Lucas is NOT infected by the Mold!? SPOILERS

[redsky1335]

Lucas is the true "resident evil" of this game- it's revealed he was a whiz kid/serial killer in the making, having murdered a bully and been going to psychologists as a child for his behavioral issues. He murdered a bully when he was around age 8, decades before the biohazard; only Zoe and he knew the victim's body was locked away in the attic for all those years.

Then, the shipwreck. Jack, Mia, and Marge all get molded, and display superhuman feats of strength, durability, and insect summoning. But what did Lucas gain from the mold? WAS LUCAS EVER INFECTED BY THE MOLD?!

Can you think of any evidence of him being molded? Only thing I remember is him getting his arm lopped off at the dinner table by Jack, and he says "Oh, not again!" Limb reattatchment is easily done in RE7's universe, as seen with Ethan's hand. Hell, if you saw the little scene where Jack cuts Ethan's foot off, he is able to attatch it again within seconds. So Lucas could've just taken his arm into the next room and stitched it back on.

So is there any reason to think that Lucas was affected by the mold? Eveline's psychic powers seemed to have an effect and drive him further mad, but he hasn't seemed to mutate in any way.

[Seamus]

Ethan was able to do that because he was infected. That means Lucas was infected too.

[it's a gabe]

Zoe never mutated, did she? And it took quite a while for Jack to become that... thing. Lucas had regenerative powers, just like his father. If he wasn't "molded", he wouldn't see and talk to Eveline even when she's not around. He makes VERY clear he's infected when Ethan goes to his place.

[♠ Radovid V. ♠]

Check the wiki, it says :" Lucas gained regenerative abilities, even being able to grow back his hand after Jack cut it off. However, Lucas was met by agents working for an unknown organization, who provided him with a serum that stopped Eveline from controlling him. In exchange, Lucas spied on his family for them." and don't worry, we will see more of him in the upcoming DLC → confirmed :)

[Tommy Reslin]

Originally posted by midnightblue1335:

Lucas is the true "resident evil" of this game- it's revealed he was a whiz kid/serial killer in the making, having murdered a bully and been going to psychologists as a child for his behavioral issues. He murdered a bully when he was around age 8, decades before the biohazard; only Zoe and he knew the victim's body was locked away in the attic for all those years.

Then, the shipwreck. Jack, Mia, and Marge all get molded, and display superhuman feats of strength, durability, and insect summoning. But what did Lucas gain from the mold? WAS LUCAS EVER INFECTED BY THE MOLD?!

Can you think of any evidence of him being molded? Only thing I remember is him getting his arm lopped off at the dinner table by Jack, and he says "Oh, not again!" Limb reattatchment is easily done in RE7's universe, as seen with Ethan's hand. Hell, if you saw the little scene where Jack cuts Ethan's foot off, he is able to attatch it again within seconds. So Lucas could've just taken his arm into the next room and stitched it back on.

So is there any reason to think that Lucas was affected by the mold? Eveline's psychic powers seemed to have an effect and drive him further mad, but he hasn't seemed to mutate in any way.

Ethan could only re-attach his hand because he's infected.

[Punkin Spice]

Limb re-attachment is literally only possible (ingame) if you're infected.

The computer in the salt mines has messages from him talking about being given something that "cleared his head" but the physical infection was still there.

He did have psychopathic (or sociopathic) tendencies and being infected probably amplified those.

[Frag Maniac]

Originally posted by caelumsixsmith:

He makes VERY clear he's infected when Ethan goes to his place.

^This, he talks about Zoe's plan to make a serum, and that he doesn't want to go back to the way things were and use it. Only reason to use it is if you're infected.

That said, I really think it would have been written a bit better if Lucas was the boathouse boss, not Jack. That thing's head is even shaped more like Lucas', and I thought sure it was him at first.

It would have even been more shocking I think if you find Lucas is the boss, when at first it looks like you only have to get through his obstacles. Misdirection is a good thing in horror CAPCOM.

We got plenty fight out of Jack in the house, garage, and dissection area cage. Putting him into yet another final boss fight just seemed like they were overdoing it at that point.

[Crusta]

It still bugs me that some people thinks that limb re-attachment is "normal in this game's universe", or wonder "how people can do it."

No it's not normal. The characters are clearly infected with bioweapon substances. How hard is it to understand? 7 freaking games in the franchise plus the spin offs

[Seamus]

Originally posted by JamesFrancoSingingBritneySpears:

It still bugs me that some people thinks that limb re-attachment is "normal in this game's universe", or wonder "how people can do it."

No it's not normal. The characters are clearly infected with the infectious agent of the game. How hard is it to understand?

Probably people missing the magazine/newspaper that blatantly states this game takes place in the same universe as the main games. 16 years after RE2, iirc.

[redsky1335]

Seeing lots of speculation on some shaky evidence of Ethan being infected. But let's talk about the infection itself- it's not as clear cut or well explained as the T-Virus (you get bit/injected, get sick, die, get up and try to eat people); this game takes a much more F.E.A.R. approach with the psychic phenomena and the same exact villain (anyone else frustrated by the blatant rip-off of Alma?!).

It's absolutely possible Ethan is infected, personally I don't see a way he could not be. He was exposed to the mold and Eveline's influence for quite a long time, and we've seen how quickly the infection can take hold in the "Daughters" banned footage. Within maybe 15 minutes of bringing Eveline into the house, Margie is buggin' out. Then we can say about a minute passes as Jack struggles with her while Zoe fetches the rope- in that trip downstairs and back, Jack is fully under the influence.

This sort of conflicts with info we read; should be more of a slow process. Exposure, then several hours of hallucinations and illness, then... death? Not really- perhaps Eveline chooses what happens to the molded? Maybe she controls the extent of mutation via psychic link? This leads to a very glaring issue with this "mold" business: If you "cured" Zoe, you get on the boat and start heading towards the shipwreck. Suddenly, Zoe is under psychic assault by Eveline, and then SHE TURNS INTO A MOLD SCULPTURE- you know, like Mia's infected teammate.

How does Eveline manage to do this to Zoe after you gave her the serum? It's these kinds of inconsistencies with the function of the mold that make people think "Dismemberment is just a casual thing here" and "Ethan isn't infected, because he didn't get turned to stone by psychic powers and shatter." Ethan also never suffers the psychotic breaks that ALL of the other infected characters undergo shortly after infection. It doesn't make sense.

IMO, these are just plot-hole oversights. When you bring paranormal elements like "Oooo spooky psychic little girl" into a gritty semi-realistic setting tied to biological weaponry, it's not going to mesh perfectly. They hope that the psychic powers can explain away some of these issues, which is an awful copout. At the same time they try to use BOW info to explain the paranormal psychic crap. It's a mess- F.E.A.R. and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with a wee bit of RE lore sprinkled in.

[Kthulhu]

Originally posted by midnightblue1335:

IMO, these are just plot-hole oversights. When you bring paranormal elements like "Oooo spooky psychic little girl" into a gritty semi-realistic setting tied to biological weaponry, it's not going to mesh perfectly. They hope that the psychic powers can explain away some of these issues, which is an awful copout. At the same time they try to use BOW info to explain the paranormal psychic crap. It's a mess- F.E.A.R. and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with a wee bit of RE lore sprinkled in.

Not the first time similar powers have been seen in RE. Alexia, anyone?

[Punkin Spice]

Originally posted by midnightblue1335:

Seeing lots of speculation on some shaky evidence of Ethan being infected.

Yeah I'm just gonna stop right there. Its not shaky nor speculation. The game almost shouts it at you and displays it in bright neon letters.

"You can't see hallucinations of Evie without being infected"

*proceeds to see hallucinations of Evie*

Like you don't even need anything else. That was it. I mean it was obvious from the start but theres no reasonable doubt at that point. Not even a little bit.

[Kthulhu]

There's also the fact that ye can regain full functionality of his hand with it just being stapled back on. Same with his leg, except no staples needed.

Lucas and Ethan are both infected.

[redsky1335]

Originally posted by Kthulhu:

There's also the fact that ye can regain full functionality of his hand with it just being stapled back on. Same with his leg, except no staples needed.

Lucas and Ethan are both infected.

Okay, Ethan is infected. Why doesn't his behavior become erratic, like the rest of the Baker family and Mia? With Jack and Margie, the effects are immediate- they become violent and obsessed with being Eve's family. Even Mia goes berserk on multiple occasions and can't maintain focus on a goal.

Why doesn't Ethan suffer from this? Symptoms Ethan shows- visual and auditory hallucinations, ability to reattach limbs perfectly... and that's it. Does his behavior change? Does he start raving about being part of the family? Does he ever forget his initial goal (save Mia) or suddenly shift personalities and lose bits of his memory?

Zoe also needs to be mentioned when discussing this game's infection. She IS infected, but shows ZERO symptoms. She is of completely sound mind, so much so that she realizes they are now twisted, evil versions of themselves.

All this put together, leaves us the two options: Either Zoe/Ethan are definitely infected but for some completely unexplained reason they are RESISTANT to the symptoms and control. Or the infection in Ethan/Zoe didn't progress far enough for- again- an unexplained reason. Occam's razor suggests developers just missed some plot holes and left some inconsistencies behind.

[Tommy Reslin]

Originally posted by midnightblue1335:

Originally posted by Kthulhu:

There's also the fact that ye can regain full functionality of his hand with it just being stapled back on. Same with his leg, except no staples needed.

Lucas and Ethan are both infected.

Okay, Ethan is infected. Why doesn't his behavior become erratic, like the rest of the Baker family and Mia? With Jack and Margie, the effects are immediate- they become violent and obsessed with being Eve's family. Even Mia goes berserk on multiple occasions and can't maintain focus on a goal.

Why doesn't Ethan suffer from this? Symptoms Ethan shows- visual and auditory hallucinations, ability to reattach limbs perfectly... and that's it. Does his behavior change? Does he start raving about being part of the family? Does he ever forget his initial goal (save Mia) or suddenly shift personalities and lose bits of his memory?

Zoe also needs to be mentioned when discussing this game's infection. She IS infected, but shows ZERO symptoms. She is of completely sound mind, so much so that she realizes they are now twisted, evil versions of themselves.

All this put together, leaves us the two options: Either Zoe/Ethan are definitely infected but for some completely unexplained reason they are RESISTANT to the symptoms and control. Or the infection in Ethan/Zoe didn't progress far enough for- again- an unexplained reason. Occam's razor suggests developers just missed some plot holes and left some inconsistencies behind.

I have several theories. Both Mia and Zoe are a lot weaker than the other bakers and seem pretty resistant. I have a feeling the more "Liutenants" under her control the weaker it gets. I don't have proof of this but it makes sense. They had countermeasures in order to control the Virus. Lucas also had to be pretty resistant because he was able to get his head clear. They must have felt that he too was a safe bet. The other possibility is those she chooses to be the "mommy" and "Daddy" end up the secondary minds. More powerful than the others. We don't know for sure. I also believe and this is a logical conclusion that Evelinne got weaker overtime. Without the drugs to keep her young as she rapidly aged and deteriorated? She would become much weaker.

Another possibility is that Zoe wasn't as sound as she appeared. Maybe there's a reason she was on the phone all the time. She ensured we only met her during moments of clarity.

[Crusta]

Originally posted by Kthulhu:

Originally posted by midnightblue1335:

IMO, these are just plot-hole oversights. When you bring paranormal elements like "Oooo spooky psychic little girl" into a gritty semi-realistic setting tied to biological weaponry, it's not going to mesh perfectly. They hope that the psychic powers can explain away some of these issues, which is an awful copout. At the same time they try to use BOW info to explain the paranormal psychic crap. It's a mess- F.E.A.R. and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with a wee bit of RE lore sprinkled in.

Not the first time similar powers have been seen in RE. Alexia, anyone?

^ This. Also Saddler and his stick of truth.