Well goodbye to you Resident Evil. We barely knew you, because you had just started as a series. What we did find out was pretty disappointing, although there was a glimmer of hope that maybe you could take the lessons from where you failed and turn them into something new. Alas, it was not to be, for you met an early death from which there is no turning back.
In a late afternoon news dump on Friday, always the time when you have positive information to share, streaming service Netflix announced that the show would not be getting a second season. While this news wasn’t entirely surprising after the series received almost universally negative critical acclaim and a largely ambivalent response from audiences, there was still a sense that this was a missed opportunity. With all the time to dive into the story and build the world, a television series like this would have been well suited to continue in interesting new directions where many of the other previous adaptations fell short. If every show that was still trying to find its way was canceled after one season, there would be a lot of good stories that we wouldn’t get. This series even had a more interesting story structure that jumped back and forth between two timelines, which could have easily been used for a story reset in an extra season. Unfortunately, a possible second wind for the show is unlikely and all positives will now be thrown out.
Chief among these was the acclaimed actor Lance Reddick making every effort, say, many different versions of the series mainstay Dr. Albert Wesker. Unfortunately, the story and its character were done a disservice with where it took them. By the time it all got to the final episode, for those who had even made it this far, any remaining narrative involvement had become rather vague. Without ruining it for those of you maniacs who haven’t seen it but still want to watch a series that’s going nowhere, it ended on a cliffhanger that will now stick for the rest of the time. To provide a preliminary defense of aspects of the show, it showed promise in some components such as Reddick’s performance and a few sequences that are now being cut. It’s an open question whether history will consider this one of the poorer adaptations to date, as there’s stiff competition for that illustrious title. Still, it’s a shame that the series will now join one of the many left by the platform in the graveyard of discarded stories growing at a pretty fast pace in the unforgiving world of streaming.
What this cancellation provides is an opportunity to discuss what it is that tweaks keep going wrong when trying to take on the story. Even for those who could appreciate all the wild action from many Milla Jovovich-centered movies, which never seemed to really care much for the source material, were finding less and less returns there. Prior to this series, one of the other recent attempts that was actually pretty solid was in the movie Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City. This may be a controversial view, but the foundation of the actual storytelling was far better than anything done to date. For the seventh live-action movie, which was basically a soft reboot, it was a total surprise to be one of the better incarnations, but a welcome one. It was by no means a masterpiece, but it actually felt like something dynamic was happening that made you invest more in the experience as it unfolded. While it received some praise for how it replicated the games experience, there was also just more real craftsmanship to the horror underlying what happened. Perhaps this is damning with faint praise, but there’s not much to hold on to when it comes to Resident Evil adjustments that make it stand out from the rest.
While it wasn’t entirely successful, this film could potentially be instructive for what future adaptations of the series might be if they build on it. Even if you had no connection with it, there is something to admire just by taking on a more straightforward and stripped-down story. While this most recent series certainly tried to cover more, there’s a lot to like about going back to basics and focusing on creating a strong foundation for your story. There will never be enough time to go over everything, even though you may want to put in as many references as possible, so it’s better to do a few things well than a lot of things badly.
This plays into how the main problem is when customizations try to please everyone rather than just chart their own path. If you pay attention to appealing to fans of the game’s story while trying to gain broad appeal, you’ll end up getting neither, as the series recently showed. Fan service without any narrative content and craft will always feel hollow to anyone watching. Even if they can pick up on what is referenced, these symbols are superficial if they have no meaning or an interesting story to them.
Above all, one of the most definitive ways to make sure the video game never gets an adaptation that exudes the same sense of joy is to pull the plug early. For all the many flaws of Paul W.S. Anderson‘s movies, it wasn’t like he didn’t get a lot of opportunities to experiment and explore about each new adaptation. Part of the reason this new series was intriguing was because it provided an opportunity for a fresh look with a new creative team. Sure, the answer was definitely not the one Netflix was looking for. But why not use a follow-up season to try something new, rather than pay for something you’ve already made at least some investment in? At least then there could be new life in the story.
Even though there’s a feeling that these may be games that just can’t be fully customized, that’s no reason not to pick a different tactic and try again. What guarantees the story remains untouchable is giving up. While we like to praise shows that feel spectacular right off the bat, there’s something to be said for going ahead and smoothing out the rough spots. If things always get the ax at the first sign of trouble, then we lose the bold approaches that take time to grow and, hopefully, flourish.
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