#guess who'e replaying rdr2

[pinkysberg]

i think it's interesting that red dead redemption 2 opens by setting up this dichotomy between dutch van der linde and colm o'driscoll. we see the ways in which they contrast quite early, but what we see even earlier is the ways in which their gang members contrast.

the o'driscoll that jumps arthur, once you have the ability to interrogate him, will fold instantly. no further beating required. you simply ask, and he will give up information. his loyalty to colm o'driscoll and his gang was fickle. then, when you see how colm treats his gang members, it makes sense. he clearly doesn't respect them, and that's why within chapter 1 not one but two o'driscoll's (barn jumper and kieran duffy) fold on their loyalty to their gang without much push at all. in fact, kieran also reaffirms this idea that he hardly knows the o'driscolls and he even hates colm.

dutch would know this. they have a history, which this chapter makes sure to relay, so dutch would be privvy to the way colm operates and treats those around (or under - in a hierarchal sense) him. he would also know what it yields. he affirms this when he talks about how many gang members colm goes through, how low the standards are for the o'driscolls and how impersonal their dynamic is. in contrast, we see the way dutch treats those around him. he seems to care for them and their well being, insists upon their safety. but we know retroactively that perhaps, this wasn't truly who he ever was. he's self serving, which this chapter also establishes through subtle nods like his calls for the gang to stay with him, or the subtle reflex to put himself before the group when speaking of charles smith's necessity to the gang.

the contrast between dutch and colm only really strengthens this idea of it being a facade for me. especially as we are told they have history, both from his own mouth and arthur's. with time spent around colm, both amicable and antagonistic, dutch has come to understand how colm works and how he doesn't work. and he responds accordingly.

colm and the o'driscolls are really a pretty minor antagonist, so it makes one wonder why they're the first one we're introduced to and struggle with the longest. their impact on the story is tangible but in comparison to the pinkertons, leviticus cornwall and dutch van der linde himself, they pale in comparison. but the contrast between dutch and colm, the o'driscolls and the van der lindes, in retrospect calls dutch's character into question early.