Red Dead Redemption 2's player base remains active and excitable. While few secrets are likely left to be discovered in Red Dead Redemption 2, players are still enjoying the experience and thinking about its story in new ways. One example calls attention to a parallel between Red Dead Redemption 2 and the original game via a scene featuring a line of dialogue that's mirrored.
A Reddit video uploaded by MelodicSatisfaction9 features a clip from both Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2. While the context of each scene are different, both lead to a similar line of dialogue. In the first clip, John Marston responds to a question for his name with the response, "I never had a name, mister." In the second clip, Arthur Morgan responds to a request for his name by saying, "IÂ don't have a name."
Comments on Reddit thread are filled with jokes, speculation, and general thoughts on what the parallel quotes could imply. The jokes regard each protagonists' nom de pleurs, fake names given at different parts of the game like Rip Van Winkle and Tacitus Kilgore. Some speculation questions if the quote is meant to reference the Dollars Trilogy of Western films, which followed a protagonist that was known as the "Man With No Name" played by Clint Eastwood.
At its core, this is likely just a bit of cool dialogue that fits both protagonists' demeanors. They're both outlaws of sorts and neither wants to be sharing their "real" name, lest they leave a record of their travels. Story-wise, it also captures Marston and Morgan's anti-hero nature. They'll have lived and died, and the world will forget their names.
One question that's interesting to consider is whether the similar lines of dialogue were written knowingly by Rockstar. Both Red Dead Redemption and its sequel feature immense amounts of writing, never mind their releases being eight years apart. It's not something beyond Rockstar's writers, but given the off-handed and casual deliveries, it does seem like a coincidence.
Regardless of the intent, they're still interesting to consider. At their simplest, they're both representative of Western film dialogue and the anti-hero protagonists those films portray. But there's also a possibility that there's a deeper connection tying the two Red Dead protagonists together that could be fun to explore in a more thorough way.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
