"we can't change what's done,
we can only move on."
ARTHUR MORGAN • THE ANGRY COWBOY
[‼️MAY BE RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 SPOILERS AHEAD. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION‼️]
"we're more ghosts than people."
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1874. arthur morgan, an 11 year old orphaned boy who was left to fend for himself after the deaths of his mother and criminal father, was picked up off of the streets by two men named dutch van der linde and hosea matthews. the men took on fatherly roles in his life, taught him everything he knew, including reading, writing, shooting, fighting, and riding horses. alongside important life skills, dutch and hosea taught and instilled the values of freedom from the law and disliking the modernization of civilization. starting from a young age, he was looped into a never-ending cycle of committing crimes, mainly taking from the rich and giving back to the poor. the van der linde gang and lawlessness were arthur's entire life now.
as a young man, arthur meets mary gillis, who he falls madly in love with. they get engaged, but she takes issue with arthur's crime-filled lifestyle and wants him to change for the better. she pleads for him to give it up and settle down for good with her, but he isn't willing to. this paired with mary's father heavily disapproving of him causes the two to separate, but arthur never stops loving her.
1885. at age 22, arthur is introduced to a 12 year old john marston, who dutch had saved from being killed. from then on, john had been taken into the van der linde gang, and same as arthur, they taught him everything he knew. the two were raised closely as brothers and taught the same values of anarchy, freedom, and appreciation for nature. they became dutch's favorite "sons"- his protégés. they had developed into experienced outlaws, mainly running with dutch, hosea, and other members of their gang, committing robberies, raids, murders, kidnappings and other crimes across america.
years later, arthur had a one-night-stand with a woman, eliza, resulting in him having a son by the name of isaac. she knew his lifestyle, and accepted whatever support he gave them. he promised that he would do right by them and visited his son sporadically, every few months for a few days at a time. during one of his visits, he arrived to two gravestones in the front yard. the two were killed by robbers while arthur was not there to protect them. this traumatized him, understandably, and he has trouble coping with the loss of his son. he remembers isaac fondly.
1894. john falls in love with a woman by the name of abigail roberts, a new recruit to the van der linde gang. they had a son not too long after, jack marston. unfortunately though, john refuses to accept responsibility over the baby, having thoughts that he may not be the real father, as abigail used to be a prostitute. john left for a year after that, causing a rift between him and abigail, as well as him and arthur. even after john came back, arthur never fully forgave him, jealous of the life john has with his son and feeling betrayed his brother temporarily left the gang.
1898. as the van der linde gang travels throughout the grizzlies looking to settle down, they pick up some new members, one notably being micah bell, an incredibly hot-headed outlaw who saved dutch's life in a bar one day. overall, his presence was not received well, and the only person who actually liked him was dutch. hoping to find a big enough score to buy land and settle down, they traveled to blackwater. while arthur and hosea searched for a bit safer, calmer approach to get the money (scamming rich people in the real estate business), micah bell had convinced dutch to rob a ferry full of riches. arthur and hosea were hesitant, deciding to not partake and just do their own thing. things quickly escalated on that ferry job. many members and people were killed, john had got shot, dutch killed an innocent woman in cold blood, and arthur and hosea barely managed to come in time to save them. it was suspected to be a set-up.
with 'dead or alive' bounties hanging over their heads, the van der linde gang fled into the harsh, snowy mountains. their principles from the very beginning of the gang, taking from the rich and giving it to the poor, were long gone. morals and values had no meaning anymore.
the beginning of the end.
present day [beginning of the game]
"by 1899, the age of outlaws and gunslingers was at an end.
america was becoming a land of laws...
even the west had mostly been tamed.
a few gangs still roamed but they were being hunted down and destroyed."
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"listen to me. when the time comes, you gotta run and don’t look back. this is over."
at its core, this story is about redemption. even after you have done so much bad, can you ever be redeemed? do the good things you do outweigh the bad? does righting your wrong-doings even matter in the end?
...does bad karma catch up to you, regardless if you try to change or not?
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"people don't forget. nothing gets forgiven."
if you're reading this and haven't played read dead redemption, i strongly suggest it. it is very fun, the characters and world are so fleshed out and well written, the story keeps you on your toes, it's just a great experience. it's funny, it's sad, it's frustrating at times. truly, i do think that this game is a masterpiece.
arthur morgan has been the only video game character who's made me cry over and over. and that doesn't happen easy to me. his character is so beautifully written and real. his story is deeper than what it seems on the surface, and the more you play and analyze the game, the better the story gets. that's why i felt so inclined to write all of this. that's why he is my king, and that's why the silly game about cowboys has changed my life.
anyway, yap session over, if i made any mistakes forgive me.
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