Red Dead Redemption 2 showcases the Van der Linde gang’s fall from grace and foreshadows the decline of its leader, Dutch, early on. There are rare moments during the game’s main story when players experience the Van der Linde gang’s successes, but the encroaching advancement of civilization often overshadows these instances. Though players enter the story during the gang’s last months, they can still witness moments where the group resembles a family more than a criminal organization. Unfortunately, Dutch van der Linde doomed the gang quite early on with his greed, paranoia, and dictatorial leadership methods.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is set in 1899 when the Wild West had finally begun to settle, and outlaws were no longer as widespread as they’d once been. Players take control of Arthur Morgan, one of the oldest members of the Van der Linde gang and Dutch’s most accomplished gunslinger. The game opens after a botched robbery in Blackwater. The gang is fleeing lawmen by cutting through the mountains and struggling to survive each day. Without a clear path forward, Dutch van der Linde begins to show his true colors and plans a new robbery, much to his gang’s despair. Unfortunately, this blatant disregard for his gang’s input only continues to spiral as time goes on.
Though Red Dead Redemption 2 has many robbery and shootout missions, the first players explore is a mission in the Grizzly Mountains, when the gang’s gunslingers attempt to rob a train owned by Leviticus Cornwall, a robber baron who made their fortune with the railways. Hosea Matthews and Arthur Morgan caution against this move but are ultimately overridden by Dutch’s charm and greed. As the leader of the Van der Linde gang and the primary antagonist of Red Dead Redemption, Dutch’s fall is absolute and unavoidable, but he begins to show his true colors in the game’s earliest missions.
Dutch’s Charm Turns To Cruel Manipulation In RDR2
Critics and players praised RDR2 for its storytelling subtleties, especially its dialogue and plot progression. Red Dead Redemption 2's Dutch is one of the most well-spoken characters in the game and appears reading books by his tent. Random camp events will often include Dutch walking up and preaching his ideologies to gatherings around the campfire. While these instances are a method for Dutch to influence and manipulate characters’ mindsets towards his own goals, he also uses familiarity with characters with little or no family to speak up. Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Lenny Summers, and Javier Escuella are often called “son” or “my boy,” and the gang is referred to as a family. However, these terms change as the money stops coming in and general happiness in the group fades. Dutch then begins to use his well-known rants about “faith” to guilt his gang into following orders blindly, despite his obvious failures as a leader.
Dutch Acts Like A Dictator To The Gang In RDR2
While RDR2’s Van der Linde gang is down on its luck, Dutch’s usually charming persona begins to transform. A failed robbery in Blackwater costs the gang several members and leaves the group stranded in the mountains. His plans to rob a train are strongly protested by Hosea Matthews and Arthur Morgan, some of the oldest members of the Van der Linde gang. It’s these interactions that reveal Dutch’s insecurities and poor leadership, as he swiftly questions their loyalty to the gang and accuses them of becoming soft. Before the gang rides out to rob Leviticus Cornwall’s train, Hosea Matthews makes a final plea for Dutch to call the robbery off, preemptively defending himself by stating, “look Dutch, I ain’t trying to undermine you”, but ultimately fails to halt the mission. Dutch’s expectation of blind loyalty and aversion to different opinions swiftly amounts to shifting blame from his poor instincts to others’ alleged disloyalty.
While Dutch’s harshness against Hosea and Arthur in Red Dead Redemption 2 is more blatant, the gang leader steadily becomes more bitter towards John Marston, the protagonist of the first Red Dead Redemption. As RDR2’s story progresses, John steadily improves as a father, husband, brother, and friend towards Abigail, Jack, Arthur, and the other gang members. Unfortunately, his newly arranged priorities bring Dutch’s wrath upon him. While John stands up for his family’s well-being and speaks out against Dutch’s plans, he is eventually left behind during the Saint Denis bank robbery and left for dead during a later train robbery. Though John survives both attempts on his life, Dutch continues to deny any part in these plots and blames the gunslinger’s lack of focus instead. The Van der Linde gang members who defect are those who frequently show sympathy and love to others, prioritizing their companions’ well-being over profit and defying Dutch’s perfect vision.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s Atmosphere Changes After Saint Denis
A popular theory in the Red Dead Redemption 2 community is that Dutch van der Linde’s instability and madness worsened severely after the trolley crash in Saint Denis. Players can hear Dutch complaining about his head injury several times during the remainder of the robbery, and his temper significantly worsens as the game progresses from that point. Hosea Matthew’s brutal death during the Saint Denis bank robbery also removes Dutch’s last source of impulse control and deals a significant blow to the gang hierarchy. His desperation to involve himself in Guarma’s civil war combined with the gang’s steady separation plunges Dutch into a mad scramble to regain control and status within a crumbling organization. His violent outbursts against Arthur and John eventually culminate into a tense standoff between the two and results in the Van der Linde gang’s complete destruction.
Red Dead Redemption 2 pivots the Western narrative to the outlaw’s perspective, allowing players to understand the flaws of lawful and unlawful lifestyles. Arthur Morgan has many opportunities to escape Dutch’s fate, but outlaw life and loyalty have ingrained themselves into his identity. Though Arthur’s attempts to redeem Dutch are ultimately in vain, Arthur redeems himself in the process. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Dutch van der Linde and his most loyal followers, who all die at John Marston’s hand in Red Dead Redemption. It’s unknown whether their story will continue in Red Dead Redemption 3 or whether Rockstar Games plans to pursue plans to develop a sequel or prequel for the outlaw franchise, but Dutch's presence is sure to loom large over the franchise regardless.