Resident Evil Requiem is the Perfect Ending for Leon Kennedy in the Resident Evil Franchise
I'm not exactly sure what Capcom has in store for Leon's character in the Resident Evil franchise, but if his journey does end with Resident Evil 9, then this is the perfect send off for his character. Resident Evil Requiem is linked to the past of Leon, when it comes to what he went through in Raccoon City. This was an unexpected twist; and while this game is also Grace's story, Leon's story was connected so well to the rest of the game.
Leon is asked to go and save Grace from Victor Gideon, another infected scientist that dreams of spreading a new zombie virus. Unfortunately, Leon is dealing with a huge problem. Due to his past events in Raccoon City 28 years ago, that specific zombie infection has somehow infected Leon so many years later. Sherry, his assistant for the mission, is also infected, and he is determined to cure the two of them. Other survivors from the past outbreak in Raccoon City had also died, and as the player, this mystery instantly captures my attention.
Leon battles zombies to save Grace, and he learns that she is somehow connected to Victor Gideon. He decides to follow them to a new location, that turns out to be the ruins of Raccoon City. He learns that zombies are lingering around the destroyed city, and that there was another secret Umbrella lab in the underground part of the city. During his journey, Leon goes back to old locations of his past, where he remembers the trauma of people that he had failed to save. Leon vows to save Grace, to not repeat the mistakes of his past. He breaks into the secret lab, and reunites with Grace, but he is slowly getting weaker from the infection.
How Leon was able to keep on fighting throughout his infection against the dead was impressive and kind of tragic. His determination to keep people safe never left Leon, and I can't imagine how Raccoon City still haunted him for so many years. His journey was like of like Chris from Resident Evil 5, his trauma of losing Jill Valentine had haunted him for a long time, and he was able to get closure through Sheva, by saving her from the same fate from Albert Wesker.
It was an interesting comparison to make with both characters, and with the kind of life these two characters lead, it makes sense why they both went through a lot.
After Leon and Grace reunite, she helps him get to the final encounter with Victor and his assistant named Zeno, and after Grace is able to heal with a secret vaccine for his infection, he takes down Victor, keeping his promise to keep Grace safe, and he is able to get closure by putting Umbrella down for good. (At least in Raccoon City).
In one of the most powerful moments in the entire game, the duo find themselves trapped in the lab after the defeat of Victor. Leon offers to stay with Grace, as they wait for death. This really felt like a powerful closure moment for Leon, even if he couldn't Grace, he was willing to die with her, so that she wouldn't be alone. (Man, that part got me a little emotional, even though I knew they were going to be rescued).
Leon and Grace are saved by Chris Redfield's crew, and the duo share a heartfelt moment at the end of the game, and before Leon walks away, he puts on a wedding ring, that he kept in his pocket. This feels like a perfect ending for Leon. I'm sure that Capcom is going to bring his character back again, but this ending feels like Leon finally got closure after everything he had gone through in his past life. And knowing that he is a married man with a possible family was awesome to learn about.
If this is Leon's last game, then it's an awesome ending for his character!
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