Red Dead Redemption 2’s main campaign is a long and winding story told through over 60 hours of gameplay, and it is filled with symbolism. Each chapter of the campaign sees the Van der Linde gang set up camp in a new part of Red Dead Redemption 2’s massive game world. Rockstar included hundreds of subtle conversations and interactions between the different gang members at these camps in order to make them feel alive and dynamic.
Most players won't see half of these easily missed character interactions during a single playthrough of Red Dead Redemption 2. By playing through a second time after completing the story, however, players will perhaps notice that some of these camp interactions foreshadow events that have yet to happen in the game.
One of these subtle camp interactions is going viral among Red Dead Redemption fans on TikTok, thanks to a post made by rdr.outlaw. The clip shows a conversation that players can overhear in camp between fan favorite characters Hosea and Lenny, in which they are discussing what they would like to happen to them after they die. Hosea mentions that all he would like is to be buried alongside friends, and Lenny then agrees, saying, “I don’t think it matters more than that.” This interaction foreshadows the fact that the gravestones of Lenny and Hosea can be found next to each other later in the game.
If the player character, Arthur, is nearby while this conversation is going on, then Hosea will call on him and ask how he would like to be buried. Arthur will at first claim not to care about that kind of thing, but will then give a surprisingly poignant response about wishing to be faced towards the west, so he can see the sunset and “remember all the fine times we had that way.” This character moment is indicative of Arthur Morgan’s cold external persona but soulful internal thoughts.
The west symbolizes the glory days of the Van der Linde gang, and Arthur sees both of these things falling further away as the game's story progresses. Red Dead Redemption 2's different endings are dependent on the player's honor level, and the ending unlocked with the highest honor has Arthur looking out over a sunrise, rather than a sunset, which many fans have taken as a symbol of his redemption and how he had changed for the better.
When an important character in RDR2's story is killed, a gravestone for them can often be somewhere in the game's world, but luckily not all of Red Dead Redemption 2's Van der Linde gang share this fate.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.