Although Rockstar Games' Red Dead franchise has grown into a commercial juggernaut, the series of cowboy games has reached something of a crossroads. Fans have become so disappointed by how the publisher has approached its online modes in comparison to Grand Theft Auto: Online that they’ve even held mock funerals for Red Dead Redemption 2. Even though the future of the open-world game looks bleak as a result, it’s important to remember the narrative success that it achieved back when it first launched in 2018.
One of the driving factors of Red Dead Redemption 2’s single-player story was the presence of Dutch van der Linde. As the leader of a gang of outlaws, Dutch has played a part in almost everything that the player has done in both Red Dead Redemption games. His fast-and-loose personality coupled with an unwavering faith in his own plans have turned Dutch into something of a fan favorite. While his meme-status has been secured online, it’s worth looking at how many of his schemes have actually panned out.
Dutch’s Early Plans
Thanks to Rockstar’s commitment to creating fully realized worlds, Dutch’s history precedes the adventures that players have seen first-hand by several decades. Fans know from dialogue with other characters that Dutch’s outlaw schemes have been a part of his life since his early teens. Fueled by the death of his father during the American Civil War, Dutch committed himself to a life of crime in the 1870s. While a desire to make the word a freer place also formed part of his ideological awakening, Dutch’s early brushes with the law were defined by the absence of any cohesive way to attain his goals.
Dutch’s situation changed forever though following a chance encounter with Red Dead Redemption 2’s Hosea. Having attempted to rob each other, both con-men decided to join forces in an attempt to see their life goals and schemes come to fruition. From this footing, the pair sought to make as much money as they could. On this front, however, Dutch’s first known plan failed miserably. Even though the pair were able to trick the inhabitants of Ohio into buying $300 shares in a fictional company, they were caught and imprisoned shortly after.
The Lee and Hoyt Robbery
After Dutch and Hosea eventually freed themselves, the pair decided that their criminal enterprises needed to be more professionally organized. Even though the recruitment process was often left completely to chance, part of Dutch’s plans centered around the formation of his own group of outlaws. The Van der Linde gang, as it became known across the Wild West, would eventually include two of Red Dead’s beloved protagonists, Arthur Morgan and John Marston.
In some respects, this plan would prove to be successful for some time. Taking on an almost Robin Hood-like persona in the process, Dutch was able to charm his followers into following his every word. So much so that the gang’s first fully-planned out robbery on a Lee and Hoyt store was pulled off without a hitch. In 1887, Dutch, Hosea, and Arthur, were able to subsequently steal $5000 worth of gold before handing off most of it to the downtrodden.
Blackwater Ferry Robbery
By the start of Red Dead Redemption 2, Dutch’s schemes had become more daring in an attempt to fight back against the shrinking Wild West. During the opening of Rockstar Games’ sequel, players learn that the gang had recently attempted to rob a ferry in Blackwater City for roughly $150,000. While the specifics of the plan remain an enigma throughout the narrative, it becomes clear that Dutch’s actions directly led to the robbery falling apart - so much so that the gang’s faith in its leader is shaken for the first time. Dutch’s failures clearly impact his own self belief, too, as his plans become far more vague from this point onwards.
The Cornwall Train Heist
In an attempt to restore the gang’s faith in him following the Blackwater heist, Dutch next sought out a more attainable target. Following an encounter with Sadie Adler, and the Van der Linde gang’s arch enemies the O'Driscolls, Dutch formulated a plan to rob a Cornwall train. While the heist eventually proved to be successful, like most of Dutch’s schemes the key bullet-points of the plan itself quickly fell by the wayside in practice. Even though the dynamite that Dutch had bet on failed to detonate, Arthur’s quick thinking was able to secure the prize in the end.
Dutch vs Lemoyne
Even though the Cornwall train heist got the gang back on its feet, Dutch’s actions continued to haunt its members. During this time it becomes increasingly clear to the likes of Arthur and Hosea that their leader doesn’t really have an overarching master plan. Having angered the Pinkerton Detective Agency during the aforementioned robbery, Dutch is instead forced to look for increasingly opportunistic targets. Most of his schemes, like the rescue of John and Strauss, end up being more reactionary than planned as a result.
That is until the gang runs into the families of Lemoyne. In an attempt to rob both the Grays and the Braithwaites, Dutch formulates a scheme to play them off against each other. For a time Dutch’s plan appears to pay off, as members of the gang are made deputy law-keepers. Eventually, though, the Braithwaites see through the ruse and are able to kidnap John’s son Jack. The bloody rescue mission that takes place after ultimately enables the Pinkertons to catch up with Dutch. Forced to flee the area with one less member, this plan can also be viewed as a failure.
Dutch’s Saint Denis Schemes
While attempting to rescue Jack and his own reputation, Dutch strikes a deal with Angelo Bronte in Saint Denis. In exchange for releasing the young outlaw, the Van der Linde gang are forced to deal with a group of nearby grave robbers. Blinded by his own self-inflated ego though, upon completing this task Dutch is unable to move on. After receiving a tip-off from Bronte that the nearby trolley station is full of money, Dutch pours his efforts into another daring heist.
When the gang goes to enact its plans however, Arthur and Dutch discover that Bronte has set them up. Instead of being full of money, Saint Denis’ trolley station is protected by armed security guards. While the group is still able to escape from the scene, Dutch is visibly shaken by the ordeal. Sporting a head wound and suspected concussion, he vows to have his revenge on Bronte. While Dutch is able to ultimately kill his enemy, his increasingly rash actions and refusal to employ logic during them severely impacts the morale of the gang.
Instead of then fleeing, Dutch is determined to secure something for all the effort the gang has exerted. His subsequent hastily-planned robbery of the city’s National Bank, ultimately proves to be one of his biggest disasters. While things initially start off well, Hosea and Lenny are shot and killed. Following a bloody shoot-out, Dutch, Arthur, and a handful of other members are able to flee onto a boat. However, John is captured in the process, and the other gang members are forced to fend for themselves - none of which was accounted for in Dutch’s initial scheme.
Dutch’s Beaver Hollow Plans
After Dutch and the lost outlaws are able to reunite, the former’s behavior becomes even more paranoid. Having lost faith in Arthur and John, Dutch is unable to see the issues that are tearing the remnants of the gang apart. Even though his plans were never the grand schemes he envisioned them as, this subsequently pushes Dutch to become even bolder. Following a hastily arranged meeting with Leviticus Cornwall, for example, the gang’s adversary is killed by Dutch after his negotiation plans fall apart.
Plans to ensure that the O'Driscolls are dealt with for good also follow through to similar ends. Even though the gang’s leaders are executed in Saint Denis, Dutch and Sadie’s presence ensures that the Pinkertons are able to close in around them. Last ditch attempts to distract the United States Army away from the gang, through guerrilla warfare alongside the local indigenous tribes, also end with negative bloody results being achieved.
One final train robbery proves to be Dutch’s most disastrous plan in Red Dead Redemption 2's main story. Even though the gang is able to pull off Dutch’s scheme, John is left for dead and Arthur’s trust is eroded completely. Under the influence of Micah, who's revealed to have been working for the Pinkertons, the gang subsequently falls apart for good during its subsequent civil war. Having once been viewed by Dutch as his family, and one of his biggest life goals as a result, the gang’s demise could be viewed as his biggest failure of all.
Red Dead Redemption 2's Epilogue
Despite watching his family disintegrate because of his schemes at the end of Red Dead Redemption 2's main campaign, Dutch's plans remain focused on the same objectives for some time afterwards. Reuniting with Micah off-screen, the pair set out and successful retrieve the Blackwater Heist's booty in spite of the suffering it kick-started. Following an encounter with John and Sadie, however, Dutch has a change of heart. After realizing his mistakes and Micah's betrayals, he eventually allows the pair to leave with the money after killing the traitor.
Dutch's Red Dead Redemption Plan
This act doesn't redeem or set Dutch free, though, and in fact prompts his schemes to pivot dramatically. Still fixated by his desire to build a freer world, the one-time cowboy changes tact and enlists the services of several disgruntled indigenous Americans. Appealing to their desire to reclaim what had been taken from them, Dutch's new gang sets out to avert the wave of modernization that is bringing the Wild West to an end.
At the same time, during the events of the first Red Dead Redemption, John Marston is coerced by the Pinkertons to track down his former father-figure. Even though Dutch has caused John so much suffering, the outlaw's attitude towards his former portage sours upon learning of his quest. Between robbing banks and sowing general chaos in servitude of their larger plan, Dutch's new gang also sets out to kill John simply for sport.
On all counts, Dutch's final plan proves to be a just as much a failure. At his and John's final meeting, the former laments how he's always been unable to prevent the societal changes happening to the world, despite his best efforts and misguided sense of morality. Wishing to die by his own hands, Dutch slowly walks off of a cliff, bringing his schemes and plans to a final tragic ending.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for Google Stadia, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
