#resident evil 4 analysis

[clayderogatory]

okay let me just say i am a big music nerd and also a big resident evil nerd. put two and two together, and now you have this. greetings and salutations everyone and today i am going to analyze and discuss the 4 major boss themes in resident evil 4 remake and my interpretations of each one.

note that i am no big music theory major, but i know way too much about resident evil and i know how music can influence how someone can feel and how it can relate to the characters they are for.

the bosses i am going to be talking about are as follows:

Bitores Méndez, Ramón Salazar, Krauser, and Osmund Saddler.

they will go in order right under the cut!! i hope u enjoy because this actually took hours to write im not even kidding.

Bitores Méndez:

Starting off with Méndez, his boss theme is very very different from the OG. What the Remake has, I believe it further demonstrates and shows to the player through music more insight on how he is presented in the game.

In the original, his theme is really just...eerie. It's unsettling, with much of it being very high pitched and almost just screaming in your ear. Some really other good examples of this are like—for instance—the very end of the Undertale Genocide route or like Something in Omori. It's made to be unnerving, like something is incredibly wrong in the situation you are in. But for Méndez's theme in the OG, it's really as far as it goes. It's just high pitched noises with creepy sound effects, almost like something is chasing you. There's even remnants of someone screaming in the background if you listen super closely.

The thing I love with the Remake is that they added so much more to this theme. Firstly, they kept that eerie high pitched noise that was primarily in the OG's soundtrack, in the background. That feeling and that aspect is still there in the song, but they added more instruments so that it was definitely more of a boss theme. There's drums, violins, tubas, etc. Those were at least the main ones I heard upon inspection.

Méndez is supposed to be the first big bad in re4r, he's kind of like the strong and seemingly invincible character for a good long while. He doesn't talk much, he's just there to follow Saddler's orders and to carry out his will. You have to try to avoid him in many cases because you can't get past him, but now you're in a situation where you have no other choice but to fight him. The music really amplifies this because it really conveys that feeling that he's like a mindless soldier. He's extremely intimidating, a lot of the music feels like it isn't leading up to this big finale or any sort of release. It's meant to build up tension or suspense, and it isn't much of a build up.

Méndez is there for the purpose to kill, with Las Plagas infecting his mind so badly he doesn't even have thoughts of his own anymore. That's only the first half of the song, because the second does get interesting.

It turns very fast paced and hurried. Like a cat and mouse chase, there's even an added primarily male choir in there to further add to the eerie feeling. It gets a lot more intense, because further in the fight, Leon is doing more to injure Méndez and that tension is finally rising to where it's a much more intense battle because Méndez had mutated a second time and now they are at each other's throats and the heat of battle and the burning building is probably getting to the both of them. And the tension is rising, rising, the music gets louder and its crescendoing more and more and then, it goes quiet.

it's not a big flashy ending, it just fades out to quietness. all of it is over, you can take a break and let what just happened sink in. it's so much more interesting and i do love they incorporated the same eerie noises from the OG into the remake's.

----

Ramón Salazar:

Up next we have Ramòn Salazar, and his remake theme is one of my favorites in the whole game. But starting with the OG, it lays a pretty decent foundation. There's that eerieness to it in the first, but then it grows a bit bigger. It primarily has a lot of organ parts to it. Plainly stating, Ramòn is from Royalty, he lives in a castle and had people do his bidding and such. His official title is of a Castilian.

He is also very weak compared to everyone else, and he hides behind the stronger ones with his rank and title. Organs are very primarily used in settings of where we are now, a very gothic style castle where before Los Illuminados came, everyone there was very Catholic. Which in other cases, they can be heard in churches as well. They're typically seen as very creepy instruments that unnerve many people. There's also usage of violins and a choir, which give this feeling of almost like a Haunted Mansion like sound as if there were ghosts taunting you.

Interestingly enough, there's also some more modern hints in the song with a faint electric bass in there. It's also a little waltzy, like it has elements where you could kinda dance to it. It has a similar tension where it rises and rises and then goes quiet again.

But what I really want to get to now is his remake theme, holy shit it is so so SO amazing. Ramòn in remake is very vastly different from OG, he has that same element of being weak and using his authority to always have a higher ground, but he isn't nearly as cowardly. He has a way more sadistic mind to him, and even in records found in the game, he was described to be this nasty little guy who reveled in seeing people suffer.

he also presents the whole section as like a story or a play. He calls Leon a "gallant knight" and Ashley the "princess fair." He's over dramatic, and he sees himself as a higher being than the others. Except for Saddler, because he worships the man—like everyone else.

Already within the theme we are starting off BIG, it's loud, dramatic, very fitting to how he sees everything as a show, a drama even. We get a lot of build up within the first 35 seconds or so. They utilize a lot of choir parts within this, mainly SSA (sopranos and altos) to make it very high pitched and giving that eerie vibe again. The title of the song comes into play too, "Baile de la Muerte," or as translated, The Dance of Death. Already off the bat it sounds as dramatic as the music is, and because the song is very much a waltz.

It's also something to note that Ramón moves around a LOT in this fight, similar to how you move in a dance. But he looks a lot more like a horrifyingly mutilated bug so it's more annoying than anything.

String instruments are HUGE in this song, and especially that choir part mentioned earlier coming in really heavy towards the middle. There is some more SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) at this part compared to the beginning. There's already so much tension because the song starts big and keeps. getting. BIGGER. towards the end the choir part keeps striking with more and more tension, its keeps building and building, and then HUGGEEE beat drop where there is just this beautiful and amazing finale that is just so so SO dramatic and theatrical. it's like the big end to a show, the strings are fast and furious as the drums are striking and LOUD, and what i believe to be brass instruments just killing it. and the final note ends on a high ass note for the choir and all the instruments coming together to deliver the end of this AMAZING track.

its a dramatic piece for an equally theatrical and dramatic character, and it leaves with this satisfying finish before ending and letting it all settle again.

---

Jack Krauser:

Now with Krauser's theme, it is my favorite in the whole game. I could loop it for hours because it's so catchy and it even ties back to previous lore with his character. Firstly to compare to the OG, the OG and remake are already extremely similar.

It's very strong and heavy, like how Krauser is. It's also very dramatic and one big thing to notice is that there is this kind of very fast drum that is prominent. It's kind of something that you would hear in a theme pertaining to jungles and whatnot, which IS important. I'll get to that in a moment, but, it's a very fast paced song. It does have that tension because Leon is facing a formidable for that he used to know. There's a lot of build ups ready for a beat drop that just adds so much to the intensity. There's not much to say because the melody and sound for this song is pretty much the same as remake, but obviously they expanded on it.

what i really want to get to is remake, because they utilize SO many elements in this to make it really powerful and to support Krauser's character. First and foremost, Krauser and Leon's relationship in remake is different than OG. In OG they were more "comrades" who fought with one another in the military, but in remake, Krauser and Leon, have this relationship where he was his mentor. They both know the same combat skills, it just comes down to who can apply them better in their fight. That's what makes Krauser so terrifying, because he knows everything Leon knows to a higher degree.

As well as that jungle aspect maybe coming from Darkside Chronicles that expanded on Leon and Krauser and Operation Javier. I thought that was a neat touch to add with the music as well, but anyways, this piece is powerful with the primarily male choirs, harmonies, and so. much. buildup. it's leading up to something so much bigger with it's fast paced structure. there's a lot of heavy drums that are just going and going, and it eventually leads to this HUGE beatdrop that really makes it feel more like a final battle. Leon is facing someone that was close to him, even if he was a huge asshole, he was Leon's mentor and taught him everything he knew.

it's so heavily dramatic because the stakes are high, Leon has to get to Ashley before it's too late and try not to get killed by his teacher. It repeats until at the end It leads up and up until it goes to this somber music. Leon has to kill someone he did care about. He proved himself worthy and now has to take the final blow, all while trying not to cry because he was forced into doing it. It leads up to this big big tense feeling until he strikes the blow and it's over.

"I taught you well, Leon."

"That you did, Major, that you did."

---

Osmund Saddler:

With Saddler, it's, again, similar to the OG and to be frank, I'm just gonna talk about the remake. Saddler is so interesting because the whole game has been leading up to him. He's a mystery, he is the leader of Los Illuminados, the one with all the control over everyone in the hivemind. With his theme, they really use a lot of the choir instead of the instruments taking over.

The reason due to this is probably all of the religious themes within Saddler and how he is literally a cult leader. within churches, there are usually church choirs that sing which is probably why it's very abundant in the theme. The music is matching with the choir a lot, and a lot of drums are used in this piece. Compared to some others, there are a lot of flowy parts to the song and also some very staccato moments where it's very on the dot. Especially in the middle where it's very big and intense.

This is a serious battle, Leon has to kill Saddler to get rid of Los Illuminados, and it isn't an easy task. They really keep that feeling of it being such a tough fight and that it is menacing, Saddler is not just a pushover. He wants to spread his cult across the world and he will stop at nothing to try and achieve that. It mainly repeats a lot due to it obviously being a boss theme and it will repeat until you kill the boss, but the ending is so interesting as it goes from this very flowy and moving section, and then it goes down, and then ends abruptly with even a hint of organ snuck in there.

Saddler is posed as a threat, on or off screen, and his theme definitely delivers on that as well.

---

and that is a wrap! if you made it to the end, you get a cookie 🍪

and if anyone wants to discuss anything more, feel free! these are my thoughts and ideas of all of these themes and how they relate to all of the characters they are for :)

[sapphire-weapon]

So here's an interesting thing.

This is Saddler's POV when Ashley picks up Leon's gun:

Leon isn't looking at Ashley.

He's looking right at Saddler. And that's the look of a man who's ready to kill.

It's only after the first shot is fired that Leon actually looks at Ashley, and his expression is completely different when he does.

From Ashley's POV:

This might sound weird, but this is probably the best showcase of how fundamentally changed Leon is in RE4make from RE2make. In RE2make, his focus would've been Ashley first. He would've been worried about her and scared for himself. Saddler would be an afterthought; Leon can worry about Saddler after both he and Ashley are safe.

That was probably what Krauser was referring to during training when he told Leon that he was too soft to do what's necessary. You know, before Krauser himself went nuts, and the meaning of that statement became something else entirely.

But in RE4make, Leon's first response is rage. It's violence. It's murder. His instinct isn't to save Ashley or protect himself -- it's to kill Saddler.

It's only after it hits him just how stuck he is -- after that first shot is fired -- that the worry starts -- that the regret and heartache kick in.

What Krauser taught Leon -- what he really taught Leon -- was that protecting someone is more than shielding them from harm or pulling them to safety. It's eliminating the threat around them so that they can be safe. Shields can break, and running protects no one.

So, sure, the "being held against my will" thing is the main reason why Leon turns down Ashley's offer at the end of the game -- but it's not the only reason. It's because Leon came to accept, over the course of this mission, that he's not that guy anymore. He can't stand by and be Ashley's guard. The only way he knows how to protect her is by eliminating the threat around her -- and that's not what security detail does.

But that's who Leon's become now. The ship of "serve and protect" has sailed, for him. In his own words: "You've gotta keep moving forward."

[grilde1chesse]

thinking about how krauser knows leon like nobody else & therefore hurts him like no one else can.

thinking about how in the script krauser guided leon’s hand into his chest, how he went out content and proud, rather than bitter or scared. he wanted to die by leon’s hand, encouraged it even.

thinking about how he calls leon by his name rather than boy scout or rookie, how leon’s face was the last he’d ever see, and how he was perfectly content with that. how leon called him major one last time, both showing their respect for each other that had previously been buried under their pride.

thinking about how leon can’t even look at krauser when killing him, plunging the knife into his chest with a quivering lip and eyes squeezed shut. thinking about how he looks at himself in the blade afterwards, unable to keep eye contact with his own reflection and visibly holding back tears.

“Do... what you have to do. That's right.

I trained you well... Leon”

[lesbianwyllravengard]

Thinking about how intrinsically intertwined everyone's fates were in re4r again. How Leon and Ashley were doomed to die from the start if Luis hadn't helped them. How Luis was doomed to fail if Ada hadn't helped him. How Ada was doomed to remain tethered to someone horrible as a means of survival if Luis hadn't given her courage, and shown her faith. How Leon was doomed to lose Ashley from the start if Ada hadn't helped him repeatedly. How Ashley was doomed to become Saddler's next puppet if Leon and Ada hadn't had a past together. How Leon was doomed to succumb to the parasite if Ashley hadn't been able to help him. How Ashley was able to help him because Leon gave her courage and hope. How Leon needed to meet Luis to learn that people really could change. How Luis needed to meet Leon, and Ashley, and Ada, to believe change was something he could achieve. How they all changed each other. I love it so much

[biird-rot]

Leon Kennedy is Autistic: An Analysis by an Autistic Person

DISCLAIMER: This post and all the points I make are highly based on my OWN experiences. I often find parallels between my experiences as a disabled individual and characters I love to help me better cope with and process my feelings. Hate will not be tolerated!!!

Before I get started, I’d like to say that this is not even me scratching the SURFACE of the things I could analyze about Leon and apply to various autistic experiences, this is mostly just the things that resonate with me the most.

Parallel Play/Preferring to Work Alone

It could be attributed to trauma, and the fact he works in a government agency, but Leon has always been the flying solo type. Missions in which it would be better if multiple people worked on it (RE4) HOWEVER! Whenever he does work with others, he often goes off on his own and leaves whoever he's with to deal with what's there (DI, Leon going off immediately after being vaccinated by Rebecca)

Difficulty Communicating/Identifying Emotions

This also plays into the difficulty making friends and maintaining friendships aspect of being autistic. There isn't any direct/obvious representations of this occurring in the franchise, but it can be inferred based upon his interaction with Chris and Rebecca in RE: Vendetta when the two try to recruit Leon on their mission because of the intel he has on the type of BOWs they're dealing with. Speaking of RE: Vendetta, it can also be noted that Leon copes with his inability to cope with/regulate his emotions by drinking, and this is a habit he always had. In fact, he's essentially hung over in RE2, having drunk his feelings away after being broken up with the night before the Raccoon City incident, and he is literally drinking on the job in Damnation. Essentially, he's canonically an alcoholic. As an autistic person, sometimes I would turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with my emotional dysregulation, especially when I was unaware that I was autistic.

Leon isn't a very emotional person in general, again, It could be chalked up to trauma, but lack of emotional expression is also a common experience/trait amongst autistics.

“Inappropriate” Responses to Situations

GODDDD this one is SO prominent in RE4R (hell, even the OG), Infinite Darkness actually everything he's in, I can name at LEAST 2 examples of this. To keep this short, I'll just name ones that I relate painfully hard to, and ones that I find hilarious.

To start, WHENEVR HE JUST SAYS "ok 🧍" in response to an emotional moment. RE2R, when Claire introduces him to Sherry, in RE4R, when Ashley hugs him and expresses her relief that he's okay, and in Infinite Darkness whenever he checks up on Patrick after the White House Outbreak. It never fails to make me lose it because he's just like me fr.

Thists a sillier one, but I want to mention it because it's so mecore.

Thank you to @highball66 for doing the lord's work of translating the Death Island manga yall seriously he’s a legend🙏

When Leon sends selfies of him on missions. That's it. He just sends it to Hunnigan and I think it's great.

Sensory Issues

Okay, I KNOW LEON IS A GOVERNMENT AGENT AND NEEDS SOME LEVEL OF GEAR ON MISSIONS BUT!!!!! Half the time he isn't even wearing a full set, not even a bullet proof vest. HOWEVER, I did notice that one thing he CONSISTENTLY wears (with the exception of a few instances) is GLOVES!!! This is more of a personal headcannon, but I like to think he's sensitive to texture, especially when handling guns and such, so he wears gloves, so it doesn't feel as terrible. To further back up his sensitivity to texture, in Death Island, after the Dylan BOW explodes and splashes water everywhere, Chris doesn't seem to care about being covered in water while Leon is flicking the water off him.

Literal Thinking - Coming off as Rude/Inappropriate Unintentionally

GODDDDD this is another big one, but I’ll only cover the ones that I relate to a lot to save time. Starting with his initial encounter with Jill in Death Island, they’re being chased by lickers and…well..this interaction

Exhibit B: This scene. He’s just so nonchalant about it and I do the exact same thing without like…intentionally being a “smartass” or whatever, I’m just being honest 🧍. Jill’s “Oh😒” at the end of the scene is really what made it hit home, because that’s how people typically react when i have a similar interaction with them

ANOTHER THING!!! All of the instances in which Leon casually asks “so you wanna get dinner?” Or something along those lines. It’s often interpreted as a poor attempt at flirting, but personally, I think he genuinely just wants food, and he doesn’t understand why ppl are like 🤨 when he asks. He just wants a nice dinner with a nice lady :(

Hyper-empathy

Small disclaimer here, autism is a SPECTRUM. And our empathy levels fluctuate every day. In Leon’s case, I see him being hyper-empathetic, much like myself. And being able to empathize so easily with people is incredibly draining. Additionally, a huge thing that is common among autistics is how we tend to respond to people who are sharing their struggles with us sharing our OWN experiences that are similar to theirs, and it often comes off as egocentric and selfish to “make it about us”, but in reality, that’s our way of saying that we understand what you’re going through, and it helps us process how you may be feeling as well. There are many scenes I could pull from, but I want to talk about one specifically in Infinite Darkness since it resonates so much with me:

The scene within ID in which Jason is having a nightmare, and Leon wakes him up, immediately asking him if he wants to talk about it. Jason recalls the nightmare and his trauma about Penamstan to Leon, and says that he has no idea what it was like, and Leon responds talking about his experience in Raccoon City, and how that affected him similarly

Special Interests & Using Media to Communicate Feelings

There are many aspects of this I could talk about, but I’ve already written 10 pages worth already in this post, so I’ll speed through it.

Personally, I think Leon has a special interest in film! He makes several references throughout the franchise, many of which are overlooked. Personally, my favorite reference he makes is in RE: Vendetta to Pulp Fiction (I think) when Chris and Rebecca confront him during his “vacation”

Final Notes/Conclusion

I had to cut a LOT out from my original mini-essay I wrote about this to fit it better on here, and make it not as boring to read lmao, but I hope you enjoyed my silly little analysis! I love being able to relate my experiences to others, fictional or otherwise, as it helps me feel less alone, and be able to process and cope with what makes my disability a…well, a disability. I hope fellow autistics find some solace in this as well, and please let me know your additional thoughts about this topic if you’re a fellow autistic Leon Kennedy headcannoner!!!

[ovaryacted]

TW: suicide/suicidal ideation.

This is me ranting about Leon Kennedy’s mental health because I too am not having the best mental health time, so I wanted to write this out for a second.

-

Every single time I think about Leon Kennedy’s mental health throughout the RE series and the fact that he’s been through so much trauma and loss, I get sad.

The fact that he genuinely thought about killing himself with a bullet to the head multiple times, and he’s probably tried it at his worst is so heartbreaking. He definitely tried after Raccoon City, or during, and he probably attempts to do it after really bad missions too. Instead of going through with it and pulling the trigger, he’d toss the gun to the side and start to cry, or he’d just drink his sorrows away because he’s so numb to the survivor’s guilt and the bullshit he doesn’t know what else to do.

What’s worse is how there was nobody to console him or support him, nobody to tell him that he matters. Nobody even really knows what happened to him or the full story of how he got to where he currently is, and he can’t tell anybody. He went from a rookie cop one night to a military agent the next by force and he wasn’t given a second to adjust to any of it. So he was there handling all of his overwhelming emotions and thoughts alone in the best way he could manage. Mind you, his early adulthood was basically taken away from him at the age of 21, he barely experienced life before his ability to dictate his future was stripped away from him.

The most upsetting thing to all of this, is the fact that Leon is only alive for Sherry’s sake, because he was blackmailed into military service after Raccoon City. He knew that if he tried to go through with killing himself, or telling other people the truth of what happened, the government would come after Claire and Sherry. People also often dismiss their trauma after Raccoon City too, like Sherry was a whole kid who lost both of her parents, and managed to survive because 19 year old Claire cared enough to make sure she made it out.

If it weren’t for the fear of harm coming to Sherry’s life, Leon would’ve ended it a long time ago, and I just think that’s so crazy. Not to mention how Sherry ends up becoming an agent in the future because Leon and Claire made such an impact on her life as a child, which wouldn’t even be possible if Leon didn’t manage to stay alive for her after saving them in the first place.

I cry. I love him so much. I’ll never shut up about him.

[galaxy-fleur]

Replaying RE4R, and I am once again thinking of how Leon just straight up murders a guy the moment he attacks. Like yeah, sure, he lunged at him with a weapon, there is a bloody badge of an officer, things are sketchy to say the least, but still. It all happens so fast, I doubt he actually had the time to fully put two and two together quite yet.

And you can't tell me that Leon, a trained agent, just overestimated the power of his kick on accident. That ↓

Was a pretty much deliberate kick. What's interesting is that in the OG RE4, he at least tells the ganado to freeze a good couple of times (or maybe once, I don't remember the specifics, but my point still stands) before actually proceeding to harm him. Remake Leon, meanwhile... just breaks his neck without a second thought.

And his reaction right after makes it... pretty obvious, honestly.

There is no strong reaction there to offing an old man in his home. Now, granted, he hears a scream right after, so it's not like he has much time to stand and ponder over what happened! But the only thing he says right after is: 'This is not good.' And, yeah, true, but we do know Leon is capable of expressing some level of distress over something he finds disturbing, and he proceeds to do that literally a few minutes later once you start exploring the village. So really, it's an interesting scene and a very intriguing way of introducing this hardened version of Leon we'll be playing as.

I wouldn't be thinking about this as much if not for the circumstances surrounding it. Not like Leon is aware that this man is infected with anything. Up until the moment he gets back up, he could be just some disturbed, paranoid old man or something. And he did just walk into someone's house. He's an intruder here, really. But the moment danger presents itself, he eliminates the threat without a second thought.

I think it speaks volumes of the past 6 years that passed for him, and how they shaped him. We don't know much of Leon's job: what it entails exactly, what kind of work he does on the daily, how the entire structure operates. And before the events of RE4, it's not like he was a well-known agent, if I remember correctly. It's his successful rescue of Ashley that got him high in the ranks. His status as a Racoon City survivor didn't do that. Throughout RE4R, we see him regain his humanity through the connections with other characters, going from the cold, robotic way he caries himself at the start of the game, to the determined, emotionally-invested man we later see carrying Ashley to Luis' laboratory.

It's very neat to think about! And while we all love Leon for his kind heart and his drive to save innocent lives, he is more than capable of violence, and that's an aspect of him I wish was talked about more. That neck break was definitely not the first one for him, just saying.

[buffapeaks-tmblr]

this is so serennedy coded KILL MEEEEEE

[agonycrossbow]

That comment about Leon touching Luis more intimately is so real UGH

Like I remember having a genuine moment of raising a brow and staring at my screen processing it for a moment when they showed Leon holding his hand so tenderly??? Like??? Huh???? Also the fact that the next scene opens up with him still holding his hand has me in a chokehold. I adore how touchy Leon is in the RE4R, with Ashley and Luis especially.

It wasn't just the touching, either. Luis's entire death sequence was staggeringly intimate.

This moment was genuinely shocking to me.

I think Leon lighting Luis's cigarette for him was as shocking to me as Leon saying "Who knows?" to Ashley, re: where Ada's going (because that was the moment that I realized that they really, really did actually retcon aeon).

This is the single most intimate moment in the entire series. More intimate than Leon and Ada's OG kiss, more intimate than Steve's death scene in CVX, more intimate than Chris holding Jill in RE5.

And I'll tell you why.

It's because this moment requires a conscious, deliberate sacrifice of Leon's principles.

In this moment, it doesn't matter that Luis is a former Umbrella researcher. It doesn't matter that the lighter is engraved with the Umbrella logo. It doesn't matter that Leon is aiding and participating in Luis smoking -- something that Leon is personally against.

None of that shit matters.

Leon scoops up that lighter, flips open the lid, and lights Luis's cigarette for him because what actually matters to Leon in this moment is opening his heart and reaching out to create a real connection with a dying man.

This is the most humanity that any RE character has ever shown towards another.

It's a moment where neither character speaks; it's so silent that you can hear the paper and the tobacco of the cigarette crackle beneath the flame. And Luis accepts the openness of Leon's heart by literally breathing it in.

RE has never been -- and probably will never be -- more intimate or more human than this moment in this scene. It was something really special.

[rainierest]

I feel like to Krauser, power represents safety. He would do anything to feel safe again after operation Javier. But he doesn’t realize that he never will. He’s selfish and doesn’t care if he hurts others to get to this goal, as he is unsure how he can live in a world where there is no safety no matter how powerful you are. He thinks he is unsafe because he is weak, (inferior) and doesn’t realize safety is never guaranteed. Leon by contrast has never felt safe for a moment in his life. Krauser views Leon as naive but leon is aware the government is using him and doesn’t care about him. He is just working for them to protect Sherry and access their resources. Krauser thought being a soldier meant something, and can’t handle that it meant nothing and that his whole squad died for no reason other than the government is corrupt. He also internalizes the idea that his injury makes him worthless and weak. He is willing to do anything for a way out. Krauser thinks leon is naive and still works for government because he doesn’t realize that they won’t protect him and that he needs power to be safe: LEON KNOWS THEYLL THROW HIM OUT THE SECOND HE STOPS BEING USEFUL. But he has to do the right thing. He then doesn’t understand why krauser can’t do the right thing, he doesn’t realize that krauser is still caught up in the betrayal and trauma. Krauser thought he was a part of something important. And he was abandoned and left to die with a bunch of people he was close to and they DID DIE. And he couldn’t do anything and felt he should have been able to protect them. He thinks it was HIS FAULT. But he also knows it was the governments fault and hates them. This is not to remove the selfishness from his actions he is deeply selfish and self centered and will do anything to get ahead. This is why he seeks power instead of revenge. He just also cares very much about the people he worked with imo and is extremely mad both they and him were thrown out. Since leon works for the government he sees him as part of the problem and also sees leon as representative of his failures/what he wasn’t able to achieve. He sees leon as his replacement and unwilling to see the truth.

TLDR: to krauser power = safety and Leon is naive for not seeking power, to Leon power = corruption and safety does not exist and krauser has corrupted himself in his desire to be safe which is in itself a naive thing to want.

[clayderogatory]

i dont know if anyone was ever interested in what the rings that luis wears look like, but i got a really good closeup shot of it for those who ever needed a reference:

one of the neat details that I love is that the second one has religious imagery on it, im not very knowledgeable on the bible but i think it's the virgin mary? dont quote me on it because im not 100% sure, but either way its super interesting for luis' character because he still holds a part of his religion he grew up with him.

there's even small moments like before he engages in fighting he motions a quick prayer, which i like to hold near and dear to my heart because little details!!!! yay!!!

anyways i think thats kinda neat that despite los illuminados taking over his home and infecting everyone and despite everything, he keeps a little part of that with him as a remembrance :)

[sapphire-weapon]

The first time Ashley really looks at Leon without being in full fight-or-flight, he looks like such a fucking asshole LMAO

And their character models are literally too close together for me to get POV shots while Leon's holding her after the catch (their actual literal eyeballs got in the way), so I just got as close as I could without it looking weird, and:

I can't find a platonic explanation for this moment. He could have just put her down. He just puts her down every single time he catches her after this. And judging from his reaction and considering the thoroughness of his training and his readiness for this mission, there's absolutely no way that Ashley is the first person he's caught after a jump like that -- so it's not even like he's stunned that he managed to pull it off. He doesn't ask her if she's okay, doesn't give her an "I told you" or a "See?" Doesn't breathe a sigh of relief or show any signs of stress about having to do that at all.

He just... stands there. And holds her.

They don't even start off looking at each other; it's only when he lingers with her in his arms that they turn their heads and lock eyes. They both have just sort of fallen out of time and space. Their urgency to escape is momentarily forgotten.

It's so much different from Leon watching Ada's chopper at the end of the game -- when there's a thousand different thoughts and doubts and questions and conflicting feelings zipping through his mind, ranging from their complicated past to her unknown employer to the fact that he just let her walk away with whatever Krauser had killed Luis over, and there's no taking back that decision now that he's made it.

This is the complete opposite. Instead of having racing thoughts, Leon is experiencing an absence of thought. He completely forgets himself -- his position, his status, his rank, his mission -- forgets who he is, what he's doing here, and why he's with Ashley in the first place. A connection forms between them in this moment, and they both feel it.

And for that moment, Leon suddenly is no longer a top secret government asset with experimental training holding his mission objective, the president's daughter, after a jump. He's a man holding a woman, in a way that feels inexplicably meaningful, on a chill autumn night as the rain comes down around them.

It's such a classical example of the Held Gaze trope in romance stories that it should be on the fucking wikipedia page for it.

[laooneart]

To all artists/writers who make Luis survive and actually give him real life repercussions (like him being disabled now due to the knife in the back)

I absolutely love you

I really like the idea not only of Luis surviving but also it having a repercussion on Luis.

We see that the knife actually kinda goes into his spine

That is sure to leave a serious damage to the spinal cord, normally leading to paralysis, due to the spinal cord being severed/torn/sheared. So if we go by the headcanon that Luis does survive, he’ll most likely be disabled, idk if paralyzed forever maybe he’ll just need help walking for the rest of his life or maybe he’ll get better with some rehabilitation.

We can see he is stabbed in kinda the end of the cervical area and the beginning of the thoracic area, now that part is really dangerous to injure, more so above the shoulder area but yeah still does a whole lot of damage.

Moreover, Luis starts to lose motor skills, like holding himself up or even using his hands, reduced to limited movement. Not only that but he starts to struggle to talk (yes that could be sue to a punctured lung and he’s choking on blood but I don’t think so, we would’ve seen him cough up more blood).

Now i am no medic or have any knowledge on actual medical issues, i am just a teen who happens to like overanalyzing characters and happened to land on this fandom, so if i say anything inaccurate feel free to correct me or suggest something. I like the idea of this kind of representation in games so id like to work around with that fir my fanart of RE4R

I genuinely enjoyed the game and fell in love with Luis’s character, he deserves to see Ashley and Leon get better and he deserves a vacation for all that he’s been through.

Why not a family vacation? You know, Leon and Luis and their adoptive daughter Ashley

Yes yes i am still sad about Luis’s death, i will never recover

[jojoqin]

YES the chained up scene is literal remake perfection ✨

Btw I’m not a film major or anything, I’m just here to ramble because listen. The writers and the cinematic director took an almost static scene, cleaned up the script, and made it so much more dynamic. In the og, you’re kind of passively just watching Leon and Luis talk. I mean it’s alright but visually a little boring; although you do get this rotating camera effect. But even that doesn’t last long and you’re treated to some static below-the-shoulders angle.

In the remake, the chains are there to act as visual representation for the push and pull of conversation. And it’s cut in between the speaking. Also a nice “show and not tell” way to differentiate between their personalities. So not only is it more visually stimulating and symbolic but the scene itself doesn't feel like an info dump.

And it truly isn't this time. The writers were definitely trying to avoid how it was done in the og where the two were just straight up revealing personal history like it’s a coffee date. Another thing, the camera is far more dynamic too. When the Ganado was being wrestled on chains, the “camera” doesn’t just stick to using different cuts and angles to convey the action like before.

The camera is actually an interactive part of the scene. Circling from Leon to Luis, to traveling over the chains. It follows the movement of the Ganado which makes it feel a bit more personal. The remake does a lot of following character’s movements in general; almost like you’re a paparazzi with a camera.

If you compare the camerawork and editing between the og and the remake, you'd find that they're almost similar. Like yes, you still get your quick cuts, campy zoom-ins and angles. But what the remake does is improve upon that style especially by adding handheld camera movement. It feels like a proper evolution. They’ll do something like what I pointed out before or have certain shots just linger instead of using a cut to show the next action like they did here.

Even the part where Luis throws the key is framed interestingly. Because the og has a lot of shots of just the important objects themselves. Either a zoom-in or static frame. But what the remake does here is a subtle elevation; shifting focus from one subject to another in literally one shot. It’s a simple solution but so fucking cool.

As a last note, I like this reimagining too because the writing actually takes into account prior events. With Leon having been attacked by a village and Luis barely knowing who Leon even is, it makes sense that they treat the other like strangers in their own respective way. There’s no reason for them to be having a friendly a conversation. And imo, the remake does a great job of leaving the audience with a curious impression of Luis and sets up the future interaction with Leon. Like again, in the og there was none of that. Luis leaves and you meet up with him with no sense of continuity of the last interaction.

[lesbianwyllravengard]

Babe get over here the kids are figuring out that Leon Kennedy has survivor's guilt

[leonkennedygvrl]

an ANALYSIS!!! 😘

sooo… i was just playing re4r again and ive seen a couple people claim that leon was using the blunt side of his knife against ada, but they’re wong (obviously because it’s a stretch also pun intended)

look at the knife guys. then look at the knife when he’s cutting ashley free. now i MIGHT not be right but i’m pretty sure to cut through a plastic ziptie you’ll need a sharp object… right?