smearp

[smearp]

"my pa used to say, you look into the fire long enough, you can see the whole world pass by"

[smearp]

ig abigail really wanted to play dominoes

[smearp]

Biblical references in RDR2 analysis

Red Dead's quests contain references to many pieces of literature, one of them being the bible - one of the first quests we see with a unique name is in chapter 1 - "The aftermath of Genesis".

Genesis, being the first book in the old Christian testament, tells the story of a perfect world being created and how humanity destroys it by discovering sin. Immediately after, in Exodus, we are introduced to the story of the Israelites' slavery in Egypt and how they were delivered to safety by the hands of a higher power.

In RDR2, we see some similarities to these stories in the way Dutch and his gang view the world; the west being the perfect world, destroyed by growing civilisation that consumes their freedom.

Throughout the entire game, the gang does their best not to give in to this new world, and they constantly look up to Dutch as their saviour, an idea he reinforces by constantly asking them to have faith in him and claiming to have some sort of a genius plan that none of the gang members could understand.

The next biblical reference is the quest "who is not without sin", which is a twist on the biblical sentence "he who is without sin", a sentence that was said as a warning - unless you haven't sinned in your life, do not condemn others for their own sins.

This warning has a similarity to Arthur's point of view on the world - he deems himself as a bad man, which leads to him rarely judging other people for their actions.

It also has a similarity to the way the gang as a whole behaves - they kill and condemn others for actions they deem to be immoral when in realiry they themselves are committing similar crimes.

Another interesting one is "the sheep and the goats", while the quest revolves around herding sheep, the actual phrase is about helping the needy; those who have compassion and will help the needy will find salvation and those who won't will be dammed.

In my opinion, this can be referenced back to RDR in two ways; the first being Arthur's change versus the rest of the gang, as the title does mention one sheep and multiple goats, Arthur is the only one who ends up making a real change in his world views and behaviour, and ends up actually helping those in need as well.

It could also be viewed as the way the gang views themselves, backed up by Dutch's famous quote, "we save fellers as need saving, feed 'em as need feeding and kill 'em as need killing"; they view themselves as the sheeps in a world of goats, the only ones to truly act in a righteous way.

Another quote we see that relates to the gang's view of themselves is "blessed are the peacemakers", which repeats itself a couple of times both in rdr1 and rdr2.

It references the peacemakers being set apart from the rest of the world, since they're the children of god; the way they act and their way of resolving conflicts is above all, and they should actively teach their way to others.

This quote not only correlates directly to my previous explanation of the way the gang views itself, but also on how Micah views himself, as he quotes this sentence to Arthur at the beginning of the quest; he sees his ways as superior to the other members of the gang, and he constantly tries to sway both the gang members and Dutch from their own path to his own agenda, a mission he eventually succeeds in and brings the gang to an early demise.

The last one is "blessed are the meek". The beginning of this quote is again a guideline on the behaviour of people; guiding people to not assert themselves over others in order to further their own agenda.

Dutch immediately comes to mind doing the exact opposite of what this quote suggests, the entire gang being built on him collecting people who would not survive on their own and giving them shelter and purpose as long as they adhere to his values.

However, Arthur also comes to mind, being the exact opposite of Dutch by the end of the game, which is backed up by the craving on his grave if he dies with high honor; "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" Arthur did not have a desire to control other people or to impose his way of living on others, and while he didn't believe it, high honor arthur did act in a righteous and good way, his good morals being what eventually caused the tear between him and Dutch.

This is all of course, just my take on these mission names, most of them don't directly correlate with what happens in the actual missions.

Also, I'm not well versed in the bible, these are my conclusions after researching these quotes, so please feel free to add to this post and correct me if i misinterpreted any of these!

[smearp]

the way charles and arthur act like an old married couple after only knowing each other for half a year will forever have me in a chokehold

[smearp]

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Very Serious Game which raises serious questions.

The most important, obviously, is 'do you think Dutch and Hosea explored each other's bodies?'

[smearp]

Was there ever a second rat?

The discovery of Micah being a rat has created some clarity and understanding, both for the players and the gang members themselves. However, according to agent Milton, Micah only became a rat at the beginning of chapter 6, which doesn't explain the chaos of the previous chapters and led to the theory that there was a second rat.

From the moment of John's recovery, even before the gang's downfall, Micah suggests that John has changed and Abigail is poisoning him against the gang and Dutch specifically, an idea that Dutch also repeats twice ("I swear this woman is poisoning him against me" and in Guarma he tells Arthur that John and Abigail are the only ones who seem to be benefiting from the situation).

At the same time, on missions with John, his loyalty to Dutch is very clear. Up until John's release from the prison, he idolises Dutch in a way similar to Arthur's while also dealing with his own hardships. As for Abigail, her son and the man she loves are her priority, she doesn't necessarily doubt Dutch, she just worries about the consequences his actions will have on John.

The role of the "second rat" was just Dutch's ego and Micah's feeding of it - Dutch has a constant need to be right, to be worshipped, and to have the upper hand, ever since Blackwater Micah was doing just that.

Dutch was fueled by the need to hit civilisation fast and hard, as a form of rebellion against it - Arthur and Hosea discuss the fact that they had a safer lead they were working and Dutch was too caught up in the excitement of the boat robbery to see it.

We see it again in Colter; Hosea warns Dutch that Leviticus Cornwall is a force they can't handle, only to be shrugged off.

After the train robbery had been pulled off and the gang had made it to horseshoe overlook, Dutch's ego had somewhat recovered, and I believe that if Cornwall hadn't caught up to them in Valentine, it would've somewhat delayed Dutch's descent to madness.

However, time and time again, Dutch challenges forces stronger than him (Leviticus, the Braithwaites and the Grays, Bronte) only to fail. Which then causes him to try and make a bigger move, to save his ego and keep up the gang's faith in him.

In reality, even without Micah helping the pinkertons, as long as he was feeding Dutch's delusions and as long as Dutch listened - the gang's demise was only a matter of time, Micah being a rat only expedited the process.

(note: Dutch's character is absolutely fascinating, and I can talk about him all day long, I love that manipulative little man)

[smearp]

"would you just look around you?

this world has its consolations"

[smearp]

Dutch's downfall (contains RDR2 spoilers)

I've seen a lot of debate on Dutch's behaviour when John meets him on Mount Hagen, why was he there? did Micah's words make him realise Arthur is truly gone?

Personally, I believe that in order to try and understand that scene, we need to look back at the moment of Arthur's death - Dutch stops Arthur from getting to his gun, and seems convinced tha Arthur is a traitor, he looks at him with anger and disgust.

But as Arthur keeps on talking, his expression softens and turns into sadness and regret, as he realises what's happening.

For a while, he's been consumed by his ego, his ideals, and his need to be right, and Micah has been feeding into his needs, standing in Hosea's shoes, except Hosea was keeping Dutch grounded, while Micah derailed him.

In this moment, he gets some clarity. He looks back and forth between Arthur and Micah in what seems to me like disbelief, However, he cannot handle the fact that he was wrong, that his actions caused his son's death, so he runs.

When he meets John on Mount Hagen, he tells him he's there for the same reason as John, meaning that he planned on killing Micah all along, since there's no doubt that John is not there to join forces with Micah, He bought Micah's trust with the Blackwater money, and was intending to kill him all along, John's arrival probably just quickened the process.

So, why did Dutch shoot Micah after he tells John, "Arthur's been dead a long time now"? Ego. I believe that Dutch viewed Arthur and the rest of the gang members as "his", at least to some degree he saw them as his belongings, Micah already hurt his ego when he killed Arthur and when he made Dutch lose his morals, the fact he was boasting about it reignited Dutch's anger.

We can see the same happening with Annabelle and Colm, and with Bronte and the trolly station - Dutch doesn't like it when his ego is hurt and he is not the one with the upper hand.

[smearp]

Micah Bell character theory (contains spoilers)

(disclaimer: I hate Micah like everyone else, this analysis was made so I can hate on him more efficiently)

After replaying the game a couple of times, I've come to realise that Micah's story is a lot more complex than just betraying the gang - his betrayal of the gang was a lot more gradual and is deeper than him just being selfish or money hungry;

He was raised by his father, which was also an outlaw, but unlike the Van Der Linde gang - his father was a ruthless criminal, if you explore his camp in strawberry, there's a piece of newspaper describing a gruesome crime Micah executed with his father.

Even though he joins the Van Der Linde gang, he is not fully a part of them - starting at chapter 1 and continuing through the entire game, he is constantly antagonised by the rest of the gang members.

He is a horrible person, but he does try to fit in with the gang on some occasions (ex. he asks Mary Beth in a polite way to dance, he tells Arthur he wants a friend in his side quest in chapter 4)

I believe that Micah's intentions weren't as evil at the beginning of the game, he saw the way the Van Der Linde gang ran and hoped to find people he can trust, and a group of women to idolise him, only to realise that his morals don't align with the gang's.

However, not only did he not have a want or a need to change, but he saw Dutch's way as flawed - giving up money for the sake of the gamg's safety, taking in children and women and running in a big gang.

I think he believed, at least to some degree, that his flattery to Dutch and talking "sense" into him would eventually bring the change he hoped for in the gang, and he would finally fit in, however, no significant change was made (prior to Hosea's death) and he was getting frustrated.

Micah was always money hungry as well, his first loyalty was always to gold if you explore his strawberry camp you'll also find Dutch's bounty poster, I believe that he either considered turning Dutch in for the money or he carried it with him from before joining the gang, and he idolised Dutch and kept the poster.

By the beginning of chapter 5, Micah realises neither of his goals will be fulfilled - the money in Blackwater is unobtainable and the money from the Saint Denis bank is deep in the sea, so when the pinkertons reach out to him, he chooses his first loyalty - his gold.

He kept Dutch by his side because, at this point, he was very malleable and his only access to the Blackwater money.

He is by all means an evil character, but he is also a very well written and interesting one, and while Dutch was slowly descending into madness, he was descending into a deeper evil.

[smearp]

Who the hell is Leviticus Cornwall - framing analysis

An interesting forshadowing detail that I've noticed in this quest - at the beginning, Hosea objects to Dutch's idea to rob Cornwall, and while him, Arthur, and Dutch all stand in their own respective corners, in a triangle-like shape, the way the conversation is framed by the camera shows Hosea on his own or between Arthur and Dutch's silhouette.

When Dutch is speaking, he is either shown by himself as well, or with Arthur by his side.

However Arthur is never shown on his own, he is always attached in one way or another to Dutch, and it only changes after Hosea gives up the argument.

This feel like forshadowing for the future of their relationships, this way of framing happens again in Chapter 4, when Hosea opposed Dutch on taking revenge on Bronte, they ask for Arthur's opinion, and he takes Dutch's side, even though he agrees Hosea's decision is the rational one.

It's also a further demonstration of the power dynamics between these characters;

Hosea, being Dutch's anchor, is not worried about opposing him while Arthur, who is viewed both by Dutch and by himself as a tool to fulfill Dutch's needs, is not able to stand on his own against Dutch at this point in the game, he is completely loyal to him and believes in Dutch as if he's a higher power.

[smearp]

blessed are the peacemakers

I've been seeing a lot of discourse about this quest, and the main consensus seems to be that Arthur was at least somewhat abandoned by the gang - since no one came to his rescue, but I think some important points about this quest were missed.

"Arthur asked Micah and Dutch to meet up with him after the meeting"

"No one came looking for him"

While both of these are true, I think we need to take into consideration a few things;

First of all, Arthur is a wanderer, he's known to be out of camp for weeks on end, and you can hear camp members comment on it constantly if you reply to them when they're on guard duty.

Second of all, after the quest is over, if you don't go and meet Bill in town for the next quest, you'll get a camp interaction with Dutch, where he apologises and Arthur questions him on what happened after he got taken, to which Dutch says they just calmly left.

Third of all, Arthur got back to camp in a matter of hours, the quest takes place at noon and Arthur gets back to camp at sunset.

Given all of these, I think we can assume that Dutch and Micah thought that Arthur saw Colm just leaving with no fuss, assumed they were safe, and wandered off to do his own thing, there was no reason for them to worry since he was gone for less than a day and Colm didn't give them any reason to be suspicious.

it happens fairly early in the game and I think Micah's grip on Dutch wasn't nearly strong enough to make him abandon Arthur.

of course I might be incredibly wrong but this is my interpretation of what happened in this quest.

[smearp]

"I was the prized pony once,

but let me tell you, this life, this way, well, we’re the last, I reckon, and we ain’t long for it”

[smearp]

the gang

[smearp]

saint denis

[smearp]

See the sky about to rain.

[smearp]

rdr2 characters as all 22 major arcana tarot cards :) casually posting here too like i didnt share them everywhere. working on minor arcana swords rn

[smearp]

He's so silly☹