Rockstar Games has once again captured the attention and admiration of many games around the world, as many of us had been glued to Red Dead Redemption 2 since its release. Red Dead‘s world is captivating, addictive, yet infuriating all at the same time. Who keeps us, as players, grounded in a world that will continually punish us? That would be the elite gunslinger/outlaw Arthur Morgan. Arthur’s journey towards retirement from the life of an outlaw is action-packed, with plenty of hilarious moments littered among the tragic ones. In one moment, Arthur Morgan’s life was changed forever. So let’s slow down and take a moment to know this wonderfully naive outlaw.
The Legendary Gunslinger Arthur Morgan…loyal to the end.
SPOILERS FOR ARTHUR MORGAN’S STORY IN RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED…
#10. Arthur’s Journal Provides Interesting Insights
Right when players load up Red Dead Redemption 2, they notice something interesting about Arthur Morgan. Arthur carries a journal/notebook around with him in his satchel and details his inner thoughts and fears within its pages. While we most often see Arthur writing in the journal during cutscenes and after missions, many players may not think anything of it. However, you can actually access the journal at any time you control Arthur throughout the entire game.
Oooh Mary Linton…we’ll get to you later.
For someone who has very little formal education and who is consistently mocked for not being able to see the bigger picture, Arthur is quite literate and a decent illustrator. If you can actually locate the journal in your satchel, I highly recommend that you give it a read. There are many useful facts about legendary animals and treasure, but it goes beyond just tips for in-game tasks. Reading the journal gives the player a better idea of who exactly Arthur Morgan is. His writing style is elegant, raw, and filled with emotion that we swear he should be writing a book instead of being an outlaw. How about “The Lemonyne State Survival Guide”? Yeah, that’s why I haven’t written a book yet.
#9. Arthur Was Quickly Becoming His Father
He may have been a great outlaw…but his son passed him by miles.
Arthur Morgan’s family history, especially during his childhood, is definitely a troubled one. Born in 1863, Arthur was the child of Beatrice and Lyle Morgan. Not much is known about Beatrice prior to her death during his childhood, but Arthur always spoke fondly of her in conversation. On the other hand, his father Lyle was a well-known outlaw and thief, not even making any attempt to hide his life from his son. His father was arrested for larceny in 1874, only lasting three years before dying in front of Arthur’s eyes. Arthur mentioned in multiple occasions that his father was “no good” and his death “should of come sooner.” One year later Arthur joined his new adoptive fathers, Dutch Van Der Linde and Hosea Matthews, to become the man we now know.
Arthur makes it very clear that he had a sour relationship with his father, possibly due to the fact that he didn’t want to grow up in that life. Arther often ponders if this life is exactly what destiny chose for him and even if he had a choice in the matter. You don’t have to look very deep to see that Arthur had become exactly what he had feared, an outlaw who had no problems for robbing and killing if it meant that it would have made a better life for his gang. Despite his feelings towards his father, he does still keep his picture bedside two decades later and still wears his father’s hat.
#8. The One…The Only…Mary Linton
Oh Mary…how we could have ended up with you. First introduced in the stranger mission “We Loved Once and True I”, she asks Arthur for help in saving her brother Jamie from the ever-fanatical cult Chelonia. Over the course of our many missions involving Mary, we learn that she is essentially Arthur’s “one who got away”. Arthur and Mary were engaged to be wed earlier in their lives, but because of Arthur’s activities with Dutch Van Der Linde her family did not approve and it was called off.
Love is ever so fleeting…
When the player first meets Mary, we learn that she had gone and married a nice man who widowed her after dying of phenomena. As the missions progress, Arthur and Mary begin to rekindle their lost love for each other. By the final time we last see Mary, she propositions Arthur to run away with her, leaving her dysfunctional family in the process. Mary becomes one of the driving forces for Arthur to leave Dutch’s Gang, but his last robbery goes horribly wrong..stranding Dutch and Co in the islands. With Mary back in the picture, it seemed like Arthur was going to turn everything around…even if he was still blinded by loyalty.
#7. Arthur Gives Parenting a Second Chance
Jack…you’re father was a decent man. Not in this game though.
If we learned anything from the first Red Dead Redemption, it was that John Marston is definitely not the greatest parent. Don’t even make me get Abigail, she will rant my head off all the way down to Armadillo. The subject of John’s parenting is a sore subject between Abigail and John, which even causes John to doubt himself. The many moments throughout the main game where John is indisposed, Abigail pleads with Arthur to take Jack out. Arthur, despite his previous history with parenting, reluctantly agrees on a few different occasions, such as teaching Jack how to fish.
While this seems like just a bland side mission involving the small child that doesn’t know any better, we are actually able to see the results of Arthur’s labor in Red Dead Redemption 2‘s epilogue. When Red Dead becomes Farming Simulator 2018, we learn through small interactions between John and Jack that Jack really looked up to Arthur. Jack even goes as far to claim that Arthur taught him everything he knows about hunting, fishing, and living off of the land. What a way to make one hell of an impression on your fellow robber’s child.
#6. Fastest Gunslinger in the West
This entry is just a quick fun observation. In a quick comparison to the protagonists of Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Revolver, John Marston and Red Harlow, something stands out about Arthur Morgan. There are not nearly as many quick-draw challenges against Arthur (most notably Jim Boy Calloway as well as the other legendary gunslingers and Micah) when you look at it. For example, while Marston has been considered an alright shooter, he was challenged quite often in the streets of Armadillo. Hell, Red Harlow was an essential nobody in the gunslinger world and Red Dead Revolver even had an entire quick draw contest to prove it (man, we miss you Jack Swift).
Did you think we forgot about you Red?
While the ability to judge someone’s skill as a gunslinger is incredibly difficult without being one yourself, we are able to reach the conclusion that Arthur Morgan is the best gunslinger in Red Dead Redemption 2. Throughout your adventure with Dutch’s Gang, you can ask many of your comrades and they will comment about your skills when it comes to marksmanship. This goes further down the line even to complete strangers, so we know it isn’t just to be pleasant. Plus, if you look at it from a technical standpoint, the improved mechanics of Red Dead Redemption 2 over the previous two games definitely plays a factor. Way to tilt the odds in Arthur’s favor Rockstar.
#5. Arthur Was Once a Married Man… and Father
While we did briefly touch on Arthur’s love life with Mary Linton early in the article, we need to go back once again There is an interesting aspect of Arthur that makes him different from the majority of Rockstar’s other protagonists, as we don’t explore m
If he only he had $10…
ultiple partners throughout the game. Why? Arthur is a relatively handsome and burly man, plus many of the ladies (and gents!) like a rough outlaw for a lover. Well, Arthur had a relationship once before that was dear to him…and it ended badly.
During chapter 6 of Red Dead Redemption 2‘s main storyline, we have a bit of optional dialogue between Arthur and Native American chief of the Wapiti Tribe Rains Fall while out picking herbs. While telling Rains Fall about his worries regarding Dutch Van Der Linde meddling in Rains Fall’s tribe and the army, Arthur discloses that he was married once before. Sometime after breaking things off with Mary, Arthur met a young waitress Eliza, which resulted in a sexual relationship. Eliza gave birth to their son Isaac, raising him with a little help from Arthur. The problem was, Arthur was still heavily active in Dutch’s gang, so Arthur would rarely visit them. On his final visit to their home, he discovered two crosses out front. Come to find out, robbers murdered Eliza and Isaac for a mere $10.
#4. Weirdly Obsessed with Loyalty
If we had to recognize and somewhat ridicule Arthur Morgan for one thing, it is his fierce loyalty toward Dutch Van Der Linde and the rest of his compatriots. While Arthur begins to have plenty of doubts in Dutch’s plan (especially once Micah is in his ear), he naively follows Dutch until the very end. While Arthur starts to bite back against Dutch and Micah, he does it out of the bottom of his cold heart. We don’t see Arthur picking any major fights until he decides to save John and his family, to help them escape from the gang.
Easily the best mission in the game…going fishin’ with your dads.
Now the real question is, why does Arthur not leave sooner? Well if the last robbery in Saint-Denis actually succeeded, then Arthur was planning on running off with Mary. Damn, Guarma! However, if we analyze the roots of Arthur’s loyalty, it has to be because he does admire Dutch and Hosea. These two outlaws essentially “saved” Arthur from his life with his father Lyle, becoming his surrogate fathers. After being raised by this two for over twenty years, that are some heavy bonds to break.
#3. Arthur Makes a Major Redemption Arc in Chapter 5
Now I have obviously hinted at it through this entire list so far, but now I just need to flat out say it. Arthur Morgan doesn’t exist in the first Red Dead Redemption because he dies from tuberculosis before the game even ends. Sticking with the similar style from the original game, the main protagonists die and you later control someone close to them in the epilogue and free roam. While John definitely isn’t as good of a shot as Arthur, he still can be very capable in the right hands.
Now the money question is, when did he contract TB? Well, initial thoughts were through some of the prisoners on Guarma in Chapter 4. Incorrect. Arthur contracted the disease way back in Chapter 2 while collecting a debt for camp member Leopold Strauss and beating debtor Thomas Dowes essentially to death (coughing on him in the process). While this isn’t explicitly stated through the course of the game, it can definitely be picked up through dialogue. With his new diagnosis, Arthur begins standing up and helping innocents with disregard for the greater good of Dutch’s Gang. There is still plenty of bloodshed along the way, but Arthur shows this new side of him in a conversation with a nun after helping Captain Monroe during negotiations. It truly is a heart-wrenching scene, and you can watch it here.
Sometimes even Arthur needs to look towards faith.
#2. Arthur is Lost to the Sands of Time
Now that I have brought people down with that last entry, let’s keep that train of sadness chuggin’! So while this entry is a bit unfair and speculative against Rockstar, I wanted to include it anyway. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the only time in the franchise where Arthur is even mentioned, so if you think about it, Arthur’s story is essentially lost in the hourglass of time. I want to give Rockstar a little bit of leeway, as back in the development of Red Dead Redemption I hardly doubt they already had Arthur as a character in mind.
While this is just speculation on the internet, the only time Arthur is remotely referenced is in the original game by John Marston while he briefly tells his story to Bonnie. However, he only mentions that a “friend” helped him escape the gang life. Rockstar knew what they were doing. To make matters even more unfair, in research for this article I found a sweet little bonus easter egg that you can find during the epilogue of Red Dead Redemption 2 If you go to a certain location on the map, you will encounter a stranger who invites you to sit down at his fire as you talk about bounty hunting. Perfect place to tell you about the story of legendary bounty hunter Red Harlow. Harlow 3, John 2, Arthur 1.
You’re starting to look old and weary John.
#1. Arthur’s Entire Journey Changes Nothing
Let’s keep this list in the somber tone that we have carried on the last few entries. So, taking our final look at Arthur’s journey, it fills us with deep sorrow that our amazing protagonist completed this journey of semi-self redemption and for it all to mean nothing. Sure, in the context of Red Dead Redemption 2 it saved the lives or John, Abigail, Jack, and Sadie Adler to name a few. However, in Rockstar’s grand plan of the two core games, Arthur’s efforts are fruitless. Yes, folks, I am indeed talking about the ending of Red Dead Redemption, John Marston’s final stand against the federal agents.
You used to be a pleasant young kid…now you just look like an asshole.
How could it be bleaker? Well, Arthur’s actions don’t even seriously affect his own story. In the short term, first Arthur is unable to put Micah out to pasture as he becomes drunk with power (at least John and Sadie do). Second, Dutch still escapes with all of the lives he has lost and or ruined, even if he has a small inkling of the charismatic Dutch we used to follow blindly still inside of him. Lastly, even Jack is unable to escape the brutal cycle that is becoming an outlaw as he avenges his father’s death in the original game’s epilogue. I mean, Arthur, John isn’t always going to be there to clean up your messes.
Arthur, it sure as hell has been one of the best journeys in gaming that I have had in a long time. Many thanks to everyone involved in the development of Red Dead Redemption 2, including Roger Clarke’s fantastic vocal performance. Arthur was one hel of a character and I have no doubt that I will be replaying your experience over and over to just keep the experience fresh. Arthur, it is time now for you to shuffle of this mortal coil. Until next time, bru.
“Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst For Righteousness”
Written by Rhutsczar
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