There’s no doubt that Red Dead Redemption 2 earned its high marks upon releasing, going on to become an instant classic in the eyes of many. The addition of Arthur Morgan to the story of John Marston, coupled with the new background information on Dutch and his gang, make for a beautiful Western game. However, that’s not to say it’s without its flaws.
No game is perfect, and this may go doubly so for any story with a non-chronological order. Red Dead Redemption 2, despite being titled as a sequel, is a prequel to the first game. As a result, this means that while the technology to develop the game made leaps and bounds forward, the more “modern” story bits of the game aren’t always going to line up with what was mechanically possible in the years prior. This is obviously where suspension of disbelief comes into play, but it’s still fun to see where the gears didn’t exactly line-up.
When looking at mechanics, it’s hard to really grasp when more modern games don’t have the option to slide, mantle, or roll. Older games did skip over some elements like this, such as swimming. Because the first game established John Marston can’t swim (due to the mechanic being absent in the first game), he’ll drown almost instantly when playing as him in Red Dead 2. However, that’s not the case for when he’s an NPC—recently, one player knocked John Marston in the water as Arthur Morgan and watched him easily swim to shore. The explanation here is obvious: a blanket mechanic for NPCs to swim when in water. That doesn’t make it any less funny though.
Red Dead Redemption is full of small details, from Morgan counting his bullets to eyes properly dilating when in the light, but that doesn’t mean every small detail. For example, in the first game, John Marston’s eye color is a very dark brown; in the second, though, they are notably lighter. They almost look like a light blue, though however one notes it, it’s definitely different between the first and second RDR games. Perhaps this was intentional; it’s not impossible for someone’s eye color to change over the years, possibly due to injury or genetics. However, it certainly doesn’t seem like it was, but it could have been something with the amount of detail possible in the two games.
In Red Dead Redemption 1, it’s established that John and Abigail Marston actually had two children: Jack and his younger, unnamed sister. She’s mentioned several times in the original game in various missions including one with Bonnie MacFarlane, one with Luisa Fortuna, one with Nigel West Dickens, and more. In the first game, there’s no gravestone or name provided for the child, with the only real piece of notable lore being that she died “years” after John’s time in the gang. Presumably, this means the character would have been born sometime between the end of the first game and the start of the second, so while not exactly canon-breaking, it does seem she is all but forgotten even during what is known of this time period.
With its nature as a prequel, fans were sure of one thing before ever stepping into the boots as Arthur Morgan: he wouldn’t survive the game. The very nature of the first game aside, Arthur Morgan is not mentioned whatsoever in Red Dead Redemption 1. This is despite the fact that he plays such a big role in the gang and has a strong, near-paternal relationship with John Marston. There’s some nods to tuberculosis in RDR1, but overall, there’s nothing indicative of Arthur Morgan ever actually existing. Once again, the explanation is somewhat simple: he didn’t. Arthur Morgan was made after RDR1 for RDR2, which means there’s really no nods to him in the older but more “present” game.
After Hosea’s death, Dutch is more vulnerable than ever. There’s notable signs of depression and his manic episodes, for lack of a better term, become more and more pressing. It’s during this time that Micah worms his way into being Dutch’s right-hand man, but given Micah’s relatively short time with the Dutch Van Der Linde gang, it’s still astounding when, time and again, Dutch trusts Micah over long-term gang members John and Arthur Morgan. Perhaps a case can be made for John to be slightly less trustworthy, he did step away from the gang for a while, but there’s no reason for Dutch to distrust Arthur as much as he does.
Micah, the rat, calls them the rats and traitors. It’s the most classic finger-pointing scheme ever, and it seems Dutch falls for it hook, line, and sinker. Sure, several years later, Dutch kills Micah yet clings to his various ideals by Red Dead 1, but it’s worth wondering why Dutch’s loyalty and faith were absent then.
Sadie Adler is never acknowledged by any law enforcement as a member of the Dutch Van Der Linde Gang, making her transition to a Bounty Hunter years later make more sense. Except it doesn’t, given that Sadie Adler led the gang for a short time period and was involved in some of its biggest events during her time with the gang. While Ross and his goons seem to know so much about Dutch, Arthur, John, and the various members of the gang, Sadie flying under the radar doesn’t add up.
That’s also probably why Ross doesn’t expect John Marston, at least in terms of in-game explanation, to hunt down Sadie. After John and Abigail’s wedding, Sadie and Charles Smith leave the outlaw life behind, venturing off in pursuit of their own stories. This would be a great character/time period to explore in a Red Dead Redemption 3 or spin-off, but it does beg the question how come they never return to see their old pal John Marston.
When it comes to the Red Dead Redemption franchise, there are four notable years: 1899, 1907, 1911, and 1914. The first year is Arthur Morgan’s time in the gang + then some, 1907 is when players are John Marston (and presumably, again, he had a daughter some time during this period that doesn’t matter when playing as him), 1911 is the events of the first game, and 1914 is when Jack Marston falls in line with his fathers (yes, plural). However, at the end of 1907, agent Ross is looking down at John’s ranch, well aware of who he is and foreshadowing the events of the first game.
This means that Ross just sat around for 4 years. There could be some explanation, presumably, such as trying to find intelligence on the other Dutch Van Der Linde Gang members, but otherwise, it seems like Ross just sits on his hands. It could be the scene is meant to take place in 1911, but given the nature of events here, that doesn’t really seem likely either.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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