The central story in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas follows the return of Carl Johnson to his hometown of Los Santos. He comes back after years away to bury his mother after she was accidentally killed in a drive-by shooting. Once he's back, CJ almost immediately gets swept back up into gang life as he rejoins the Grove Street Family to help his brother (and gang leader) Sweet and friends Big Smoke and Ryder bring the gang back to its former glory.
As players move through GTA: San Andreas, they'll slowly turn Grove Street back into the kings of Los Santos. CJ and his crew bring the Seville and Temple families back into the fold after losing their loyalty while Carl was away. They also team up with the Aztecas to help wipe the rival Ballas off of the map. However, as they accumulate more power through CJ's exploits in GTA: San Andreas, Big Smoke and Ryder start to let it go to their heads.
This all culminates in Smoke and Ryder turning on the brothers and joining corrupt police officers Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski, along with several members of the Ballas gang, to get rid of Carl and Sweet. Players also learn at this moment that Big Smoke and Ryder may have been complicit in their mother's death, putting an even bigger rift between the former friends.
San Andreas: Why Big Smoke and Ryder Turned on CJ
Ryder's motivations for turning on the two friends he's known since grade school are pretty simple. Ryder's been annoyed at CJ since he came back to Grand Theft Auto's Los Santos. He considers himself a genius, claiming that he's "too smart for school," which leads to him being angry at Carl so quickly surpassing him in the gang's leadership structure. This sets up a fuse that is easily ignited the second Big Smoke tells him he'll make more money and have more power if they get rid of the brothers.
Big Smoke, on the other hand, requires a bit more explaining. Before the events of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Smoke wanted Sweet to come along with his plans to take over Los Santos through the drug trade. However, Sweet refused to let the Grove Street Family deal crack cocaine, believing it would tear the community apart. So, Big Smoke started up an alliance with the Ballas. Later, he would include both the Los Santos Vagos and Russian Mafia into the fold, which would help him build a criminal empire after the two brothers were run out of Los Santos.
At his core, Smoke's motivations are all about money and fame. In his dying moments, he tells Carl that everyone will remember his name and that he got "caught up" in the pursuit of money and power. Even after everything that happened, CJ seems to feel bad for shooting his former friend. Of course, that moment was fleeting as CJ is interrupted by Tenpenny, setting up the final moments of the game.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is full of complex characters like Big Smoke. It also gave fans a taste of what the series would start to become as Rockstar Games pushed further than ever in terms of realism and immersion. With Grand Theft Auto 6 seemingly on the horizon, it will be interesting to see what the development team can do next.