Highlights
- Red Dead Redemption 2 's tragic storyline is filled with melancholy, with characters like Arthur and John finding finality in their actions to save those they care about.
- Jenny Kirk's death in the failed ferry robbery receives less attention than fellow gang member Davey's, leaving her character relatively underdeveloped.
- Red Dead Redemption 3 should focus on exploring the impact of losing loved ones, highlighting the potential of characters like Jenny.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game filled with the tragedy that happens because of and despite the Van der Linde gang's actions across the West. Much of the melancholic tone is often punctuated by quotes from both Red Dead Redemption games that give insight into how the main characters feel about themselves and the world around them.
Even if figures like Arthur Morgan and John Marston have tragic ends, there is a sense of finality since their last actions are based on saving the people they care about most. Their final moments are tinged with satisfaction that they accomplished their goals, but they are also the exception, as the stories of others like Jenny Kirk do not have any resolution because their lives were cut too short.
Red Dead Redemption 3 Should Pay More Tribute to Characters With Abrupt Ends
Jenny Kirk is one of the two Van der Linde gang members who die during the failed ferry robbery in Blackwater that sends the game's core cast on the run. The other is a man named Davey Callander whose body is shown in the game's first chapter.
Despite the two passing around the same time, Davey appears to have been given more attention in the game than Jenny. While neither character is mentioned all that much during the game's events, Davey appears to have at least been given an appropriate amount of attention from his fellow members as almost everyone had something to say about him and his brother. Except for Lenny and Charles, most Van der Linde gang members were mourning his passing, giving some insight into Davey's relationship with the group.
Although several characters in Red Dead Redemption 2 also have lines regarding Jenny, it appears the gang moved on from her death far quicker than Davey's, as not only any insights about her fewer, most do not speak as to what kind of person she was. The most substantial things known about her are that she "had a spark" according to Hosea Matthews, and enjoyed dominos according to Abigail.
While there is an acknowledgment of her passing by several gang members, it appears she had left less of an impression than Davey did as neither Lenny nor Javier, the two supposedly closest to Jenny, did not have much of anything to say about her. If anything, Karen appears to mourn her the most in dialogue since the conversation only begins with her mentioning that she had been thinking of Jenny, and in another conversation, she mentions missing her along with the Callander brothers.
People mourn the loss of someone close in ways that suit them best, but it does feel odd that while one member lost in the ferry robbery is fairly openly mourned for, the other feels comparatively sidelined. Considering Hosea mentioning her spark, there was potential to highlight her as someone full of life and potentially contribute to the gang's overall mood.
To rectify this, Red Dead Redemption 3 could focus more on intimate moments of the cast sitting with the loss of people close to them, better highlighting how a life someone filled with life can die just as easily as anyone else in a place as harsh as the Wild West. If this is with Jenny herself or another character, the concept of a character being a wild youth whose potential is cut short fits in with the game's tone.
Red Dead Redemption 2 does a wonderful job of exploring the characters in the story, showing another side of the first game's characters while meaningfully expanding the cast. This mentality could apply to a sequel if a theoretical Red Dead Redemption 3 follows the Van der Linde gang again. That said, there is still room to naturally explore different types of characters and potentially give a more optimistic perspective that tragically gets cut short.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
