As Red Dead Redemption II progresses, players are likely to see the personality and mannerisms of Dutch Van Der Linde change. Dutch is the leader of the gang, meaning he must keep his wits about him as he leads the gang into battle and plans robberies. He is by no means a stupid character — far from it — but there is a noticeable change in Dutch.
As the story progresses, Dutch can be seen making mistakes and killing people who would otherwise not need to be killed. In fact, it could be argued that the gang's problems all start because of Dutch.
10 Shooting Heidi McCourt
The heist in Blackwater is what caused the Van Der Linde Gang to go on the run. While the gang was not able to complete the ferry heist, the detail that is mentioned the most is how Dutch shot an innocent woman. The woman, named Heidi McCourt, was what caused the Pinkerton Detective Agency to track the gang as much as it did.
During the mission 'Enter, Pursued by a Memory', Javier Escuella says he witnessed the death and that Dutch killed her in a bad way. It is probably the earliest seen change in Dutch's character — an event that happens before the game begins.
9 Going Against The Pinkertons
The Pinkerton Detective Agency was hunting the gang down because of the botched Blackwater ferry heist. Instead of going into hiding, Dutch still attempts to commit robberies and crimes to finance a ride to Tahiti. The agent after them, Andrew Milton, even walks into their camp and tries to intimidate the gang.
Even after this, Dutch does not go into hiding. The gang instead tries to rob the St. Denis bank. And Dutch wonders how the Pinkertons are able to track the gang down so easily.
8 Orders Assault On Braithwaite Manor
The Braithwaite family took Jack Marston from the gang in revenge for helping out the Gray family. In revenge, Dutch leads the gang to the Braithwaite Manor and attacks the place. As if the gang needed anymore attention, they also burned down the manor.
At the end of the attack, they did not even get Jack back. The gang finds out the Jack is being held with Angelo Bronte in St. Denis. The silver lining for burning down the mansion is that one less faction is hunting the gang down.
7 Killing Angelo Bronte
Speaking of Angelo Bronte, Dutch also kills him. Dutch plans to attack Bronte's mansion, which he does. The gang attacks the mansion from the river and take Bronte hostage. As the gang leaves the mansion, Bronte regains consciousness and begins to insult Dutch.
This sends Dutch into a rage, where he begins to dunk Bronte's head under the water. This causes Bronte to drown and Dutch throws his body overboard. An alligator eats the remains of Bronte in front of the gang, leading to the gang members who witnessed it to be shocked.
6 Wanted To Leave John In Prison
Following the failed bank heist in St. Denis, John Marston is arrested and sent to Sisika Prison. Dutch does not want to rescue John, as Dutch thinks that John has turned into a traitor. Despite his orders, Arthur and Sadie go so Sisika Prison and rescue John from his captivity.
John's return to camp angers Dutch, who realizes his gang members went against his wishes. This also leads to a noticeable decline in respect between Arthur and Dutch. Despite this, John still helps out with the gang and around the camp.
5 Strangling Old Woman
When some of the gang gets stranded on Guarma, Javier also gets captured by the Guarma military. This causes Arthur and Dutch to try to rescue him. Dutch gets helps from a woman named Gloria, who leads the two through caves found on Guarma. Gloria pulls a knife on Dutch at the end of the cave and demands more money.
This causes Dutch to disarm the woman, but he also strangles her. This causes Arthur to become concerned, wondering why Dutch would do that. It is also noticeable that Dutch keeps changing his story about why he murdered the woman.
4 Shooting Cornwall
The Van Der Linde Gang has been terrorizing Cornwall ever since they robbed from his train. Fairly enough, Cornwall has also been hunting down and attacking the Van Der Linde Gang as well. This finally comes to an end when Dutch, Micah, and Arthur meet Cornwall in Annesburg.
Dutch shoots Cornwall, killing him. Cornwall was also a huge investor in the Pinkertons, causing them to attack the gang members as they escape from Annesburg. That is one less enemy to worry about at least.
3 Lies About John's Death
As if poor John could not catch a break, Dutch leaves him for dead while robbing the military train. John is shot and falls off the train, with Dutch saying that John is dead. It turns out that John was not actually dead.
John makes his way back to the camp, telling the other members that Dutch was lying about his death. This causes the members to go into two factions, with Micah, Javier, and Bill supporting Dutch. At least to Dutch's credit, maybe he legitimately thought that John had died.
2 Did Not Stay Hidden
After his gang fell apart, it would be assumed that Dutch would live out a quiet life. He did not and instead went on to form another gang. Dutch even teams up with Micah and were somewhat friends before John, Charles, and Sadie hunt down Micah.
After everything Dutch had done during the game, he would be hunted down by law enforcement. This does come back to be his downfall in the first Red Dead Redemption. John is able to hunt down and kill Dutch, bringing an end to his criminal life.
1 Shoots Micah Bell
Dutch and Micah were very close before the gang fell apart, so it would only make sense that they would continue to be somewhat close. As it is revealed, Micah and Dutch were planning to team up before John and Sadie ambushed Micah. Dutch came out of a cabin and was ready to kill John.
After some convincing, Dutch turned his gun and killed Micah. While fans most likely loved this, it seems weird to kill the person who is somewhat responsible for the Blackwater ferry heist and most of the events of the game.