List of Red Dead Redemption 2 characters
Red Dead Redemption 2, a Western-themed action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games, follows the story of Arthur Morgan, an outlaw and member of the Van der Linde gang. Led by Dutch van der Linde, the gang attempts to survive against government forces and rival gangs while dealing with the decline of the Wild West. Several characters reprise their roles from the 2010 game Red Dead Redemption, to which Red Dead Redemption 2 is a prequel.
The game focuses on Arthur's relationship with several of the gang members, including Dutch's best friend Hosea Matthews, Native American hunter Charles Smith, gunslinger Sadie Adler, experienced outlaw Micah Bell, and Red Dead Redemption protagonist John Marston. Outside of the gang, Arthur also encounters his former partner Mary Linton, as well as Native American tribe members Rains Fall and Eagle Flies. Throughout their adventures, the gang come into direct conflict with several opposing forces, including wealthy oil magnate Leviticus Cornwall, crime lord Angelo Bronte, Dutch's nemesis Colm O'Driscoll, and Pinkerton agents Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross. The game's epilogue focuses on John's relationship with his family—wife Abigail and son Jack—as well as the elderly Uncle, leading into the events of the first game.
Rockstar used motion capture to record the performances of the cast, as well as cameras to capture their facial reactions for later animation. The secretive nature of Rockstar's development processes meant that the actors and the director were unsure of the future of the characters during production; the writers continued to work on the script while the actors shot their scenes in segments. Rockstar wanted a diverse cast of characters within the Van der Linde gang and put particular focus on the individual stories behind each character. The relationships between the characters received praise from several gaming publications, and the acting has resulted in multiple awards and nominations, including a win at The Game Awards.
Creation and conception
Red Dead Redemption 2s recording sessions began in 2013 and lasted a total of 2,200 days, led primarily by motion capture director Rod Edge. The game features 1,200 actors, 700 of whom share the game's 500,000 lines of dialogue. In addition to using motion capture to record the performances, Rockstar Games also used cameras to record their facial reactions for later animation; a total of around 60 or 70 cameras were used. The motion capture sets were typically accurate to the dimensions of the in-game setting, which could be demonstrated in a previsualization format. The secretive nature of Rockstar's development meant that Edge and the actors were unsure about the future of the characters during production; the writers continued to work on the script while the actors shot their scenes in segments.Rockstar wanted a diverse cast of characters within the Van der Linde gang. Senior creative writer Michael Unsworth noted that the ensemble was advantageous when writing the narrative, as it helped to craft the story and added complexity to the game. The writers put particular focus on the individual stories behind each character, exploring their life before the gang and their reasons for remaining with the group. Unsworth felt that the gang is a "family" that offers "a sense of belonging and purpose", and analyzing each story—and each character's relationship with the protagonist—was important for the narrative. Several characters were cut from the game during development as their personalities failed to add to the narrative. Some lines of dialogue from the first game, Red Dead Redemption, in which gang leader Dutch van der Linde is described as an equitable leader, allowed the team to create a diverse group of characters in the gang. The developers often allowed the actors to take scenes in their own direction to develop the characters in new ways. The actors improvised some additional lines but mostly remained faithful to the script.
The team decided that the player would control one character at a time in Red Dead Redemption 2, as opposed to the three protagonists simultaneously in Rockstar's previous title Grand Theft Auto V, in order to follow the character more personally and understand how the events impact him. They felt that a single character felt more appropriate for the narrative structure of a Western. Nelson felt that the decision to limit to one protagonist shaped the other creative decisions of development. The conversations and sense of life within the gang environment were inspired by Grand Theft Auto Vs exploration of the lives of two of the game's playable characters while the player was controlling the other one. Rockstar wanted to grant agency to the player when experiencing the story of Arthur Morgan; Unsworth noted that Arthur is neither controlled by the storytellers or by the player, but by "a delicate push and pull between the two". The team attempted to give the player more freedom with Arthur's relationship with other characters; when the narrative begins, Arthur has already formed relationships with the other gang members, so the team aimed to develop them in a way for the player to respond appropriately.
Van der Linde gang
Dutch van der Linde
Dutch van der Linde is the leader of the Van der Linde gang. He is intently opposed to governmental control, valuing individual liberties and dreaming of an independent life. Dutch's goal is to fight back against a corrupt system of power, and he believes that enough violence will eventually change society's outlook. Early in the gang's history, Dutch took in street kids and orphans, teaching them how to read and establishing the importance of independent thinking and self-worth as they completed tasks for him. Around 1899, Dutch reluctantly begins to realize that his ideals are becoming unrealistic. Shortly before the events of the game, Dutch kills an innocent woman during a botched ferry robbery in Blackwater organized by Micah Bell, forcing the gang into the heart of a blizzard. With the gang, Dutch orchestrates a robbery of a train owned by oil tycoon Leviticus Cornwall. Once the blizzard clears and the gang moves camp to Horseshoe Overlook, Dutch is confronted in the nearby town of Valentine by Cornwall, whose hired guns attack the gang and force them to move to Clemens Point. Dutch befriends Leigh Gray, the sheriff of Rhodes, and is named one of his deputies. Meanwhile, the gang befriends the Braithwaite family, who are rivals to the Gray family. The two families soon discover the betrayal, and the Braithwaites kidnap Jack Marston. Dutch orders an assault on Braithwaite Manor, torching the building and slaughtering the family. The gang moves to Shady Belle and retrieves Jack from businessman and crime boss Angelo Bronte, who gives Dutch a tip that leads to an ambush. Dutch kills Bronte for his betrayal.After a failed bank heist forces them out of the city of Saint Denis, Dutch and several gang members become shipwrecked on Guarma, an island near Cuba. Dutch murders another woman, prompting Arthur to question his behavior. Dutch befriends revolutionary leader Hercule Fontaine, helping fight with his revolution in exchange for a ship back to the mainland. Reunited with the gang, Dutch begins to grow paranoid, refusing to rescue John Marston from prison; when Arthur Morgan and Sadie Adler rescue him, Dutch becomes furious. He later confronts and kills Cornwall, attends the hanging of his rival Colm O'Driscoll, and helps a group of Native Americans fight against the Army to distract the government from the gang. After most of the gang leaves, Dutch orchestrates the robbery of a train carrying army payroll but leaves John for dead and Abigail captured at Micah's recommendation. Dutch is later confronted by Arthur, who accuses Micah of betrayal. Dutch turns on Arthur and the newly returned John. Dutch intervenes in a fight between Arthur and Micah, and Arthur convinces him to abandon Micah and leave. In 1907, Dutch meets with Micah before John and Sadie attack Micah's new gang. In a Mexican standoff, Dutch shoots Micah, letting John finish him off, before leaving. During the events of Red Dead Redemption in 1911, John tracks down Dutch, who dies by suicide by backing off a cliff.
When Davis was asked to reprise his role as Dutch, he was unsure of the nature and importance of the role until production began; he first heard about his reprisal in mid-2013, and received about the first 100 pages of the script at the end of the year. As Davis is much taller than Dutch, the animators had to adjust the height from the motion capture performances to fit the character, including eye lines of other characters. Brent Werzner stepped in as a body double for some takes. Davis portrayed Dutch "in his prime"—as a charming, confident man—for about a year before playing the decline of the character. Unsworth felt that Dutch views himself not as a criminal, but somebody fighting against a "corrupt system of power that's been set up to divide and suppress". He noted that Dutch's "anarchic, anti-establishment rhetoric" was compelling for the gang to remain with him.
Davis felt that Dutch was motivated by a "noble drive", believing in the greater good; he described the character as a "principled man", but felt that he began to evolve into a villain particularly when faced against characters who were powerful figures in their areas, such as Catherine Braithwaite and Angelo Bronte. Davis felt that Dutch's downfall takes place when he witnesses the corruption of other people achieving the "utopia" that he wants for his gang and realizes that he does not want the same to happen to him. When Dutch does not have his best friend Hosea Matthews by his side, he is unable to hear criticism, according to Davis; when Arthur tries to help Dutch "see the light", Dutch begins to distrust him, instead turning to the "unwavering support" of Micah". Davis felt that Dutch's dream paradise would be at Horseshoe Overlook, in the game's second chapter, where he was constantly looking to the future. Davis says that Dutch "was a dreamer. The journey was more important than any arrival". Davis felt that, by the end of the game, Dutch was also seeking redemption for his mistakes, which is why he does not harm John or his family.
IGNs Jared Petty compared the strength and downfall of the Van der Linde gang to that of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch and the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Polygons Cass Marshall named Dutch one of the greatest characters of the 2010s, citing his complex development.