Grace Ashcroft was the Perfect Addition to the Resident Evil Franchise

 

Credit to How the Truth Behind Grace In Requiem Changes Resident Evil's Past (And Future) - ComicBook.com

Grace Ashcroft is one of the most fascinating characters ever brought to the Resident Evil franchise. She felt like a breathe of fresh air, and I enjoyed watching her character try to survive. The voice actor truly did a great job bringing her character to life, she felt like a real person to me that was so scared. Her slow journey from a scared woman to a courageous one throughout the game was executed so well, and her story was perfectly done!

Grace is introduced as a not so confident FBI agent, who is pulled into the horror of Resident Evil when she is kidnapped by a man known as Victor Gideon. She is thrown into a zombie apocalypse, and meets Leon Kennedy, who tries to help her survive her tough journey. She meets a little girl named Emily, that she takes under her care, while trying to navigate the horrors of zombies, a giant zombie monster, and even Victor, who wants Grace for an unknown goal. 

She eventually finds out, after she fails to protect Emily, who unfortunately transforms into a monster. 

She is brought to where the zombie virus first started, to the remains of what is left of Raccoon City. Grace meets a man named Zeno, who works together with Victor. They reveal to Grace that she was actually a clone, that was created by scientists who worked for Umbrella. This realization causes Grace to pass out from fear, because she also learned that she was the reason why her mother was murdered by Umbrella. 

She wakes up in a secret Umbrella lab within Raccoon City, and she makes the choice to continue helping Leon, to help him survive. 

While she is exploring the lab, she comes across new information about her birth. It turns out that Grace was never a clone. She was a human child, who had been given to her mother, to raise her as her own. She was given to her mother by a man named Spencer, who was responsible for the creation of the zombie virus. Spencer appeared to regret creating a virus that was used as a weapon, killing so many people for years. 

Through this new information, Grace learns that the new virus that Victor and Zeno are determined to get their hands on, is secretly a cure for the virus. 

She releases the cure to save Leon, and this realization angers Zeno, when the cure ends up taking away his powers. He is killed by Victor, and Grace is attacked by Victor, leaving her unconscious as Leon defeats Victor. They later reunite, and they both return to the surface, when they are saved by soldiers. Leon then reveals to Grace that Emily could still be alive, and toward the end of the game, we see a brand-new Grace. She appears to be more confident, as she is talking on the phone about Emily, who now lives with her. She still works for the FBI, and she walks away from her desk, revealing a photo of Grace and Emily. 

I loved how Grace was revealed to not be a clone. That storyline kind of annoyed me a little bit, but once we got the twist of Grace being a sign of hope instead of a clone from Umbrella, it made the story so much better. It was crazy how the two main villains made such a big mistake of Grace not being a clone, and it was so satisfying to watch these villains fail with their plans. 

I LOVED the twist of the virus secretly being a cure, that idea felt so fresh in the franchise! It was such a human moment by Spencer, the original creator of the zombie virus, and it was so awesome to see him make that choice to give humanity a chance. Grace's character was a representation of that hope for him, and the entire build up to this reveal was awesome!

I hope to see more of Grace, but even if we don't, her character will always be one of the most memorable characters in the entire franchise!