Resident Evil Requiem spends a lot of time with ex-cop Leon Kennedy reflecting on his past in the dilapidated ruins of Raccoon City. However, it doesn’t spend nearly as long talking about what the guy’s been up since Resident Evil 6 and all the CGI movies. We know he’s got some kind of t-Virus strain, works with the DSO, and is still in contact with some of the old Resident Evil cast, but what is he doing when he’s not beating the snot out of zombies? One piece of concept art and a very short scene in Requiem may offer a clue.
If you look at Leon’s concept art in Requiem, there’s a page that shows the infection running down Leon’s arm to his hand. For much of the game, Leon keeps it hidden with a glove, but we do see it a few times throughout. One detail that is different in the concept art than what we see for most of the game is that, on the healthy version of his hand, he’s wearing a wedding band.
It’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment the game doesn’t draw attention to, but at the very end of Requiem after Leon is cured of the virus, he removes the gloves and seems to put the ring back on his finger, as if he didn’t want to put it on while the t-Virus was rotting his hand away.
The obvious follow-up question is who is he married to? There are a few possibilities, but nothing in Requiem points directly to anyone specific. Ada Wong has been Leon’s love interest throughout the series, but often in a “star-crossed lovers” sort of way where they’re constantly in conflict during all these bioterrorism shenanigans. Claire Redfield is another possibility, though his relationship with her is sometimes equally rocky, despite working closely together across multiple games and movies.
Leon even has a charm of Claire called “Trusted Companion” that is shaped like her, though that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s meant as a romantic symbol. Whoever Leon wifed up, the Resident Evil shipping wars are now stocked up with fresh ammunition. That’s probably why Capcom is keeping the Leon marriage clues ambiguous. Plot twist: The ring is for me. We’re married. Sorry you had to find out this way, Ada shippers.