Leon/Claire

Picture
This takes placed at the end of Degeneration; they try to leave by giving one last kiss to each other… but it ends up becoming a long one and many.
Panel 1: Leon kisses Claire just before they both have to leave.
Panel 2:
Claire: "… Leon I… I have to go… my ride is waiting for me…"
Leon: "… I know…"
Panel 3: Claire takes Leon's hands off her face and she puts her arms around his head and gives him a deep passionate kiss.
 
Now this not what I would have wanted to see at the end of the film because nothing was forced between. Even when I heard and saw that Leon and Claire were going to be in Resident Evil Degeneration, I didn't think for one moment that it was going to be "the story" to getting them "together", nor did I think they were going to have a real team-up. I didn't buy the whole "Reunion of Fate" or Claire winking at Leon as if that meant they were going to fall in love during the film, which took place in one day. But there are some very good scenes between them in the film, what they said to each other and the looks they exchange show that there very well could be something more between them.
 
I look at Leon/Claire being a couple realistically, but I also need to at look at what's going on with the people behind Resident Evil realistically and I didn't see them having Leon and Claire falling in love at all.
 

Dialog and Scenes in Degeneration
This whole thing with Leon and Angela... I didn't see anything that showed that Leon wanted to be with her. I saw something more going on between Leon and Claire. At the beginning of the film when Claire said "boyfriend" she was "metaphorically" specking about her work.

Claire: "Blame my new boyfriend. He won't let me get any sleep."
Ronnie's aunt says
Aunt: "Boyfriend, huh? Is that what you're calling the W.H.O. Report now?"
Claire replies
Claire: "FDA, actually."

She was literally referring to her work as her boyfriend. It's meant to be a version of the joke about being "married to your job." Because it’s also very interesting to note that she didn't give a name, and this is never brought up again throughout the entire film... never.

When Leon is being attack by a zombie and are overwhelming both Claire and Angela, Leon throws his handgun to Claire and not to Angela. I have always said that Leon is the strong, nice, quiet, understanding, trusting, loving, sweet young man and what Leon says to Claire in the film proves it. Leon is more open with Claire when she was feeling depressed, he tells her that she wasn’t wrong in the choice she made.
Claire: "We just ended up making things worse."
 
Leon: "That's not true. The villains here are the ones who use the virus. But worst then them, are the ones who made it. Seven years ago, our lives were changed forever... by the virus from Umbrella Corp. Umbrella collapsed... but their viral legacy continues to spread. I'm gonna scrub this virus from the face of the earth."
 
Claire looks up at Leon.
Leon: "You chose the role of rescuer rather than fighter, like me. You chose a path that your brother and I couldn't follow. You weren't wrong."
 
Claire: "Leon, thank you."
 
It's not the greatest dialog or speech ever, these writers are not very good, but Steve wouldn't have the intelligence to say something like that. A speech like this would be wasted on Ada, Ashley and Angela. Ada wouldn't care, she's too much of a coldhearted dog, Ashley is too dumb and Angela (who was eavesdropping on them) ...who the hell knows. Leon didn't waste his time saying stuff like that too her.
 
Throughout the film, the looks on Leon's face and the attitude that he shows, he shows no interest in Angela at all, not even when she gives her big speech, Leon doesn't say a word and he doesn't even look at her. The scene where he's giving her mouth-to-mouth underwater, is Leon helping her to breathe because they were running from a huge creature, and she goes unconscious. He's trying to save her life, that's all that is. Why some people can't see that or figure that out is beyond me. Although I think those people know exactly what he's doing and they're just lying their @$$ off.

There are far more meaningful moments between Leon and Claire, when they first meet up and they hold hands until the rest of the group walks over and interrupts. The way they defend each other when the senator tries to question their escape plans, notice that Leon immediately goes to Claire's defense when the senator tries to sass her, but he says absolutely nothing when the senator and Angela are arguing about Curtis.

The way they hold hands again after Claire protects Rani, the way Claire smiles at him and the way he pulls her in a bit too close after helping her up. I love that he takes the time to talk to her and tell her how she's not wrong for doing what she thought was right (Angela is eavesdropping outside the tent). Then there's his concern when her leg his hurt.
 
When Claire is in the facility, trying to figure out what to do, she says
Claire: "I know, what would Leon do?"
 
When Leon and Claire split-up, the look on Leon's face at that moment... it's like he knows she can take care of herself, but he truly hopes nothing happens to her. At the end of the film, they leave Angela standing on a cliff while Leon actually tells Claire that he would like to see her again, but of course under different circumstances and Claire agrees.
Claire: "When did you two go diving, hmmm?"
 
Leon: "Don't worry about that. More importantly, what are you up to? Need a left?"
 
Claire: "I have a limousine waiting."
 
Leon: "Next time we bump into each other, let's hope it's some place… a little more normal."
 
Claire: "Hehehe, definitely."
 
Leon: "Till next time."
 
Leon stating, "Don't worry about that. More importantly, what are you up to?" That takes out anything he said to Angela, it means Claire is more important to him and they leave Angela standing on a cliff to grieve over her horrible fashion sense (and possibly the death of her brother). You can even see Leon and Claire flirting just a little with the looks they exchange to each other before they leave. The look on Claire's face as Leon leaves... before this dialog, Leon and Claire are walking away from Angela and when she calls out to Leon, you can see Claire rolling her eyes. Also, Claire has had Leon's email address and she now has his cell phone number.


Abounded Storyline?
Someone said that the producers wanted their friendship to go to the next level... well, if that was true, we all know that didn't happen.


Nothing was Forced between Them
But like I said, I'm glad they didn't fall in love in the film, which only took place within a few hours or a day. Because that was a huge mistake, they did in RE2, CV and RE4, the scenes and moments between Leon and Claire in Degeneration were far better, like I said they weren't forced, they were more natural.


Another missed Opportunity
Angela was just like Ashley, a useless character and just like Ashley, Angela was never seen again. She acted tough but when the tough got going... she couldn't do jack shoot, she didn't do anything right, how she even got a job on the SRT is beyond me. Claire on the other hand very well could defend herself, why the film focused more on Angela is something I don't understand.


Infinite Darkness, Netflix, RE4 Remake and Death Island
Whether it's live action or CGI, I don't care for these video game adaptations, video games should just be something you play, not something you just sit down and watch.

The story takes place one year after Degeneration, but we all know that their relationship or friendship hadn't really changed after that, Leon still ends up as a single depressed drunk later on by the time of Vendetta. The way Leon and Claire acted with each other in RE2 Remake got fans excited for more of that, but since nothing from those events changed anything from the original game and that it was taking place between Damnation and RE6, I didn't have much hope for the series on further developing their friendship since original RE2 Leon is just miserable and boring who acts as if he had better things to do than be around Claire. Compared to RE2 Remake Leon where he actual liked being around her and of course, it wouldn't be a Netflix series without woke crap through in it like with the Virus not being from China. Once again, like with Degeneration back in 2005, the fan base got fooled, they let themselves get too excited from a company that's given them very little in terms of Leon/Claire being together in the past 20 some years and acts grateful for it... as if kissing their @$$ is going to change anything. They've never had any real interest on them being together romantically and that's not going to change.

The scene in which Claire falls on top of Leon doesn't make them a couple, the expressionless looks on their faces and their flat voices doesn't sell it either, it was idiotic fan service, it doesn't start anything between them, just like how Leon giving air to an unconscious Angela didn't make them a couple. Both were just out of nowhere awkward scenes that does nothing for the story or for the characters, it leads to nothing, but desperate fans will cling to anything to the point of deluding themselves. Leon saying that he was hoping that they would go to dinner sounded more like dry humor than actually going out on a date, and even though Leon has never treated Claire like a child, that seems to be how the developers see them as, not as lovers, but just friends or siblings. It's just a repeat of Degeneration but worse, Leon teams up with nobodies, Claire is hardly in it, and neither have any real development.

Claire's official description for Infinite Darkness says, "she has a 'war buddies' bond with Leon". Buddies of course means friends, not lovers, but Capcom and the RE developers have never had a very good understanding of either-or good writing in general, given the fact these two have only had very brief team-ups and conversations. I fail to see how those past events made them war buddies with a bond. Sadly, the fan base is delusional, desperately trying to convince themselves by exaggerating the little things between them, standing near each other, a smile, a few friendly words, and reaching out to grab the other, to them it basically means that there deeply in love with each other, ready to marry and have kids. Even though nothing has been shown throughout the series that they spend any real time with each other than a few minutes or seconds or even shared a hug. Years passed before they saw each other again, if those scenes had Leon or Claire near someone else, I doubt you would be hearing them saying anything like that. Until I see some actual development between them on falling in love with each other (that should take time, it shouldn't happen instantly) hearing them say "I love you" and a kiss... then their just friends, nothing more and neither seem interested in being more than just that.

But even after all of this... the fan base thinks that the developers and Capcom still have an interest on getting them together or that they want more from the same people who gave them this crap. Since 1998 there's only one CGI film (Degeneration) and one game (RE2 Remake) in which there was some interaction and a possibility of something more between them, but the people behind the RE series have a history of lying and ignoring past events... that's not a company or a publisher or "writers" that anyone should put any hope in.

As for the Netflix RE TV series… anyone who wasn't surprised that it was woke garbage has got their head so far up their @$$, that there's no hope for them.

The RE4 Remake still doesn't change anything between them, the memory that Leon has of Claire and Sherry leaving Raccoon City is just that, a simple memory, they didn't stick together, didn't become a couple and they didn't adopt Sherry. Death Island was just a repeat Infinite Darkness, since it was made by the same person who also did Vendetta, in other words it was horrible, but the fan base is desperately trying to make this sound good and grateful for being given crumbs. They just spend more time with others, they only have one scene and it was meaningless. As always, the Leon/Claire fan base got fooled once again and are just deluding themselves into believing that there were Cleon moments in that film because apparently if they say each other's name, if they're standing next to each other, if they're in the same country, on the same planet or even in the same universe… it's a Cleon moment… it's so sad.


Leon/Claire: From 1998 to Now
Since the idea came about having Leon and Claire together (since 1998), I've heard some very, very dumb excuses as to why Leon and Claire should not be together. All of these dumb excuses come from L/A and S/C fans (who else?). One is that just because Leon is the good guy, it doesn't mean he should be with another good character like Claire. Right... when two people have nothing in common and have two completely different agendas... what the hell do you think is going to happen??? The fact that we've seen just how great Leon and Claire are when they were together shows that it very well can work. The fact that it's been shown how terrible it was when Leon was with Ada shows that it can't work. Everything works against Leon and Ada being together.

Another one is that because Leon is American, Leon/Claire fans don't want him to be with Ada because she's Asian... I've never seen one L/C fan say that. It doesn't matter what race she is, the fact that she's coldhearted, lies and backstabs Leon are a few of many reasons why some of us know it wouldn't work.

I've seen trolls on Leon/Claire videos state that Leon is too old to be with Claire when they met in RE2. The fact is Claire was 19 and Leon was 21 in RE2... what a crime...

Another one is that because Leon is a government agent and that Claire is living a normal life (she's not, she does have a job), they would not be able to be together... well... I guess somebody should tell soldiers who are away from months at a time in another country that they shouldn't have a girlfriend, or a wife and family because they wouldn't be able to be together because there so far apart... I'm sure there are more but like I said... very, very dumb excuses. Soldiers who do have a girlfriend or a wife and family... if they can make it work then so can Leon and Claire.


Not a Man-whore or a Womanizer
Some people have called Leon a man-whore or a womanizer for some dumb idiotic reason... but there's no justification to calling him that. No one ever gives a reason to that, because there is none.
1. He hardly gave any attention to Angela, he paid more to Claire.
2. He blew off Ashley at the end.
3. What Leon said to Hannigan, at first, I thought he was just making a joke, but story of my life is based on Ada??? Talk about an idiotic line that made no sense.
4. Nothing happened between him and Manuela, like with Angela, she hasn't been seen or mention again.
5. Helena was just a dog; an idiot and her priorities are pretty fracked up. She doesn't know a damn thing about Leon, even though she tries to act as if she does. Leon risks everything for Helena despite her treating him like shoot... he then fights to get her name cleared. Leon even thought he'd make the deal even sweeter for her by getting her a promotion... even though she's the reason he was forced to kill the President, who was Leon's close and personal friend, she participated in the events of Tall Oaks which lead to the deaths of 70,000 innocent people... she should be in jail for life or put on death roll.
 
If you look at Leon's interactions with every woman in the series, he treats them all the exact same way, that's what he does, he's a nice guy who tries to protect them.

Claire has been the only woman in Leon's life to which he has some contact with and the dialog between them in Degeneration was far better than what Leon has ever said to any other woman. Such fictional characters that have been with one woman after the other have been.
James Bond (nearly every Bond film)
James T. Kirk (Star Trek) (2 he slept with, 5 that were near-certain intimacy, 8 that are indeterminate, and 12 that he kissed)
William T. Riker (Star Trek) (he's had a romantic interest with at least 12 women)
Human Torch (The Fantastic Four) (who hasn't this guy been with???)
Wolverine (X-Men) (he's gone from one woman to the next)
Tony Stark (Iron Man) (same thing)


Final Thoughts
Like what I said on my Leon and Claire (RE2 Remake) blog
http://www.fanart-central.net/user/VampireWarith/blogs/17386/Leon-and-Claire-RE2-Remake

I am of course a Leon/Claire fan, and I always will be, but I'm more of a realist on that. Meaning that as much as I want them to be together, I don't see Capcom ever doing that.