the best games ever made by many, even though The Last of Us 2 made story choices that divided fans. One of the biggest factors behind the franchise's critical praise is the central relationship between Joel and Ellie, with Naughty Dog crafting believable characters that evolve from an uneasy partnership to more of a makeshift father/daughter pairing. Capcom using this relationship as a template for Rose and Chris' relationship in the next Resident Evil game could be an interesting evolution for the series, with plenty of chances for drama and pathos.
Rose and Chris Redfield's relationship does not start off in a very good place at the beginning of Resident Evil Village, with Chris supposedly shooting her mother and kidnapping her infant self for unknown reasons. Rose remains in the evil clutches of Mother Miranda throughout the rest of the game, with her father Ethan and Chris eventually working together to save her from danger. Chris and the real Mia Winters eventually escape from the village with Rose in tow, but not without losing Ethan as he sacrifices himself to destroy the Megamycete.
The post-credit scene in Resident Evil Village begins to establish the type of relationship that Chris and Rose have after the ending of Resident Evil Village, with Rose seemingly working with Chris at Blue Umbrella. Chris seems to be a mentor to the young Winters, helping Rose work on controlling the powers that she inherited from her mother and father after they were exposed to the Mold. While this is all players learn about Chris and Rose's relationship, one could see how the next game might mirror elements of The Last of Us.
The end of Resident Evil Village reveals the BSAA's biomutant soldiers, with the implication that Chris will possibly take the fight to his former employer in future installments. Capcom could go the route of The Last of Us by having Chris and Rose journey together to uncover the BSAA's nefarious plans and fight zombie soldiers along the way. This would reflect some of the plot of The Last of Us, with Joel and Ellie traveling across the United States while fighting Clickers to get Ellie to the Fireflies.
Another parallel that could be made between The Last of Us and the upcoming Resident Evil 9 is the focus on teenage characters having special characteristics about them. With Rose having special powers like those of Mother Miranda's daughter and Ellie being immune to the Cordyceps fungus, the two girls share a common thread of being singled out for their special traits that could be a huge crux of the story of Resident Evil 9 if Capcom decides to take the game in this direction. Resident Evil Village sets up an interesting future for the series, with a chance that players could experience the relationship between Chris and Rose take a page from Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us.
