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It's safe to say that Leon Kennedy has one of the worst Spanish vacations known to man in Resident Evil 4: Remake. Though he is going there to rescue the President of The United States' daughter from an evil cult, it's still a pretty rough introduction to Europe for our bishy-haired protagonist.
But our hero runs the gauntlet of cultists, bio mutants, and other large parasitical monstrosities, takes down the big bad at the center of it all, rescues his target, and gets out alive. Whilst those are the broad strokes, it's worth breaking down the ending as there's some interesting stuff getting set up that can be missed if you're not paying attention. For those left wanting more of an explanation as those credits rolled, here's the ending to Resident Evil Four Remake, explained.
Warning: Spoilers For The Endings Of Resident Evil 4: Remake Below
Is Remake's Ending Different To The Original?
The ending of Resident Evil 4: Remake is slightly different from the original. There's not too major of a change; Leon still confronts Saddler on top of a big rickety metal construction, and Ada lends a helping hand once the massive mutant boss fight is ready to wrap up.
However, this time around there are two phases to the fight and there's a lot more dialogue getting thrown back and forth between Leon and Saddler as they try to tear each other to pieces. So here's a quick breakdown of how Leon's Spanish vacation wraps up in a neat little bow.
The Saddler Showdown
The fight with Saddler is one of two last big action sequences before the game ends.
Throughout the story he's been taunting and toying with Leon, using the Plagas larva that was injected into him at the start of the game to periodically try and take control. But when the parasite is removed from Leon and Ashley, saying Saddler is annoyed by this would be an understatement.
The big bad cult leader is way beyond angry, referring to the act as blasphemy in the final fight, deciding that Leon would be better off dead instead of under the cult's control.
So, in a boss fight with two phases he decides to put Mr Kennedy down for good. Turning into his classic multi-limbed nightmare creature form from the old games as he chases Leon around, using flying Plagas drones to harass Leon if he gets too far away.
After that form is sufficiently worn down, Saddler then mutates further into an amorphous blob with the twisted remains of his human part encased within its core.
This is also slowly ripped apart and finally detonated by Leon with a special rocket fired from an RPG tossed to him by Ada, who coincidentally happens to also be there before managing to escape on helicopter evac arranged by Wesker.
The Grand Escape
After the fight, things get a little wild. A self-destruct sequence begins, and the Military Base Island is set to explode and sink beneath the waves.
Leon and Ashley dash through a collapsing installation as the plagas-infected soldiers either die, become dormant, or have seizures. The parasites within apparently have difficulty functioning and coordinating without their Alpha Parasite controlling them all now that Saddler is dead.
Ashley and Leon eventually find a jetski at an underground dock and use it to flee through flooded tunnels as the base explodes and collapses around them. They make it out and watch from a distance as it all burns and crumbles, with Los Illuminados seemingly defeated, for now.
Ashley jokes with Leon about possibly becoming an agent alongside him, but she gets shot down a little awkwardly as the two drive off into the sunset.
Ada's Phonecall
Meanwhile, Ada has a phone call with Wesker where she decides to betray him. The whole point of her being in the area in the first place was to recover a sample of the Las Plagas parasite.
This is something that's revealed in her campaign "Separate Ways", which, in the original game, unlocks after beating the game for the first time.
In Ada's Separate Ways campaign, she recovers a sample of Las Plagas and you get to experience the story from her viewpoint as she deals with her own threats whilst also being able to see some of the fallout from Leon's misadventures.
After tossing Leon the Rocket Launcher, Ada instructs her pilot to fly off as the island is destroyed. She talks with Wesker on the phone about her mission to recover the parasite, which Umbrella, or rather Wesker, wants to exploit, commenting that he'll use it to kill billions.
Naturally, Ada decides to go against her employer by holding her pilot at gunpoint and demanding that he flies the helicopter in a different direction.
Ada disappears into parts unknown it is assumed, but at least the power of the parasites is out of Wesker's hands. Though he would go on to create his own Ouroboros Virus in Resident Evil Five, the Plagas would have made things much worse.