This article, “who is Evelyn Marcus”, contains spoilers regarding the Netflix series Resident Evil season 1.
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Who is Evelyn Marcus in Resident Evil season 1?
Evelyn Marcus is a highly ambitious CEO who wants to change the world whilst she rules Umbrella. The only problem is that due to her sociopathic nature, Evelyn is more interested in changing the world as long as it benefits Umbrella. She believes that a new psychotropic drug, Joy, will fulfil her quest. And in her desperation to get it onto the market, she overlooks its potential dangers, despite several warnings from Albert. Much of her ambition likely comes from the downfall of her father, James Marcus, who, despite having founded the company, was ousted after his behaviour led to the downfall of the original Raccoon City.
There is some warmth to Evelyn, albeit very slightly. Outside of Umbrella, Evelyn is married to Diana, and together they have a teenage son called Simon. However, prior to the start of the season, it gets hinted that Evelyn learnt that Diana was going to leave and take Simon away from her. Therefore, Evelyn placed Diana on “Joy” in an attempt to keep the family together.
What does Evelyn Marcus do?
At least for the earlier episodes of Resident Evil, Evelyn has a limited but powerful presence on the show and the characters within its world. Much of her role in the show comes from her drive to change the world, rebuild the company, and use “Joy” to remove illnesses like depression. However, whilst she tries to maintain control of Umbrella and everyone inside, such as Albert, Evelyn begins to abandon the needs of her family.
Following a break-in and then a leak at Umbrella, Evelyn correctly guesses that Albert is responsible. And when she learns that Albert killed former journalist Angel to cover his tracks, Evelyn has Albert arrested. When Albert’s clone Bert, who refers to Evelyn as Mom, escapes, Evelyn has her troops bring Bert back to Umbrella. As the truth emerges that Albert was covering up the fact that his daughter, Billie, had been bitten, Evelyn tries to track him and his family down.
But as Evelyn’s son, Simon, helps Jade and Billie, Billie bites him. With Simon now infected with T-Virus, Evelyn cries as she shoots Simon in the eye. Entirely on the warpath, Evelyn goes after Albert, Jade, Billie, and Bert. However, Albert leads her into a trap. When Albert sets off a bomb in Umbrella, Evelyn narrowly escapes with her life.
Although it isn’t clear what happens next, by the year 2036, Billie controls Evelyn. (Through electrodes in her brain and by pumping her full of 87 different drugs). So in a huge turnaround, Billie now controls Umbrella through Evelyn. Whilst in a weakened state, Evelyn tells Billie that she will never kill her as Billie needs her too much.
