The Master of Unlocking

Submission 15,087

Part of a series on Resident Evil / Biohazard. [View Related Entries]

About

The Master of Unlocking is a catchphrase from the first Resident Evil game. In the game, Barry Burton gives Jill Valentine a lockpick, saying she'll be handy with it because she's the "master of unlocking." The line grew infamous in video game history, leading to numerous memes. Video games have also referenced the line as an easter egg for decades.

Origin

In Resident Evil, released for the PlayStation in 1996, Barry Burton gives Jill Valentine a lockpick to explore the Spencer mansion, saying "Jill, here's a lockpick. It might be handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you" (shown below).

An entry for "Master of Unlocking" was added to Urban Dictionary^[1] by user Death to Infidels on September 28th, 2003.

master of unlocking A notorious quote in the original Resident Evil for PlayStation when Barry Burton gives STARS partner Jill Valentine a lockpick. Also see word Jill sandwich/word. "Jill, here's a lockpick. It might be handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you." by Death to Infidels September 28, 2003

Spread

In the years since the release of Resident Evil, the "master of unlocking" line has been widely referenced in video games. Many of subsequent Resident Evil titles, including both versions of Resident Evil 4, the 2016 remaster of Resident Evil 0 and the Resident Evil 3 remake (Resident Evil 4 remake version shown below), include references to the line.^[2]

Items or achievements referring to the line appear in Enter the Gungeon ^[3] and the remastered version of The Last of Us. ^[4]

The line has also been widely parodied on social media. In Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series, the character Melvin declared himself a "Master of Unlocking" after typing in literally every number between "1111" and "9999" to open a password-protected door (shown below, left). On September 16th, 2017, Polygon posted a parody in which two actors perform the original scene in the style of dramatic theater, gaining over 88,000 views in nearly six years (shown below, right).

In the Resident Evil fandom, the line has inspired memes and fan art. On November 23rd, 2020, Redditor SuitableAccident8 posted to the /r/ResidentEvil^[5] subreddit a comic depicting Jill proving herself as the "master of unlocking" at the Raccoon City Police Department, gaining over 200 points in three years (shown below).