Story Recap – what happened in Resident Evil season 1?

By Jonathon Wilson - July 14, 2022 (Last updated: February 17, 2024)
story-recap-what-happened-in-resident-evil-season-1-netflix-series
By Jonathon Wilson - July 14, 2022 (Last updated: February 17, 2024)

This is a story recap of the Netflix series Resident Evil season 1 and will contain spoilers as it details what happened.

Access the archive of recaps, news, and reviews for Resident Evil.

Story Recap – what happened in Netflix’s Resident Evil season 1?

Episode 1-2

Resident Evil begins in 2036, where it is 14 years since “the end”. “Survivor” Jade wishes her daughter, Bea, a happy birthday before she goes on to observe Zeroes, aka zombie-like creatures that appear to have no brain function. Whilst in 2022, Jade is just moving to Racoon City with her father, Albert, and twin sister, Billie. It’s not an easy move; before long, Billie becomes a target for the local bully, Tammy. Therefore, to protect Billie, Jade attacks Tammy, an act that Billie almost gets the blame for. However, Albert’s influence within the community protects both sisters.

When Billie begins to suspect that Umbrella (where Albert works) may be testing on animals, she and Jade go to investigate. But whilst at the lab, a dog attacks and nearly kills Billie. Albert covers for his daughters but tells them that if Umbrella learns they were at the lab, they will all be arrested. In 2036, Baxter tries to capture Jade and relentlessly tries to track her down.

Episode 3-4

In 2022 Billie returns to school, mainly to keep up appearances and prevent anyone from suspecting she was at the lab. Meanwhile, in 2036, Jade nearly dies after a giant spider attacks her. But whilst she manages to kill and defeat the creature, she and Baxter are captured and held in underground cells. 

Whilst in the cell with Baxter, Jade notices that the Zeroes are acting differently and seem to treat one as “their queen”. As Jade speculates whether the virus is evolving, she and Baxter attempt to escape. During their attempt, Jade encounters “the queen” and chops off her head. To ensure survival, Jade and Baxter work together. But tragically, for Baxter anyways, he falls onto a group of Zeroes, who likely kill him. 

Back in 2022, and a journalist, Angel, makes contact with Jade. Angel tells Jade that she and Billie have no birth certificate and that Albert died in 2009. However, just after Angel realises that Billie has a bite mark, he gets arrested.

Episode 5-6

Following Angel’s claims about their father, Jade and Billie search around their house, with help from Evelyn’s son Simon, and find that Albert has fake passports, a gun, and £10,000 hiding for them. In 2036, Jade and Billie reunite for the first time since they were 18 years old. Whilst it isn’t exactly a rosy reunion, Billie claims that she wants to help Jade and rips out a tracker from under her skin.

In 2022, Albert kills Angel, seemingly to cover his tracks. But it still makes Evelyn suspicious. Back in 2036, Jade reunites with her family and takes safety on the boat. But after learning that Zeroes react to different smells, Jade drags a Zero onto the boat to experiment on. The experiment, however, ends in tragedy when it escapes and kills Amrita whilst nearly killing Bea.

Episode 7-8

Albert is revealed to be one of several clones, and he uses Jade and Billie’s blood to delay his rapid ageing. When one of the clones, Bert, escapes and makes contact with Jade and Billie, the two sisters learn that Albert is a clone.

Jade and Billie try to escape from Evelyn and Roth, but their attempts are in vain. When they return to the lab to rescue Albert, with help from Roth and Simon, Billie’s health continues to decline. When Evelyn tries to capture them, Billie has a moment of confusion/madness and bites Simon. Aware that Simon will turn into a Zero, Evelyn shoots him in the eye. To ensure Evelyn doesn’t go after Jade and Billy, Albert sets up a bomb to destroy the lab and kill Evelyn. Whilst the lab gets destroyed, Evelyn survives. In the aftermath, Bert cares for Jade and Billie, who appear to be growing very distant following Simon and Albert’s deaths.

In 2036, Jade meets Evelyn, who is actually under Billie’s control. As for Billie, she is now running Umbrella. But when Jade purposely smashes a glass tube, it leads hundreds of Zeroes towards them. After releasing a massive crocodile to kill Billie and the Zeroes, Jade and Arjun learn that Bea is missing. Whilst the crocodile attacks/kills anything in sight, it becomes calm when it is next to Bea. But Billie stills kills the creature. 

Although Jade and Billie have a showdown, Jade is unable to shoot Billie. And that proves to be a huge mistake. Billie shoots Jade, grabs Bea, and leaves a wounded Jade to fend for herself. The first season of Resident Evil ends back in 2022 as Jade reads a note from Albert, which has details for Ada Wong.

And that’s a recap of what happened in Netflix’s Resident Evil season 1. What are your thoughts on the story? Comment below.

You can watch this series with a subscription to Netflix.

Netflix, Platform, TV Recaps