As anyone who has ever played a Rockstar Games title can attest, the developer is fond of its secrets and mysteries. Whether it's Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto, or otherwise, there's always plenty to be found off the beaten path and even more to find beyond that. Years were dedicated to the Grand Theft Auto Mount Chiliad mystery, for example, and that's just one of the many.
Perhaps one of the most persistent, frustrating, and biggest questions to rear its head in Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 is the identity, role, and capabilities of the Strange Man. He has appeared in both games and clearly has some deeper themes and motifs than that which first meets the eye.
The Strange Man in Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption players first meet the Strange Man in the side-mission "I Know You" where John is tasked with meeting him in three different locations. The man acts vaguely toward man, asking him to perform two tasks: visit a man about to cheat on his wife and then a nun who is trying to raise charity money. Players are then presented with a choice: stop the man and donate to the nun, or encouraging the man and robbing the nun.
At their next encounter, a hill overlooking Beecher's hope, the Strange Man manages to make John angry who in turn opens fire on him. He simply vanishes in response, right before John's very eyes. Interestingly enough, the Strange Man denotes this location as a "fine spot," which is the spot that John, Abigail, and Uncle are later buried. And it's also clear that there is something more to the Red Dead Redemption character, as he clearly knows about John's past and even has passive dialogue to insinuate more than he explicitly states.
The Strange Man in Red Dead Redemption 2
Perhaps because of the Strange Man and John's relationship in the first game, he's not around much in the prequel, but players can find traces of his existence. It appears that he owns a shack in Lemoyne, which contains various mentions of Armadillo, Herbert Moon, and New Austin, all of which have suffered some type of atrocity. Visiting as Arthur Morgan will only find an unfinished painting of the Red Dead Redemption character.
As John Marston, on the other hand, will see this painting become complete, with John taking note of it and how the Strange Man appears in the mirror. A character in New Austin will call the Strange Man the Grim Reaper, while an owner of his image in Herbert Moon will simply say he has the picture because he likes it. In other words, while the two would not officially meet for some time, it's clear that there's more than just a strange encounter at play here, in both Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Who is the Strange Man?
Putting together an identity for the Strange Man is all up to interpretation; it's possible that he is some manifestation of John's morality, God, the devil, the grim reaper, or some strange combination of them. What is seen is that he doesn't put much weight into his own identity, stating that he has forgotten his name and that John has "forgotten far more than me." This implies, at least on some level, some greater purpose in RDR, especially in conjunction with the fact that he is an "accountant." This reveal comes at John's future grave site, which begs the question of what he is accounting.
The Red Dead Redemption missions that he sends John on revolve around the Ten Commandments and living a morale life - John can choose to murder the man (Thou shalt not kill) in a circumstance surrounding a man cheating on his wife (thou shalt not commit adultery). The nun is seeking charity when John could rob her (Thou shalt not steal). Further dialog about how often the Strange Man has been damned, how the Strange Man hopes his son is like John also beckon to other Commandments, so in short, the religious imagery is there.
That imagery is often entangled with death as well, with there even being a dead alligator beneath the Strange Man's hut, and of course, the Strange Man appearing to John at his grave site. The character model for the Strange Man is actually titled "mysteriousstranger," which could possibly allude to the Satanic figure present in Mark Twain's "The Mysterious Stranger." This identity, coupled with the presence of death, suggests that the RDR's Strange Man too is meant to resemble the devil. After all, even the devil can quote scripture.
Perhaps the most compelling piece of evidence in this Red Dead Redemption mystery are the number of shots fired at The Strange Man by John. He fires three shots, with his gun jamming on the fourth. Not only could this resemble Jack Marston being spared (with the bullets symbolizing the death's of John, Uncle, and Abigail), but it could also represent the Holy Trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
The Holy Spirit is often compared to and related to God's Wisdom; as such, perhaps this trinity goes deeper into John's relationship with Jack. It's possible the latter is spared due to his focus on books and studies, while the father and son relationship held between God and Christ is also found in Strange Man-John or John-Jack. Interestingly enough, though, Jack Marston eventually walks the same path as his father, so it's possible that this trinity-like relationship or analysis is flawed in terms of this for Red Dead Redemption.
That said, no one knows what becomes of Jack after the events of Red Dead Redemption. It's possible that, unlike his father, he was able to find redemption—though this is simple hopeful, and albeit unlikely, speculation. Whatever the Strange Man is, it's clear that his influence on the narrative comes from a spiritual, pseudo-religious standpoint, meaning that it is there for those to interpret as they see fit.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.