Luis Serra - How RE4Remake Transformed Him into the Series' Most Tragic Hero

back in the original release of Resident Evil 4 when Luis died in that game I said oh that's too bad I kind of liked him and then I proceeded to completely forget about his character which is also what the game did The Game's plot completely forgets that he ever existed and he is never mentioned again but in the remake when Luis dies it hit me really hard I felt terrible I was honestly shocked by how much emotion I felt in that moment it is a phenomenally well-crafted scene the writing the acting everything that's built up to this how it pays off later in the story it's all genuinely really well done I think it might be the best writing I've ever seen in any Resident Evil game it's not just that they developed his character more or that you spend more time with him or that he's so likable it's that there's a terrible tragedy in his death but also this hint of optimism to be found in his final line what Dion people can change right because that question can people change hits at the center of the whole Human Condition doesn't it the thing is we all suck sometimes we all hurt each other we all make the same mistakes over and over again so much of our storytelling is focused on that question can we change can we be better it's one of the most essential and most compelling questions of world literature go all the way back to the Epic of Gilgamesh and there's a story about this bad King who becomes a better ruler through his confrontation with the wild man in keto go all the way back to the Iliad and there's this story of The Selfish Warrior Achilles who becomes more human and more compassionate through his interaction with King Priam this is a Timeless theme that never gets tired because it's always relevant to our lives so I want to follow luis's story in Resident Evil 4 from beginning to end read every document watch every cutscene examine his obsession with the story of Don Quixote and what that tells us about him and see how the writers crafted this character how they they made him so compelling in this remake the story of Louise begins with this old cabin by the lake inside you can find this photograph of a boy and man at this point you have no information about who either of these people in the photograph are or if they are anyone important at all the game only labels it as charred picture frame now since I'm bothering to discuss it obviously this is going to turn out to be a photo of Louise as a child but you won't know that when you first find it the Remake has written a much more expansive backstory for Louise but you have to find it on your own you have to piece it together by investigating by finding documents and old journals and photographs the game isn't just feeding you his character through cutscenes but also requiring you to engage with the story they are mixing the gameplay with the story here and this is smart writing when you have a character with a mysterious background like Luis it's much more compelling to give the player the experience of investigating and discovering that mysterious background for themselves imagine how much less interesting this would be if Louisa's outright told you in a long Exposition dump his whole backstory all at once it's the mystery and the investigation and the slow drip of information that makes the story compelling it's a smart way to write his backstory and I will discuss each of those documents and photographs chronologically as they appear in the game next let's watch luis's first cutscene it's very short but I have a lot to say about it when you watch this short scene think about what are luis's character traits how are they being shown to us how is this character being introduced what do the writers want us to think or feel about this character so here it is please that hurts you know it seem like you really wanted to talk how observance you gotta smoke and all those things will kill you oh well maybe just some time me then huh oh there not this guy who are you okay stop right there from the start here I figured Luis was going to be his exact same Goofy and campy self from the original those lines that hurts you know and hey you gotta smoke are such absurd lines to say in this situation like dude you are tied up in a sack in a basement in a village full of zombies what are you talking about at this point there's no reason to think that Luis is going to be any different than his original version there's no reason to suspect that he's going to turn out to be the best written character in the whole franchise of course later we'll learn that he's locked up in the basement of his own childhood home this is the cabin where he grew up where he watched his grandfather get sick and die we learned that he has a relationship with Mendes that big guy who marches in to break some stuff after you've pieced together his whole backstory there is some emotional subtext here that's not readily apparent I also want to notice Louise's reaction to Leon getting hilariously slapstick blasted through that wall we get this very brief close-up of Louise's face and he looks a little pained he looks away I think this is important to his characterization how his character is being developed he shows compassion towards someone else's pain he looks like he feels bad when he sees Leon get hurt so my question earlier was what do the writers want us to think or feel about this character after this first scene well firstly I think they want the audience to be curious about him he is immediately mysterious he is an unknown the circumstances that led him into this bizarre situation being tied up in a sack in a locked basement in a village full of zombies all of that is unknown I really like this character introduction you want to learn more about him after this secondly the writers want us to laugh they want us to laugh at the absurdity of this character asking for a cigarette before asking to be untied we're meant to find him silly and goofy and finally there's that compassion he showed towards Leon beneath his goofy exterior there is a Compassionate Care her in here I think those three character traits mystery humor and compassion which are already all present here in this very first short scene are his defining character traits they will be present in every single one of his scenes and those will be the focus of my analysis of his character development now let's watch his second scene which is quite a bit longer oh what the [ __ ] hey stop it hey Yankee got a name Leon quiet type eh I'm Louisa guess you me they did the wrong spot to Vacation eh hey stop it you move I move and I'm beat up in other cities I can see you're thinking bet you've been in spots like this before huh I guess you're here looking for him someone one more guess maybe a young girl [ __ ] now great let's see her chatter about moving senorita moving here where who knows but later saw some men dragging someone to the old church ah hanging with you not healthy hey we're not done here later amigo I want to begin with what is not included in this scene in the original game while they're tied together Luis claims to be a police officer from Madrid who is captured by the cult he does not tell this lie in the remake though and I think that's a really smart choice by the writers any explanation of luis's backstory here even if it later turns out to be a lie ruins the mystery of his character one of his essential character traits the writers don't offer any explanation at all here of luis's origins or his reasons for being here when Luis claims to be a Madrid police officer in the original the audience accepts it he is no longer as mysterious he is possibly just some cop who got caught up in all of this but in the remake the mystery remains somehow he knows who Leon is looking for and where to find her we're going to have to investigate luis's Origins ourselves Leon is far more suspicious of Luis in this version of the story in the first game he immediately trusts Luis this new version makes more sense you really shouldn't trust anyone you meet in this Village it also sets up a more compelling narrative Arc for their relationship Luis has to work to gain Leon's trust and when Leon finally does begin to trust him it feels like a moment of growth for both their characters something both of them had to earn I really really like the animation on Louise as he backs away his whole posture and facial expression are so smug he looks like a total [ __ ] here and that's another core aspect of Lewis's character he has a smooth talking arrogance you get the sense that he thinks he could talk his way out of any mess he's clearly very confident in himself I don't think he ever once acts afraid or nervous during any of his scenes he is always totally confident in his abilities right up until the end so two scenes in and we still don't know almost anything about Louise's backstory but we do already have a pretty complete picture of his character mysterious funny con confident and at least somewhat compassionate Blues doesn't show up in person again for another three chapters but we can start to piece together his backstory through documents and journals and photographs the first document we need to look at is a report sent by Leon's Handler after she looked into Louise's past here it is name Luis Sarah Navarro age 28 gender male Sarah's name first appears publicly in a university student registry no prior records have been discovered including his birth certificate after graduating from University he was employed by umbrella's research division where he became a rising star who won favor among his peers he was involved in the development of several common over-the-counter drugs all of which were discontinued before ever reaching the market see the attached list for details a few years later Sarah resigned from umbrella and could not be located after the Raccoon City incident efforts were made by law enforcement and the government to track down anyone with links to umbrella but despite conducting an extensive search they were unable to find considering how well he evaded them we are almost certain Sarah went to Great Lengths to disappear common over-the-counter drugs do you seriously think umbrella would let one of their best work on some antacid or beauty cream okay first of all if Luis is 28 years old then I'm 12 and a half there's no freaking way this guy is 28 but anyway this report continues the mystery that is at the center of luis's character he appeared as if from nowhere and then after a successful career disappeared back into the ether as if he had never existed at all this is all new backstory for Louise in this remake Luis was a researcher for the Umbrella Corporation a star among his peers which means he must have been involved in the development of dangerous bio weapons some of which we've probably encountered in previous games once again I think this new backstory is a really smart decision by the writers it connects Luis to the rest of the series in a satisfying way in the original Luis is basically just some random guy but by connecting him to one in the remake means he is now connected to the research lab at the center of the first game and he is connected to the Raccoon City outbreak at the center of the second and third games he is even connected to wesker's grand plan in the fifth game Resident Evil is a series of games and in a series you want everything to connect you want all of the pieces to fit together you want every game to be part of a larger story before Luis was just some random piece floating off on his own now Luis is a snug part of the overall puzzle it also complicates his relationship with a Leon Leon hates the Umbrella Corporation after Raccoon City he isn't going to trust anyone with connections to them he was already distrustful of Luis now Leon's really not gonna like him that means that in order for them to trust each other to work together their relationship is going to have to overcome this huge hurdle and when it does that will be a satisfying narrative Arc this is so much more narratively interesting than the original game Star story where they both just sort of immediately like and trust each other the next document we need to look at is labeled as old man's Journal three years ago my beloved daughter passed away shortly after giving birth to a son since then the boy has grown considerably he is a very curious child and has a true thirst for knowledge he even tries to follow after me when I go out hunting I Can't Take My Eyes Off him for a second whenever we walk in the force he always asks me to tell stories he's very fond of Don Quixote the boy is smart and observant Beyond his years if he weren't stuck here he might have become a scholar I was a careless fool I could have sworn I shot clean through the wolf's head and yet it lunged at me I was able to make it back to the cabin but my wound is swollen and discolored I cannot bear seeing the boy's worried eyes my body moves on its own and I can hear voices inside my head am I going mad I can't die now and leave the boy behind dear God please protect him you won't even know that the boy described here is the same one as in the photograph we saw earlier you have to piece these things together on your own you have to investigate you have to explore you have to engage with the story at this point in the game this note could be describing any of the characters or none of them the first time I read it I assumed it might be talking about Sadler or even Mendes maybe or possibly neither of them it could have been some other character the game doesn't lay it all out for you in an obvious way and that fits with the mystery which is one of his Central character traits the best Mysteries and stories are the ones you have to solve yourself just so long as the writers have provided you with all the tools you need to solve it the developers have written release with a new tragic backstory in which his father was absent his mother died in childbirth and his grandfather was infected by the plague this adds a new dimension to his character all of luis's confidence his sarcasm his humor his goofiness all of that hides a lot of darkness and Trauma you don't lose your entire family and be unaffected by the loss instead of his goofiness simply being a fun character trait this new backstory makes it seem more like a coping mechanism for deeply rooted trauma laughter and sarcasm and humor are common responses to trauma if you can't do anything about it and you'd rather not cry about it anymore you might as well laugh and that is Louise's character there's also an added tragedy and irony in that Luis with his research will help spread the exact parasite that once infected his grandfather we don't know the specific details of how and why Luis joined the illuminatos whether he was ever a True Believer or simply a man without any other options or something else luis's backstory for all that it's been expanded in this remake is actually still quite light on specific details the writers gave us only enough detail to paint a broad picture of the story of his life and that's a choice made by the writers and developers they're making a bombastic action horror game not a visual novel how much time and space can they dedicate to this character's story they need to pack in as much story in as little space as possible and for how little space they had to work with I think the developers did pack a lot of story in here from this document we also learned that Luis was an unusually intelligent and curious child even to the point of risking his own safety we know that he loved his grandfather wanted to be with him worried for him when he was sick that's the compassion we see in Luis as an adult he always cared about the people around him let's move on now if you're a very thorough Explorer and you return to mendez's house with Ashley but you have to go out of your way to do the game will reward you with more of luis's backstory this document is labeled as Village records one and it was written by Mendes there is a young boy who lives in the cabin by the lake with his grandfather it seems that his mother was called To Heaven upon his birth his grandfather doesn't talk much but the light is very bright and spirited he told me a story about a knight who rides a donkey again today the boy's grandfather has fallen ill and his condition worsens every day the boy worries terribly about him and there are rumors of a Madness among the villagers as I took my leave the old man pulled me aside and said if anything happens you know what to do I could only nod in response it was a terrible night everyone stood around the cabin and watched as it burned to the ground the boy looked on without saying a word even as Don broke he didn't move a muscle the next day he was gone this is the conclusion of the story being told in the old man's journal the grandfather would rather die than fall under the control of the parasite he asks Mendes to kill him and Mendes acquiesces Mendez kills the grandfather and burns down the house while Luis looked on with nothing left for him in the village Luis left he started a new life in the outside world he went to University he was employed by the Umbrella Corporation became one of their star researchers later in his life when he lost everything again when Umbrella Corporation imploded when he became a wanted man he returned to the Village his old home the only place he had left to return to and he found it under the control of the illuminato's cult and for some reason he joined them aided them in researching and spreading the very parasite which had killed his grandfather which had once destroyed his old life we can really only guess at his motivations here maybe he really believed in Sadler's cause maybe he believed a world controlled by Sadler would be a happy one maybe he didn't have any other options maybe like so many others he was just trying to survive for another day there's another document to look at in mendez's attic this is the exact same photograph as before except this one has writing on it it says Navarro family 1981 and it is labeled as photo of a boy and his grandfather this is confirmation that the boy we've been learning about is Luis this is a photo of him and his grandfather except I still didn't realize that when I first found this Photograph like most fans I know Luis as Louis Sarah because that was his name in the original I completely overlooked that the developers gave him a second surname in the remake his new name is Lou Sarah Navarro but I wasn't paying attention so when I saw that photograph and it said Navarro family I was like who the heck is the Navarro family it wasn't until Louise started talking about Don Quixote that I finally made the connection between the boy and him that's a danger with this style of investigative storytelling when you leave it up to the players to piece together your story sometimes they will miss what should be an obvious detail and bungle the whole thing I already had all of the pieces of luis's Story by this point of the game but failed to put them together until much later alright let's watch Lewis's next cut scene fun you hey about earlier yeah about that hey I see you found your missing senorita you are names Luis Encantado great we all have names now then who are you what are you doing here [Music] hide now in that case here help me actually quick over here go okay it's game time and so begins one of the most famous set pieces in action video game history I really can't overstate how incredibly scary and tense and cool this cabin fight was the first time I experienced it in the original game and Luis is Central to that I think a lot of the reason fans liked Luis is less for his character and more for this specific gameplay segment where you and he together fight off a seemingly endless and impossible horde of zombies in a very confined space and he is actually useful as an NPC a rarity at the time of the original's release he draws the enemy's attention gets some shots off spouts off silly one-lighters to defuse some of the tension this whole sequence is masterfully done and I'm gonna talk about it more in a later video where I'll dig into how Resident Evil 4 crafts its particular style of horror but this is a video about Luis so we need to talk about him Luis offers Leon and Ashley shelter when they are being chased by a horde of zombies which speaks to that fundamental compassion within his character when he sees someone in trouble he tries to help unlike in the original game where Leon and Louise immediately start working together here Leon is still very distrustful of Luis which is understandable considering both of their histories with umbrella I've already talked about how this is a part of setting up a much more compelling and satisfying narrative Arc for their relationship two characters who have to learn to trust each other is a much more compelling story than when about two characters who automatically trust each other without any work or development involved and this cabin fight is a part of that I also want to talk about the cutting of a certain line in this scene in the original game when meeting Ashley Louise very famously says well I assume that the president has equipped his daughter with Ballistics too while the camera zoomed in on her breasts I think it's obvious why that line was cut while it was funny because of how completely ludicrous and stupid it was it also made Luis seem like a weird creepo don't comment on the size of a girl's breasts the very first time you meet her man that is tacky and lame the Raiders want you to like Luis and there is a significant portion of the audience who is not going to like him if he behaves like a sleaze so while the game loses some of its campiness I think this was a very smart cut there's also a really clever mixing of gameplay and story happening during this segment not only is Leon the character learning to trust Louise but so is the player this is a very difficult section of the game as is it probably wouldn't be possible to complete if you didn't have this AI helper with you he's not quite as effective at killing zombies as I would have liked but as a distraction and a source of ammo he helps a lot you will develop a liking for him just because he helped you complete one of the toughest sections of the game after escaping from the cabin we get this scene Ashley [Music] is this the first time you've coughed on blood like this you want to start explaining I golf the blood discussed by something called uh plaga okay do you sell those people right but you have the same thing inside you the same thing that made them like that is what you're experiencing these symptoms they're only the beginning I don't want to become like them you are well lucky you see at this early stage the parasite the planner it is possible to remove it with the surgical procedure don't you need is some know-how and oh yeah the right equipment for you two no worries see I have a plan but you're going to have to trust me great we're partners then hey why are you time for any questions the clock is ticking why are you helping us because it makes me feel better let's leave it at that I will contact you later in this scene Luis mostly serves as a source of exposition he's here to provide both Leon and the player with information about the paga parasite most of which is unnecessary the player could easily figure out most of this for themselves we do see more of that compassion at the center of luis's character here he is worried about Ashley he offers help we get a little more backstory too Once Upon a Time Luis himself was infected by the paga but conducted surgery on his own body to remove it which is pretty freaking hardcore we see more of his overwhelming confidence he has a plan he has it all figured out already just leave it up to Louise Louise never fails he very explicitly calls out what will be the central theme of his and Leon's relationship learning to trust each other but the most important thing we learn about his character in this scene is in that final exchange when Leon asks why are you helping us and Louise says because it makes me feel better this is luis's Central motivation in the story he doesn't show it but the truth is he feels terrible for the mistakes he has made he feels terrible about helping umbrella develop deadly bio weapons he feels terrible about helping the Tyrant Sadler spread the plague he feels like a shitty person because judging him by the consequences of his actions he is a shitty person for all his likability all his humor how hard he works to correct his past mistakes Luis really has done some shitty things and feeling bad about those mistakes doesn't exonerate him he has to redeem himself through his actions and that is his motivation no one wants to be a bad person everyone wants to be good everyone wants to be better and that's what makes Luis such a compelling character in this remake that desire to be better next is the scene where Luis and aydah interact so let's watch it hey gotta smoke I do the kind you like Now where's the Amber fortunately it's not on me at the moment and you really should be telling me what a good job I did busted my ass and managed to hide it right before I got caught we itch why I'm still alive the deal was we get you out of here when you deliver the Amber no Amber no protection Luis such a stickler for deep okay then I'll go get it now how about that and I do have something else I need to get too Luis is a character who wants to be better he has made mistakes and he has a strong desire to fix those mistakes and yet in this scene we learn that Louise like so many other people who are trying to be better he can't help but keep making the same mistakes over and over again luis's greatest mistake is selling his talents and his knowledge to the worst possible people first umbrella and then the illuminatus even though he regrets doing that here he is making the same mistake again he is selling his talents and his knowledge to Wesker who is even worse than umbrella or the illuminatos this is very human behavior everyone does this there is something about human nature that makes us do the same stupid things again and again Luis is a flawed character he isn't just someone who made mistakes in the past and is now trying to correct them he is a character who is still making mistakes that makes him a very human character it's good writing moving on in the castle section of the game Luis calls Leon Twice first promising that he has the parasite suppressant and then saying he got into trouble and needs Leon's help both times Luis fails to actually show up where he said they would meet further straining his relationship with Leon further straining that developing sense of trust between them after a pretty grueling Adventure through the dark depths of the castle Louise finally shows up so let's watch it foreign I'll make it cheap for you feeling better yeah seems like it worked bad news all we've done is by you sometime the president's effects will wear off all too soon you're ready to go don't worry about me Ashley is the priority in that case we know what we have to do let us rescue the princess you gotta hurt yourself hey that was my dance okay we hurry I get it Luis has followed through with his promise to help Leon and Ashley for all his past mistakes this time he gets it right this time he actually helps someone we get a lot more of his silliness and confidence here he's quite dashing he doesn't hesitate to join Leon in his fight to rescue Ashley and then we start getting the Don Quixote references Luis makes a lot of allusions to the 17th century Spanish novel in his dialogue specifically casting himself in the role of the titular main character anytime in any film novel or game when a character starts referencing some famous work over and over again that's the writers trying to tell you something about the character in some way the themes of that famous work will be relevant to the character's story with these frequent references to Don Quixote the writers of Resident Evil 4 are trying to tell us something about luis's character so let's see if we can figure out what that is the novel Don Quixote tells the story of a possibly insane minor Spanish Noble who is obsessed with stories of chivalry and Advent Adventure so much so that he embarks on his own ridiculous Grand Adventure however the world is not as Grand or honorable as he believes it to be and as his adventures collide with grim reality they mostly range from farcical to downright depressing the novel has been interpreted by 10 000 different critics to mean ten thousand different things but everyone agrees that the conflict between the main characters romantic but mostly imaginary idealism and the crushing realism that surrounds him is Central to that meaning so what does this have to do with Luis well Luis is on a Fantastical and impossible journey of his own and he too doesn't realize how impossible that Journey really is he doesn't realize that he is living in a fantasy world Luis really believes that he can charm and schmooze his way out of the terrible web he has weaved around himself he believes he can manipulate or fight the illuminatos and Wesker and the whole world he thinks he can betray everyone and anyone switch alliances make deals and somehow some way it'll all wear work out for him in the end his Supreme and total confidence will carry him through every deadly obstacle but he's wrong that's just some fantasy he's living in like Don Quixote he is going to be crushed by the realities of the world he lives in Luis is a doomed character before the game even begins he is already doomed he is a dead man walking he has doomed himself with his own decisions his mistakes are just taken a while to catch up with him his decision to work with umbrella then to work with the illuminatos then to betray them and work with Wesker these decisions have cost him his life this is another thing that makes Louise's story so compelling to me Resident Evil games have such ridiculous stories with ridiculous characters who are all doing ridiculous things but in the middle of all that absurdity here is this single character who is facing real and serious consequences for his mistakes the story is not going to let Louise go it is going to punish him for those past mistakes it's kind of a weird Choice by the writers to take his story in particular so seriously it doesn't really fit with all the camp and goofiness in the game I think there's a simple explanation for this seeming contradiction in Styles which is that all writers everywhere even those writing silly over-the-top action horror video game plots want to write about something real want to write about something important writers can't help themselves it's in their blood to gravitate towards meaningful themes and when done well it can uplift any work even something as silly as Resident Evil the Resident Evil 4 remake is more memorable because it takes Louise's story seriously it hits harder it makes you feel something but let's move on now because we've got to kill this Joker from this scene forward Leon and Louise spend a ton of time together there's a very lengthy part of the game which essentially becomes a sort of buddy cop movie there's all kinds of ridiculous action set pieces here like this Minecart Riot or this fight against two trolls this part of the game is super due super fun Luis is a genuinely fun character to spend time with he's constantly spouting off stupid one-liners and is genuinely useful in combat if only as a distraction after all the horror and Terror and stress of the previous sections of the game this section with Louise feels much more light and fun it feels much more like a traditional action game and Leon finally learns to trust Luis by fighting side by side by working together by helping each other they begin to trust each other they become friends even it's a delightful and satisfying development for their relationship's Arc of course it's all only a temporary reprieve Luis is living a fantasy which must crash head first into reality eventually so let's watch when his mistakes finally catch up to him we're out of that hell fresh air is sculling our names free Gus who made it all this way you know it means we're almost almost what [Laughter] long time no see rookie major krauser what the hell why a covering stolen goods and killing a few rats along the way what follows is a long fight with krauser which I'm going to skip over to get to Louise's final scene and then we'll have a lot to talk about all right enough play rookie you haven't changed a damn bits what a disappointment I'm not looking good hey my friends and such a loss to the ladies of the world I'll talk take this the key to my laboratory go there and remove those damn parasites help Ashley [Music] you know a lot of pretty shitty life but now hey what do you think of Leon people can change right laughs their relationship began with Louise ridiculously and kind of hilariously asking Leon for a cigarette and now at the end of their relationship Leon finally does give him that smoke and it's not very funny at all anymore but it does seal their friendship I said it at the beginning of this video and I'll repeat it here but this death scene hits really hard it's because that final line can people change feel so genuine so authentic this is such a true tragedy and luis's life is a tragedy it took him too long to change he lived the same shitty life for too long he made the same mistakes for too long like so many people he probably thought he had more time he thought he would have more time to become that better version of himself tomorrow or the day after or the day after that next week he could stop making the same mistakes but time is the most limited resource of all and Louise's has run out just as it will for all of us someday in the original game after his death the story completely forgot God about Louise he was never mentioned again in this remake his choices live on after him for all his mistakes he made at least one right decision and that was to help Leon and Ashley in his final Act Luis saves Leon's life and then gives him this key for the rest of the game this key is in your inventory fast forward to the end of the game and when you finally unlock the door to Louis's lab in his surgical chair removes both Ashley and Leon's parasites Luis has saved them for a second time and this is part of what makes that death scene earlier and his entire story so compelling it's not just that his death scene itself is so well crafted it's that there's so much payoff later that death mattered he continues to have a significant narrative presence in the story afterwards luis's lab also contains several more documents which tell more of his backstory so I will end this video by examining some of those first here's a photograph labeled group photo which shows a group of smiling scientists holding a a banner with the umbrella logo and the words Europe laboratory six Dream Team this is luis's team of researchers from back when he worked for umbrella what catches my attention are these Smiles on their faces the excitement you can see in the expressions of these scientists Umbrella Corporation are the bad guys of the first three Resident Evil games responsible for an uncountable number of nightmares and atrocities whenever I picture umbrella I picture a bunch of scummy cynical profit-driven pieces of crap who don't care who their research hurts so long as it makes them more money but here we see a very different version of that company think about it from luis's perspective he had pulled himself out of nothing out of nowhere with no family and no support structure when he was hired by Umbrella it must have felt like the Vindication of years of hard work like he was finally catching a break like he was finally being given the opportunity to excel in his field he must have felt like his life was changing he would have been excited and you can see that excitement in this photo however at umbrella Louise's dreams turned rotten he wasn't changing the world for a better there he was creating a lab-grown Monsters the next document we're gonna look at is Sadler's animus do not be fooled into thinking that lost pockets are merely tools for creating powerful bio weapons their true value lies in their ability to control no matter how hostile the subject a single injection can turn anyone into a faithful servant who needs spies we need to turn yesterday's anime into today's Ally controlling just one Insider can bring an entire organization an entire country to its knees mass production of the superior species has made this possible we have empowered Sadler it is clear what he intends to do next can you imagine if Sadler had that much control 6 billion loyal servants at his sole command there would be no opposition no war maybe for the first time in human history the world would know peace but I know how Sadler in the others have oppressed the people of this island for Generations I know how he treats them that's no way to live and because of that I won't let it happen in this message I think we get a hint as to luis's motivation to join the illuminatos it's in that line maybe for the first time in human history the world would know peace I suspect that after the horrors of the Umbrella Corporation Luis wanted to do good and he genuinely thought he might be able to do good by researching the poga parasite he saw the power it offered how it could Grant Incredible strength in miraculous healing properties to those infected I'm guessing he thought he could find a way to exploit those properties however over time he realized that the true purpose of the plague was its power to control he realized that by bioengineering a superior species of claga he had given Sadler the potential to rule the entire world during his time with the illuminatos he saw how Sadler treated those beneath him the squalor and pain his servants lived among and so Luis dedicated himself to stopping sandwork he would have to use cunning charm manipulation negotiation he would have to betray the illuminatos make deals with people like Wesker put himself in great danger it was this decision that truly doomed him when he finally chose to do the right thing to stop a Madman that's when his fate was sealed finally to conclude this very long video let's look at the Amber this sample which I've come to call the Amber was just sitting in the storeroom collecting dust we used to have ample specimens for experimentation in the past so it makes sense that this one was overlooked in fact the only reason I brought it back to my life was because of its Mercure shape after a basic analysis I've changed my mind the Amber possesses a very unique quality although small and in a suspended state it contains the same organ found in the dominant species which we've only seen in Sadler himself when Foley developed the Amber May rival or perhaps even surpass Sadler's power unfortunate currently the Amber was confiscated by Sadler before I could make any further progress in my research he may be on to me I need to get my hands on that sample again and Escape in order to continue my research elsewhere it's the only way to counter Sadler of course I don't think I can trust this outside group either but I've already come this far hopefully I can sweet talk my way out of this one too I'll have to for the world's sake here we get an explanation for what that Amber which Luis was trying to sell to Ada in which krauser killed him for actually was in the remake story there are only two specimens of the dominant species of the plague in existence only two plague with the power to control all others one of them exists inside of Sadler's body and the other is suspended in that Amber it's notable here that Luis never actually trusted wesker's organization he was always only using them as a means to escape so he could continue his fight against Sadler elsewhere the deal was that he would trade the Amber and his research in exchange for safety but it was all always a risk it's also notable when he writes hopefully I can sweet talk my way out of this one too that overconfident Persona Luis puts on where he acts like he can handle any situation on his own is just an act that word hopefully here reveals that he is only bluffing he doesn't know if he can sweet talk his way through anything he's just improvising he never really had any plan at all he was just taking advantage of the cards which were dealt to him that is that Don Quixote imaginary idealism again he was living in a fantasy and he knew it he was never going to be able to outsmart Wesker he wasn't even able to outmaneuver Sadler if Leon hadn't come along he would have been recaptured he was always doomed Louise never had a chance but there's still something Noble in his struggle most of the characters in the Resident Evil series are pretty shallow they are either good guys or they're bad guys if they're good guys they basically only ever do good and fight for justice and they always win if they're bad guys then they are unredeemably only ever do wrong and always lose but Luis in the remake is something else he's a good guy who has made too many mistakes to survive he's an essentially compassionate character who has served nearly every single villain in the series and that service ultimately destroys him he is an overconfident smooth talker whose humor belies an inner trauma he is kind but flawed he is doomed by his own choices but also Redeemed by them he grew up in tragedy and lived among monsters but in the end he still tried to do the right thing he dies hoping for the possibility of change for the possibility of being better but never knowing if that belief was in something true or just another quixotic fantasy for all these reasons his is the most moving death of any in the Resident Evil series and he the most tragic but ultimately optimistic of its characters because he did change his efforts to save Leon and Ashley go on to save everyone in the end his final Act was the one that matter most because it's the only one of his choices that truly outlived him I don't get you why risk your life like this you don't know us I told you makes me feel better be straight with me for once illuminados I was working for them see there you go helping the two of you doesn't make up for it I know that but still I don't want anyone else to get hurt in that case you better get serious harsh words for a squire [Music]

Channel: FatBrett

Views: 237,059

Keywords: Resident Evil, Resident Evil 4, Remake, Story, Explained, Character, Analysis, Changes, Luis, Luis Serra, Tragic, Lore

Id: bKZl4FTvGys

Length: 48min 45sec (2925 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 19 2023