Two charismatic and morally conflicted characters have held the leading roles in Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2. John Marston and Arthur Morgan have both fought for a life in a civilization against them. In the case of a third entry in the series John’s son, Jack Marston, fits the role perfectly.
Jack was not only raised by his parents, John and Abigail, but by the entire Dutch van der Linde gang. As Jack grew up, he learned from the adults in his life and lived by the cowboy lifestyle for better or worse. As seen in the epilogue of Red Dead Redemption, Jack has clearly taken influence from his family and will likely carry on the cowboy way just like his mentors before him.
Jack Marston's Adoptive Family of Outlaws
Though Jack was first introduced to players in the original game, they are given a better glimpse of his upbringing in Red Dead Redemption 2. They see him born and raised within a group of outlaws fighting for their way of life. As a young child, Jack was innocent and reserved, but was very curious, and cared for his father’s crew who saw him as one of their own.
The protagonist in Red Dead Redemption 2, Arthur Morgan, had an especially close connection with Jack. The instances where Arthur would travel with Jack or go fishing with him helped humanize Arthur and showed the player that even though Arthur was the right-hand man to his criminal leader, Dutch, he was still able to see the innocence in the world and protected Jack’s innocence until the end. Arthur loved Jack like a son and went out of his way to help the Marstons escape the outlaw life once Dutch started becoming too violent because he knew that a child should be subjected to the chaotic life Dutch wanted. Jack did not know it at the time, but he would grow to idolize Arthur and his heroism.
In John Marston's Shadow
During the events of Red Dead Redemption, 12 years after the prequel, Jack has grown into a teenager and has become more aware of his father’s misdeeds. In this title, players are in control of John Marston, and the true nature of the Marston family is brought to light. There is a sort of awkward tension between Jack and his father, and it is amplified by their differing personalities.
As a protagonist, John is a bombastic outlaw who is uninterested in things such as literature and the up-and-coming world, while Jack is almost the exact opposite. Jack is often seen reading or talking about books, which frustrates his father because he is not nearly as educated as Jack. This frustrates Jack in turn because he is unable to connect with his father and is less inclined to do manual labor or participate in the rebellious and dangerous activities that his father is accustomed to.
Their relationship does improve as the game progresses, possibly because Jack sees that his father is attempting to right the wrongs of his past and John is attempting to learn and relate to his son. But everything comes to a head at the end of John’s story After eliminating his former gang, rescuing his family, and attempting to live a peaceful life, John is gunned down by the government agents he reluctantly worked for.
After seeing his father sacrifice himself for his family and his mother dying shortly after, something awoke in Jack. He was no longer an innocent young boy who barely had a voice, at the end of Red Dead Redemption Jack is a man on a mission. Like the men in his life before him, Jack vowed to get revenge for his family and did so by seeking out and killing the man who murdered his father.
Jack Fighting His Own Destiny
Jack always felt inferior to his father and his seemingly tough exterior. All Jack has ever seen growing up was rough riding cowboys who would do anything they had to in order to survive. And he knew that he was not as cold-hearted or as rough around the edges as his father, but that is partially why Jack Marston is such a unique character.
Throughout the entirety of Red Dead Redemption 2 the Van der Linde gang, mainly John, Abigail, and Arthur, are attempting to protect Jack and keep him away from the dangerous lifestyle they lead. As he grows up, Jack maintains his innocence, but this also leads him to feel reclusive and disconnected from his father.
Over the course of Red Dead Redemption, Jack becomes wiser and more aware of his family's less-than-noble past, but also sees that his father is attempting to lead an honest life. However, after the government that recruited John betrays him and threatens his family, Jack realizes that the world is not simply good versus evil.
But a corrupt society is not the only challenge Jack must face. During the epilogue of Red Dead Redemption Jack is a 19-year-old man and the year is 1914. The age of the cowboy has been on the decline for years and the Wild West is becoming modernized. Jack now lives in a world where the only way of life he has ever known is fading away, and his family has been taken from him.
Much like the previous protagonists, Jack would have a lot of moral struggles in Red Dead Redemption 3. With a blurred moral compass and no one from his past to guide him, Jack would truly have to find his way in the world and decide what is just. The world Jack lives in is not black and white, and he had to learn that the hard way. After killing his father’s murderer, he knows his life will not be a simple one.
John Marston may have not been a perfect father figure, but Jack looked up to him all the same. The true turning point in Jack’s life was choosing to follow in his father’s footsteps and do what he knew was right to redeem his family name, no matter the consequences that may follow. This complicated choice makes him an ideal protagonist for the next Red Dead Redemption game.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
