The fact that there have been calls in recent months for more Red Dead content from the series' fan-base is perhaps one of the biggest compliments that Rockstar Games could be given. During 2022 alone, rumors and speculation regarding a remake and brand-new installment have both swirled online. Even in the face of the seemingly leaked Grand Theft Auto 6, fans are still keen for more historical crime antics. All of which could be viewed as a testament to Red Dead Redemption 2's own cowboy-themed story.
Even though Red Dead Redemption 2's multiplayer legacy has been soured recently, thanks largely to its publisher’s alleged inactivity, the game’s single-player campaign remains one of the industry's gold standards. That's partly down to the fact that, at its core sits the tragic human tale of Arthur Morgan. In plenty of clever narrative ways, the jaded cowboy's life reflects the world that Rockstar set out to portray, playing an important role in the trajectory of each of its cautionary stories.
Inevitable Decline
Arthur Morgan’s life is so important to Rockstar Games’ cowboy-prequel that without him, most of its narrative would be greatly reduced from an impact perspective. One of the biggest themes that hits the hardest throughout Red Dead Redemption 2’s story like this, is the idea that the Wild West is inevitably going to end. On several occasions, human history has been defined by the end of an era and the subsequent dawn of another. The publisher's decision to explore that explosive process through the eyes of one of its holdouts is a significant design decision.
In a lot of often sad ways, Arthur Morgan’s story within Red Redemption 2 ends up tying-in perfectly with the ultimate fate of the environment he’s become accustomed to. With the relentless march of technology, the once lawless frontier is gradually modernized and brought under control. So much so that at its conclusion, Arthur feels like a metaphorical dinosaur within the newly reformed world. While it’s important to remember players can have an impact on the moral outlook of the character, his methods of engagement and way of life are far from normal by the game’s conclusion.
Things take an even more significant and tragic turn for Arthur toward the end of Red Dead Redemption 2’s main story. When the outlaw learns that he’s contracted Tuberculosis, his physical decline is all but guaranteed as well. While the disease wasn’t always fatal in the 1800s, along the changing US frontier TB ran riot without little resistance. Even though the Wild West and its cowboys would limp on for a while, players get to see the inevitable heartbreaking process play out through the physical degradation of the game’s main character.
Change Vs Resistance
It’s impossible to talk about Red Dead Redemption 2’s story of decline without examining how Dutch’s plans, and Arthur’s subsequent reactions to them, drive that narrative journey along. Throughout the cowboy adventure, Rockstar Games subtly proposes two different societal theories to its audience via its leading cowboys. One that suggests people are fated to become more of what they are in a crisis, vs another idea that proposes everyone can change with enough willpower and self-awareness.
In one corner of the conundrum sits the leader of Red Dead Redemption 2’s outlaw gang, Dutch van der Linde. A man who’s so afraid of the changing world around him that he slowly falls further down the rabbit hole into paranoia. It’s established that while Dutch had altruistic motivations in mind when he set out on his crusade, a willingness to inflict pain on his own terms was always a part of his world view. As the game’s story progresses, this theme becomes more extreme, to the point that it's hard to separate the man from the misery he’s reaped.
On the other side of the conflict though, is the aforementioned Arthur Morgan. Even though players can choose to direct him towards a life of crime, the opportunity for change is left on the table for most of Red Dead Redemption 2. In any eventuality, over the course of the game Arthur becomes acutely aware of the reality of his situation. Against the backdrop of a violently changing world, the cowboy realizes that his actions haven’t always been the force for freedom he’d hoped. Faced with this realization, Arthur makes a concentrated effort to be better, defying Dutch's entrenched stance in the process.
What makes Arthur’s role in this part of Red Dead Redemption 2 simultaneously significant and tragic is the fact that his moral metamorphosis doesn’t ultimately save him. Even though the cowboy is able to steer John Marston and his family towards a better path, Arthur still dies a painful and lonely death, much like the other cowboys who refused to change in the face of modernization. Weakened by tuberculosis, Arthur’s final moments are instead spent watching the sun rise over the declining frontier.
Arthur’s Broken Family
What makes Arthur's defiance against Dutch all the more poignant is the fact that the former considers the older outlaw to be his surrogate father. Having been orphaned at an early age, it’s established that Dutch took him under his wing. Imparting his ways, criminal methods, and free-thinking world views to Arthur in the process. As a result of this dynamic, it’s little surprise that family is a recurring theme throughout Red Dead Redemption 2. In a lot of respects, Arthur ends up being a physical embodiment of the idea that family doesn’t always have to be defined by blood.
Like most other facets of Arthur’s identity, Rockstar Games’ exploration of this thematic concept is defined by tragedy. For example, toward the end of Red Dead Redemption 2, players learn that the outlaws' surrogate family ultimately came at the expense of his biological son. Unable to free himself from the life of crime that Dutch had embroiled him in, Arthur could do nothing to prevent Isaac Morgan from being murdered by a thief. Hauntingly, the same kind of individual that Arthur had chosen to surround himself with.
Even the positive parts of Arthur’s life, when he’s surrounded by the ones he personally loves, are tinged with profound despair. Despite viewing each other as brothers, John was still able to simultaneously abandon the gang and betray Arthur’s trust, as just one example. These story beats have a clear impact on Arthur’s wellbeing, with a profound loneliness emanating from him at several points in the game. Ultimately, this comes to a dramatic head during Red Dead Redemption 2’s final single-player chapters, as Arthur is forced to fight back against most of the gang - setting the scene for his, and the game's, tragic ending.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.