Yes, it says "SPOLIER", and not spoiler! Clearly intentional! An Easter-egg! A RUSE! Yeah, I suck... There are several times in your life when you
have to make a decision through sheer will alone! It could be standing up to your parents,
having you finally leave the nest! Maybe taking the first step in
talking to someone you like, staring potential rejection right in your face. Or what about making the
next “In The Mind of” video, right after finishing up
my biggest project so far? God I hate myself Resident Evil is a franchise that I really didn’t have any attachment to until making my
analytical video on Leon Scott Kennedy; but when I did go through the many
RE games focusing on that character, I can firmly say that “a
fan” is something that I am. Yet even before the point
of making Youtube videos... Well… trying to make Youtube videos. There was always one game
that I did want to try out, regardless of its older age. And
that was Resident Evil 3: Nemesis! Primary reason for wanting to get hold
of this, was the titular character I don’t remember if it was his design, or the
knowledge on what function he had in the game, nor the fact that he stood out
amongst his zombie brethren… but I do remember that it was
Nemesis, that caught my interest. So when I saw that the third instalment
was getting a fully-fledged remake like the sequel did a year prior;
my blood boiled in excitement! And so I made my mind up, in deciding on making
another video for a Resident Evil protagonist; this character being one of the two playable
people who kick-started of this series! An individual that is in the heart of many gamers!
Let’s head into the mind of: Jill Valentine! Very much like the police boi video; I will not look into every single game in
the franchise that this character appears in, as her entire journey is so all over
the place that it will tonally not fit. So the focus will be on the original trilogy; more
specifically Resident Evil 1, and Resident Evil 3! As already mention, the third game has gotten a
remake; but here is thing; where RE2 Remake was pretty similar narrative-wise to its original
counterpart, these two games not so much. Not only in what happens in the games, but also
showing our heroine in completely different ways. So much in fact, that it would be more
proper in calling the remake, a reimagination… regardless, I will still use both of them, as
I feel like they both can work splendidly in showing how our young STARS member grows into
the highly appreciated character we have today. Plus… using Remake footage will
make this video look better. She is like an ice cream during a hot summer day Whereas Leon didn’t have that much of a
background story before his journey began, this subject actually has something to look
into! So, let’s do just that! Around the year 1974 in America, Jill Valentine was born from a
Japanese mother, and a father who’s from France! Though it didn’t take that long for the
young girl, to decide on what career path she’d choose, as in the early
90s, meaning in her late teens, she was already in the US Military! And
while that in on itself is impressive, what is more so, is the fact that she
caught the attention of the Delta Force! Wanting to move up in the ranks, Valentine went
through a special Operator Training Course; where she proved to be superb in lock picking, and bomb disposal… which obviously is a skill
that requires extreme delicacy, and seriousness. Through these tests, the Delta Force
also noted that Jill had a great sense of justice, was courageous, and was capable
of acting during strenuous situations! However, with every positive, there is a negative: one
being that they found our teenager to be quite impulsive! Which could potentially lead her to
make some less than clever decisions… just saying. This kind gentleman is named Albert Wesker! And
it was this young man that went to recruit Jill when he saw just how well she did during her
Delta Force training; to which she accepted. Making her a part of Alpha
team, as the B&E specialist, in the Special Tactics and Rescue Service,
or more famously known as “S.T.A.R.S”, who are stationed in the Racoon
Police Department, in Racoon City. Now, what this unit goes through before our
first game, we simply do not have knowledge of; according to the game manual of the original
game, it hints at some potential earlier missions; plus, according to Mikhail from RE3 Remake, he
claims that her reputation is well deserved. Luckily that doesn’t really matter. WHAT DOES MATTER HOWEVER, IS THIS! Now this… this is a good video game! And
what else is good… to know, is the fact that you can choose who you want to play as for the
scenario: our girl Jill Valentine, or of course: We’ll of course focus our beret wearing
lady. Now to set the scene! It is 1998, Jill is 23 years old, and with Alpha team,
they’re getting a mission in locating the missing Bravo team in the Arkley Mountains,
during the 24th of July. And immediately as they get there they find the destroyed chopper of
their comrades, and also the remains of a friend… Immediately the action begins! As what seems
to be dogs with several flesh wounds attacks, causing the group to panic! Losing a member
already, Joseph Frost! And in terror, Brad Vickers, their helicopter pilot, flies
away in fear! Making the rest of Alpha team run in the only direction that seems to have
any protection in sight… the Spencer mansion… As they enter the magnificent abode,
they realize that Chris is missing, as they somehow got separated
during their flight from the doggos. So the remaining teammates make the
greatest horror decision one can choose; splitting up! Albert goes off doing his own
thing, while the two others go on their quest to find the boulder destroyer. And this leads
to one truly important moment in Jill’s life… Seeing the undead for the first time in one’s
life would definitively have some severe mental consequences, which we will eventually
come back to please keep that in mind, but as Valentine finally came out of her
daze, she runs off to the other room, immediately looking for some help from Barry. And
it is indeed this chad of a man, who is proving himself to be quite the friend! As not much later
than this, Jill finds herself in another horrific situation; almost dying from a booby trap,
only to be saved by Mr. Burton once again! What this shows us, aside from the fact that our
heroine would be cute as Fluff as a sandwich. …is that Jill is always fully accepting
help from others. She’s a part of a team, and she can see the value in that, something
again we will return to soon. What happens quite fast after this, is the revelation of
what happened to the other STARS members; finding the body of Forest Speyer of Bravo
team, which quickly turned into a zombie. A wounded Enrico Marini, who gets quickly
shot before the protag can see the shooter: And finding the poisoned Richard
Aiken, making our hero go through hell to find the vaccine to save him…only to
immediately lose him to a giant snake. Yeah, it definitively wasn’t just losing her
friends left and right that may have caused some… problems for Jill in the future, as she
has to deal with some truly massive monsters; a huge spider, a giant shark, a mutated plant,
and of course the already mentioned snake. Plus, she also ends up meeting Lisa Trevor, who
after reading her files, may have fueled Valentine’s hatred towards Umbrella by a
lot, considering her strong sense of justice. Though while she believes that wrongdoers
should be held to account for their actions; when her good friend Barry acts suspiciously, like
having a secret conversation with someone unknown, quickly is trying to separate from her, or, of course, leaving Jill alone down
in a dank cave filled with monsters: Even after all that, when she disarmed
him when he showed signs of attacking her, she gave his gun back, when they
were cornered by the insane Lisa. Showing us that while she does indeed hate
individuals who act on their selfish feelings, she still is willing to give people a
second chance, even if she didn’t at this point know why her friend acted this way.
Now, we know that she gave him his gun back, as if she didn’t, he would’ve been killed. And
Burton does indeed come back in the later game. That being said, Resident Evil 1, as previously
mentioned, does indeed have two scenarios: so when the playable character gets to the
underground laboratory, they find the other team member locked in a cell. That being said,
considering that it is canon that Chris finds Rebecca Chambers in the mansion; it makes things
difficult in regard of canonicity when it comes to the smaller details. Therefore, let’s just
look at how our heroine reacts to what happens. Well, our group of heroes not only confronts
their captain, they also… get betrayed, as Wesker and Umbrella has taken Barry’s family
hostage, pushing him to do their bidding: And the Chad proves himself to be awesome again!
Choosing friendship, his team, over tyranny! Though speaking of tyrants… Fleeing for their lives, with not only the
massive monstrous monster of monsters behind them, but also the self-destruction sequence looming
over their head; the remaining STARS members gets out of the facility; immediately using
a flair to contact their chopper pilot Brad; salvation is finally descending! But before
they could celebrate, the bio weapon confronts our heroes. Only for Valentine to show that
she truly is worth her explosion certificate! Though she sadly couldn’t do anything
to the mansion’s little chocolate box: So many explosions… Still, returning to Racoon City, Jill and her
friends went to the chief of Police, Brian Irons, to ask if they could open up an investigation
on Umbrella, only to be denied, as most of the potential evidence blew up on the mountain. Plus
of course the fact that he may or may not be working for them. But that’s not that important…
what is important though, is what our group does between RE 1 and 3! Barry rushed to take his
family to Canada, hoping that they would be safe there. We don’t really know where Rebecca went
off to, but definitively out of the big city. And Chris left for Europe to investigate Umbrella… but
let’s be real; we know why he truly went there: And our main girl stayed in RC, with
her fellow Alpha Team member Brad, working in getting more information on the
conglomerate! Hoping to find other secret laboratories or facilities, before joining
Redfield abroad. But Chief Irons had her suspended off duty, and put into house
arrest, with surveillance; as again, he may or may not be in Umbrella’s pockets…
seriously, he really doesn’t matter to Jill’s story! Though these leads us to the GREAT
JILL VALENTINE STORY! The third instalment! Here is it is… the BIG one! Now, where RE 1 had
a remake that was fully faithful to its original counterpart, the same cannot be said for Resident
Evil 3; as I said earlier; and that brings us to something truly interesting: Whereas the PS1
game immediately starts off with the action after a quick cutscene introducing us to the
character, the 2020 version shows us how affected Jill was by her adventure in the mansion: Drowning
herself with sleeping pills, unable to keep the place tidy, and having terrible nightmares… of
the horrors she endured… showing us that she is even willing to pull the trigger to end it all…
Truly an amazing way, to start of the Last Escape… Of course it is difficult to focus on her
character as this massive unit shows up: Attacked in her not so safe safe-house, Valentine turns on her survival instincts
and runs off, having this towering giant, which is screaming from its lungs,
leaping after her, hunting for that- Sprinting for her dear life, she meets up with
one of the few people she can still trust in this world; Brad Vickers. Together, they hurry
on off from the city that has, almost quite out of the blue, been overrun with zombies. But
just as quickly as they found each other… The nightmare once again taking
over the life of our heroine; most of her team/her family is dead, and it keeps
happening… to the point where she is in denial: He might have been a bit of a scaredy-cat during
the mansion incident, but in his final moments, giving his teammate a chance to live: Brad… was a Chad. Though as every air-pilot
dies, a chopper goes down with them. Having lost her way out… having lost
her final friend in this doomed city… and having lost all hope, Jill
Valentine feels nothing but alone, as she looks up at this creature of horror,
almost accepting that this is the end… but then: THIS, is Carlos Oliveria, and like a beautiful
South-American knight in shining armor, he goes in for the help that Jill needs!
Quickly grabbing her, they run off to an underground subway area, where he, and his
team, has set up a safe-zone for survivors! This sounds great! Showing our heroine
that there are still good people out there! And here we see what our protagonist will
have to go through in this next adventure; trusting people again. When she was
younger, she wanted to join the force for the sake of helping civilians,
and working with like-minded people, for the sake of justice. But after having lost
so many of her friends to the greed of monsters, after having gone through betrayal from those
she considered friends, all of whom are connected under the same umbrella. The very idea of
working together with someone, who is indeed a member of this horrifying conglomerate,
even if they are part of a rescue team, is something Jill almost would immediately refuse;
only for her better self to shine over her hatred. That being said, she holds nothing but
animosity for the members of the U.B.C.S. First thing to do to help the civilians
is to get the subway car running; this differs between the two versions, but
the conclusion is pretty much the same: return the electricity to the trains. How to
get this done doesn’t matter to our character’s growth, but what does interest us, is of
course when she sees someone who needs help; another member of Carlos’ group, whom
she is willing to lend a hand to, as he- Introducing Nikolai Zinoviev, nicknamed the
Silver Wolf, who indeed is another member of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service… who
just shot his teammate without any hesitation, as he claims that he would have turned. The
STARS member tried to argue that there might have been a chance, distastefully asking
if this is common practice in his group, only for him to challenge her on that being soft, having a lack of self-preservation, is not what
is needed when hard decisions have to be made. We’ll return to him later, as now
we have to go back to Jill getting the power back on. After having to deal with... After having gotten the train to work again, either through getting certain objects, or
getting the rail controller back on track, our hero is prepped to get back to
the subway to get out of Racoon City… but there is one thing we have to discuss
when it comes to RE3… and yes, it is indeed: Nemesis…
Whereas Nikolai is the antagonist who challenges our hero on her beliefs, this meaty hunk is
the one who challenges her on a physical level. Having only one mission; screaming out
what it is looking, with only one word… Though to be fair, who could blame Nemesis
for hunting down Jill, look at that hill… Don’t want to be a creep or anything, but this
game has a weird fascination with her butt… though to be fair, who could blame the camera
man for hunting down Jill, Look at that hill. SO YEAH! Not that much we can discuss
when it comes to the tyrant of this game; only thing worth mentioning is that as Valentine
knows it is hunting only her, she is willing to go full sacrifice mode for innocent civilians.
Leading the hulking beast away… But for those unaware, believe me when I say that this dude
does not give up on hunting our leading gal. Out of all the monsters we’ve had, he might not be
the tallest, or strongest, or the most dangerous… but he is without a doubt the most persistent
in its pursuit. Determination if you will... He might also be the fastest. In the remake, which again differs from the
original, our girl come across a familiar face: Kendo; the man whom strengthens Leon’s conviction
in RE2Remake! While not anything real fascinating is to take of note here, I do like it when we
see how differently she acts around those she seemingly trusts, showing us that she values
her established friendships above so much more. Who also wants something so much more: Having pushed the pursuer away once again, our
characters can finally take the subway out of town. Now, here we actually have one of the
biggest divergences between the two versions of the game; in the original, both Valentine and
Oliveira leave together with everyone, but in the remake; our Latino has to stay behind with
a colleague to find a Professor Nathaniel Bard. What I like about the 2020 version, is Jill’s
reaction to the news that he has to stay behind, as she clearly has slowly started
to take a liking to Carlos. Well that was adorable. Even looking
at each other as the train is moving. And as the South American are heading towards
the R.P.D, our girl is on her way out, with the civilians, and two members of UBCS; Mikhail,
and Nikolai… who ends up having an interesting conversation. Showing just how different The
STARS member, and the Russian is from one another: As the Umbrella operative clearly goes
against everything Jill stands for. Regardless of what version you
are playing, it ends the same way; with the tyrant arriving
at the doorstep of destiny… or in the middle of a moving train,
killing every innocent bystander. In the remake, Zinoviev locks the cart
door to separate himself from the others; going through with his life-view of every man
for himself, where in the OG you actually get a choice in using the emergency break… or
jump out of the window… of a rushing train… Ehhh, while I don’t particularly care
for the “lore” decision if you will, I highly doubt anyone in their
right mind would take that leap, regardless of how brave one might be… but the
one who shows the greatest cojones, is Mikhail Viktor! Who isn’t sacrificing his life for UBCS,
but for US. Surviving the crash of course, Jill Valentine
finds herself in the clock-tower of Racoon City, having lost the people she wanted
to save, some she was working with, while also being betrayed by another madman… But
before she can get a handle of the situation; the rabid T-Type Tyrant attacks once more. As I
said, the lad is really persistent. But this time, Valentine is tired of being chased; this time, she will show Nemesis why
she was part of the ALPHA team of STARS! Yet no matter how badass our leading lady
is, battling against the beast alone, or with CARLOS, still leads to
her injected with the T-Virus, that causes her to fall unconscious… Never
mind the creepy Russian in the background. But she is not alone in this city of the
dead, as OLIVEIRA lifts her up to the light, and runs off to safety… Inside the clocktower
in OG, to the hospital in RE. And immediately, our beautiful man-thing, goes off
to find a vaccine for his friend; telling the unconscious girl
not to go to the light, as... Another nightmare consumes Jill; a nightmare that shows us that she not
only considers Carlos a part of her TEAM, but also that she is still haunted by all of
the horrors she endured in the mansion… Luckily, she wakes up, only to hear that Carlos did indeed
find a vaccine for her, and now is currently looking for more, as the government is willing
to hold off with the bombing of Racoon City, IF… They get the serum. So NEW PLAN!
Go to the hidden laboratory, secure the cure, contact Uncle Sam for more time, take care
of Philip, I mean Nikolai, grab Carlos, get to the choppa, have a nice cold
pint and wait for all this to blow over! How is that for a plan? Who needs Operation Last Escape, when we
can have Operation The Great Escape! Begin! Jill immediately finds the way down into
the secret umbrella lab, which I guess is completely normal in the world of RE, is able
to get a few hours out of the government, and is able to synthesize the vaccine…
damn, plan is being perfect! So far, so good… And I usually forget about
stuff when trying to be serious- As our heroine is running away
from this daylight killer, someone else drops in to put a sickle
and hammer in the plan; Nikolai. Who once more is reminding the young lady of
the horrible people out there in the world: those motivated by greed above all else. So as he
is taking the cure, he kicks Valentine down into the arena, where she will have to face Nemesis.
But has he is making his escape, believing Jill to be alone, what he doesn’t seem to
understand is that she, is part of a team! And as a team, they kick the BOW’ ass!
Then melting its remains with what seems to be chemical acid. Giving our heroine the
opportunity in being the pursuer! Running after, and confronting Nikolai, finally on
her terms! But like the entirety of her journey in Racoon City; she can’t
really get away from the Pain Train! Who has melted into a massive pile of rancid,
horrid, meat; whose sole purpose is still to find every last STARS member! But enough is enough!
Telling Carlos to run after the Russian, and the cure, showing that she fully trusts him in doing
what needs to be done, he himself trusts this once angry, borderline hateful woman, who once
didn’t trust him, in fighting this THING alone. And by all that is holy, does she
show what it means to be the B&E specialist of the Alpha STARS Unit! So as Jill just did that impressive feat,
how is our other massive pile of handsome, hunky, meat doing in his fight? Well, at least the cure is still- And as the timer of doomsday is slowly looming
closer, Nikolai is ready to finish his secret mission in getting rid of anything that could
save the crumbling Umbrella Corporation, but before he can finish off this burning sun: CARLOS jumps into action,
giving us a fight, between MEN! Which leads to a situation that Jill
has been hoping would never happen; to the point of having nightmares about it:
Pointing her gun, in the direction of another teammate. Sure, in the past, as in neverland,
it was against zombies, but here, one mistake, could lead to an even greater fall than before. It
started out rough between Valentine and Oliveira, but through it all, the lonely girl recognized
the young man for what he truly was, a good man! And while there absolutely are people
like Zinoviev, who only cares about themselves, and the money they can gain from other’s
suffering; there will always be people out there like Carlos, who will be there
when his friends needs him the most. The two friends who have trusted each other
stands over the one who trusts only himself, asking why he destroyed the cure, to which
he claims that everything has a price tag, even burning down the world. But Jill shows him,
that such a fact is not true, as when he is trying to buy himself off Racoon City, willing to
give her the information on who hired him… she turns her back on that notion;
showing Nikolai that he is wrong. Taking the chopper with Carlos,
our two heroes fly out of the city, and just in time; as they see rocket, that
will once again, put all evidence to ash. But from the ashes, like a phoenix, our hero’s
conviction is flaring up like never before, deciding that no matter what… she will bring
Umbrella, and those behind this suffering, down. At a very young age, Jill Valentine knew
exactly what she wanted to pursue for herself; a life where she could help others, being one
of the good guys, taking down the bad guys. But thrown into a situation that no amount
of delta force training can prepare one for, her world turned into something truly dark.
Seeing friends die left and right, having to shoot her own teammates who have turned into something
gruesome. Being betrayed by those she once thought she could trust, even the individual who gave her
the opportunity to do good in the first place; and seeing what one would consider a monster
by first glance, only to learn that they could be a victim themselves. All of this,
turning this positive and trusting teammate, to a negative, cynical person, who would
second guess any strangers’ intention. But just as it was a terrifying situation that
changed her like this, another showed her, that there truly is good in this world. While
not wanting to work with Mikhail’s Umbrella team, only joining forces to help
the civilians, she learned that while there will be people who betray and
hurts other out there, individuals like Carlos would be there to stop them. And
no matter how great the enemy is, no matter how horrifying the situation can get,
if you are determined to take that leap of faith, trust can, and will, be earned. Making the
future, truly be something worth fighting for… And that is the mind, of Jill Valentine.
