This article, “what caused the “Zeroes” and are they just zombies” contains spoilers regarding Netflix’s Resident Evil season 1.
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In the first season of Resident Evil, it becomes clear that by the year 2036, there has been some form of a worldwide crisis, and “Zeroes” roam the planet. They’re deadly, horrible, zombie-like creatures that can infect anyone with the T-Virus from a single bite. But how did “Zeroes” come to exist in the first place, and are they just another version of the Zombie monster that we’ve seen in many other shows/films such as The Walking Dead and 28 Days Later? And why was the T-Virus created in the first place? Was the design of the T-Virus to purposely create the monstrous “Zero”, or was it merely an experiment gone wrong?
What caused the “Zeroes” and are they just zombies in Resident Evil season 1?
The cause of “Zeroes” is purely down to Umbrella Corporation. Its 2022 CEO, Evelyn Marcus, is desperate to follow in her father’s footsteps. And, therefore, she wants to continue his work on the T-Virus, which provokes several incidents that cause “the end”. As Evelyn is desperate to eliminate illnesses like anxiety and depression, she ignores any of the horrible side effects that T-Virus and a newly created drug, “Joy”, may have on the public. And it’s those very side effects that turn an otherwise normal and healthy individual into a “Zero”.
Whilst the first season of Resident Evil hasn’t shown us how the issue became so widespread, it’s likely that any subsequent seasons will tell this story to its audiences. And the “Zeroes” initially appear to be like any other TV version of a zombie, i.e., no brain activity, mindless, eats people. However, during the season, as Jade observes the “Zeroes”, she learns that they react to different smells, and some may even lead groups of “Zeroes”, much like the “Queen Zero”, whose head she chops off to experiment on. There still seems to be plenty more story development to come in regards to the “Zeroes”, but right now, it could be suggested that as they start to evolve, they may become much more powerful and dangerous.
