In the original Red Dead Redemption, players take control of John Marston as he is forced to hunt down his former gang members from his Dutch Van der Linde days. So it was surprising when Red Dead Redemption 2 turned out to be a prequel, featured characters that weren't in the main game, and yet somehow they seem to have been spared by the Pinkertons/BOI and the fate met by so many main characters. Obviously, the worst offender for this is Arthur Morgan.
It's clear that Morgan was an important character to John, Abigail, and Jack Marston, so it's a bit of a glaring oversight that he's never mentioned in the first game. What this makes clear is that Arthur Morgan didn't originally exist in the Red Dead Redemption, being created solely for Red Dead Redemption 2. Nonetheless, this can be forgiven and chalked up to video game logic, as the character plays his role in the grand scheme of things perfectly. What isn't so clear is the fate of Sadie Adler and Charles Smith, two character additions which were well met but don't enjoy the same ride into the sunset as Arthur Morgan.
Red Dead Redemption 2: Sadie Adler
Sadie Adler isn't just one of the strongest female video game characters of 2018, but one of the strongest female characters Rockstar Games has ever made. She's a rancher-turned-outlaw who takes revenge on the O'Driscolls for the death of her husband, growing close to Arthur Morgan and John Marston both throughout the events of the game, yet despite arguably being one of the toughest, less "redeemed" characters in Red Dead Redemption, that's never really reflected in the game universe.
For some reason, Adler is never an official member of the Van der Linde gang, at least not in the eyes of the law. Every mention of the game foregoes her name, which is increasingly surprising given that she's responsible for their survival during the Guarma chapter of Red Dead Redemption 2. Furthermore, Charles Smith is named as a member on the run, so it's truly unclear as to why this may be. It could be because she is a female, so more attention was paid to Dutch, Arthur, and the like, but whatever the case, it worked to her advantage.
Sadie Adler's responsible, at least partially, for a ton of crimes, including but not limited to, breaking Marston out of Sisika Penitentiary, publicly mudering men, fighting Pinkertons, helping the Wapiti people, and robbing the US army payroll train. Yet somehow, she is able to become a bounty hunter, working closely with local law enforcement by the end of Red Dead Redemption 2, thereby contradicting a lot of the outlaw vs. civilization themes found throughout the games.
Many critics will note that Sadie Adler, unlike many core characters, doesn't have a redemption arc and never finds herself in a good place, yet that's not necessarily accurate. Adler never turns from her more serious, more brutal, and law-stretching ways, but she climbed out of her darkest pit. She's one of few characters who presumably make it out of this alive; with the very nature of the franchise suggesting Jack Marston will eventually meet the same fate as his father and Arthur Morgan, that's more than noteworthy (and a good place) for a Red Dead Redemption 2 character.
It's strange, from a story point of view, that she doesn't appear in the events of the first game, but that actually supports the idea that Sadie Adler found a way to support herself. However unlikely it is she remarried and returned to her way of life before the Van der Linde gang, it seems safe to say that her character somehow finds peace in the chaos.
Red Dead Redemption 2: Charles Smith
Charles Smith was a relatively new addition to the gang come Red Dead Redemption 2, but his fate is harder to reconcile. A 1907 newspaper notes various members of the gang who are considered at large (excluding Sadie Adler) and puts Charles Smith's name right next to Micah, Bill, Javier and John. Since the latter hunts down Javier and Bill, with Micah being dead come the events of the game, it is strange that John Marston never hunts him down.
Based on his farewells at the end of Red Dead Redemption 2, that's because there's a good chance Smith went north to Canada. This would place him beyond the reach of the newly-formed Bureau of Investigation; technically speaking, Javier Escuella was in Mexico, though. Escuella made a lot of noise, whereas Smith may have settled down and started a family. In so many ways, Smith is the foil to Micah Bell. The latter never lets his life go, while Smith has dreams beyond his current way of living. Smith may actually live out the dream carried on by John Marston, one that Arthur Morgan even once had.
As such, it's worth considering Dutch Van der Linde's final words: "Our time has passed, John." This so clearly foreshadows John's fate, but also the members of the gang. At this point, the majority of the members are dead, John meets his fate soon, and Jack's choices put him on this same path, painting a target on his back that he is the new enemy to be destroyed. Adler and Smith, boiling it down, are the only characters who seemingly get out alive by the events of Red Dead Redemption.
Of course, it's hard to say for sure as the franchise sets it self up to be that of a tragedy, meaning Charles Smith and Sadie Adler could have easily been shot down at some point, and the players just don't know it. That said, tragedies often have some character that make it to greener pastures, really just to highlight how bad a tragedy is, and presuming that Smith and Adler eventually have a good life pulls on the heartstrings considering characters like Morgan and Marston simply do not.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
