When Red Dead Redemption 2 begins, the Van der Linde gang is already in decline. Although the aftermath of the gang's robbery-gone-wrong in Blackwater kicks off the prequel, it quickly becomes the least of their worries.

Over the events of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Redemption many of the Van der Linde gang members meet grizzly fates. Some die at the hands of the law and other outlaws, others are killed by their former friends as the gang's infighting tears it apart. A few, however, go on to lead surprisingly successful and peaceful lives. Here's a breakdown of the fate of each Van der Linde gang member.

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The Good - Made It Out Alive

Simon Pearson

Many of the gang's less prominent members were able to make it out alive and live relatively peaceful lives. Simon Pearson, the gang's cook, goes on to run the general store in Rhodes. He settles down again, but still keeps a photograph of the family he lost by the store's counter.

Mary-Beth Gaskill

Mary-Beth Gaskill ends up becoming a surprisingly successful romance novelist, under the pen name Leslie Dupont. She'll even give John one of her books, The Lady of the Manor, if the player finds her at the Valentine train station in the Epilogue. She's self-deprecating, describing her own work as "awful," but has one of the more peaceful endings of any Red Dead character.

Tilly Jackson

Tilly Jackson also makes it out practically unscathed, unlike her bloody departure from the Foreman Brothers gang. She marries a Haitian lawyer and settles down in a large house in Saint Denis, where John can also run into her in the Epilogue.

Reverend Swanson

Despite ostensibly being a man of God throughout the game, Reverend Swanson has a true change of heart after leaving the gang. He moves up north, becoming the minister of the First Congressional Church of New York.

Josiah Trelawney

Arthur Morgan finds Josiah quietly preparing to leave the gang late in the story. Although his fate is never spelled out in the Epilogue, but it can only be assumed he made it back to his family in Saint Denis.

Sadie Adler

Sadie Adler becomes a bounty hunter as seen in Red Dead 2's Epilogue. It may be a riskier path than some of the other Van der Linde gang members, but she's still alive by the end of Red Dead 2, and doesn't appear in the first game.

Charles Smith

Charles Smith helps John build his house and hunt down Micah in the Epilogue. He then leaves for Canada, where little else is known about his fate.

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The Bad - Killed By The Gang's Enemies

Lenny Summers

Lenny Summers is killed when the gang attempts to escape across the rooftops of Saint Denis after another robbery-gone-wrong. Lenny's death marks an escalation in the collapse of the gang, and losing Arthur's drinking buddy is one of the story's tougher moments.

Hosea Matthews

Hosea Matthews is also killed during the Saint Denis robbery. He is taken captive by Agent Milton, who shoots him dead in front of the gang. Without Hosea's influence Dutch's behavior becomes increasingly violent, leading to the deaths of several more gang members.

Kieran Duffy

In one of the most gruesome deaths Red Dead 2, former O'Driscoll Kieran Duffy is captured by his old gang mates and tortured for information about the location of the Van der Linde gang. He is then mutilated, decapitated, and sent back to the gang on horseback before the O'Driscolls raid Shady Belle manor.

Sean MacGuire

Sean MacGuire is killed in the Clemens Point Chapter when a sniper working for the Gray family in Rhodes shoots him in the head. Sean's death also leads Karen to become an alcoholic.

Karen Jones

Karen's fate isn't exactly clear. However, the letter Tilly sends to John in the Epilogue hints that Karen likely died of her alcoholism, unable to get over Sean's death and embittered by the collapse of the Van der Linde gang. Although indirect, she still appears to ultimately die as a result of the actions of the gang's enemies.

Leopold Strauss

Ruthless moneyman Leopold Strauss ends up having more of a backbone than players might expect. He is captured by the Pinkertons, and although he died in custody John reveals that he didn't give up any information on the gang.

John Marston and Uncle

In the events of Red Dead Redemption John goes is forced to hunt down some of the remaining Van der Linde gang members to protect his family from the US government. Although Jack and Abigail ultimately escape, the government raids John's ranch, killing Uncle and John.

The Ugly - Killed By Gang Members

The moment before Dutch falls in Red Dead Redemption

Molly O'Shea

Dutch's lover Molly is executed by Susan Grimshaw after she drunkenly claims to be the rat selling the gang out to the Pinkertons. It turns out later, however, that she was only saying that to spite Dutch, with Agent Milton confirming that Molly was not the rat.

Susan Grimshaw

Susan Grimshaw is shot by Micah Bell during a stand-off between the members of the gang, after Arthur claimed Micah was the rat. She died in the ensuing chaos as the Pinkertons arrived to arrest the gang.

Javier Escuella

Javier escapes with Micah and Dutch, but is eventually killed or executed in Red Dead Redemption 1. John Marston tracks him to Nuevo Paraiso in Mexico, and either shoots him or hands him over the government.

Bill Williamson

Bill Williamson makes it out of Red Dead 2 as well, but like Javier is killed in Mexico after John is forced to track the two men down. He is either shot by John himself, or Abraham Reyes.

Micah Bell

Micah Bell is shot by Dutch and John in 1907, after Sadie, John, and Charles Smith track him down. His body, however, leads the government to John, and inadvertently sparks the events of the first game.

Arthur Morgan

The player's honor determines the exact nature of Arthur's death. Ultimately he is either shot or stabbed by Micah, or succumbs to a combination of his wounds and tuberculosis. Charles buries him in Ambarino.

Dutch van der Linde

Dutch van der Linde lives until 1911, throwing himself over a cliff when John Marston finally has him cornered. His final line - "our time has passed, John" - proves true. Despite their promises, it isn't long before the government turns on John Marston as well.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.

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