that wanton backstabber

Later, when Claire is wracked with feelings of indirect responsibility for the ongoing attack - and at this time, they do both believe that TerraSave did play a part into things going even worse than they needed to - he's pretty much the only one who outwardly disagrees and uplifts her again once they're alone.

I do kinda like that Degeneration is a point in time when Claire isn't so sure about her position in TerraSave quite yet, she's not nearly as confident about it as she is later down the line. I like the idea that Leon played a part in that growing confidence of hers. Which is also kind of sad when you remember that this puts them in direct conflict with each other later in Infinite Darkness. But even then, he never tells her she's wrong. In part, because she isn't, and he knows it. He just puts her wellbeing (and the wellbeing of those that could be affected) above doing the 'right' thing.

Neither of those positions are inherently wrong, but back to Degeneration!

I like the use of words here:

'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.'

It does show his aforementioned respect for Claire but damn, do I love to mull over the specific use of 'you chose' and 'your brother and I couldn't follow'. Both sentences imply her ability to choose. To make a choice out of nothing but your own ambition. Something Leon didn't exactly get to do for a long while, and even when he does finally have a choice to walk away, he never does.

Claire and Leon are very interesting to think about in a sense of Claire being someone who has always done what she believes in, and had the freedom to do so, for better or for worse. Claire is steadfast in her beliefs because she has never done something she didn't believe in. It makes her reckless and far too confrontational for her own good, but it's also what makes her such a great protector and activist, one that vulnerable people feel safe and cared for with. Claire will fight for those who can't fight for themselves, even if that means punching a politician square in the jaw and getting in trouble for it.

Leon, on the other hand, is someone who's been stripped of his freedom to do what he thinks is right for at least six years of definitive inescapable service before he rescues Ashley and gets in good graces with the president. It's hard to do what you believe is right when that bears risk not only to you, but to innocent people who depend on you to keep them out of harms' way (i.e. Sherry). Still, what Leon does learn is making the best of his circumstances. It makes him limited in what he can do and prone to question his involvement, but it's also what makes him such an influential figure in the first place, able to secure peace where others never could. Leon will work from the shadows to ensure those that have fallen did not die in vain, even if that means losing himself in an endless loop of needles violence and corruption from within the very circles that are supposed to protect, not hurt.

At the time of Degeneration, he's still very much determined to take care of Umbrella's lingering legacy with his own two hands (and he tells Claire as much in the same scene). He hasn't lost that spark of his quite yet. But he's also in a position of 'I didn't choose my path, but I will stick to it regardless' as opposed to Claire's 'I made the choice to walk this path, and I want it to be the right one'.

They both want the same. But their way of motivating themselves to do so is very different. Still, while Claire is seemingly unaware of a lot of Leon's circumstances, it's very sweet to see just how much Leon respects her. Partly, because she does something he wishes he could do, I think. Claire is all his rookie self wanted to be. She's righteous, she fights to protect those who lack the means to do it themselves, and she does legitimate good in this world because she makes the free choice to do so. He doesn't exactly have that. That's why he could never tell her she's wrong. He admires her way more than she's probably even aware of, and it's both sweet and kinda sad.