Highlights
- Red Dead Redemption 2 is more of a community story than its predecessor, introducing players to the Van Der Linde Gang and their journey through different locations.
- Hosea is a standout character in the game, with impressive depth and a significant role in the story. His demise solidifies him as one of the game's unsung heroes.
- Hosea served as Dutch's right-hand man and anchor in the gang, and his death has a profound impact on Dutch's character, leading to his descent into madness and ultimately becoming a liability for the gang.
While 2010's Red Dead Redemption is largely about one man's desperate effort to leave a life of crime behind, its sequel, the aptly-titled Red Dead Redemption 2, is far more of a collaborative affair. Players are immediately introduced to the major players in the Van Der Linde Gang, and are invited to follow them on their journey through New Hannover and beyond, sequentially moving from place to place as part of Dutch's ever-elusive 'plan'. The gameplay and progression in the 2018 sequel can be cumbersome, but the story and characters make it one of the most rewarding experiences of last decade.
Some Red Dead Redemption 2 characters are familiar to fans of the first game, like Bill, Uncle, and Javier, but others like Arthur and Hosea are new to the series, and quickly find a place in the lore with their impressive depth. Hosea has a big role to play in the story, but his presence is more than just window-dressing, and his demise solidifies him as one of Red Dead Redemption 2's most unsung heroes.
Hosea is One of Red Dead Redemption 2's Brightest Sparks
Each person in the gang has a unique personality, from Sadie's vengeful, venomous, but easy-to-root-for aura to Charles' wholesome, kind, and altogether decent nature. It's the reason why the group is so memorable, because the interactions they have are unique as they themselves are polarizing. Hosea is one of the more likable characters, being a charming, past-his-prime outlaw who seems to have mellowed somewhat in his old age, preferring a quieter and easier means to break the law. It was Hosea and Dutch's chance meeting that provided the seed for the gang to expand over time, bringing Arthur into the fold and growing from there.
Hosea was Dutch's right-hand man and one of his most trusted confidants, so when he is gunned down in the street by Andrew Milton of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, players lost a great character. Dutch lost a stalwart friend, and with it his sanity. It's subtle, but there's sufficient evidence to suggest that Dutch's grip on his position in the gang is reliant largely on Hosea's presence throughout, as it all unravels in Hosea's absence, with Dutch listening a little too much to the manipulative Micah Bell.
Dutch van der Linde is Unstable, but Hosea is his Anchor
The Dutch that is presented at the beginning of Red Dead Redemption 2 is very different to the one at the game's end, and radically changed from the one who meets his fate in RDR1. He's ambitious, exhibiting a strong sense of leadership that makes him easy to follow into the most dubious of schemes and encounters, but that ambition turns to gullibility and outright madness in the latter stages of the game. He is noticeably more on edge and paranoid when he and Arthur arrive in Guarma, but the changes can be traced back to Hosea's tragic death at the heist gone wrong in Saint Denis.
As well as being a beloved personality in a game known for excellent character development, Hosea was the pivotal pin that kept the Van Der Linde Gang afloat. When he's removed from the picture everything begins to fall apart for Dutch, who spirals out of control, quickly becoming a liability for the gang and eventually a major thorn in John Marston's side during the events of 2010's Red Dead Redemption. Hosea was the glue that kept the rag-tag outfit together, though the tragic tale of the Van Der Linde Gang is one of the finest ever told in gaming.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
