In a village where werewolves, vampires, and clockwork experiments run rampant, Donna Beneviento chose to employ dolls and plants as her main weapons against Ethan Winters in Resident Evil Village. When one of the villains of the game, Mother Miranda, imbued the four lords of the reigning houses, it was initially thought that the little doll being held by a woman who appeared in all black was Donna herself. This turned out to be false, as the real mastermind was actually the lady in black and the doll was seemingly possessed.

This is what Donna Beneviento's ability with the Cadou, genetically-engineered organisms with supernatural capabilities, became. The parasite fused with the Doll Maker's bloodstream and she gained the ability to utilize and affect the dolls that she created by imbuing pieces of the Cadou inside of their bodies. It was from this bonding between parasite and empty vessel that Donna seemed to bring life to her creations and utilize them to attempt to literally scare Ethan to death in Resident Evil Village. However, the specifics of this are slightly hazy with how exactly she controls them in-game to a detailed level, but it could be based on her own demerits gained from accepting the parasite.

Related: Resident Evil Village: What Powers Does Rose Have?

A part of the trouble that came with accepting Mother Miranda's gift in Resident Evil Village into her body warped Donna's mind. This could be the reason why manipulating dolls came so easily, as she already had a major dislike toward the world around her and the people with it. The dolls have a very fluid movement, as particularly seen with her favorite doll Angie. This fluidity could have come from Donna's warped mind that came as a result of her self-isolation growing up, as she considered her dolls to be more like people than the actual people she never got to see (outside of her family). Through this, she could utilize the Cadou to act as strings, pulling them individually like a puppeteer to make each one move with a specific purpose with her as the hivemind.

Donna Was A Genius Manipulator In Resident Evil Village

Resident Evil Village Behind the veil of Donna Beneviento

This degree of manipulation does show a good amount of Donna's prowess during the climax of her appearance in her boss fight. While Ethan is in Beneviento Manor in Resident Evil Village, he is forced to endure vast hallucinations and continuous traps and puzzles until it culminates into a deadly game of hide-and-seek. Ethan is tasked with trying to find Angie, or he'll end up mauled to death by the other dolls standing around. During this time, Donna has the ability to simultaneously control at least a dozen dolls, able to command them to actively join in her game of hide-and-seek, and weaponizing them to physically damage Ethan.

The Cadou was a truly unique parasite, and the abilities it provided its hosts were vast in its range within Resident Evil Village. Whereas others gained super strength, speed, or shapeshifting capabilities, none showed a unique capacity for controlling the Cadou in such as fashion as Donna did. Her ability to maintain control over so many different dolls at once - and in rapid succession - could speak for the masterful craft she had as the Doll Maker and the last of her family line. Overall, the control of those dolls seemed to boil down to a combination of parasitic "possession" and a genius mind.

Next: How to Beat Donna Beneviento in Resident Evil Village (Boss Fight)