Highlights
- Mary-Beth's relationship with Arthur was vital for his development, as she listens to his struggles and dreams of a different life, foreshadowing his desire for redemption.
- Lenny's death and the gang's falling apart contribute to Arthur's change in outlook on life, fueling his desire to do what is right.
- Abigail's loyalty and sneaky actions, such as stealing Dutch's key, encourage Arthur to stand up for what he believes in and ensure the safety of the women in the gang.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is often regarded as Rockstar’s most detailed piece of work yet. From the endless possibilities in gameplay and the attention to detail in the story and side missions, the game allows every player to feel like a true cowboy. But with the gameplay and story comes its biggest strength: the redemption of the beloved Arthur Morgan.
But his redemption couldn’t have been reached without the events that transpired, as well as the guidance and betrayal he experienced throughout the story. Not one member of the gang goes unnoticed, and all have their own personalities and history, which all work together to make Arthur’s story, at its core, emotional and extraordinary.
10 Mary-Beth
Mary-Beth’s relationship with Arthur was vital for his development. In camp, Arthur is able to chat with Mary-Beth, where he admits that he feels “out of control” and “crazy” for his recent actions. She will always hold him to account, but handles it with grace and kindness.
She also is one of the few gang members to express throughout the game that she dreams of a life outside of being an outlaw and, whilst many other characters laugh at this, Arthur listens and wishes her well. This foreshadows his eventual desire for redemption and the events where he helps anyone he can to get to safety.
9 Lenny
As one of the younger gang members, Lenny consistently felt he had something to prove, and looked to Arthur as a father figure. Just after Lenny is shot during the bank robbery, Arthur and Charles are the only gang members who look back at him, even in the hysteria.
Lenny’s death is a quick one and happens in the midst of chaos. Arthur doesn’t have time to process Lenny’s death, but he most definitely had some PTSD and guilt in the back of his mind. He wanted to protect Lenny and he wasn’t able to. That, combined with the events of Guarma, grieving for other fallen gang members, his tuberculosis diagnosis, and the gang falling apart, helped him change his outlook on life.
8 Abigail
Abigail's loyalty ultimately encouraged Arthur to stand up for what he feels is right. She is surprisingly sneaky, which is highlighted when she gives Arthur the key to Dutch's chest which she stole. She could have kept that to herself to share among her immediate family with John and Jack, but she valued Arthur.
Whether playing as low or high honor Arthur, he will always look out for and care for Abigail. In one of the earlier missions in the game, Arthur will reprimand John for the way he has been treating Abigail and Jack. Arthur values loyalty and has a kind soul underneath his hard exterior, and it's for the sake of the women (specifically Abigail) that he tells Dutch he "insists" on letting them free from the camp to ensure their safety.
7 Sadie
Originally taken into the gang as a recent widow, the player's introduction to her is when she is in an extremely vulnerable state, but she grows into a strong-minded and independent woman. Arthur watched this transition in real time and encouraged her along the way.
Sadie would always speak her mind to anyone, which would have increased tensions in the camp. Sadie supported Arthur the whole way through his growth and, despite not taking on a stereotypical female role in the story, made sure to reassure him, stick by his side, and fight with him until the very end. Her loyalty helped Arthur gather the strength to do what he felt was right.
6 Hosea
Hosea was like a father to Arthur: he raised him from a young age and taught him all there is to know about the outlaw life. When Hosea meets his tragic end during the bank robbery (an incident that many had expressed discomfort with originally), Arthur clearly struggles to live without him. His death was also a huge contributing factor to Dutch's extreme behavior. It wasn't the sole reason, but Hosea was someone that Dutch trusted, and they were like family.
Arthur mentions to Charles that he misses Hosea's "wisdom", indicating that Hosea not being around allowed Dutch to become irrational and selfish, characteristics that Hosea fought against. Arthur understood this and knew that Hosea would never encourage anyone to behave in that way, further solidifying his stance against Dutch in the end.
5 Jack
Although Abigail and Jack are often spoken about as a package, Jack's character alone is another reason why Arthur changes his ways. Arthur reveals to Eagle Flies in one of the later missions that he had a son called Isaac, who was brutally killed in a home robbery. Arthur sees his son in Jack. He carries guilt from his own experiences and wants to ensure Jack's safety, even if it means standing up against someone who raised him.
In the final mission where Abigail had been taken by the Pinkertons for questioning, Tilly rescues Jack, and Micah convinces Dutch not to even try and save Abigail, even for the sake of leaving a young boy with no parents (as John was presumed dead at this time). This fills Arthur with fury and is his absolute final breaking point in terms of his loyalty to Dutch.
4 Charles
From the beginning, Charles and his decisions were made with a strong link to his moral code. He constantly reminds Arthur throughout of "right" and "wrong" actions, and will hold him to account if he sees him do anything unnecessary.
When made aware of his death, Charles tells Arthur "you still have time to make amends", and that he has the chance to "do something better" before the time comes. Charles is also the reason why Arthur helps Eagle Flies, and both Arthur and Charles are disgusted when Dutch uses the Indians for personal gain. Charles' humbleness and kindness help Arthur see the truth in the end, but also keeps him grounded throughout.
3 Micah
The Gang were known for helping the people who needed it the most, but Micah was never interested in that, and would hurt anyone he had to in order to get his way. Once Micah gets closer to Dutch and helps him with the decision-making in the gang, he tries his best to make everyone believe John is working with the Pinkertons. Whilst Arthur never believes this, he becomes increasingly frustrated by Micah throwing accusations around.
When it's finally revealed that Micah is the rat, Arthur says "it all makes sense now", and blames him for the gang getting to this point. Micah's cold personality caused so many deaths and tragedies, which makes Arthur muster up all the strength and energy he has to fight and confront Micah at the very end.
2 Dutch
Dutch's extreme actions and disregard for gang members ultimately opened Arthur's eyes to see who he really was. Arthur realizes that he either never saw Dutch for for who he really was, or Dutch had drastically changed throughout his journey after he leaves Arthur to die in the factory.
After pleading with Dutch to ignore Micah's demands of leaving Abigail behind in the last mission and being ignored, Arthur musters up all the fight he has left in him to bring Abigail and other members of the gang to safety and confront Dutch once and for all. Dutch's betrayal of Arthur changed his outlook on his own life, but also his past actions, which motivates him to help as many people as he can during the time he has left.
1 John
John and Arthur's relationship is complex but brother-like. As they were both essentially raised in the gang, they feel the most loyalty to Dutch as he is like a father figure. However, with there being no positive end in sight, Arthur realizes that, if he can do anything before he dies, he wants to make sure that John and his family can escape and live happily away from danger.
Ultimately, Arthur sees John as his little brother, so with the gang falling apart, paired with Arthur's Tuberculosis diagnosis, his relationship with John is really what ultimately gives him the strength to help them escape, even if it means dying by himself.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.