This article delves deep into some of the main plot points ofRed Dead Redemption 2.
Red Dead Redemption 2is a game with many themes. Its story tackles subjects like family, duty, conscience, loyalty, and betrayal. Through the eyes of the outlaw Arthur Morgan, players see howthe relationships within the Van der Linde gangattribute to the group’s successes, narrow escapes, and most important of all, its failures.
Arthur himself plays a key role in the gang. Being the group’s lead enforcer, Arthur oversees most, if not all, of the gang’s activities. His words and actions also carry weight, as he has been with the gang for more than 20 years; making him one of its longest-standing members. Unfortunately, the events ofRed Dead Redemption 2lead Arthur to contract tuberculosis - a then-incurable terminal disease that attacks his lungs and causes him to grow weaker with each passing day. While the demise of the Van der Linde gang seemed inevitable with or without Arthur’s illness, things could have been very different had he not gotten sick.
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Arthur Wouldn’t Have Died
The first and most obvious thing players will say aboutRed Dead Redemption 2’s story is that, had Arthur not fallen ill, he wouldn’t have died. Without tuberculosis, he wouldn’t be coughing blood, losing weight, and generally feeling horrible all the time. The sickness seemed to manifest itself fully once Arthur and a few members of the Van der Linde gang returned from an unscheduled trip to Guarma. On the way toSaint Denis, Arthur collapses and is dragged to the local doctor who diagnoses him with his illness.
The tuberculosis only gets worse from there; with Arthur suffering from bouts of coughing to losing 20% of his stamina, health, and dead eye cores for the remainder of the player’s time with him. This eventuallyculminates in the mission “Red Dead Redemption”, where the player’s honor determines Arthur’s fate. Having high honor will cause Arthur to succumb to his illness as he watches the sunrise, while low honor will result in Micah either shooting or stabbing Arthur to end his life. No matter what the player chooses, the mission ends with Arthur’s death, leaving them to take control of John Marston for the remainder of the game.
Had Arthur not contracted TB, he would have hada fighting chance against Micah. The game’s events before Arthur gets sick have shown how he is more than capable in combat, be it with guns, knives, or his bare fists. Had he beaten Micah in a fair fight, Arthur might have followed John, Abigail, and Jack on their way to escape. He might even have found his own way out of the gang and married Mary Linton, his former fiancee.
Arthur Wouldn’t Have Reflected On His Life
Of course, this is assuming Arthur is in the same state of mind as he was near the end of his life. A person’s impending death can drastically change how they view their life, and Arthur is no different. Once he learned he was sick,Arthur started reflecting on his past actionsand how he could have done better. This prompted him to visit the people he wronged and offer his help to make things right. This is most evident when he visits Edith and Archie Downes - the wife and son of one Thomas Downes - the same person who afflicted Arthur with tuberculosis in the first place. Arthur offers to aid them with their money problems and, while they are reluctant at first, they eventually accept his money and start a new life someplace else.
Arthur’s impending death also made him think about how he could help those closest to him once he passes away. Since he couldn’t contact Mary Linton, his next priority was the members of the Van der Linde gang who had trouble getting out of the outlaw life. John, Abigail, and Jack needed to start a new lifeaway from Dutch and his gang, so Arthur helped set them up with the money they had stolen back in Blackwater. Once the Pinkertons started closing in on the gang, Arthur helped the Marstons escape while he dealt with both the Pinkertons and the remaining members of Dutch’s gang.
If Arthur wasn’t dying, he might have never changed. He would still be obsessed with gaining wealth and blindly clinging tothe ideals of Dutch, a man who was slowly going insane. He would never have thought for himself, ruminated on the possibilities of a life without crime, and tried to right as many wrongs as he could. In a way, tuberculosis saved Arthur from himself and gave him a better outlook on life than he ever had when he was fit as a fiddle.
There are many possible paths Arthur could have taken had he not gotten ill. He could have continued his life as a vagabond - robbing, killing, and terrorizing other people for their wealth. Inversely, he could have also found his way and stood up to Dutch instead of coughing and hacking away while his close friends died. These possibilities are best left to speculation, but seeing asRed Dead Redemptionstories are, in the end, about redeeming oneself,Arthur’s tale inRed Dead Redemption 2gives him exactly that.
Red Dead Redemption 2is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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