I don’t love Netflix’s Resident Evil series. It tries too hard to be current in a way that already feels dated, there isn’t quite enough tissue to the games for my taste, and its unwillingness to explore the thematic consequences of changing Wesker’s race disappoints me. All that being said, I stand by the claim that I and many other reviewers made – this is the most faithful Resident Evil adaptation yet. Not only does it go to some lengths to not contradict the lore, but it generally operates within the same narrative and thematic bounds as the core series. Its story and characters are as Resident Evil as any of the games, yet the common refrain I’m seeing from fans online is exactly the opposite. If you think the show is some kind of betrayal of Resident Evil, I have to ask: what do you think Resident Evil is? What makes an adaptation faithful to the source material, and what exactly do you expect from a Resident Evil show?
