Red Dead Redemption 2 is a long game that's renowned for its story and well-written characters, particularly the protagonist Arthur Morgan. As Arthur, players can choose to sink further and further into selfish villainy or turn a new leaf as the story progresses, trying to redeem themselves as Arthur slowly dies due to tuberculosis. It's a beautiful and tragic tale either way, continuing themes from the first game about the human capability for change and the conflict between freedom and industrialization.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the ending of Red Dead Redemption 2.]As a prequel to the first Red Dead Redemption, the story leads directly into the start of the previous game, which featured the protagonist John Marston. RDR2 ends with Arthur's death and a prolonged epilogue in the role of John, building on the game's themes and bridging the gap between entries. The ending is rather drawn-out, making it easy to lose some of the details as it goes along. Still, it's incredibly rewarding to go back into the first RDR after completing Arthur's journey and learning everything that led up to John's deal with the notorious Edgar Ross.
What Happens At The End Of RDR2?
Death And New Beginnings
Red Dead Redemption 2 follows the slow deterioration of the Van der Linde gang, mirrored by Arthur Morgan's worsening tuberculosis. As the game goes on, Arthur becomes more and more sick, people in the gang die or desert, and Dutch van der Linde, the gang's leader and Arthur's paternal figure, becomes paranoid and confused. The gang's falling out is quickened by Micah Bell, the game's antagonist, who divides Dutch from Arthur and drives him towards increasingly violent and risky jobs.
Even after the end of Red Dead Redemption 2, there are plenty of things to do after beating the game that expand upon the best parts of the Wild West.
All the while, Arthur is battling his own demons, caught between his life with the gang and the woman he loves, and eventually, his approaching mortality. It is up to the player whether Arthur spends his last weeks alive trying to redeem himself and become a better man, or falls completely into depravity. At the end of Arthur's journey, after John has been left for dead by the gang and Arthur has learned Micah betrayed them all to the authorities, there is a final confrontation between Arthur and Dutch, where Dutch finally turns on his son.
Arthur is left with a choice: either help John escape to his family or attempt to take the gang's stash of money. Depending on the player's honor level in RDR2, influenced by decisions throughout the game, this can go several different ways. Low-honor Arthur always ends up killed by Micah in a final battle, both weakened from their previous injuries. High-honor Arthur, however, gets a more dignified sendoff. He dies after convincing Dutch of Micah's betrayal, staring out at the sunrise, and finally succumbing to his disease. Regardless, John escapes to his family, Micah nabs the money, and Arthur dies.
The ending features a cutscene with either a deer or a wolf, recurring animal imagery that represents Arthur's moral state during the whole game. The deer is for a more repentant, selfless Arthur, while the wolf is for one more violent and bitter.
An epilogue picks up with John Marston seven years later, trying to live a normal, peaceful life with his wife and son. Contrary to the brutality and sadness of Arthur's final act, this epilogue is mostly peaceful, seeing John build a home, bond with his family, and catch up with old friends. It even ends with John finally hunting down Micah, killing him for Arthur and everyone else that the rat got killed. It feels triumphant, but veteranns of the first game know where it is headed.
RDR2's Ending Is Heartbreaking But Important
One Saloon Door Closes, Another Opens
RDR2's ending is extremely sad, no matter which way it shakes out. After witnessing hours of Arthur's character growth and his bonds with Dutch and John, seeing it all come crumbling down is heartbreaking. Especially in the versions of the story where Arthur has high honor, it feels unfair that he cannot escape the cruel fate awaiting him. But, of course, all of this leads toward the point of the game.
Red Dead Redemption is a series about people trying to change and either escaping or repeating a cycle of violence. Characters like Dutch represent forces that claim to want change, yet are hypocritically dead set in their own schemes and lose sight of the values they profess. Micah and the lawman Edgar Ross are both characters that take advantage of a world on the verge of change, the chaos of the Wild West colliding with industrialization and modernity.
There are many ways Arthur Morgan can die horribly before Red Dead Redemption 2's campaign even draws to a close.
Arthur and John, finally, are both protagonists who feel displaced by the change around them and, while they seek to change themselves, are ultimately undone by their pasts. Arthur only got tuberculosis, after all, because he beat a man with the disease nearly to death over a loan. Similarly, the epilogue of RDR2 reveals that John only ended up back on Edgar Ross's radar because he sought out and killed Micah, a violent act of revenge that his family actively discourages.
How Does RDR2 Set Up Red Dead Redemption?
Symmetry Between John And Arthur
Because of John's need to get revenge, he ends up being tracked down by a corrupt lawman and dragged back into a cycle of violence, bringing an end to his old gang members. After that, it's the familiar story from the first: Ross went back on his word, killing John and dragging his son, Jack, into the same cycle Arthur and John both tried to get out of. Jack killing Edgar Ross can be seen as John being avenged, but it feels more tragic, like John's son repeating his mistakes.
Mechanically, ending the game by playing as John instead of Arthur mirrors how the first
RDR
ends with players taking on the role of Jack. Even the game mechanics here represent this cycle of violence.
RDR's iconic ending showed audiences two steps in this cycle; RDR2 takes another step back to show us how it started for these characters. The whole time, returning players know where everything is leading, and the dramatic irony of Arthur's journey mirroring John's is almost too sad to bear. But there is also an optimism to Red Dead Redemption: even someone like Arthur who has caused so much pain can still try to be better, and while it's impossible to every fully escape the past, people don't ultimately have to be defined by their mistakes.
Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic
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