Characters / Red Dead Redemption - Van der Linde Gang

This is a partial character sheet for Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption II. Visit here for the main character index.

A list of characters from the Van der Linde Gang who debuted in Red Dead Redemption.

---

Leadership

Dutch van der Linde

Dutch van der Linde

"We have got something. Something to live and die for."

^{Click here to see him in Red Dead Redemption}

Voiced by: Benjamin Byron Davis

"This place, ain't no such thing as civilized. It's man so in love with greed he has forgotten himself and found only appetites."

The leader and founder of the Van der Linde gang. An anarchist Warrior Poet with a love of the nature and the frontier, Dutch saw himself not as a criminal, but a man fighting back against a corrupt system to liberate the Old West. His charisma and charm made him a father figure to much of the gang, especially John Marston and Arthur Morgan. Unfortunately, the pressures of leadership and the law's increasing scrutiny eventually broke him, and by 1911 his campaign of violence in West Elizabeth made him a target of the fledgling FBI.

---

• Abusive Parents: While he never had any children, he serves as a father figure to Arthur and John, having taken them in when they were boys. While he is affectionate and fatherly to them in early chapters, he steadily becomes more agitated and harsh towards them, culminating with abandoning them to die and ultimately shooting at them.
• The Ace: Is an intelligent, charismatic leader who's also a remarkably skilled shot. He's likely the one who taught John and Arthur how to shoot as well as they do (including possibly the dead eye skill), and in 1, he's able to shoot the binoculars out of John's hands despite John being on top of a mountain several hundred feet away.
• Ace Custom: In II has a badass pair of customized Schofield revolvers with roses engraved on them.
• Actually Pretty Funny: Uncle of all people manages to make him laugh by insulting him a couple times and scoffing at him.
• Affably Evil: In the beginning of II, he's genuinely kind to the majority of his gang, having accepted many lost, desperate people into his group and even acted as a surrogate father to several of them (such as Arthur, John, and Tilly). He also allows Reverend Swanson to remain in the gang despite the trouble he causes them with his alcoholism and opium addiction due to him saving Dutch's life at one point. However, with his eventual Sanity Slippage and his increasing paranoia of several members of the gang, he begins to resort to regularly yelling at several people and abandons Arthur and John several times when they were about to be murdered. By the events of I, he's notably Faux Affably Evil to John, being fairly polite and friendly to him as he attempts to murder him several times, before proceeding to needle him about the status of his wife and son when John refuses to return the hospitality. However, by the their last confrontation, he's back to Affably Evil. He throws his gun off to the side rather than continue fighting him, and speaks amicably and casually with John before he commits suicide.
• Agonizing Stomach Wound: By the time John catches up to him in their final confrontation in I, Dutch has sustained a possibly fatal gunshot wound to the stomach area of his abdomen that seems to have occurred from a bullet ricocheting and hitting him.
• Alas, Poor Villain: His death is one of the saddest moments in the first game. Since he knows he is living in a false hope and a Tragic Dream, he simply accepts that his era is over and commits suicide. It's arguably made even sadder with the context of II, as we truly see just how far he's fallen since the days of the gang.
• The Alcoholic: Implied to have become one by I. If the player searches his living quarters after he dies, there's a large amount of liquor present in crates and jugs.
• All for Nothing: By the end of his life, he realizes everything he ever fought for was meaningless, and that civilization and government taming the American West was inevitable.
  Dutch: We can't always fight nature, John. We can't fight change. We can't fight gravity. We can't fight nothing. My whole life, all I ever did was fight.
• All Love Is Unrequited: He starts taking an interest in Mary-Beth by chapter three, and can be seen very openly flirting with her. She doesn't return his advances, and is taken aback by them somewhat.
• Alternate Character Interpretation: In-Universe everyone finds themselves divided on whether Dutch was a good man driven mad by the situation and several bad decisions, or a bad man who due to the stress placed on him got tired of pretending. Sadie is of the former opinion while John is of the latter, though by the time of the first game he seems to have changed his mind. Even before the gang broke apart characters would have different opinions of him, with Uncle being the most skeptical of Dutch.
• All Take and No Give: A mostly consistent trait of his character, although one that is not immediately obvious. Dutch is Secretly Selfish, and feels entitled to the total loyalty and obedience of his gang, but what he himself does for the gang is not entirely clear. He is not seen doing chores around camp and does not donate money to the gang, while constantly reminding everyone else how they 'need money'. He also constantly demands that others have total faith in him, which could be read as a manipulation tactic. Whether Dutch himself is aware of that or not is up for debate, however.
• Ambiguously Bi: While Dutch has a lover in Molly, and is sometimes seen openly flirting with Mary-Beth, the nature of his relationship with Hosea is ambiguous. Hosea at one point (perhaps jokingly) refers to himself, Dutch, and Arthur collectively as “the curious couple and their unruly son.” Many of their interactions with one another are intimate in a way not seen with any other male characters in the gang. During a party the gang holds after Sean returns, Arthur can find Dutch and Hosea having a conversation out of view from the others, where Dutch occasionally rests his hand on Hosea’s or holds it.◊ If Dutch notices Arthur near them during this, he will tell Arthur to go away. In addition, if the player chooses to have Arthur antagonize Dutch, he will occasionally say to him "Everyone sees you and Hosea 'reading'."
• Ambiguously Evil: While it’s clear that Dutch becomes more unhinged as II progresses, it’s debatable what the motivations behind many of his actions are, and what his true character is. It’s possible that he was initially a good person who cracked under the pressure of situations his poor decision making caused, but it’s also possible he was already an unhinged narcissist whose true nature started to show as the game progressed and who fashioned himself and his gang as Robin Hood-types as an excuse to rob and kill. There’s also the question of how he viewed the members of his gang, either as people he genuinely cared for (who he rescued from various terrible situations and then protected) or as expendable pawns he could use and cast aside based on his plans, such as abandoning John and Arthur when their lives were in peril several times towards the end, and then proceeding to lie about doing so.
  • These two contrasting interpretations of his actions appear in-universe. Agent Milton simply calls him a "silver-tongued maniac", and John by the end believes that his true nature was slowly surfacing after being Beneath the Mask for so long, while Charles and Sadie believe he genuinely changed throughout the course of II. Arthur with High Honor however, states he doesn't know what to believe regarding this. A Low Honor Arthur states he was taken as a fool his entire life by Dutch. What's interesting is that John has the opposite opinion of him by the events of I, coming to the conclusion that he in fact was, in a way, a good person before his Sanity Slippage. This is probably due to Dutch shooting Micah, in addition to a possible Nostalgia Filter on John's part.
  • It's not clear if he actually is capable of loving anyone. He talks about Annabelle (his partner that O'Driscoll killed) with fondness but it very could well be that it's an excuse to keep his feud with O'Driscoll ongoing. Abigail straight up tells Molly to her face that Dutch doesn't love her. If one views him as Evil All Along, he simply took all the people in to manipulate them into being his pawns and by extension doesn't love them. Hosea seems to be the closest thing to it, he respects him way more than anyone else. This is compared to John and Arthur who do truly love people. Even at low honor, John loves Abigail and Jack and Arthur loves Mary. The Blind Seer can tell John this, “Embrace those who love you, not the memory of those who pretended to."
  • For all of his talk about how the gang are all one big family, he is not happy with John from Chapter 4 of the second game onwards, after John's Character Development starts to kick in. Dutch reminds him that the gang must always come first, hinting he thinks John might have Conflicting Loyalties now that he's taking his role as a father and husband more seriously. Arthur and Hosea don't share these concerns so it’s likely Dutch sees John embracing his role as a family man as a threat to his power over him. Worth noting that Dutch and John's relationship grows more bitter and hostile as John becomes a better husband and father.
  • One important thing to consider is why Dutch abandons both John and Arthur for dead in Chapter Six. It's completely possible he was only using them and either never loved them or loved them very conditionally, casting them aside when they bruise his ego enough. However, there's also indication that Micah was manipulating his poor mental state so well that he may have actually convinced him that Arthur and John were rats and, thus, the biggest dangers to the survival of the gang.
• Ambiguous Situation: More like several ambiguous situations involving Dutch.
  • Dutch being in Micah's cabin in the final mission of II. Micah's dialog reveals that Dutch only recently teamed up with Micah again, but when John asks Dutch why he's there he simply responds "Same as you, I suppose." This suggests that he too was there to kill Micah, but it's possible he could be referring to the fact that the recovered money from the Blackwater robbery is in the cabin, and that he assumed that John was there to take it. He ends up shooting Micah, and it's unknown whether it was his intention beforehand or whether John successfully convinced him to. He will actually shoot John if John shoots Micah before he has a chance to beg Dutch to "say something", so he's at least convinced to spare his life by the end. He ends up silently walking away from the cabin, leaving the questions for his actions in the scene unanswered.
  • His situation with regards to Micah. How much of a corrupting influence does Micah have on Dutch, and is he taking advantage of Dutch's mental state as early as Blackwater, or does Micah's influence simply contribute to his Sanity Slippage? Also, how much of Dutch's plans by chapter six are influenced by Micah? Is Dutch's decisions in manipulating the Wapiti tribe to engage in a disastrous war the mark of Dutch finally revealing himself to be a sociopathic monster after all these years, or is it the mark of Micah exploiting his worsening paranoia and delusions?
  • His reaction to Arthur's final words to him and Arthur's death moments later in chapter 6. He leaves Arthur as he is dying and ignores Micah's insistence that they escape together, after Dutch apparently accepts Arthur's assertion that Micah's the rat. It's possible that Dutch left because he feared capture by the Pinkertons, that he was angered after realizing he was being manipulated, that he was ashamed of how he ruined everything for himself and the gang, or that he simply couldn't bare to watch his surrogate son die. His reasons for doing so are never addressed.
  • Adding to the confusion of what caused his Sanity Slippage in 2 is that he suffered a head injury during the trolley heist, which is known to cause sudden behavioral changes. So, how much of it was Micah's bad influence/cracking under the stress of the gang's deteriorating situation, and how much was it was down to the head trauma messing with his ability to think rationally?
  • What exactly happened to Dutch during the Blackwater job is never revealed. Arthur and Hosea were wary of it, but others say that it was going fine until Dutch suddenly shot Heidi McCourt. Only John and Javier saw anything, with the latter admitting that she died "in a bad way, but it was a bad situation", suggesting that he doesn't want to implicate Dutch or appear disloyal. John later says in Shady Belle that he saw Micah "encouraged it", meaning either that he wanted the situation to go violent from the beginning, or that he egged a nervous Dutch on to kill the girl in that moment. Near the camp in Horseshoe Overlook, you can find Dutch's notes containing snippets from both the Rousing Speech he makes at the beginning of the game, and a later one made after they settle in New Hanover. They imply he had them prepared a lot earlier, likely in anticipation that the ferry robbery was going to end in a bloodbath and gang morale would suffer for a time, but it's also possible that he had them just to be Crazy-Prepared; i.e. something like Richard Nixon's 'contingency speech' that he had written in case the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the moon but fortunately never had to use.
  • His lack of intervention in John's arrest during the Saint Denis bank robbery. It's fully possible that this is an early Betrayal by Inaction on Dutch's part, but we're never shown the actual scene. John himself isn't quite sure of what to make of Dutch's behavior, saying that he feels he could have done more in the situation than he had.
    • There's also camp dialogue where Dutch will angrily say this is why he told them to let Marston rot in prison, if you're far enough away. It's possible that he just said it out of anger, but his bitter reaction to seeing Marston after they spring him suggests he was never planning to rescue him and wanted him gone.
  • The bones one can find in his cave in Cochinay after his death. There are several human skulls on a desk and some bookshelves, in addition to a various femur bones around the fire pit that appear long enough to be human. This content has some potentially disturbing implications concerning Dutch's mental state by 1911, although the reason for these bones and skulls being present is never explained.
• Ambiguous Start of Darkness: Throughout II, the true nature of his Sanity Slippage is left open to interpretation and is one of the conflicting opinions of the members of his gang In-Universe. While Charles and Sadie believe he genuinely changed, Arthur and John believe he was Evil All Along. Notably, by the time the first game takes place twelve years later, John believes the former theory (though it's unclear if that's actually a Nostalgia Filter or just comes from them having built the narrative of his downfall backward).
• Amicable Exes: With Susan Grimshaw. They were in a romantic relationship in the early days of the gang, and remained friends and partners in crime afterwards.
• And Then What?: A major problem with his leadership is his inconsistency on what the gang should do once they've amassed enough money to retire; he talks to everyone else of retiring to Tahiti, but it slowly becomes clear that he's addicted to the outlaw life, has no real desire to quit, and is postponing and sabotaging their retirement because then he'd either have to tell his gang that he never intended to fulfil his promise, or submit to giving up total control over his gang (no need for complicated plans to relax on a nice Tahitian beach) and his causeless rebellion. Sure enough, between the gang's dissolution and 1907, Dutch doesn't retire from a life of crime at all even after amassing a large sum of money, and by 1911 he forms another gang to commit random acts of violence.
• Animal Motifs: In a surprisingly subtle way. One of Dutch's rings throughout the main story of II features a design of a golden lion's head with ruby eyes. Lions are, of course, traditional symbols of power, leadership, and straight up royalty, befitting Dutch's status as the leader of the gang. It is fittingly missing, along with the rest of Dutch's finery, after the gang's collapse.
• Anti-Hero: Before going Ax-Crazy, he was known to be A Father to His Men. Sure, he was an outlaw, but still decent enough to worry about poor people. At one point, he even goes in search of provisions for people with Arthur.
• Arc Villain: Of the West Elizabeth arc in Red Dead Redemption.
• Arch-Enemy: Colm O'Driscoll. Dutch murdered Colm's brother and Colm murdered Dutch's mistress (Annabelle), so their feud is personal.
• Archnemesis Dad: Sort of. He adopted John and Arthur when they were teens, and raised them as a part of his gang. MacDougal even states that the current relationship between John and Dutch is Oedipal in nature.
• At Least I Admit It: He is clearly under no delusion that he is anything other than an anarchist who hates civilisation and technology, and fully embraces it.
• Ax-Crazy: By 1911, he's become little more than a murderous bandit whose crime spree is little more than just a desire to be a menace to the society he hates. He doesn't deny it anymore, either, outright telling John during their third encounter that he plans to murder him and Professor MacDougal For the Evulz.
• Bad Boss: Dutch started out as a Benevolent Boss in II but after several setbacks, the loss of several members, and a concussion, he becomes increasingly paranoid and authoritarian, accusing everyone but Micah of plotting against him This ranges from abandoning both Arthur and John, his two most trusted members, to their deaths, berating everyone for doubting him, and even abandoning Abigail, essentially orphaning Jack. As a result, many members begin to leave the gang for their own safety.
• Badass Bookworm: Dutch has a collection of books in his tent, and you more often than not see him reading something when you encounter him at camp.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: Back in 1899, he was a Sharp-Dressed Man, a badass, and the leader of a famous gang. As of 1911, he's dropped this in favor of a more ragged attire.
• Badass Longcoat: The first we see of Dutch in II is him in a very nice thick, black coat that reaches about his knees and one of his main outfits onwards is a sharp, black, mid-thigh length coat with a red pocket square. During the Saint Denis heist he wears a much longer coat with red lining. When he reappears in the epilogue, he’s wearing a different coat with fur lining that goes down to mid-calf.
• Beard of Sorrow: When he reappears when John, Sadie and Charles go after Micah, Dutch is now sporting a thick beard. He's also much quieter and less forceful in personality than he was before, and he doesn't even seem to care when Micah dies or when John thanks him for saving his life.
  Dutch: I ain't...got too much to say no more...
• Became Their Own Antithesis: Early in II, Dutch speaks out against other outlaw leaders such as Colm O'Driscoll, claiming that he's a sociopathic savage who cares little for his men, and only cares about wreaking havoc and doing horrible things for the sake of it. Yet, by Chapter 6, Dutch himself takes significant pleasure in causing "smoke and noise" for the sake of petty revenge schemes and misaimed justice for the sake of his own ego and curses the members of the gang who are understandably leaving Dutch behind. By 1911, Dutch has long embraced his antithesis-like ways, gleefully murdering and pillaging for little reason than for sport, glory and his hatred of society.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Guarma is practically what Dutch assumes Tahiti is supposed to be, a tropical island untouched by the corruption of civilization. Much to his surprise, it is not.
  • In fact, even if he and the gang did reach Tahiti (of course, assuming Dutch wasn't stringing the gang along for any opportunity to gain more money), he wouldn't find a civilization-free tropical paradise; Tahiti had become a French colony by 1880.
• Believing Their Own Lies:
  • There is no actual plan at all to get them "Out West", Tahiti, or Australia. Also, there no plan to recover the Blackwater Money. He's making it up as he goes along but insists he has everything figured out.
  • It is painfully obvious to Arthur that Dutch never really has a plan to save John from prison after the botch bank heist in St. Denis despite him saying otherwise.
• Beneath the Mask: Played with. As the events of II transpire, and the gang get into deeper and deeper trouble, the darker side of Dutch's personality becomes apparent. However, it's ambiguous if he was just showing more of who he was as he lost control of the situation, or if these aspects of himself just became exacerbated by the dire situations he and the gang got in. There's also the question of when his Sanity Slippage began. Did his sanity start to decline with the events of II, or did it start to decline long beforehand, only becoming apparent when he could no longer keep it in check? Several characters in-universe interpret this issue differently, with some like Sadie believing he was changed over of the course of II, versus John who (up until I) believes he was revealing his true nature.
  John: You see a man whose character changed. I see a man who got found out... for who he truly was.
• Berserk Button:
  • Do not even think about calling Dutch and/or his ideals worthless, or anything along those lines to his face. Catherine Braithwaite and Angelo Bronte learned this the hard way. Being disrespected causes him to flip out and inflict Disproportionate Retribution when he's actually planning on negotiating.
  • Don't question him. Even months before his Sanity Slippage kicks in, he acts like a petulant child when Arthur criticizes him lightly (e.g. when he suggests that him and Hosea relaxing when everyone else works is demoralizing) and storms off in a huff. He's furious when Morgan stands up to him and insists twice that he lets John go with his family before the final robbery. It's implied this spiteful anger motivates him to not intervene when Marston gets shot.
  • Don't invade his personal space. He gets irritated if Arthur follows him around camp closely, and will push Arthur out of his tent if he stays there for too long.
• Betrayal by Inaction: Does this at least three times in the prequel. He willingly leaves John to rot in prison, believing he is okay while in actuality he's about to be hanged, leaves Arthur to die during the assault on the oil refinery, and leaves John to die after he is shot during their final heist. There's also the ambiguous situation of John's arrest in the Saint Denis bank heist that gets him imprisoned, and whether or not he actively chose to not intervene in his arrest.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: He kills himself to evade capture by John Marston and the federal government, in addition to his refusal to continue living in a world increasingly being civilized.
• Big Bad Ensemble: With Edgar Ross in the first game. While Ross is the active threat to the Marstons, Dutch is the main target and the one who raised John as a part of his gang. Although unknown to him, he is the lesser of the two.
• Big Bad Slippage: His entire character arc in II is this in spades.
• Big Bad Wannabe: In the first game. While he is a real threat for West Elizabeth, he will never be one for the modern society and civilization he so hates. He's less a freedom fighting rebel and much more a murderous thug, venting his hatred towards a world that will never accept him. He himself cannot resist the wonders of the modern world, as his choice of weapon is a semi-automatic pistol, and he is seen using an automobile to escape from John.
• Big Good: Serves as this role in II, back when he was still a charismatic leader that still had his sanity. By the endgame, both those traits have gone out the window and neither Arthur nor John want anything to do with him.
• Blank Stare: Dutch is prone to doing this when standing around camp, and this behavior can be mentioned by Arthur while antagonizing him. It apparently gets worse following the concussion he receives from a trolley crash in chapter four, as in one camp encounter following it Abigail asks Dutch if he's alright when she catches him staring into deep space.
• Blatant Lies: When Arthur and John confronted him for abandoning them, he claimed that he either "did no such thing" or had no choice but to do so.
• Blood Knight: By his own admission in 1911. He barely believes in the causes he fights for anymore, but keeps killing only because it's all he knows how to do and he has a deep-seeded hatred for civilization and the modernization of the American West.
• Bomb Throwing Anarchist: He is completely opposed to industrialization and the modernization of the frontier, though his sanity only drops to the "bomb-throwing" level in the final chapter of II, and onwards. By the time of the first game, he's abandoned the facade of any ideology and is just raising hell for the sake of it. His philosophy is highly reminiscent of Illegalism, where crime itself is seen as an integral of anarchist practice and not simply a means to an end like it was for certain anarchist revolutionaries.
• Breakout Villain: Despite having less than ten minutes of screen time, Dutch was far and away the most popular villain from Red Dead Redemption I, owing to his surprising depth and tragic death scene. The prequel is all about Dutch and his descent into madness.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: He's a charismatic individual who's successfully led a gang of outlaws for two decades after originally being a successful con-man, yet he never contributes to the camp funds and is frequently seen hanging around camp reading, apparently only being engaged with heists that have particularly large takes. This is lampshaded more than once by Arthur if he antagonizes Dutch.
  Arthur: Ya know, you could get out there too, Dutch.
• Broken Ace: While he has shown himself to be a charismatic leader, a skilled gunsman and a Warrior Poet to boot, it's offset by his own fragile mental stability once his Sanity Slippage becomes apparent.
• Broken Pedestal: As his Sanity Slippage becomes worse and worse, and the flaws in his leadership become more apparent, he becomes this to his whole gang to the point that they leave him.
• Bullying a Dragon: He eventually gets cocky enough to take on the U.S. Army, thinking it'll be just like the other gang wars he gets into. It's not. The Army has things like discipline, tactics, and, most importantly, reinforcements, that gangs lack and which put his own gang in serious hot water when he picks a fight with an army patrol that turns out to have backup on the way.
• Byronic Hero: Dutch is intelligent relative to the setting, highly charismatic, is extremely passionate about the gang, and has an intense drive and determination to live out his philosophy. He is, however, extremely self-centered and, while he claims the contrary and even acts on it when it benefits him, won't hesitate to sacrifice anyone or anything (gang members included) to get what he wants. His Sanity Slippage over the course of the main story puts these more negative traits into the spotlight.
• Call-Forward: His manipulation of Eagle Flies is eerily reminiscent of his M.O. in the first game; convincing young Indians angry about genuine injustice that he can get them revenge, even though he doesn't really believe what he's saying and just wants people who will throw their lives away for him.
• Can't Take Criticism: And how. This did nothing but largely contribute to his descent to insanity. Many people, from Arthur to John to even Uncle, manage to raise good points about flaws in both Dutch's character and his plans out of concern for his wellbeing and the future of the Gang, but he never listens and instead frequently accuses Arthur, one of the most committed members as well as the most ready to question him, of disloyalty and doubt; the older, reasonable Hosea is the only man whose opinion he sometimes takes into account, if not acts on. The end result? It allows people like Micah to easily encourage these flaws and pervert Dutch's morality and personality, just by manipulating him with compliance and flattery.
• Catchphrase: "I have a plan." and "Have faith." Most of the time he says this he's full of shit, but it takes Arthur until near the end of II to realize it. Even John lampshades it in I, "You always have a plan, Dutch."
  • He also tends to say "We need (more) money" in his long term plans.
  • Later in the game, when everything starts falling apart due to his terrible ideas, he repeats "I had no choice" or, more damningly, "We had no choice" to justify his actions to the people who questioned his decisions right from the start.
• The Chains of Commanding: This is what ultimately causes his Sanity Slippage in the prequel. The poor decisions he had made, a possible brain injury, the increasing pressures of resisting the encroaching influence of civilization and the many losses of his gang, all took a toll on his sanity.
• Character Derailment: An interesting case in that it's debatable just how Dutch's character devolves. He starts off in II as a Badass in a Nice Suit with a booming, emotional voice and as a Wide-Eyed Idealist who is (seemingly) sane. He progressively becomes more unhinged, erratic, and paranoid throughout the course of II, becoming more reckless and violent in the process. He then demonstrates himself to be quite manipulative and egotistical. This culminates into him betraying John and Arthur while siding with Micah, something he never would have done beforehand. However, the explanation for this development is intentionally ambiguous; characters are split into either believing Dutch was Evil All Along and that he became less careful about hiding it, or believing him to have become this way after the traumatic events of II. Regardless, by I he’s significantly more soft-spoken and composed, while being more obviously insane. His idealism is also long gone at this point, and he now understands and accepts that everything he’s done in his life is ultimately futile.
• Card-Carrying Villain: By 1911, Dutch has dropped all pretense of fighting for a "cause", simply rallying angry Native Americans for muscle, while robbing and killing seemingly for the hell of it.
• The Charmer: Very much so. If he already hasn't won the Undying Loyalty of the majority of his gang for rescuing them from desperate life circumstances, he's won their loyalty through his charisma and warm demeanor as he espouses his anarchistic philosophy that so many of them feel drawn to. Having also been a con-man with Hosea for several years, he also uses his charisma to great effect when dealing with people he intends to rob.
• Chewing the Scenery: He moves his arms around when he's making hammy rants and speeches and cracks his voice a lot while doing so.
• Cloudcuckoolander: As his Sanity Slippage becomes more severe in II, though slightly downplayed in that he doesn't regularly have these traits over time. As Arthur notes after Guarma, Dutch "seems half-crazed" after everything that's befallen them since Chapter 4. Shortly after they return to the United States, Arthur in one scene finds Dutch playing chess with himself and rambling incoherently, much to Arthur's annoyance. This behavior is unlike anything seen of Dutch in II, and highlights his frightening state of mind as various sources of pressure and trauma take their toll.
• Collector of the Strange: In I, he apparently collects human skulls, having at least four in his living quarters in Cochinay.
• Complexity Addiction: Deconstructed. Dutch loves to plan overly elaborate heists that will not only get the gang extravagant amounts of money, but will also make it impossible for the Pinkertons to keep track of them. Unfortunately, Dutch's plans often attract a lot more attention than is overly necessary, which only makes it easier for the Pinkertons to track down the gang.
• Con Man: Started his criminal career as one. In his early twenties, he and Hosea primarily grifted for several years before others joined them to create a gang.
• Control Freak: Especially by chapter six. His controlling tendencies are a large part of what strains his relationship with Arthur late into the story, with him growing more suspicious of Arthur as the latter goes behind his back several times to mitigate the worst effects of his and Micah's increasingly insane plans.
• Convenient Enemy Base: Although it has no effect on the plot and is likely the result of Space Compression, his Cochinay hideout happens to be just a few miles north of Beecher's Hope, John's ranch.
• The Corruptible: Micah worms his way into Dutch's confidence, slowly turning him against Arthur and John in particular, but also causing him to make increasingly poor decisions while making Dutch think Micah is the only one really still loyal to him. It's implied Micah is doing this to make the gang easier pickings for the Pinkertons who he is secretly working with. It doesn't help that Dutch's mental state is on a downward spiral, especially starting around chapter 4.
• Crazy-Prepared: A somewhat disturbing example. One letter found in Horseshoe Overlook includes a draft of a speech Dutch performed in Colter, which gives an eulogy to those who didn't survive the robbery. However, since the gang has been on the run since the robbery, it's unlikely he wrote it between Blackwater & Colter... suggesting he wrote it before the robbery. Make of that what you will.
  • Tragically, his belief that he is this is also one of the main contributors to the gang's decline. Dutch appears to sincerely believe that he has a foolproof plan for everything, which as it turns out, he doesn't.
• Create Your Own Villain: Many of the second game's antagonists only come into conflict with the gang because Dutch provoked them:
  • While Dutch and Colm already have an uneasy relationship before, they become full blown enemies after Dutch killed Colm's brother for unknown reasons and Colm retaliates by killing Dutch's lover.
  • Cornwall wouldn't fund much of his resources to the Pinkerton Agency to go after the Van der Linde gang had Dutch not attacked his train and robbed him.
  • In Chapter 3, Dutch decides to play on the Grays and Braithwaites feud in order to find their treasure. Both families eventually found out and retaliate back.
  • In Chapter 4, Dutch should had know that trying to play the bigger man against someone like Angelo Bronte would not make the crime lord happy.
  • In Chapter 6, the US Army has no qualm against the gang until Dutch decides to help the Wapiti in their feud against them.
• Cultured Badass: He is extremely well-read and educated for an outlaw.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Subverted. He starts off in II as an Anti-Hero and a trusted ally who always wears black clothing. Things change as the story progresses, however.
• Deadpan Snarker: Able to compete with Arthur or John in snarkiness.
  Colm O'Driscoll: How's that score you stole off us?
  Dutch: Which one?
• Death Seeker: Many of his actions in I certainly suggest he's become this after the Despair Event Horizon he experiences from the events of II.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Robin Hood character archetype. While Dutch has the charm and charisma needed to lead and inspire loyalty his gang, he suffers from a lot of poor decision-making that forces the gang to move from one blunder to the next. His idealism of being a Robin Hood archetype also means that he's unable to accept the reality that his gang cannot resist the encroaching influence of civilization, clinging on to the delusion that they could evade the law for as long as they can. Eventually, his Sanity Slippage and erratic decisions is what cost him his gang, whether they be killed or choose to abandon him. It's also implied that unlike Robin Hood, Dutch's motives aren't completely altruistic in helping those looked down upon by society, instead being driven by a desire to get back at society by any means necessary, no matter who gets hurt in the process.
  • He's also portrayed with realistic psychology: the sort of person who willingly chooses and even idealizes a life of banditry over living as part of a peaceful and functional society is the sort who's either a) a complete sociopath who's using his ideals as an excuse to hurt people, and/or b) someone with a dangerously overinflated ego, complete with an entitlement complex and overestimation of his own capabilities.
  • As such, the people that he leads are often either less intelligent than him, have low self-esteem, or were rescued by him and have nowhere else to turn to. His intentions and their loyalty to him are sincere, but he has no tolerance for dissension, no matter how magnanimous he might proclaim, and he frequently gaslights people to prevent them from questioning his decisions.
• Despair Event Horizon: Went past this a long time ago in the original game. Red Dead Redemption II shows how he got to that point.
• Despair Speech: Gives one right before throwing himself off of a cliff.
  Dutch: When I'm gone, they'll just find another monster. They have to, because they have to justify their wages. Our time has passed, John.
• Detrimental Determination: Despite all the failures and handicaps he goes through, Dutch is still insistent on believing in his cause and that everything will eventually work out. Instead, his determination leads to even more failure and troubles and all this furthers his descent into insanity. Ultimately, his refusal to reconsider or listen in regards to backing out ultimately destroys his relationship with Arthur and John as well as his reputation with everyone within his gang.
• Did Not Think This Through: All. The. Time. Dutch always has a plan and is quick on his feet, but his impulsiveness means that almost none of them are worth a damn, and he always, always underestimates the powerful enemies that he makes, which end up putting the gang in even more danger. Best illustrated by an ambush he leads against the US Army — he captures a patrol in an elaborate, clever trap using dynamite, but even after learning the party was larger than any of them realized, he chooses to trigger the charges anyway, fails to account that there might be another patrol on the route, and doesn't even consider the fact that the men he trapped, army men, might choose to fight rather than surrender. If he had just laid low, let them pass without alerting them and revised the plan with these new factors in mind, it could've gone off so much better.
• Dirty Old Man: He has shades of this in some his interactions with Mary-Beth. He's in his mid-forties and openly flirts with the 21 or 22 year old Mary-Beth, who is taken aback by these gestures. However, there aren't many of these interactions, and most of the time he admires her from a distance.
• Disappeared Dad: Dutch's father died when he was a small child in what's implied to be the Battle of Gettysburg as a Union soldier.
• Disc-One Final Boss: After you finally deal with him, the game does not end.
• Driven to Suicide: He jumps to his death after giving John a final Despair Speech.
• Due to the Dead: An unmarked grave can be found near where he died in Cochinay, implying that it's his grave and that a surviving member of his gang buried him.
• The Dying Walk: If John elects to shoot him during the Mexican standoff at the end of the game, Dutch will slowly attempt to walk towards him before falling on his back and dying. This is a full animation that can be seen on the PC if the player uses a cheat to render John invincible.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Demonstrated time and time again by his reaction to several members of his gang dying.
  • While he started his outlaw life because he never got along with his mother and decided to leave at a young age, he still loved his father despite knowing him at a lesser time than his mother due to him dying in battle when Dutch was just a little boy. He even outright tells Arthur that one of the reasons why he wants to rob the Grays and Braithwaites is because he wants to avenge his father's death.
  • He seems to have never gotten over his lover Annabelle's death at the hands of the O'Driscoll gang.
  • He does not take the deaths of the secondary members of the gang well: He tells everyone that he would gladly lay down in their stead if it would bring them back to life, he tells Arthur that he didn't want to think about Sean's death because he was focused on Jack's rescue, he cites Kieran's death as one of the main reasons why Colm had to be hanged, and he lets out a Big "NO!" when Lenny is gunned down.
  • He grieves for Hosea's death, albeit only openly mourns him in one conversation he has with Arthur after the events of Guarma.
  • As he sees Arthur moments before the latter's death, it's implied he comes to a devastating realization that his actions and blind trust in Micah ultimately destroyed his family and caused several deaths in the gang.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Despite being a hardened outlaw, he absolutely disapproves of Colm's actions to the point of calling Colm and his gang "animals".
  • Even though he tolerates Leopold Strauss's money lending to support the gang, Dutch admits that he finds the business unseemly. That said, the fact that he supported it even back when the gang was fairly well off is a good indicator that his honorable thief act is likely a load of crap long before he shows clear signs of his sociopathy.
  • He also doesn't seem to share the prejudiced views towards other races or women that were common for that time period. He's shown several times throughout I and II to be sympathetic to the plight of Native Americans (to the point of getting offended when Bill calls them "savages"), and he's shown to not treat any member of his gang differently by race. He's also perfectly fine with Sadie Adler being involved with gunfighting like most of the men in the group.
  • In Chapter 2 of II he can be heard telling John that he's a deadbeat dad who needs to do right by Jack. Telling him that being a parent is one of life's great blessing and he needs to be appreciative of what he's got.
• Evil All Along: Played with. It’s made clear by the end of II that those closest to Dutch really have no idea what happened to him, whether he was hiding his true character or whether he genuinely changed. Arthur explicitly states he doesn’t know the answer even after Dutch leaves him to die, and John appears to change his view after the epilogue of II to believing he indeed changed. Interestingly, Dutch by the end of I implies he thinks of himself as being this trope, though the question posed by II is never answered.
• Evil Former Friend: To the majority of the gang (including the Marstons) by end of chapter 6 in II, and to Escuella and Williamson by the epilogue in II.
• Evil Is Hammy: By the time of the first game, he's become a cackling maniac who murders people more out of whim than of necessity. While this is shown as tragic and rather disturbing, one can tell that Benjamin Byron Davis had a blast playing the role.
• Evil Is Petty: It's strongly implied that he abandons John purely to spite Arthur for insisting that the Marstons be allowed to leave peacefully after the gang's last heist.
• Evil Old Folks: Is 55 or 56 by the events of I.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: Doesn't appear to hold any prejudice towards his black and native comrades, a remarkable stance at the time. This doesn't stop him from using them for his own gain, however, as he often uses their struggles to make them fight and kill in his favor.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: Is implied to regularly be sleep deprived, and in first-person view one can see dark bags under his eyes.
• Expy: Dutch takes his appearance and baritone from Curly Bill in Tombstone, while his personality, trouble dealing with the end of Wild West, and unrealistic plan to flee to a different country makes him very akin to Butch Cassidy.
• The Fagin: Much of the gang was adopted by him at a young age, often while trying to rob him or because of criminal circumstances. This is portrayed sympathetically until Chapter 6, when he encourages Eagle Flies' destructive instincts, preying on his youthful anger. This leads Arthur and John to wonder how benevolent Dutch actually was when he took them in.
• Fallen Hero: John by I believes that he was a good man - "was" being the key word.
• Faking the Dead: Dutch is presumed dead both in 1907 and 1911, with John expressing genuine shock that Dutch is alive, and his next target.
• Fame Through Infamy: Several details in I and II allude to just how notorious Dutch is. He's established as the most well-known member of the gang, which is a gang famous enough to have been the subject of several pulp novels according to a newspaper in II. John in I notes that Landon Ricketts has most likely heard of Dutch. He's also stated to have acquired one of the largest bounties in the entire United States after having already had one on his head since c. 1886. He's well-known enough even by 1907 for someone to have reported seeing him in rural Tall Trees after being presumed dead in living in relative obscurity.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride is arguably Dutch's biggest flaw. A lot of the disasters that befell the gang, especially later on in the story, is due to Dutch's self-destructive ego. He refuses to acknowledge the mistakes he makes, doesn't listen to the advice of others and would rather follow the plan that he himself comes up with or supports, and mistrusts others who don't share his opinion. This is what allowed Micah to manipulate him into destroying his own gang by encouraging Dutch's Destructive Hero tendencies. Most of the ambiguity surrounding his character is which part of his pride is more prominent- his selfishness and aimless desire to spite anyone who tells him what to do, or his refusal to believe that he isn't the hero and that no plot contrivance will save him from his own mistakes.
  • His other core flaw is that he's unable to admit to himself that the time of being an outlaw has passed, and the world that he wants will never come to fruition. When he finally does, it's far too late. He destroyed his family, and dies a broken Ax-Crazy shell of who he used to be.
• The Fatalist: Most likely due to his Despair Event Horizon. He expresses fatalistic views in the Despair Speech moments before he commits suicide.
• Foil: To Edgar Ross. Both are fighting for what they believe to be best for society, Ross for civilization and Dutch for anarchy, and both display a complete willingness to Shoot the Dog if that's what it takes to get there. But the game shows that both of them are hypocrites and neither of their plans are without flaws anyway. The only real difference is that in the end, Ross is remembered as the hero and Dutch as the vicious outlaw, but then the game points out that had more to do with civilization ultimately triumphing and history being Written by the Winners then any real moral superiority of one over the other.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Dutch foreshadows John's death with his last words, subtly saying that Ross will double-cross John.
  • In Chapter 2, Dutch asks Arthur why he didn't give Agent Milton a chance to capture Dutch in exchange for his freedom. This is an early sign of Dutch's growing distrust of Arthur.
  • Hosea notes as early as chapter 1 that Dutch's behavior has changed somehow, implying the start of Dutch's Sanity Slippage.
  • When Arthur and Charles are scouting for a new hideout in Chapter 2, Arthur scoffs at the notion of Dutch hiding away in a cave, as it "goes everything he stands for". By the time Dutch's Sanity Slippage comes about in Chapter 6, the gang is forced to hide away in a cave at Beaver Hollow.
  • Him yelling at Bill Williamson for his racism against Native Americans foreshadows his actions concerning the the Wapiti in chapter 6 and his actions in I as the leader of a band of mostly Native American rebels.
• For the Evulz:
  • Murders a bank teller he was holding hostage during a confrontation with John, despite having ample opportunity to make his escape non-violently. Really, by 1911, Dutch has really embraced the art of senseless killing.
  • His senseless killing of that woman during the Blackwater Massacre might have been this, though the exact details remain unclear, not to mention Micah is said to have egged him on.
• Freudian Excuse: Possibly. His father died in the Civil War fighting for the Union when he was a kid, and this is implied to be behind his strong disdain for the South and Southerners. He also is implied to have had a troubled relationship with his mother, and left home at around fifteen, which may partly explain his selfishness and narcissism as being required to survive in such a situation.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: From a random teenage runaway to one of — if not the — most wanted and dangerous man in the west. By 1911, he's responsible for so much death and misery that both the proto-FBI and the U.S army participate in the assault that finally does him in.
• Gayngster / Gay Cowboy: Well, Ambiguously Bi, but still.
• Gaslighting: He does this to Arthur after leaving him to die at the oil refinery. When called out on it, Dutch, insists he did no such thing.
  • He actually does this very frequently to several gang members. Arthur is a notable example but he also does it with John and Javier in ambient conversations, enforcing a black-and-white mentality of 'weak or strong, doubt or faith', telling Javier that they're not criminals, they're outlaws, and becoming sharp and aggressive when they don't immediately agree or agree with sufficient enthusiasm.
• General Failure: As he's quick to tell everyone, he always has a plan. Unfortunately, his plans usually tend to work out poorly since they all just tend to be heists after heists when it becomes increasingly unfeasible and his inept leadership is a major factor to the downfall of the gang. Basically, Dutch's plans can all be summed up as "Find a town to settle by, screw over everyone we can, and hope nobody finds out."
• Gentleman Thief: Subverted. He prides himself on being one, and by all indications he adhered to this trope before gradually becoming self-centered and Ax-Crazy during II. By chapter six, he tries to justify his manipulation of the Wapiti tribe to Arthur with this train of thought. Arthur, of course, suspects his true motives for it immediately.
• Good Angel, Bad Angel: Played with. As Dutch's actions becomes more erratic, one scene has Arthur and Micah trying to convince Dutch about his next plan of action and the camera conveniently positions Arthur and Micah at both ends of Dutch's shoulders, making them his shoulder angel and devil.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Even before his Sanity Slippage, he’s very irritable. The slightest doubt from any of his underlings will easily boil his blood and he’ll very quickly scold them and tell them to keep faith.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Hosea, if you read their relationship as platonic.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Eventually, he becomes as bad as the enemies he’s fighting. He proves to be as unstable and apathetic as Colm O'Driscoll, as war-hungry and chaotic as Colonel Favours, as unscrupulous as Cornwall, and is as money-hungry and possessive of his own gang as the government are to their people.
• Hollywood Atheist: Notably played with and averted. He favors practices and conventions in his gang that are reminiscent of an organized religion (constantly deriding "doubters" and encouraging the gang to "show faith"), and in at least one speech explicitly uses Christian rhetoric (stating that he wishes to be "an angel of God" and not a "monkey"). However, in one camp encounter he tells Arthur that he doesn't believe in souls or an afterlife. In another encounter he tells Reverend Swanson that he doesn't share the latter's religious convictions.
• His Own Worst Enemy: Dutch goes looking far and wide for enemies to rebel against, but ultimately the only enemy he ever had to worry about was Dutch van der Linde. Dutch is the one who ruined the Blackwater heist by shooting a bystander, Dutch is the one who makes all the plans that go wrong because he forgot people don't just stand there and let you rob them, Dutch listens to Micah over his more loyal lieutenants because Micah kisses his ass, Dutch is the one who never makes any real plans for the future as he's addicted to the outlaw life, Dutch's increasing instability drives his gang away, and ultimately, it's Dutch who ends his own life when he realizes how futile his romantic ideals always were. Really, the U.S. Government and the Pinkertons won by doing absolutely nothing; the events of the games are everyone else dealing with the collateral damage of Dutch's war against himself.
• Horrible Judge of Character: A good measure of how much his sanity has frayed is how bad he judges character. In the beginning of the game, he's quite willing to take criticism from Hosea and Arthur because he knows they're the gang's sanest members, but as the game goes on he starts mistrusting them because they criticize him, while he trusts Micah because Micah agrees with everything he says. By the end of the game, he's driven Arthur away and made Micah his right hand man. Hosea and Arthur were genuinely loyal until Dutch started mistreating them, while Micah sold the gang out to the Pinkertons.
  • Averted with Angelo Bronte. The scene where he gets under their skin while negotiating Jack's release is directed as if Dutch is failing to follow his own advice... But it works perfectly.
  • Also averted with Josiah Trelawny. Trelawny is the only member of the gang Dutch allows back in after often being gone for months on end, as Dutch considers him a useful person to associate with. Arthur is suspicious of Trelawny due to these long absences. It turns out that Trelawny is in fact loyal to the gang, only leaving when things get far too dangerous by the end of chapter six.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Out of all the members of the Van der Linde Gang, he's hit with this the hardest. He goes from a well-dressed, intelligent composed gentleman with a borderline-Bandit Clan large enough to draw U.S Army attention reduced to an unkempt and aging outlaw with barely a fraction of his former power, who's slowly suffering from Sanity Slippage.
• Hypocrite: Oh boy, take a seat for this one:
  • Despite fighting civilization in favor of the old, more simple, and egalitarian way of life that the Old West allowed men to live, you can tell from looking through caves in Cochinay that he's very well-read and likely extremely intelligent. Ultimately, he's probably not that different from the people he's trying to fight: bankers, industrialists, and government agents that civilization put in power, and under different circumstances probably would've had the smarts to be one himself. There's other evidence of this as well, he uses a Semi-Automatic pistol in cutscenes and escapes from the bank robbery in an automobile. Not only that, he exploits the Native Americans for his own ends, making him no different from those he claims to fight against. It goes to show how not even he could resist the influence of encroaching civilization, and it seems likely that this fact might have been what ultimately drove him over the Despair Event Horizon.
  • In the prequel, how he runs his gang isn't that different from the societal hierarchy and runnings of the government. Dutch seems to have a slightly authoritarian stance when it comes to the runnings of his gang, emphasizing "loyalty" and "faith" as the gang's main tenets while refusing to take input or criticism from his subordinates. For a man who preaches freedom and anarchy, he doesn't really tolerate individualism if it clashes with his opinions, and sees the act of doing so as traitorous. Not only does his camp have a rule where every member has to contribute half of their earnings from a completed job for the camp's retirement fund, which mirrors how the government taxes its people, but he also demands that the others donate additional money to fund supply runs and daily expenses — and, in spite all his urging the gang to donate, there is not one instance in the ledger where he himself puts in money or anything of value.
  • Similarly, if Arthur spends a full day or so at camp (even if he's doing chores, donating to the box, and being friendly with everyone), Dutch will sometimes march up and chastise him for "hang[ing] around [here] like a bad smell", tut-tutting that he "used to be a man of action". While Dutch, the most wanted member of the gang, can hardly risk being seen roaming around the area, 95% of the time he spends in camp is done sitting on his ass — reading, smoking cigars, listening to opera records — while his men pull reconnaissance for future jobs, and he never offers help with any chores himself. If it weren't for his planning and heading out with the gang on bigger robberies, he'd be about as useful as Uncle.
  • While Dutch recruits a fairly diverse gang and seems to treat them equally in a manner unheard of for the period, he has an open disdain of Catholics, Southerners, and Italians. It's unclear exactly how much of this is a personal dislike of Angelo Bronte, the Italian, Catholic Mafia leader of Saint Denis, and how much is genuine bigotry; his first description of the city is as a town of "Papists and rapists", though he seems to be commiserating with Arthur how different a place it is from what they're used to. His dislike of Southerners has no qualifiers, though, as his father died fighting them in the Civil War (presumably at the Battle of Gettysburg), and he sees simultaneously conning the Braithwaites and Grays as "payback" — a concept Arthur has misgivings over from the very beginning.
    • Dutch doesn't tolerate Bill, a member of his own gang, expressing racist views, and will sometimes chide his ignorance or give him a very stern lecture to stop bullying Lenny and call him by his proper name. Micah, meanwhile, is even more venomous and passive-aggressive in his bigotry, and takes great pleasure in singling out the minorities in the gang for verbal abuse; notably, while Lenny may laugh Bill off as a harmless fool, he hates Micah. If Dutch ever happened to get any complaints or counsel from Hosea about Micah's behavior, he did nothing meaningful to stop it.
  • At one point in II, he chastises Arthur for helping break John out of prison for very likely giving the gang unwanted attention from the Pinkertons, only to assassinate Leviticus Cornwall on a whim in broad daylight and surrounded by Pinkertons.
  • He at one point lectures John about being a deadbeat dad, but when John starts taking his parenthood seriously, Dutch gets upset about John being less focused on the gang, even though John was following Dutch's own advice.
  • At the end of "II", he chastises John for "betraying" him and said that John only cared about himself. This is coming from the guy who actually did the betraying and became a full-blown Narcissist except John didn't betray Dutch and cared about him till he stabbed him and Arthur in the back in favor of Micah who was outright using him.
  • When John confronts him on leaving him to die in their first meeting again I, Dutch assures him that nobody is perfect and that he never claims himself a saint and equally doesn't take John as an errand boy. This is rich given how in II, he fashions himself as a "Robin Hood"-like figure fighting against the evils of civilization for the good of the Old West, leading his gang like a Cult of Personality and preaching to them to "have faith" (i.e. Gaslighting), and leaving them to (mostly) do the heavy lifting while sitting around all day in camp and equally disregard their wellbeing if they were to go against his wishes later on as his Sanity Slippage gets worse.
  • He open show his distaste for the methods and actions committed by the antagonists (Colm's sadism and Lack of Empathy, Cornwall destroying everything in his path to feed his greed, and General Favours' manipulations of the Native Americans, etc.) who he and his gang encounter throughout II. But as his sanity becomes worse later on, he becomes not so different from them, assuming if everything he preached to his gang is all a facade to begin with.
  • In I, he's disgusted by John working with the U.S. government, and further states that "there's always a choice" when John tells him he was forced to help them. Compare this to when Dutch constantly tells Arthur and John that he didn't have any choice but to abandon them at points where their lives were in danger.
  • In general, Dutch's constant complaints about the evils of civilization and overly wealthy elite that he passes down to his gang ring pretty damn hollow given how the man just loves to indulge in luxuries in II, which includes dressing in impeccable clothing, reading fine literature and listening to opera music, all the while the rest of the gang gets relatively plain and/or simplistic furbishing with little to entertain themselves with.
  • All his talk about "revenge isn't a luxury" to his gang rings hollow as Dutch lives on getting back at anyone who wronged him.
  • Dutch might speak up about Strauss's Loan Shark business being unseemly, but the fact that he allows it anyway directly contradicts the gang's Robin Hood-like ideology.
  • In short, it often looks like Dutch's beef with civilization isn't the oppression and inequality, it's that preexisting social structures mean that he specifically doesn't get to be top dog.
• Hypocritical Humor: In II, after Jack is kidnapped, a furious John is seething in anger and Dutch tells him to calm down. Not even 10 seconds later...
  "GET DOWN HERE NOW! YOU INBRED TRASH!"
• I Am a Monster: He calls himself one during his final confrontation with John Marston, though at the same time he says this mocking the federal government and its hunt for boogymen to justify their salary.
• I Was Quite a Looker: Dutch's appearance slowly but surely degrades, starting off as a healthy, well-dressed man in 1899, but had degraded into an unkempt mountain man with a huge, bushy beard by 1907. By 1911, he's a modestly dressed, sickly man that appears borderline elderly.
• Idiot Ball: All of Dutch's plans in II involve committing crimes in plain sight and assuming nobody will notice or react. After the second failure, you'd think he'll rethink his plans... but nope.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Even by the franchise's standards. While John is scouting him from a mountain pretty high up, Dutch manages to shoot the binoculars he was using off of his hands with a pistol held with only one hand.
• Improperly Paranoid: After his Sanity Slippage, he starts accusing everyone except The Mole of being a traitor.
• Indy Ploy: Dutch is very over-reliant on this trope being in effect. Whenever one of his plans turns sour (unfortunately common), he immediately comes up with another one on the spot. Unfortunately, said off-the-cuff plans are usually full of major holes, but he refuses to acknowledge that he might be better off making better first plans that account for consequences and don't skip steps, instead of making up similarly-shoddy second, third, fourth, and so on plans until one works by dumb luck or the gang's enemies catch up to him.
• Ink-Suit Actor: A dead ringer for VA Benjamin Byron Davis, especially in the second game after graying and growing a Beard of Sorrow.
• The Insomniac: Despite not participating in any camp work in II and having plenty of opportunities for rest, the man never seems to get a sound eight hours of sleep, which can't be helping his mental state. Peering into his tent will reveal that he sits awake at night, staring into space, and even when he gains a bed of his own in Shady Belle, his sleeping animations show him to be restless, irritable, and easy to wake up.
• In-Universe Factoid Failure: Dutch doesn't really research enough about Tahiti before getting there. To him, the island is an untouched paradise free from civilization but at the time of the game, it was already a French colony. There's also his idea of getting to either New York or Chicago before escaping the country in Chapter 6 by boat, even though Chicago is not near any ocean. Aside from lacking proper reading materials, it is also likely Dutch is simply making up as he is goes.
• Inopportune Voice Cracking: When he's making incredibly hammy speeches and Chewing the Scenery, also occasionally in regular conversation.
• Intergenerational Friendship: His best friend is Hosea, who is at least 11 years his senior.
• I Reject Your Reality: One possible intrepretation when it is discovered that Micah is the traitor. As Micah has been nothing but "supportive" to him since Hosea died, Dutch has a hard time believing that his sole supporter is a traitor because doing so would make him a failure, leading him to side with Micah over Arthur and John. It takes nearly seven years for him to come in term with this.
• It Gets Easier: At first, he's hesitant in more shady criminal acts and never thinks of leaving anyone behind, then as the story progresses, he kills and abandons people and causes chaos like it’s a hobby. This reaches its peak by the time he first appears in I, where he by this point displays traits that make him reminiscent of Colm O'Driscoll or Micah Bell.
• It's All About Me: II traces Dutch's descent into malignant narcissism. While he's willing to take advice and criticism from Only Sane Men Hosea and Arthur in the earlier chapters of the game, following the former's death, the botched bank heist and subsequent detour to Guarma he begins demanding complete, unwavering loyalty and faith from all of his followers. In the end, the only gang member he's willing to take advice from is Professional Butt-Kisser and, ironically, The Mole Micah.
• Jade-Colored Glasses: John believed that when Dutch realized that no matter how hard he fought, he could never make a real difference in the world, he snapped.
• Jerkass Has a Point: When Arthur and Sadie rescue John from Sisika Penitentiary, Dutch chews out Arthur twice for doing so. He has a valid point, as this gave the gang even more unwanted scrutiny from the law and the Pinkerton Agency and very well could have given their camp location away. However, given that he then murders an oil baron in broad daylight and in the middle of a town, maybe he specifically didn't want to rescue John. Regardless, this further strains Dutch and Arthur's relationship and causes the former to be more suspicious of the latter.
• Jerkass Realization: Implied and subsequently downplayed. Dutch's reaction to a dying Arthur reiterating that Micah is the rat, and that John and his family successfully escaped the Pinkertons suggests that he finally realizes how his actions led to the fall of his gang and the deaths of several of his friends. However, he inexplicably walks away from Micah and Arthur shortly afterwards, and this event likely only contributed to his Despair Event Horizon and Sanity Slippage.
• Just Like Robin Hood: A long time ago. The prequel shows that he's actually a deconstruction of the archetype. While he is genuine in helping the oppressed, his obsession with being like Robin Hood only ends up causing more harm than good. How well he fit this trope before the events of II is anyone's guess. John in II openly questions whether the gang ever really did any good like they remember, while by I he believes that they did in fact steal from the rich to give to the poor.
• Kick the Dog:
  • In the first game, the second time we see him, he holds a bank hostage and shoots some poor innocent woman in the head in front of John just to spite him.
  • The second game has him abandoning both Arthur and John on different occasions to save himself. This was what broke their faith in him.
  • As Arthur's health begin to decline, Dutch doesn't empathize with him one bit and, like Micah, often makes fun of his condition.
  • In order to spite John, Dutch tells him straight to his face that Jack might not be John's son at all since Abigail used to sleep with every member of the gang, reminding John how he used to think the same thing as well.
• Large and in Charge: Dutch is noticeably tall, towering over almost everyone. According to his actor, Dutch is approximately 6'0", well above the average for the time (though this also makes him substantially shorter than Ben Davis).
• Large Ham: In II, Dutch has a booming (if prone to breaking) voice and is prone to melodramatic, fiery speeches, which he weaponizes when negotiating with Angelo Bronte. By the time 1911 rolls in, he is noticeably soft spoken and eerily composed, even when he's hunting MacDougal outside of his window.
• Light Is Not Good: He wears lighter colored clothes in I in contrast to his appearance in II, and is without question a villain by this point in time.
• Longing Look: Gives one of these towards Mary-Beth in at least one encounter by Chapter Three. The fact that Arthur can antagonize Molly by mentioning how often he does so indicates he does this regularly.
• Loony Fan: He is a fan of the works of Evelyn Miller, whose works inspired much of his anarchistic and primitivist views, and has many moments in camp where he will reverently cite the words of "Mr. Miller" as if they're scripture. In two others, the similarly well-read Lenny will criticize Miller for speaking "very prettily" but not saying anything new, and accuse him of being a dilettante "on vacation" with the lower classes; Dutch takes these statements personally, but can only laugh them off or offer weak rebuttals over any real defense, much like when others question his own actions. Ironically, Evelyn — who is eventually driven mad by his obsession with nature and privileged self-loathing, and dies alone in the wilderness — would probably 100% agree with Lenny, and be horrified that he played a part in Dutch's crimes.
• The Lost Lenore: Annabelle, an old member of the gang that was murdered by Colm O'Driscoll, which started the bitter feud between the two gangs.
• Ludd Was Right: A firm believer of this. He believes that society should revert back to its old ways and that the modernization of civilization is poisonous.
• Manipulative Bastard: Manipulates Eagle Flies and other members of the Wapiti to engage in a hopeless conflict against the US Army in an attempt just to ward off attention from the gang. This tropes goes further if one believes Dutch was Evil All Along and that he was manipulating John and Arthur the entire time they were in the gang.
  • He clearly is this when he manipulates Arthur and John into committing more robberies, convincing them he has a plan, while clearly wanting and relishing the power that comes with his gang members blindly obeying his orders. It works to quite a good extent, until the point where the gang eventually sees him for what he is and leave him.
  • By 1911, he forms a new gang out of Native Americans, pretending to pity their plight when he is just stringing them along doing random acts of anarchy.
• Mask of Sanity: Played with. While Dutch was obviously never as sane as he appeared in the beginning, exactly how much the mask covered is up for debate. Arthur and John eventually come to believe that Dutch was always a sociopathic narcissist, and his Sanity Slippage throughout II is Dutch being unable to hold the mask up under pressure. On the other hand, it could just be regular Sanity Slippage caused by Dutch realizing exactly how much trouble he caused both his gang and his cause, combined with Micah's manipulation. Sadie Adler in particular believes that the Dutch van der Linde that rescued her from the O'Driscolls wasn't the same man who left John to rot in prison and betray Arthur when he needed him most. Whatever is the case, Dutch in I mostly doesn't bother trying to wear the mask, openly threatening and attacking John whenever they meet one another.
• Meaningful Appearance: Throughout most of II, Dutch is an impeccably groomed, well-dressed man, especially by outlaw standards; however, by the time we see him in 1911, he wears very plain, inexpensive clothes. The change, in hindsight, reflects Dutch's conflicted views on civilization as well as his circumstances: initially a proud man with an air of nobility who follows society's rules of decorum while preaching against it, by a decade later he no longer can fool himself or anyone else into believing there's any sort of reason or justice in committing horrible crimes against the U.S government, and makes no pretense of being a gentleman bandit.
• Mighty Whitey: Averted. In 'II', he exploits the Wapiti's justified anger towards the U.S. government to encourage them to engage in conflict to lure attention off the gang, and in doing so effectively puts the tribe in enormous danger and effectively dooms them. By I, he leads the local Native Americans in a guerrilla war against civilization he fully knows is pointless.
• Moral Myopia: As the man understands it, you're either with him or you're ideologically opposed to him, and he excuses his own actions in a way that he would never his enemies'. By 1911, his war against civilization has ceased to be any effective form of political or philosophical anarchy, and instead a way of taking revenge on society through indiscriminate and purposeless violence for how it has brought him low.
• More than Mind Control: By helping people who are either orphans, no where to go, or at their lowest point in lives, Dutch is able to gather full respect and loyalty from his gang. This seems to be a method of indoctrination as these people will not question him and not leave the gang because they will be nothing without him. Arthur, for instance, is a nice man who hates the life of crime and the only reason he continues living the way he does is because of his loyalty to Dutch. Dutch eventually uses this loyalty to make the gang commit "One Last Job" after another while slowly being influenced by Micah in turn, making several of his members wary of him as they leave the gang.
• The Most Wanted: In 1899, Dutch was essentially in the subject of a tug of war between Cornwall, the Pinkertons, the O'Driscolls, the Grays, the Braithwraites, The Mafia, the Lemoyne Raiders, and the local law enforcement, especially Saint Denis's and Blackwater's. They don't even want the rest of the gang, they just want Dutch. Then later on he has the whole Bureau of Investigation on his ass once it's formed in 1907. It's almost like the BOI was formed just for Dutch. He's also stated to have one of the biggest dead or alive bounties in the entire country. The entire plot of I was also necessitated to weaken Dutch's power by killing or capturing his former lieutenants, even using his former lieutenant as an instrument, to the point the entire army is bent on capturing him by the time he dies.
• Motive Decay: In II, Dutch had legitimately noble goals for him and his outlaw gang, but as he continues to experience setbacks and lose members through death or by leaving of their own volition, they began to increasingly unravel into blatant insanity. By the time of I, Dutch doesn't even have a reason for his senseless acts of violence anymore, and even admits that "sport" is the only reason he wants to kill John.
• Mountain Man: By the epilogue of 'II', he's reported as having been seen in the Tall Trees area of West Elizabeth, and wears plainer clothing and has a thick beard when he appears in the final mission of the game. He resides in the mountains of Tall Trees still by 'I', and wears clothing appropriate for living in such an environment despite no longer looking unkempt.
• Moving the Goalposts: In II, his endgoal for evading the government changes from moving further west to getting enough money to go to Tahiti; the steps required to get to said goal, as well as how to finally recover the stash from the Blackwater job, also change depending on the situation. As with many things with Dutch, it's not clear whether he only wants to justify large-scale robberies and keep the Gang continuously doing bigger and bigger jobs, or if he genuinely doesn't understand that his ceaseless ambition is what's screwing them all by drawing undue attention and eliminating the number of places they can hide out.Either way, the gang ends up leaving him when they realize that he'll never settle on any victory that allows them to actually quit being criminals; no matter what they do, he'll just keep increasing the scope of his goals until they've all died outlaws trying to accomplish them.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Pretty much the only moment that disqualifies Dutch from being a sociopath is at the very end of II where , assuming Arthur has High Honor and helped John escape, he has a Villainous Breakdown upon seeing Arthur, his own son, broken, bloody, and minutes from death, rasping to him "I gave you all I had... I did." It's at this moment he realizes he's selfishly and stupidly ruined his own family after being corrupted by petty vengeance and Micah. Unfortunately, the moment of clarity only enforces his insanity and nihilism, rather than leading to his redemption. He does at the very least kill Micah 8 years later.
• Narcissist: As his sanity slips away, Dutch's opinion of himself begins to seem greater and greater, and structures his gang solely around personal fealty, rather than a shared philosophy with himself as a unifying figure. His word becomes law, and anyone who even gives the appearance of dissent is a "doubter" and thus a pawn of their enemies, all the while failing to see that the gang is falling apart because of his own actions. Even Arthur, the most loyal and devoted member the gang ever had, turns into a "snake" for trying to save the rest from what's inevitably coming, and Dutch doesn't understand the truth until it's too late.
• Nature vs. Nurture: An adult version, but as Dutch becomes more and more unhinged, those around him can only wonder if his experiences have changed him into his current state, or if this was who he truly was and what they thought they knew as Dutch was just a mask.
• Never My Fault:
  • It is very much his fault that that most of his gang ends up dead or having to leave in order to avoid being killed, but he blames everyone else for not standing by him blindly, while not taking into consideration that he has made it difficult for them to do so.
  • Similarly, if Dutch has (or claims to have) a plan for whatever situation they're in, he usually neglects to include a contingency, consider important or complicating factors, or share key details with the rest; instead, he expects everyone to execute it perfectly on "faith", and berates them for ruining it when it doesn't work.
  • Dutch is rather pissed at Cornwall for constantly targeting him for months, ignoring the fact that, as much as a Corrupt Corporate Executive Cornwall is, he robbed Cornwall first.
• New Technology Is Evil: As part of his philosophy, Dutch prefers not using any kind of new technology, seeing them as a symbol of the corruption of civilization. Despite this, he is unable to resist its wonders as shown when he uses a semi-auto pistol instead of a revolver and an automobile instead of a car.
• The Nicknamer: At one point in II he often calls Agent Milton "Agent Moron".
• Noble Demon: He starts out as one, instilling in his gang an anarchistic philosophy that involves robbing the rich and the government to give to the poor and disenfranchised while trying to not kill anyone unless necessary. This changes by beginning of II, when Dutch inexplicably kills a young woman in the ferry heist. Over the course of II, he abandons this philosophy more and more as he willingly causes wanton chaos and death, to the point where Arthur, John and others start to question whether he really ever adhered to these principles at all.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Bears more than a passing resemblance to the late Lee Van Cleef. Their names are even quite similar.
  • Also bears some resemblance in looks and voice to Powers Boothe, especially his appearance as "Curly" Bill Brocius in Tombstone.
• Not Himself: Due to his Sanity Slippage in II. Several members of the gang are taken aback by Dutch’s murder of a girl in the failed Blackwater job, considering it very much out of character for him. His personality then gradually shifts as the story progresses, to the point where several characters in the gang are noticeably alarmed and concerned, such as Arthur, John, Miss Grimshaw, Swanson, Charles, and Sadie. This grows to such an extent John suspects that Dutch hasn't changed, instead is showing more of his true colors as time passes as Dutch begins tapping into his more reckless nature and manipulating the gang into doing his bidding.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: It's ambiguous how much of Dutch's reckless actions during II count for this trope (he certainly ignores relatively safe and easy ways of getting money in favor of flashy heists that attract everyone's attention), but by the time of the original game, he's absolutely slid out of the Secretly Selfish and Well-Intentioned Extremist zones into this territory. His final scenes make it clear that by this point he knows full well that his war on civilization is utterly futile and is just going to get a lot of innocents killed and lead the Wapitis to their destruction, but he keeps doing it because he wants to hurt society for telling him what to do and he doesn't really know what to do with himself when he isn't rebelling against somebody.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In II, Dutch is usually known for his hamminess. So whenever he starts speaking quietly, you'll know something is wrong.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Van der Linde is a very Dutch name, so it's likely Dutch is a nickname based on his ethnicity. Then again, it may be a case of his name actually being Dutch since his name is mentioned on his mother's gravestone located just outside of Blackwater in II.
• Opportunistic Bastard: Interferes with the conflict between Wapiti Lakota tribe and the U.S. Army in an attempt to cause enough conflict in the hopes that they'll be able to evade the law and get enough money to do so. How much of this is his plan, and not Micah's, is up for debate.
• Parental Favoritism: Is noted to show favoritism towards John over Arthur and several other members until he grows more suspicious of John by chapter four. Arthur outright states that this is the reason Dutch allowed John back into the gang after a year's absence, stating that no one else would be let back in as easily. Downplayed in that he's a parental substitute to several members of the gang.
  • He also is this to Micah Bell, to the extent Micah easily used this to corrupt Dutch into turning against John and Arthur very easily. Dutch only snapped out of it after his betrayal and indeed kills him for it.
• Parental Substitute: Was this to the rest of the original gang.
• The Pessimist: He's an aversion of this in II, to such a degree that it could be considered a Fatal Flaw. No matter how clearly dire the situation, Dutch remains largely optimistic that he and the gang can get out of the situation, even if his ideas for doing so are bordering on absurd. This works in Micah's benefit after the more pessimistic and realistic Hosea dies, as he largely validates Dutch's poor decision making and outlook.
• Pet the Dog:
  • He scolds Bill at least twice for making racist remarks in II.
  • In the beginning when he, Micah and Arthur find Sadie Adler, he stops Micah from attempting to harm her. He then has her husband's body found and buried, and lets Sadie live with the gang.
  • Early in II, he confronts John for not being a proper father to Jack and disowning him.
  • For what it's worth, he doesn't follow through on his threat to execute the bank hostages even after Milton executes Hosea.
  • When he discovers that Sadie had been the gang in his absence, rather than be upset that a woman and a newcomer usurped his role, he praises and thanks her for saving the gang.
  • Assuming Arthur remained honourable to the very end to the point of giving up the gang's money to help John escape, Dutch will be visibly heartbroken and remorseful when confronting Arthur, nearly shedding tears.
  • In the finale of II, he not only decides to shoot Micah but walks away, leaving his stash of money to John.
  • Most of the gang members have fond memories of how Dutch saved them and inducted them in the gang. He gave Bill's life the purpose it was lacking, took Tilly in after she fled from her kidnappers, saved John from a hanging. Not to mention raising both Arthur and John like they were his sons.
  • He has a very strong bond with his horse, The Count, who's otherwise quite skittish.
• Politically Correct Villain: He has very progressive views for his time and is accepting of all races and genders within his gang, with Charles stating that the fact that he's willing to treat a man of mixed heritage like himself fairly being the reason he respects him. Of course, this doesn't stop him from seemingly ignoring Micah's racism or manipulating Native tribes to fight a pointless war against the government on at least two occasions.
• Psychological Projection: He calls the gang members who left traitors, ignoring how he willingly abandoned John and Arthur in the story in their times of need.
  • At the finale of II, He accuses John of shooting at him, betraying him, and only looking out for himself, ignoring how John didn’t do any of those and looked out for his family whilst Dutch did exactly what he accused John.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Shows shades of this. Despite being very intelligent and charismatic, he grows increasingly vindictive and refuses to reconsider his positions even when he's clearly wrong, continuing to cling to the juvenile fantasy of being an outlaw even as it becomes clear that the lifestyle he craves is no longer tenable. By Chapter 6, he's prone to randomly lashing at his fellow gang members and has become very trigger-happy.
• Properly Paranoid: Downplayed.
  • Dutch is eventually right about Arthur plotting against him, since Morgan aims to steal the gang's money as the gang falls apart as he resents Dutch’s increasing mistreatment of him.
  • Dutch is absolutely right about there being an informant in the gang, he just suspects someone like John or Abigail and not Micah due to being a Horrible Judge of Character.
  • That being said, his growing mistrust of John and Abigail is rational, to a degree. John did abandon the gang for a full year before he returned, and he also is the first to point out in Guarma that Abigail inexplicably managed to escape the Pinkertons while John was arrested and not killed, unlike Hosea or Lenny.
• Rage Breaking Point: Eventually reaches this in Chapter Six, where he began to constantly shout at his men for absolutely no reason to the point many of his men began to abandon him.
• Rebel Without A Cause: A variant where he has an expressed cause... it's just that said cause either is or becomes completely bogus. It's ambiguous how much he originally believed his anti-civilization rhetoric, but at some point in his criminal career, whether that be before or after the second game, it became less about being Just Like Robin Hood and more about spiting anyone who dared tell him what to do. It becomes clear in the later stages of II (and throughout the original game) that Dutch simply doesn't know what to do with himself when he isn't rebelling against somebody, whether that be the vague concept of civilization, the Pinkertons, traitors in his gang, or the U.S.A. itself.
• Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: According to a newspaper in the epilogue, he was presumed dead after a failed robbery in 1906, only to be sighted in Tall Trees a year later and was confirmed in 1911 to still be alive.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Exclusively wears red and black clothing in II, though this trope is downplayed in that it's debatable how evil, or if he in fact even is evil at that point in time.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Hosea's blue.
• Revenge Before Reason: A lot of Dutch's screw-ups happen because he pursues revenge against his enemies when simply walking away would be the wiser option, as perfectly lampshaded by Arthur. It's worth noting that this happens gradually - he's willing to bury the hatchet with Colm O'Driscoll and the score the gang steals from him at the beginning of the game is dangerous, but somewhat pragmatic.
  Arthur: This better not be no stupid revenge mission, Dutch. It ain't worth it.
• Riches to Rags: In 1899, Dutch is living the closest thing to a dream an outlaw can have as a gang leader, with elegant clothes, opera music, sophisticated literature and other riches being found in his tent. Many years later, Dutch has lost all those things, wearing only very plain and practical clothes, and has no other trinkets or luxuries to speak of.
• Riddle for the Ages: Did Dutch go mad or was he always that way and just lost his ability to hide it?
• Rousing Speech: Is prone to making these toward his gang in II, and uses his charisma to full effect when delivering them.
• The Runaway: Implied to have had a poor relationship with his mother and ran away from home at fifteen for this reason.
• Sanity Slippage: As the prequel has established, he was not always an erratic maniac prone to random violence though there's implications that it's simply being tempered. He also hits his head in a mission about halfway through the story of II and is noticeably more erratic and unstable afterwards.
• Secretly Selfish: Even from the beginning, at least some of his hatred for civilization seems to be founded on the fact that as part of a larger society, Dutch himself doesn't get to be Ultimate Supreme Leader, while roughing it with a small gang that doesn't follow any laws but the ones he sets means that he can rule as a tyrant.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: His (mostly) unfounded doubts about Arthur's and John's loyalty early in the game make him take actions that ultimately end their loyalty and support of him by Chapter Six and plot to steal his money (though it’s up to Arthur whether he wants to follow through), confirming his preconceived biases against them while allowing Ax-Crazy corrupter Micah to become his right-hand man.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: A charismatic Cultured Badass, Dutch's elegant manner of speaking is one of his more notable traits.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: His shift from caring about his appearance and wearing fairly elegant clothing in II to wearing much more plain and practical clothing for living in a mountainous area by I coincides with his Despair Event Horizon and Sanity Slippage.
• Shadow Archetype: Dutch is what John and Arthur would have become if they continue to live the life of crime, whether it is because it is the only life they knew, their inability to move on or for the thrill. In II, one can easily see how John and Arthur becoming better men than they were at the start of the game while Dutch slowly becomes more paranoid and becoming more blood thirsty. This is also likely the reason he betrays them as he sees them, John especially, capable of having a future beyond the gang, something he can never have.
• Social Darwinist: One who is willing to die to make sure that his ideals become reality.
• Sociopathic Hero: In his own mind he is.
• Softspoken Sadist: In the epilogue of II and I, he talks in a calm and restrained tone even as he's committing horrific crimes, a sharp contrast to his forceful demeanor in II.
• Sophisticated as Hell: He's half-Southern Gentleman half-Ax-Crazy outlaw, and he talks just like one too.
  • A particularly amusing example can happen if Arthur wanders off in the middle of one of his often long-winded camp conversations.
  Dutch: Yeah? Well fuck you, then!
• Start of Darkness: We see how Dutch became how he was in I in II, though it becomes clear he was already starting to slip before the story even begins, with what happened in Blackwater. Even in chapter 2 (the first real chapter since ch.1 is mainly a prologue), Arthur is already beginning to doubt Dutch's choices.
• Still Fighting the Civil War: By the events of the first game where the Wild West era has long since past its twilight years, Dutch is still trying to fight a hopeless battle, even resorting to rallying support from the local Native Americans to his lost cause. More literally, during the events of II that center around the Braithewaites-Grays feud, Dutch mocks the families and other inhabitants of Rhodes for still holding a grudge against the Northern states over the events of the American Civil War — however, he casually mentions to Arthur that part of his motivation for operating in the American South is a desire to get revenge for his father's death in that same war.
• Straw Nihilist: He could be described this way in the first game. Realizing that his philosophy was just a dream, he realized that he was incapable of fighting anything; nature, change and gravity. His whole life was fighting for him, and although he knew how incapable he was, he couldn't fight his own nature because of how useless he would be. In the end, Dutch commits suicide, knowing that nothing he did will be remembered and having lost all meaning to life.
• Sunk Cost Fallacy: A living example of this. At the beginning of the game, the gang steals 150k from a Blackwater bank ferry - calculated with inflation, this total is a whopping 4.5 million dollars in 2018 money. This is more than enough for him and his group of 20 to retire on and live the rest of their lives in peace, but unfortunately the group had to ditch the money in West Elizabeth to cover their tracks upon escaping. The group could have laid low for a few years, did odd jobs and such to keep up funds, and then gone back for the money when the trail went cold to finally obtain their one-way ticket out of their criminal life, but Dutch simply cannot let go of his fixation on being a Robin Hood-type. As Dutch pours more and more money into keeping the group afloat, the gang struggles more and more, getting into far more dangerous situations and bloody gunfights than they previously have. As a result, Dutch has to pour more and more money into finding newer jobs for the crew, which leads to more and more fighting, and the cycle continues. By the end of the game, just about the whole crew has abandoned him upon realizing that Dutch really doesn't want to stop being a criminal despite his pretensions about a higher purpose. He really was an outlaw to the end.
• Talking to Themself: Dutch can be heard doing this starting in late Chapter 4 following his head injury during the trolley crash. Unlike the usual "muttering to yourself" version that Arthur (and most people in real life) does at times, Dutch talks in pieces of full conversations, at one point even playing a verbal game of chess despite being alone.
• Tap on the Head: Deconstructed Trope, since a head injury has heavy consequences for Dutch's main character arc. After the botched trolley station heist in Saint Denis, Dutch suffered a possible concussion when the trolley the gang hijacked derailed. After the incident, he notably becomes more violent and erratic, implying that the knock to his head contributed to the Sanity Slippage that led to his mental state in the first game.
• Thrill Seeker: His pattern of behavior heavily suggests he's one. Many of the actions he takes can be explained by a genuine love for risk taking, as noted by both Hosea and Arthur early in the game. His plans are almost always way more dangerous than they need to be, and he appears to wildly enjoy gunfights, occasionally taunting enemies and daring them to kill him. This explains why he clearly doesn't want to leave his life as an outlaw, and most likely contributes to the fatalistic attitude he comes to hold about his nature when he accepts that his way of life is dead due to the increasing presence of law and order in the American West.
• Took a Level in Jerkass:
  • At the start of Chapter 4, he dismisses Molly and belittles her to Arthur as they ride away. He is a lot more curt from then on, but still pleasant enough to Arthur.
  • After the trolley robbery, Dutch goes on a rant about John, berates Arthur for being disloyal and claims only Micah is still loyal.
  • After the gang gets back from Guarma, he can frequently be seen berating his men for mild slights.
  • By the end of II, he leaves Arthur and John, who are essentially his adopted sons, for dead several times after he considers them to have betrayed him.
  • He at one point in the Chapter 6 mission "A Rage Unleashed" mocks Arthur for his tuberculosis-induced coughing fits. He also only expresses minimal concern for Arthur's health occasionally if the player has Arthur greet him in Chapter 6.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Both coming and going.
  • Micah is this to him, as Micah is said to have egged him on to shoot Heidi McCourt and in general encourages and enables Dutch's worst impulses. Listening to Micah makes Dutch more like Micah- an unrepentant criminal and bully (or at least, more willing to openly be that way). Unfortunately for everyone else, Micah says what Dutch wants to hear while Dutch isn't in a state to process criticism, so Dutch keeps him close despite his general untrustworthiness. Micah is also exploiting Dutch's mental state to push him into self-destruction so the Pinkertons have an easier time rounding the gang up.
  • Dutch is also this to his gang, good intentions or no. Most of them don't actually want to live as criminals (and in the epilogue, are able to find honest work), but Dutch keeps them as part of his gang, putting them in extreme and often unnecessary danger, because he himself doesn't want to be anything but an outlaw and likes having people to command. Most either die or wise up and ditch the gang before the final mission. When the gang dissolves for good, the only members left (aside from Micah's buddies Joe and Cleet) are the three from the first game (Dutch, Bill, and Javier), Micah himself, and Susan (who dies during the mission).
• Tragic Dream: He has one in his mind - to be an outlaw to the very end, and to force civilization back from the "purity" of the West. By 1911, he is a man clinging to false hope and belief as the West has been settled. When John finally confronts him, he simply accepts that the Wild West era is over and he commits suicide.
• Tragic Villain: Undoubtedly the most tragic villain of the entire series. His Fatal Flaws, bad decisions, tragic dreams, Moral Myopia and having a corrupter monster as a comrade (Micah Bell) made him the man he was, practically incapable of fighting against his own nature and finally committing suicide.
• Tranquil Fury: Slips into this when Arthur insists on John and his family being let go.
• Trigger-Happy: Progressively so. For most of the game, he advocates talking his way out of trouble and even holds parley with the O'Driscolls. By chapter 6, he's picking fights with the US Army, shooting oil barons in plain sight and all his plans rely on violence. This recklessness is noted to be Out of Character - everyone expresses shock at his shooting of Heidi McCourt at the Blackwater ferry. No one really saw what happened there, but it's suggested the robbery was going off without a hitch until then. By I, his propensity to kill and cause conflict out of nowhere has become one of his most prominent traits.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Dutch has elements of this toward Arthur, especially as the main story progresses. Despite being his most reliable and competent gang member dating back two decades, Arthur is the target of Dutch's infamous "have faith" speeches and begins siding with dangerous newcomer Micah simply because Micah sucks up to Dutch and tells him what he wants to hear. The deaths of prominent senior gang members like Hosea only make Dutch worse in this regard.
  • Averted with Reverend Swanson. The only reason he's still tolerated in the gang despite his alcoholism and drug addiction is because Dutch allows him to remain due to saving his life. When Swanson says the incident occurred years prior, and asks Dutch why he doesn't kick him out, the latter states he hasn't forgotten about it.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: When working both the Braithwaites and the Grays, Dutch sends John to the Grays to see about stealing the Braithwaites' horses. John was about to go with Hosea to try and get in the Braithwaite's good graces but they ask Arthur, who is already acting as a deputy to Sheriff Gray, to go in his stead. Because of this, Arthur ends up personally dealing with the heads of both families while attacking both families. Both families figure out they are being played and retaliate with the Grays killing Sean and the Braithwaites kidnapping Jack. Jack's kidnapping sets off a chain of events that eventually destroys the gang.
• Villainous Breakdown: At the very end of Arthur's story II, he has a huge My God, What Have I Done?-centric moment of clarity when he realizes how wrong he's been. For the first time ever, Dutch Van der Linde, a man who always knows what to say and when to say it, all he can do is pitifully stutter "I...I..." as he gradually perceives all the lives he's permanently ruined, including his own.
• Villainous Cheekbones: Interestingly, not until 1911 and by the time he's well past his Moral Event Horizon. His face appears sunken in compared to in 1899, presumably having lived a rougher life since that time, and this emphasizes the arches of his cheekbones.
• Villainous Friendship: His best friend is Hosea, his partner in crime and second-in-command for over 20 years.
• Villain Has a Point: He's an Ax-Crazy outlaw and Manipulative Bastard, but he has many valid reasons for why he opposes modern civilization and the industrialization of the American Frontier; it's implied that these ideals are partially responsible for why his gang is extremely loyal to him until he becomes too dangerous and insane to be around.
  • He's absolutely correct in telling John that he won't be absolved of his crimes by the government for killing him during their final confrontation in 1, despite what Ross keeps telling John.
  • He tells John that the Bureau will just find another criminal to justify their existence after his death. Guess who that "other criminal" is.
  • By the time of I, John is a cynic who often spouts polemics about the hypocrisies inherent in modern life and society, as well as the self-destructive nature of man. That game portrays him as correct in these criticisms, but it's implied in I — and confirmed in II — that Dutch was the person who informed John's views in this regard. In essence, John comes to believe the things Dutch taught him. However, while John is ultimately a good man who consistently acts in defiance to his cynical statements, to the point that he's called a romantic pretending to be a cynic in I, Dutch has truly become an amoral monster who is a vicious outlaw for the sake of it by the time of the first game. Whatever former idealism he had, it's all been stamped out, and he's an empty shell of a man.
• Visionary Villain: Of sorts. By 1911, his war against civilization and dream of a world where a man is 100% free to do what they want is fueled entirely by his hatred of the modern world, and fights against the law to return the world to the times of old. Too bad his way of executing this plan consists of hiding in caves, convincing young natives to die for him and an occasional robbery and murder. Judging by his hideout and last words, it's entirely possible — if not likely — that deep down he doesn't believe in this goal either and just wants to spite the government for trying to tell him what to do.
• Vocal Evolution: His manner of speaking goes from being boisterous and emotive (with frequent voice cracks) in II to being more soft-spoken and cool-headed by I, coinciding with his Despair Event Horizon. His voice is also slightly deeper in I, likely due to his old age and/or the stresses of continuing to live his dying lifestyle.
• Waistcoat of Style: In II he either switches between wearing an all-black or all-red waistcoat, both equally dapper and contributing to his status as a Badass in a Nice Suit.
• Warrior Poet: A badass outlaw infamous for numerous bank and train robberies, but also a well-spoken Cultured Badass who justifies his actions with his anarchistic philosophy. A couple of old poems addressed to "Annabella" can be found along with the pipe he left in an old cabin in Vetter's Echo, though the difference in handwriting makes it unclear if they were his or not.
• We Help the Helpless: His philosophy in II is a tendency to "shoot fellas as need shooting, save fellas as need saving, and feed 'em as need feeding."
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He certainly thinks of himself as this. Whether he is indeed one, or just a manipulative psychopath is largely up to the player's interpretation, though there's enough reason to believe either is valid.
• White Stallion: Rides a white Arabian stallion named The Count in II.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: At first, Dutch was a charismatic leader and a mentor willing to fight for the good of the people he has in his gang, but he is also quite prone to being delusional and making bad decisions. In fact, all his fatal flaws are the main reason why his Sanity Slippage will come into play years later. In the end, it's revealed that he's just a sad man and a pitiful shell of a man clinging to false hope, only posing a threat due to his ties with Native American rebels — a cause one can hardly call unjust.
• Would Harm a Senior: In Guarma, he strangles an elderly guide to death because she demanded more money after he had paid her his only remaining gold stolen from Saint Denis. Granted, she was brandishing a large knife close to his face. Arthur's reaction makes it clear that he was more than capable of simply subduing her rather than killing her, however.
• Would Hit a Girl: He would brutally murder one if he needed, or wanted to.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: He thinks himself and his gang as Robin Hood and his Merry Men; law-breaking heroes who will always stay one step ahead of the law thanks to Refuge in Audacity and Plot Armor, and who are beloved as champions of the oppressed at the same time they're hated by the oppressors. In reality, he's just another gang leader whose wild plans tend to trip on reality (his plan to tar and feather an army unit nearly gets his gang all killed when the rear guard shows up, for example) and who is feared by everyone not part of his gang because he's still robbing them. By the end of the original game, he's figured out that he was never a hero and his crusade against civilization was hypocritical and pointless; the subsequent Despair Event Horizon causes him to kill himself.
• You Are What You Hate: For all his preaching of his ideals to challenge the rise of modernity, he has a paradoxical relationship with it as he subtly follows similar practices and lifestyles, and his most vindictive grudges in II are of ambitious men that serve as dark mirrors of his own flaws. The realization of this contributed to his Sanity Slippage.
  • For all that Dutch understandably describes the O'Driscoll Boys as "brutes" and "animals" for their violent ways, what little of Colm is seen or described shows that he's very similar to his old enemy; the two men share a volatile temper, they're both schemers (though Colm seems to prefer simpler, more direct schemes), and Colm even reveals himself to be a flashy dresser when he arrives in person in "Blessed are the Peacemakers"◊. The main difference is that, while Dutch tries to be a noble father figure, Colm is unapologetic about being a cruel thug and doesn't hide the fact that he sees no value in his men. Although he frequently brings up Colm killing Annabelle as proof that he's an irredeemable mad dog, Dutch always brushes off any mention that Colm did it in retaliation for the murder of his brother. The Van der Linde Gang actually had a shaky truce with the O'Driscoll Boys at the time, meaning that Dutch originally incited the feud.
  • Similarly, Leviticus Cornwall shares Dutch's burning ambition, distaste for the law, and drive to succeed, but imposes his will in the name of modernization and industry, getting obscenely rich while his company despoils the land and his workers suffer. Dutch's accusation that the difference between them is that Cornwall "destroy[s] everything in [his] path" gets more grimly ironic the longer the game goes on and the gang begins to fall apart with a trail of dead and ruin in their wake.
  • Word of God says that this is partially the reason for his brutal murder of Angelo Bronte, being disgusted with himself for admiring his wealth and power.
• You Make Me Sick: He is not happy about John collaborating with the federal government to hunt him down. In his own twisted point of view, it basically confirmed that John was really the rat of the gang and not Micah; Dutch shot Micah for nothing in 1907, when he should’ve shot John.
  Dutch: We all make mistakes, John. I never claimed to be a saint. But equally, I never took you for an errand boy.

Membership

Abigail Marston (née Roberts)

"The life we led, that doesn't go away. It's never over."

^{Click here to see her in Red Dead Redemption}

Voiced by: Sophia Marzocchi (RDR I, motion capture in RDR II), Cali Elizabeth Moore (RDR II)

An ex-prostitute that rode with the gang in its heyday, Abigail's life changed with the birth of her and John Marston's son, Jack. While John was initially unwilling to admit the child was his and struggled with his feelings for her, the collapse of the gang saw the two reconcile and decide to settle down together. Now Abigail Marston, she lived a quiet life on the ranch... until some agents of the law showed up on their doorstep with a message.

---

• Ambiguous Situation: Her cough. As is mentioned on this folder, she can be heard coughing regularly during the Beecher's Hope section of I. However, she already has a noticeable cough in II's epilogue. It's unlikely it's tuberculosis, as this would mean she lived with it for 4 to 7 years without ever spreading it to anyone else all the while she worked around the ranch daily, but Morgan died to it in mere months. It is possible her lungs just aren't functioning properly, especially since we don't even see her smoke.
• Amicable Exes:
  • Downplayed with Arthur, based on the unconfirmed speculation that they were ever an item before Abigail settled with John. After taking Jack to a fishing trip on Abigail's request, Arthur intimates in his journal about how he probably should have taken the chance to marry her before she ended up with John, possibly implying at least a fling. He's also always the first person she asks for help, which suggests that the sense of emotional kinship he has towards her may be mutual.
• Anger Born of Worry: A constant source of friction between her and John during the epilogue of the second game.
• Apologetic Attacker: Becomes this during one of John's jailbreak scenes for the epilogue in II. She finds him in the jail and angrily asks the lawman if they can hang John right that instant. The lawman casually declines and turns his back to her, and she apologizes before hitting him upside the head with her shoe, knocking him out so she can free John.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: A lot of this, particularly during the early days of their relationship. They snipe back and forth constantly, at some points barely seem to put up with each other, and there are a handful of scenes in the camp where they even vent about one another to any sympathetic ear nearby. Makes it all the more heartwarming as their bumpy journey makes them grow closer, with John reaching out more and Abigail being more open about how much she cares.
  • Just compare her reaction at the very beginning of the game when she barely confesses being worried about John's disappearance in the blizzard to her reaction in the climax, when Arthur says John is either dead or captured without hope of rescue.
  • A particularly cute example of this in the game's epilogue. After a long, hard day trying to start over new all over again at Geddes' Ranch, John and Abigail share a quiet, tender Headbutt of Love.
• Big Sister Instinct: While she doesn't have siblings, she served as this towards some of the women of the Van Der linde Gang in II. She was the one who comforted Sadie at the beginning when she was still in despair over her husband's death, gave Molly advice about her feelings for Dutch, and briefly comforts Mary-Beth after Molly was shot by Grimshaw. The other women (save Grimshaw) also views her in high regard as seen when Karen rejected John's drunken advances on her by mentioning Abigail and Sadie was quick to help her get John back from prison.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: She hopes John would stop using violence as an answer to everything and that he'd actually think of the consequences of his actions. John took this to heart. Instead of dooming his family by fighting back, he lets the US Army ventilate himself so they'd leave his family alone.
  • In fairness, what eventually sealed John's fate was going after Micah to avenge Arthur's death in the prequel's epilogue, going against Abigail's wishes to forgo violent retribution and inadvertently leading law enforcement back onto his trail, making this a Defied Trope. Taking up arms against the U.S government wouldn't have ended well in any event even if John had decided against co-operating with the Bureau simply because they have far more resources and manpower to work with than he does. Having a family to defend as collateral doesn't exactly work to his advantage, either - a fact which Ross exploits to kickstart the first game's main plotline.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She may be a non-combatant most of the time, but when Milton is about to kill Arthur, Abigail breaks free of her binds and promptly shoots the agent in the head.
  • In the first game, it's implied one of the Bureau captors tried hitting on her, which she did not take kindly. Based on what she tells John, nobody hit on her after that.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Abigail looks a lot like Lauren Cohan in II◊.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Shows hints of this whenever Bonnie is mentioned, though it's mostly sarcastic on her part since she often teases John about her. Later a Subverted Trope, when she and Bonnie get on swimmingly and even take a few turns roasting Marston.
• Damsel in Distress: Towards the end of Chapter 6, she has been kidnapped by Milton who plans to kill her. But when a sickened Arthur arrives to undo one of the braces that held her wrists, she becomes a Damsel out of Distress when Milton confronts him and attempts to kill him.
• Deadpan Snarker: She could give her husband and Bonnie MacFarlane a run for their money.
• Death by Despair: It's implied that the death of John was what caused her death, or at least worsened her already poor condition.
• Death Wail: Very much justified, after seeing John’s bullet riddled bloody body.
• Determined Homesteader: Literally. Implied to have become determined after John died, as she kept their ranch running and raised Jack, even with her illness.
• Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Subverted. She is shown and mentioned to get physical towards John in the beginning of II, and it is not Played for Laughs.
• Enmity with an Object: In the post-game of II, she really doesn't like the taxidermized squirrel that John can get from completing the Hunting Requests despite the fact that he considers it art. Afterwards, John can find it hidden around various different places around Beecher's Hope and eventually it'll end up over on the top of Mount Shann.
• Establishing Character Moment: In either game, her tendency to express her anxieties and frustrations over the safety and wellbeing of her family and loved ones (and especially with John) through acrimonious outbursts towards them is established from her first appearance, where 1 has her physically assaulting John for his (mandated) months-long absence before hugging him afterwards. In 2, she's seen caring for a mortally wounded Davey Callander and expressing grief and remorse when he succumbs to his wounds. She also pleads to have Arthur look for John when he goes missing, only to insult him for his idiocy once Arthur and Javier return him injured from the mountains.
• Foil: She's one to Mary Linton. Both are the Love Interests to the protagonists, John and Arthur respectively. But while Abigail is a former prostitute, Mary comes from a well-off family with a wealthy father. Their relationships with their lovers are the polar opposite as well. It’s clear that while Arthur and Mary couldn’t let go of their feelings for each other, they both gave up hopes of mending the fence and never reconciled. Abigail’s relationship with John was initially quite troubled to the point that it’s hard to tell that they’re even a couple, but they were eventually able to settle down and became a Happily Married couple. Like Mary did with Arthur, Abigail left John once she realizes that he will always bring their family into danger as long as he’s unable to let go of his outlaw life. But nonetheless, she comes back to him in the end.
• Good Parents: Might be the most consistently good parent in the entire series, not that there's a lot of competition. John becomes this towards the end of II but he did ignore Jack for the first several years of his life and even ran off on him for a year. Abigail, even in the beginning of II, is absolutely determined to do right by Jack and give him a better life than she had. She wants him to learn to read so he can make something of himself. She also lets Arthur be the man in his life when John won't. She's largely successful too (at least in the material sense), especially if you believe the aformentioned GTA easter egg is canon.
• Happily Married: With John. They bicker back-and-forth constantly, but they love each other immensely.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: What she was before marrying John.
• Incurable Cough of Death: She can be heard coughing heavily in gameplay. She also dies not long after John.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She could downright trade barbs with John in II, but only because both 1) he can be quite reckless and 2) she loves him so much. She mellows out once they marry.
  • This includes a case of Jerkass Has a Point, as John was out of control a lot of the time, which she tolerated for years, and any decent mother would freak out upon hearing that their husband had a shootout in front of their son.
  • When John decides to go after Micah, she is obviously pleading with John not to go after Micah. While John does argue that they owe everything to Arthur, she clearly knows that Micah is a sadist and that if John dies, Micah will come for them next. It also winds up leading Edgar Ross to their location.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Her concerns over John’s behaviour getting them in trouble, so much that she leaves him and takes Jack along, are completely validated once him killing Micah leads Ross to them and ultimately his death.
• Lethal Chef: John and Jack absolutely abhor her cooking.
• Like an Old Married Couple: Well, they are one.
• Mama Bear: Protective of her son Jack. When he's kidnapped by the Braithwaites, she's thrown into despair. Marston wants to rescue Jack as quickly as possible, partly out of concern for his son's well-being, partly out of fear of Abigail's wrath.
  • She also put up with John's recklessness for years, but what makes her draw the line and decide that she needs space from him was when he ends up being ambushed and shoots a group of men in front of Jack.
• Morality Chain: Is implied to be one to Marston in II, being the reason why John is never fully subservient to Dutch like Arthur was. Dutch thinks that Abigail is "poisoning" John against him.
• Never Learned to Read: The only illiterate member of the Marston family, usually having John or Jack read aloud for her.
• Sticky Fingers: Abigail had swift thieving skills during her time in Dutch's gang. So swift that she even stole the key to Dutch's chest of money before the gang broke apart!

  Abigail: "I always was a good thief."

• Struggling Single Mother: She spends the first half of II as this. Due to John hardly being involved in Jack's life, she has to raise Jack but has to get all the support she can get from some of the other people in camp. It then gets easier when John finally starts being a father to Jack. Tragically becomes one again permanently after 1911...
• Tsundere: Shades of this, mostly around John. Earliest example is when John is brought back to camp bloodied up after being attacked by wolves and stranded in a blizzard for days. She's beside herself with joy upon his return...only to go right to spitting insults the second he's on the bed. Unlike most conventional depictions, it's clear that the reason for Abgail's acrimony is often because she cares about her loved ones (and is simply at odds with their decision-making), rather than it being a denial of her affection towards them.

  Abigail: "This is low, even by your standards."

  • We see this in the first game, when John returns home after months of being away.
    John: "Oh, darling! I never thought I'd see this day again."
    Abigail: "You no-good, hillbilly piece of shit!"
• Wet Blanket Wife: Hates it whenever John does his cowboy thing. As a matter of fact, she leaves him for 3 months over it, taking Jack with her. Explored due to her fearing falling back into the old life and putting Jack in danger all over again. It ends up being just the kick in the ass Marston needs to change things for good.
• Your Size May Vary: She is very short in 1, being much shorter than everyone in the Marston family. In 2 she is shown to be very tall and only a couple inches shorter than John and Uncle.
• Younger Than They Look: It's hard to believe Abigail's only about 22 in 1899, based on her appearance and personality. Justified Trope, since prostitution and outlaw life would wear a LOT of people out physically.

Marion "Bill" Williamson

"Don't try anything stupid and we won't do anything unkind."

^{Click here to see him in Red Dead Redemption}

Voiced by: Steve J. Palmer

"Things are different now, John. Now I'm in charge! No more Dutch, and no more you!"

Dishonorably discharged from the army, Bill turned to a life of violence and drinking. At his lowest point, he was taken in by Dutch who saved him from himself. Rude, slovenly, and drunk more often than not, his attempts to prove himself to the gang often went ignored. While he remained loyal for longer than one might expect, by 1911 he'd struck out on his own, carving a path of bloodshed through New Austin.

---

• Abhorrent Admirer: May or may not be one for Kieran.
• Ambiguously Gay: There are some hints in II that Bill is gay, which would explain a fair amount of his insecurities.
  • Arthur says in one of his journal entries from before the game starts that he knows Bill is living with some sort of big secret but doesn't push it because it's not his secret to tell.
  • Hosea and Arthur talk about how Lenny had a crush on Jenny (a girl in the gang who died in Blackwater). Hosea says that couples with similar names don't work out, his examples are: "Lenny and Jenny", "Arthur and Martha", and "Bill and Phil".
  • In the bar fight early on in Chapter 2, Arthur asks if Bill is trying to punch a guy or kiss him.
  • He got kicked out of the Army for "deviancy".
  • After Arthur encounters Sonny, the rapist out in the swamps, Bill will tell Arthur that he met Sonny as well and that he knows about their "special night".
  • During a side mission, Tilly calls Bill a "half-man".
  • He's also implied to be attracted to Kieran. Charles notes it. You can also find him coaxing and then threatening Kieran into having a drink of whiskey with him. If you interrupt, Bill asks "Can't two men share a drink in peace?" Kieran then walks off and Bill begs him to come back.
  • One of the antagonize dialogues to Jack is Arthur saying he doesn't look like a Marston but more like a Williamson or an Escuella. John's reply if he's standing nearby is to say something to the effect of "Bill doesn't swing that way".
  • A dialogue in camp has Lenny answering Bill's praising with "I'm not going to sit on your lap".
  • Another campfire event has Bill reveal that, after leaving the Army, he slept rough for a while and was robbed by someone that he implies, while nervously giggling, was a gay man. When he suddenly seems to realize what that might say about him and how the two met, he quickly and angrily changes his tune, insisting it was a woman.
  • Given the part he plays in planning the events of "Sodom? Back to Gomorrah", the mission's title appears to suggestively hint at his sexuality.
  • In an optional stagecoach robbery in chapter 4 with him and Micah, he’ll say he’s not interested in women when talking about sleeping with the girls in camp.
  • While capturing him, John insults Javier by suggesting that he and Bill are "sharing a bed".
  • On the flip side, Bill claims that he "fucked with Abigail", suggesting that he's either bisexual or slept with Abigail to hide that he's homosexual. Another possibility is that, like Dutch claiming that everyone in the gang had a turn at her, he's trying to get on John's nerves.
• Alas, Poor Villain: The prequel reveals that he wasn't always the psychopathic monster we saw in the first game, which casts his fate in a more tragic light.
• The Alcoholic: He can be seen frequently terrorizing the gang with his drunken fits, and ends up being threatened by Javier at one point. After he's spent a night boozing around the campfire, it's common for him to stagger off, black out and collapse to the ground with a beer bottle still in his hand.
• Arc Villain: Of the New Austin arc in Red Dead Redemption.
• Ascended Extra: In the first game, Bill personally showed up thrice in-game (with the third time being the moment he's killed) and is a fairly generic villain who was little more than a murderous thug. II considerably fleshes out his character, both humanizing him and showing how he was before things took a turn for the worse.
• Ax-Crazy: In Red Dead Redemption, he is a psychopathic bandit who gleefully commits Rape, Pillage, and Burn against every town he comes across.
• Asshole Victim:
  • Of a sorts. He gets relentlessly hunted down by a criminal that, from his point of view is no better than himself, has several members of his gang shot, captured, and killed, is pursued to fucking Mexico and then thrown under the bus (and to the ground) in an utterly humiliating attempt by Col. Allende to save himself. It doesn't work, and he is graphically shot dead without any meaningful last words whatsoever. Might be a bad way to die, but nobody seems to care.
  • This is more than likely due to his numerous acts of crime and intimidation, such as arson, murder and kidnapping. Also, when being chased down by John right before his final moments, he taunts him by stating he "fucked with Abigail" (his wife), along with the rest of the gang. It also doesn't help that he admits that he gladly left John behind in the past.
  • Comes full circle in the second game, where it's revealed that Bill has always been a deeply troubled man. He possibly suffers from PTSD from atrocities he witnessed (and maybe participated in) as a cavalryman in the Indian wars. His father also succumbed to dementia and he has constantly lived in fear that he's inherited his father's illness. Considering how he turns out in 1911, that fear wasn't totally unfounded.
• Badass Longcoat: Spends a majority of the time in II wearing a brown leather duster.
• Bald of Evil: In Redemption he's almost completely bald, and in II his hairline is seriously receding.
• Beard of Evil: He has a shaggy unkempt mane.
• Better with Non-Human Company: While few people get along with him in the gang, Bill's evidently an animal lover. Arthur states that for all his faults he loves his horse and he can be seen playing with Cain. The animals get along with him, in turn.
• Brains and Brawn: The brawn to Javier Escuella's brains.
• The Brute: From what is gathered from John, Bill was always a violent brute. This is somewhat confirmed in II, as it takes him a while to slip fully into his savage nature come the first game.
• The Bully: Not to the extent of Micah, but he tends to act like a complete asshole towards the less imposing members of the gang, especially Kieran and Lenny. He's also a bully when he's drunk.
• Butt-Monkey: II shows that within Dutch's gang, Bill was often made fun of by the others for his screw-ups and his general unpleasantness. Even his first meeting with the gang was embarrassing — he was a highwayman robbing travelers in the Northwest and tried to do the same to Dutch, but Dutch, even at gunpoint, found him so drunk and pathetic that he just started laughing.
• Cringe Comedy: His social ineptitude and drunken fits leads to this type of humor.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's socially inept, constantly drunk, mentally unwell and the laughing stock of the gang - he's also an incredibly formidable fighter, a ruthless killer and by 1911, one of the most powerful (not to mention brutal) gang leaders in the entire West.
• Desperately Craves Affection: It's readily apparent in II that all Bill wants is the respect and friendship of his peers, and that much of his Jerkass behavior is him lashing out because he believes that the rest of the gang look down on him. Once the gang falls apart and Bill's left alone with nobody in the world to give a damn that he even exists, he falls off the deep end and becomes the monster John has to deal with in the first game.
• Disc-One Final Boss: His death in the first game only marks the end of the second act.
• Dirty Coward:
  • Whenever he encounters John, a man he truly loathes, he never faces him except at a distance, armed with a long-range rifle, and backed up by lots of minions. Bill prefers to send his men after him, and in the mission in which he is killed, he doesn't bother to stay behind and gun down his friend, opting to flee with Col. Allende instead.
  • This appears to be a recent development. During the events of the prequel, Bill and Javier have done far more dangerous things than fighting Marston. They both have no issue going up against both Arthur and John at the same time in the ending.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Even ignoring his development in the prequel, John spends half of the first game trying to hunt him down, with Bill evading justice twice. After a brief chase in Mexico, Bill gets betrayed by his stagecoach companion and brought to be executed with little fanfare. Even if you shoot Allende instead to give Bill a fighting chance, he'll get gunned down by Reyes after trying to reach for Allende's gun regardless.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Bill tries his best pulling his weight around the gang, but his fellow gang members are often quick to call him out for his screw-ups. He's quick to point this out to Arthur, saying that Arthur never gets called out for his mistakes as Dutch's Number Two.
  Arthur: That wasn't my fault, it was just one of them things.
  Bill: How come every time I get in trouble, I’m called a fool and an idiot, but when you get in trouble, "Oh, it’s just one of them things"...?
  Lenny: (Laughs) It's a good point, Arthur!
• Dumb Muscle: John states that Bill was never the smartest one of the gang. II shows that his robberies with Arthur are often short-sighted when it comes to planning, though the robbery of Valentine he plans with Karen does become one of the more high-profit low-risk heists of the gang provided that Arthur cracks the vault silently and they only get caught after they're already escaping.
• Dying Curse: After being betrayed by Allende, he goes out insulting Marston, calling him "weak-minded", a "bastard orphan", and saying that everyone in the gang wanted him dead. Either of these can become a Curse Cut Short if John decides to shoot him mid-ramble.
• Embarrassing First Name: Idle chatter between him and Micah, as well as finding his military discharge papers in the camp, reveals that his first name is actually... "Marion". He chose "Bill" as a nickname for understandable reasons.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: In the first game, he seems to care about his second-in-command Norman Deek, and kidnaps Bonnie McFarlane for a hostage exchange when he's captured by the authorities. However, it's downplayed, as Bill's own men end up gunning Deek down while attempting to ambush Marston anyway, though it's unclear if Bill was in on this event.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Despite Bill clearly reveling in his status as an outlaw in II, there are some lines he isn't willing to cross. For one thing, he considers the Braithwaites stooping so low as to kidnap a four-year old Jack to be utterly reprehensible, and can be heard screaming obscenities at the family for doing so.
  • He also very clearly hates Micah whenever he's brought up, seeing him as the soulless monster and complete asshole he is. Sadly, by the time we see him again in 1911, Bill has pretty much become exactly that.
• Evil Former Friend: He was a former member of the Van der Linde gang alongside John who ended up becoming just another bandit. In the first game there's little indication of their closeness, but it's taken to a new level in the prequel where it’s revealed that John and him were once pretty good friends.
  John: Bill? You’re pretty drunk. And you’re a funny feller. But... You’re okay.
• Evil Laugh: When John and Bill confront each other in 1911, the latter constantly laughs in the former's face, giving off a particularly chilling guffaw after one of his men shoots John in the shoulder.
• Expy: Although his debut predates GTA V by three years, his main characterization in II makes him an Expy of Trevor Philips. Like Trevor, Bill is an ex-soldier with military training, a violent maniac with serious anger problems, an anti-social, an alcoholic, has shades of Cringe Comedy, suffers from poor mental health, has an ambiguous sexual preference, bullies the weaker members of his gang (Bill to Lenny and Kieran; Trevor to Wade, Ron and Floyd), has a serious problem of emotional dependence related to his unstable parental relationship, suffers from a legitimate mental illness, and eventually became a violent criminal who is deeply loyal to his main comrade (Bill to Dutch; Trevor to Michael and Franklin). Even his previous characterization in the first game parallels Trevor, since like Trevor, Bill became the most prolific criminal in his local area and went his own way to build his own criminal empire through violence and domination. But while Trevor could have a happy ending with option C despite all his monstrous actions, there is no such option for Bill.
• Fat Bastard: Downplayed. He's strongfat in II, but that was him at his best (albeit he was still a racist, antisocial outlaw). By 1, his weight has dissipated along with his sanity.
• Freudian Excuse: Irredeemable piece of trash, yes, but he had an awful life, from growing up with a demented, drunken father to witnessing the horrors of war in his time with the Army. Dutch gave his life the meaning he'd always been looking for, and being robbed of that when Dutch went insane was the final nail in the coffin.
• From Camouflage to Criminal: Prior to joining Dutch's gang, Bill was a soldier. He got a dishonorable discharge for his troubles, which he attributes to his captain becoming corrupt with power. On account of distrusting the government, he wholeheartedly joins the gang.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Bill Williamson, the Butt-Monkey of the Van der linde gang, winds up becoming the most dangerous and feared man in all of New Austin, as well as one of the most prolific criminals in the county.
• Gender-Blender Name: His real first name is actually Marion, which is commonly a feminine name, although famously it was the real name of popular Western actor John Wayne. Given the setting, it's possible that this was an intentional shout-out.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Extremely foul-tempered, even when sane. If there's somebody (that's not Micah) causing trouble in camp, or starting up pointless fights, it's sure to be Bill.
• Hate Sink:
  • In Red Dead Redemption, he has no likable or sympathetic qualities whatsoever. He's just a complete and utter murdering bastard, and dies like one.
  • Subverted in II. While he is definitely one of the less popular members of the 1899 gang, he's not malicious towards his comrades and is quite loyal. In fact, his characterization in this game is a stark contrast to the original.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Asks Arthur to buy him some hair pomade, presumably to start styling his own hair. He then awkwardly but sincerely thanks Arthur for getting him some.
  • Though he usually comes across as a violent buffoon, he masterminds and takes point on the Valentine bank robbery early in the prequel, which turns out to be one of the gang's best scores of the entire game.
  • When Jack gets kidnapped, Bill does not hesitate to offer his help and can later be heard screaming at the Braithwaites at how going after a child is utterly reprehensible.
  • Bill is stupid, but he has moments of clarity. While he gets very angry at Arthur for questioning Dutch, he still hates Micah and is reluctant to believe the rumors he spreads about Morgan. While it doesn't last, he's genuinely rattled when Arthur suggests that the gang is having problems more because of their recklessness, unlike Javier.
  • When John confronts him at Fort Mercer in 1911, Bill claims that he doesn't want to kill him and even gives him a couple chances to leave. This shows that despite the violent psychopath he's become, deep down he still considers John his friend.
• Hypocritical Humor: At one point, he calls Pearson a drunk. While drunk. This is coming from the guy who can take on Karen and Uncle in a drinking contest.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: According to Steve Palmer, Bill wants to be accepted but instead he is merely tolerated, and it's eating him up inside.
• I Surrender, Suckers: If Allende is shot by John or Reyes before he is, Bill will rise to his feet saying that he'll "come quietly", only to try to shoot the pair with Allende's gun, which will inevitably get him shot.
• Innocent Inaccurate: Played with. Bill understandably worries in 1899 that his father's dementia might be hereditary and that it was induced or hastened by alcoholism, which Bill definitely has — but due to denial, he also fixates on the fact that it didn't really get that bad until his dad started mixing whiskey and moonshine, seeing it as a further complication instead of another symptom of the old man's addiction; as long as he stays away from mixed drinks or only drinks one thing at a time, he believes, it won't happen to him.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Bears some strong resemblance to his voice actor Steve J. Palmer.
• In the Blood: A conversation in II reveals he watched his father suffer a slow mental decline when he was a child. Given how his own sanity has completely disappeared by the first game, it's strongly implied that mental illness runs in his family.
• Jerkass: And that's one of the nicest terms to describe him. Most of his dialogue in I involves him throwing crude insults towards John and his family, and even Dutch and Javier (whom he still considers an ally) aren't exempt from his mouthy attitude. II reveals he Took a Level in Jerkass and was once a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  Bill: [to John] You always was a traitor, you bastard orphan!
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: II shows that while he’s still an unpleasant guy back then, he nonetheless sticks with the gang to the very end and is pretty chummy with some of his fellow gang members even if they don’t always get along.
• Jerkass Has a Point: In "II" while pitching an idea about a bank robbery, Bill calls Arthur out about the shootout in Valentine when the latter expresses doubt in the plan [and, in turn, Bill's competence]. In response, Arthur says it was not his fault and that it was "just one of them things," to which Bill asks why, when he messes up, he is called a "fool and an idiot", while whenever Arthur messes up, it's "just one of them things." Arthur does not have a comeback for this, and everyone present agrees that it is a good point...even Lenny, of all people.
• Morality Pet: His horse, which Arthur comments he genuinely cares for.
  • Cain as well. Other than Jack and Arthur, Bill seems to be the most fond of the dog compared to the rest of the gang. There are several moments at camp where Bill pets Cain, and Cain can be seen resting near Bill’s tent quite often, implying that their friendship is mutual.
  • The gang as a whole. Despite butting heads with most of them, there are plenty of moments that show that Bill truly cares about everyone in the gang. Losing his only family hit him so hard that he succumbed to his worst traits and became just like Micah.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Several times. When the gang gets away from danger or has a plan going successfully, Bill makes a stupid mistake that jeopardizes them many times.
  • During their first train robbery, it never crosses his mind to check if the detonator's broken or not so they can blow up the tracks. Inevitably, the detonator fails to blow up the TNT, forcing the gang to chase after the train.
  • During a stagecoach robbery led by Uncle, they were forced to hide in a barn after finding out that the coach has doubled the security to stop robbers. Once the agent inspecting the barn leaves, Bill accidentally kicks over a bucket, attracting the attention of the gunmen looking for them. Inevitably, this forces the heist crew to participate in a bloody shootout.
  • In his own stagecoach robbery, he gets into an argument with Tilly at the last second, forcing him and Arthur to chase after the coach instead.
  • Quite possibly his biggest fuck-up is leading the Pinkertons into their hideout. After their escape from Guarma, he just had to ask everyone where the next gang hideout is. Unbeknownst to him, he was making a trail for the Pinkertons to follow. Micah calls him out on this. Even after it’s revealed that he’s The Mole for the Pinkertons, his points still stands, as while he’s responsible for most everything else that happens to the gang, it wasn't him that led the Pinkertons to Lakay.
• No Social Skills: In II, many of his interactions with the members of the gang show that he's socially awkward.
• Odd Friendship: Bill is surprisingly good friends with Javier, despite having a racist streak; He's a war veteran who is seriously lacking in the brain department and who is considered to be an unbearable bore by most of the gang, and Javier is a handsome Mexican runaway who is good friends with practically everyone. This would explain why in 1911 Javier would be willing to have Allende shelter him.
• Pet the Dog:
  • In II, Bill is very happy to torture Kieran Duffy, a reluctant member of the O'Driscoll Boys. When Kieran brought the gang to ambush a camp where Colm O'Driscoll is possibly hiding, Arthur accuses him for setting them up to an ambush but Bill defends Kieran and agrees that it is not an ambush since Kieran had just saved Arthur from an assailant. As time passes, Bill warms up to Kieran, trying to get the young man to join him for a drink and even mourns his death.
  • When Micah mocks Arthur for his deteriorating condition thanks to his tuberculosis, Bill quickly tells Micah to shut it.
  • Quite surprisingly, he's fond of the camp dog Cain, and is seen caressing him lovingly and calling him a good boy. Observant players will also notice that Cain spends a lot of time near Bill, sometimes even sleeping next to him.
  • In I, although he’s degenerated into a psychopathic savage by this point, he still retains enough of his old self to warn John away when they reunite so that he doesn’t feel the need to kill him.
  • He goes to back Lenny on a stagecoach robbery and when they get back, he's singing his praises for the whole camp to hear.
• Politically Incorrect Villain:
  • His experiences fighting in the Army prejudiced him severely against Native Americans, which he tends to refer to as "Injuns" or "savages"; both Arthur and Dutch scoff at this, saying that it was war and the Army was fighting them just as savagely. Because he seems to know the pushback he'll get for it, he doesn't bring this prejudice up often, being generally unwilling to discuss his Army service anyway. There's also the implication that he dislikes Charles for his half-Native heritage, suspecting him of being the rat on no grounds other than he thinks he's always been "a bad apple".
  • In one camp interaction, he drunkenly calls Javier "Greaser" to get a rise out of him; given that Javier is fiddling with his knife at the time, this is a very big mistake, and Bill is quickly forced to his knees and called a "sheep fucker" while it's held against the back of his neck. Even as Bill walks away shaken, Arthur's response is a very unsympathetic "stop bein' an idiot, Bill".
  • Even when he's sober, he bullies Lenny and shoves him to the ground for perceived lack of disrespect; unlike Micah's racial taunts and bullying, Lenny doesn't take it the least bit seriously and laughs it off as it happens. He also takes to addressing him as "boy", using the term even while praising him as a genius after a stagecoach robbery they organized together. Dutch calls him out for it in camp at one point.
    Bill: Hey, boy, get over here.
    Dutch: His name is Lenny, and he is one of us, so don't be callin' him boy, now, Bill! He don't like that no more.
    Bill: [Ashamed, like a kid getting caught by their father] Sorry, Dutch.
    Dutch: I swear, Arthur, these people are philistines. I blame the Army.
• Rape, Pillage, and Burn: In the first game, he runs a group of bandits that happily commit various atrocities across New Austin.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Partook in the rape and massacre of countless homesteaders in New Austin, the aftermath of which John has to witness.
• Repetitive Name: Subverted. His full name could be mistaken for being William Williamson, due to his nickname "Bill". However idle chatter in II reveals that the "Bill" part comes from his family name.
• Torture Technician: Appears to be the gang's resident interrogator, being the first man up when they were gonna torture Kieran, and explicitly mentioned in Arthur's journal as the one they set on prisoners to make them talk.
  • Unfortunately, his fondness for torture is even worse by 1911, with many of the crime scenes that he and his gang leave behind being almost at the level of the Skinner Brothers or the Murfrees.
• Sanity Slippage: During a campfire chat, Bill mentions his father slowly lost his mind to what sounds very much like dementia.
  • It appears to run in the family, as by 1911, his mental state has degenerated to the point that all of his inhibitions and empathy have disappeared.
• Signature Move. Bill appears particularly fond of castration, as a means of torture. He gleefully threatens Kieran with it, and by 1911, most of his male victims appear to have been emasculated as well.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Implied to have seen some awful things as a soldier.
• The Sociopath: What he's become by 1911. His capacity for empathy has drained away completely, he feels no remorse for any of his murders and his favorite hobbies are killing, slaughtering and robbing.
• Sociopathic Hero: Only in II. Much like Trevor Philips, he has the typical features of a boorish psychopath despite his redeeming features. However, he participates in some of the gang's most heroic acts, such as rescuing Jack Marston from Angelo Bronte.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: In II, his grumpy exterior hides a lot of insecurities and it's pretty clear he really wants to be liked and accepted by the other gang members,
• Start of Darkness: It's implied that his decision to stick with Dutch despite the latter's increasing instability led to his descent into insanity.
• Stout Strength: The fattest in the gang besides Pearson, yet also one of the strongest.
• Too Dumb to Live: His general stupidity getting him in danger aside, one camp event in II has him get into an altercation with Javier, where he in his half-drunken stupor decides it's a good idea to jam on Javier's Berserk Button and call him a Greaser to get a rise out of him, not once, but twice. Unsurprisingly, it results in Javier twisting his arm and holding a knife to his neck, calling him a sheep fucker. Luckily for him, Javier decides to let him off easy, shoving him away and telling him to get lost, allowing the now terrified and shaken Bill to walk away.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In the prequel, he was a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, but starts losing his redeeming traits over the course of the game. By the first game, he's just as nasty as Micah. In I, Abigail is outright baffled by this, as the Bill she knew was a pathetic nobody, and was surprised he was even capable of the atrocities John describes to her.
• Tragic Villain: At the end of it all, Bill is just a broken man with PTSD who, having had an insane and alcoholic father and having witnessed the atrocities of the war, he had no purpose until Dutch arrived in his life. The real tragedy comes when, after Dutch's Sanity Slippage and the dissolution of the gang, Bill had no one to turn to for emotional support, and it is very implied that the lack of people who cared about him, Sanity Slippage and the trauma of the war made him as monstrous as Micah.
• Troubled Sympathetic Bigot: The war gave him a few prejudices toward Native Americans. Dutch tries to tell him he can't base his views on that alone.
• Undignified Death: In the end, his attempt to outrun Marston end with him being betrayed by both his allies, and executed with a single shot on a lonely desert road, left to rot alone.
• Undying Loyalty: He and Javier are the only members still 100% loyal to Dutch when the gang falls apart in 1899. Averted by the events of the first game however, where Bill openly boasts about how he gets to be in charge of his own gang now that Dutch is gone.
• We Used to Be Friends: While it might be easier to dismiss his relationship with John, in II it’s possible to witness a drunken conversation between the two where Bill tries to tells John a funny joke but then realized that he forgot it, John laughs anyway. In the same conversation, Bill also admits that some people in camp hate John for leaving; when John asks who, Bill sheepishly says that he does, before doubling back and admitting that’s not really true. Tragically, he's the first one to suggest that Marston is the rat, an idea Javier entertains mostly out of spite towards Arthur.
  • Interestingly, he still carries some of this attitude by 1911, despite by all means having gone insane, uncharacteristically asking John to leave, so he doesn't have to kill him, while every other action he does in Redemption would indicate he'd more than likely torture or kill anybody else doing what John does.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: His PTSD, lack of purpose in a violent society, Sanity Slippage, and lack of people who cared about him worsened him, and by the end of all the trauma he endures, he becomes a soulless shell of his former self, a homicidal lunatic without moral code who only finds joy in killing, slaughering and robbing.
• Younger Than They Look: Believe it or not, Bill is only seven years older than John, and is three years younger than Arthur.

Javier Escuella

"If we have to fight, we fight. If we have to run, we run. If we must die, we'll die, but... we'll stay free."

^{Click here to see him in Red Dead Redemption}

Voiced by: Antonio Jaramillo (RDR I), Gabriel Sloyer (RDR II)

"You got it all wrong, brother. I've always loved you, even now."

Born a peasant in Mexico, Javier spent much of his early life as a revolutionary before being forced to flee to America after killing a high-ranking officer over a woman. There, he joined the gang and became one of Dutch's most devoted followers. This unyielding devotion to a man on the brink of collapse proved to be his downfall, however, and by 1911 he had returned to Mexico a jaded and amoral mercenary, working for the very government he once fought to overthrow.

---

• Accent Relapse: Javier appears to have regained his accent after returning back to Mexico.
• Affably Evil:
  • Javier is a cold-blooded killer, make no mistake about it - but he also happens to be one of the most likable members of the Van der Linde gang. Apart from being friendly and an accomplished musician, he was also rather suave, well-spoken, and very handsome. It's implied that the years of drinking and heartache following the collapse of the gang have ruined his good looks.
  • Even when John comes after him, he acts pretty polite towards him and doesn't seem willing to fight him at all.
  • There's a heartwarming interaction between him and Karen at camp where he asks about her drinking problem. Even when she deflects and brushes him off he takes it in stride.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Even John cries when he has to put him down (assuming the player opts against capturing him instead).
• Ambiguously Evil: Taking both games into account, there is a small amount of ambiguity on whether his villainy in the first game is genuine or just him trying to survive.
  • Whether he was complicit in helping Dutch abandon John or even aware of it is unknown. While he was involved in the train job that John fell off of, he only returns to camp after John comes back and accuses Dutch of leaving him to die, and is forced to turn his gun on him alongside the rest of Micah's gang shortly after. If Javier was complicit in abandoning John, there certainly wasn't enough time to reveal it.
  • It's never explained how he managed to return to Mexico despite allegedly being on the goverment's hit-list, opening up the possibility of him making a deal with them. Being a goverment-backed hitman is preferable to being actively hunted by law in 2 countries or dead.
  • His villainous acts happen off-screen and John hears of them through the rebels or their allies. While they have many reasons to oppose their goverment, they may not be completely truthful when it comes to the enemy. The rebel leader Reyes has a habit of lying to get and keep his supporters - not to mention he eventually turns out to be corrupt as well.
  • When confronted by John, Javier chooses to run away despite having a perfect opportunity to just kill him though he does shoot at John if you choose to chase after him instead of just killing him.
• Ascended Extra: Javier in I appeared for only a single mission and gets a scant few lines, with what little characterization being mostly second-hand comments from John. Like Bill, he gets considerably fleshed out and humanized in II.
• Badass in Distress: When the gang gets stranded in Guarma, he gets captured by Fussar's men, forcing Arthur and Dutch to rescue him.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: In RDR II, Javier was a struggling young man who had to flee from Mexico to escape a corrupt government, later becoming honorable, loyal and brave gang member who wants nothing more than to serve Dutch and work/hang out with his found family. Fast-forward to the events of the first game, and Javier is now a honorless Dirty Coward who is now working for the very government he once fled for money.
• Berserk Button: Do NOT call him a Greaser unless you want a bullet to the face or a knife to the neck. Really, any sort of anti-Mexican words or behavior towards him is hazardous for your health. Not even his fellow gangmates are safe from his violent outrage if they make the mistake of saying such things to get a rise out of him, as Bill and Micah learn quick.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He may come across as one of the more amicable and pleasant members of the gang, but he has no patience for drunken instigation and knows how to use that knife.
• Blind Obedience: Javier is the only member of the gang to never go against Dutch in any way, never providing much of an explanation for this. Even Bill has doubts about some things.
• Break the Cutie: Changes significantly after the detour to Guarma. While the rest of the group spends their time on the island fighting, hiding and planning, Javier is put through the wringer: he's captured and temporarily freed, then shot in the leg and forced to be left behind. He's found a little while later being beaten and dragged through the mud by his captors, then tossed in a cage and further humiliated with racist and homophobic threats. Not long after he's rescued, he passes out and spends the rest of the chapter on the sidelines. Afterwards, he clings even harder to Dutch's ideals, becoming aggressively overprotective of the man despite the overwhelming evidence that there's nowhere left to go but down.
• Broken Ace: In 1899, Javier could be considered something of a romantic hero, a handsome outlaw exiled from his own country, yet thriving due to his natural talent and charm. By 1911, he's working for the very government that exiled him, living in squalor and growing increasingly cowardly and creepy.
• Characterization Marches On: Javier's sleazy and offputting demeanor in I is a sharp contrast to his Dashing Hispanic Nice Guy characterization in II.
• Chupacabra: In one campfire event, he tells the gang that when he was little, his mother told him a story about this mythical monster (though not mentioned by name) who would hunt down cattle and suck their blood; he adds that though the gang may believe this is a fairy tale, her version is different: that this monster would also eat up little boys who were not behaving in an appropriate manner.
• Conflicting Loyalty: While still blindly obedient to Dutch, he's noticeably hesitant in drawing his gun on Arthur and John, whereas the rest of Dutch's loyalists aimed at them without question.
  • As both Roger Clarke and Gabriel Sloyer point out during a panel discussion, if you watch the scene closely, Javier actually aims his gun upwards at first, towards no one.
• Cynicism Catalyst: In his early life, he was an idealistic revolutionary fighting for the people. After his hero Dutch van der Linde went insane, he was left jaded and dejected, becoming a shiftless bandito.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Talks around the campfire reveal his early life to be filled with violence, betrayal, and loss. His uncle and several men from his village were brutally killed for calling for a fair wage, he's implied to have been betrayed by the woman he killed a man for, and he nearly died crossing the desert to America before consequently nearly dying due to the indifference of those around him until he met Dutch.
• Dashing Hispanic: The prequel shows that he was quite a looker, with his biography describing him as someone who always takes a lot of care for his appearance. Sadly, by 1911, most of his looks have faded, and he ends up looking rather rat-like, and sleazy.
• Dead Hat Shot: In I, if the player shoots him off of his horse (using one of the rifles, like a Rolling Block Rifle, and Dead Eye Targeting at the head), his sombrero will get knocked off of his head and flutter down as his body falls off onto the ground. (Though normally his body and sombrero vanish after that shot, the next cutscene shows John carrying Javier's corpse over the shoulder into the jail cell, confirming his death.)
• Dirty Coward:
  • Once John starts gunning for him, he's running the entire time. It makes him calling John a puto (bitch) rather hypocritical.
  • This appears to be a recent development. During the events of the prequel, he regularly goes into life-threatening situations without hesitation. He and Bill both have no issue going up against both Arthur and John at the same time in the ending.
• Evil Former Friend: Downplayed. While he is an antagonist in the first game, since his alleged villainy happens off-screen, it's hard to tell if he's actually evil or just doing whatever it takes to survive.
• Fedora of Asskicking: Javier has a fondness for sombreros and trilbies, and he's one of the gang's most badass members.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: Implied to have happened before the events of the first game. He expresses doubts about Dutch's ability to lead several times throughout the prequel, but stubbornly holds fast, even when other close friends are caught in the crossfire of one bad decision after another. When John Marston is sent after him years later he's revealed to have abandoned Dutch in favor of working for the very government he once devoted his life to fighting against.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a prominent scar across his throat.
• Hero of Another Story: Javier was almost as busy as John during the 12-year Time Skip - he stays with Dutch for an unknown amount of time before leaving for equally unknown reasons, after which he ends up back in Mexico despite being wanted dead there, somehow ends up working for the same goverment that wanted him dead, builds up a reputation among the rebels, rescues Bill from Fort Mercer and somehow ends up in El Presidio where he's either killed or captured. If Rockstar ever wants to revisit the GTA IV DLC model, they'd definitely have one strong premise on their hands.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Went from a revolutionary fighting against corrupt, oppressive systems of power in Mexico and the United States to a mercenary who will do anything for a paycheck.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Javier is a very good fisherman and can offer Arthur some tips about choosing the bait but also when and where it is best to fish.
  • He is also an incredible guitar player, Dutch's gang often gathers around him to sing when he starts playing.
  • He's shown to be a little superstitious, too. You can find him early in the game staring at a rainbow and, if you talk to him, he'll state it's a sign of good luck.
  Javier: "It's a sign."
  Arthur: "It's a goddamn rainbow."
  Javier: "A rainbow without any rain? Our luck has changed. We're blessed."
  • When Javier knocks John down by throwing a box on him, instead of taking the chance to kill John, he runs away instead, only shooting at John when it's clear that he isn't gonna stop going after him. This shows that Javier still cares about John. This even extends to the prequel, as Javier is the only one of Dutch's loyalists to not aim his gun directly at John and Arthur, instead opting to aim it upwards in their direction.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Like you wouldn't believe. Javier Escuella in II is a Dashing Hispanic Sharp-Dressed Man who shows unwavering Undying Loyalty towards Dutch Van der Linde even as he's being tortured, demonstrates himself as a formidable gang member who is quite reliable in a gunfight, and cares very much about his fellow gang members and bonds with them happily. Compare that with what he's become in RDR 1: a sleazy and vindictive Dirty Coward who cares only for himself who dresses in very plain and unkempt clothing, and spends much of his time running away from John Marston when the latter sets out to capture him.
• Hypocrite:
  • Retroactively becomes this in the second game. While the Van der Linde gang is camped out in Beaver Hollow during the sixth chapter, Javier insults and antagonizes Arthur, John and a few other gang members for not trusting in or standing with Dutch, expressing disgust at them being selfish and disloyal to the man when they should be sticking together. By the time John meets Javier again in 1911, Javier has long abandoned Dutch himself, and is quick to suggest they work together to capture him in order to save his own skin.
  • When John arrives to capture him and the following chase that ensues, Javier repeatedly calls his former compatriot a bitch in his native tongue (puto), despite the insult more accurately describing him.
• I Miss Mom: Combined with Even Evil Has Loved Ones: In one campfire interaction, he says that he heard that his mother died, and there's a bit of sadness in him when he says, "I mourn her... but I did not bury her." Combined with the fact that his sister got married, he says that he's afraid to go back to Mexico because he might get killed.
• Informed Flaw:
  • In I, John taunts him by claiming Abigail always thought he was a creep. This never comes up in the prequel, where not only is Javier is presented as one of the nicest members of the gang, but never so much as glances at Abigail during the events of the game.
  • Also in I, John tells Reyes that Javier was a man with "passion but no love" who cared little for anyone else, a stark contrast to his portrayal in II.
• Ink-Suit Actor: In II, his facial features are slightly changed so that he bears a slight resemblance to his voice actor Gabriel Sloyer.
• I Owe You My Life:
  • Implied to be a major reason for his Undying Loyalty to Dutch. Javier says during a campfire talk that he was starving to death in America and would have died had Dutch not found him and taken him under his wing. Javier credits Dutch for giving him a new life, a new home, and a new family in America, even pinching the bridge of his nose and visibly holding back tears.
  • Is on the receiving end of this early in the game with John Marston. You can find the two talking at camp, with John sincerely telling Javier he owes the man for life.
  John: "Thank you for saving me."
  Javier: "I know you'd save me."
  John: "Of course. I owe you for life."
  • The events of Guarma just add to this. Dutch & co. could have easily just abandoned him and escaped without him, but they went out of their way to rescue Javier. No wonder he's so loyal, Dutch has saved his life at least twice.
• Irony: He fled Mexico due to being a revolutionary fighting a dictatorial government. He returns back home by working as a bandito for the very government he once tried to overthrow.
• I Was Quite a Looker: In 1899, Javier was suave, clean cut and extremely stylish. He can be found around camp polishing his shoes and many of his outfits include sharp vests, ascots and matching hats. By 1911 he has grown filthy, thin and distinctly rat-like in appearance.
• Killed Offscreen: Should Marston capture him alive, he's mentioned in a conversation with Abigail to have died after being captured, implied to have been hanged for his crimes. This is confirmed in the epilogue, as the newspapers mention him alongside Bill, Dutch and John in the list of dead members of Dutch's former gang.
• Lean and Mean: In 1911, he's lost a lot of weight and has become a worse person overall.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Described as one of the ways he's handsome in II, even when his hair is tied in a ponytail.
• Macho Latino: Subverted. He used to be a revolutionary knife nut and one of the boldest of the gang, but when he punches Micah for being racist, Micah basically accuses him of punching like a girl (though, given by the fact that he went down in one swing, that's doesn't seem very accurate). And by the time of the first Redemption, he's become an ugly Dirty Coward.
• Mercy Kill: John killing him could be seen as this. If left alive, Javier would be imprisoned, likely tortured for Bill and Dutch’s whereabouts and ultimately executed publicly.
• Odd Friendship: Out of all the characters, Bill seems to be his closest ally and friend. One is a Mexican rebel on the run, and the other is an unlikable war veteran with a racist streak. It's implied that Javier did attempt to give Bill protection while hiding out from John in Mexico, indicating their friendship is genuine. In most other circumstances, they would be fighting each other.
• Only Sane Man: Subverted. While he's certainly one of the most level-headed and resourceful members of the gang at the start, this is slowly and tragically flipped on its head. Javier fashions himself as this near the end of the game, touting himself as one of the few loyal followers to Dutch... a man whose sanity was debatable at the beginning and is clearly gone by the end.
• The Pigpen: In the first game, he looks like he hasn't bathed in years and his clothes are worn-out and filthy, a far cry from the well-groomed Sharp-Dressed Man he was in II.
• Please Wake Up: In II, when the gang sees Hosea get killed by Milton in front of them, Javier desperately attempts to wake up their leader by calling out, "Hosea! He isn't moving!" to which Micah responds, "Of course he ain't! He's dead!"
• Psycho Knife Nut: Downplayed. Javier's pretty skilled with a knife, and likes to play up being overly psychotic when using it, whether it be for combat, threatening a drunken Bill, or playing Five Finger Fillet. Then there's this priceless interaction between him and Sean:
  Sean: You know, vanity is a sin, Mr. Escuella.
  Javier: So is judging others, my little friend.
  Sean: Me da used to say, "The bigger the box, the smaller the gift." If you know what I mean? [chuckles]
  Javier: Your da?
  Sean: Yeah, me da.
  Javier: From the sound of things, he was quite something.
  Sean: Yeah, quite something.
  Javier: [approaches Sean with a knife] My father, he always say to me, "If someone disrespects you... fillet them with a knife." If you know what I mean.
  Sean: [startled] I wasn't disrespecting. I was just looking after your mortal soul, honest.
  Javier: [threatens Sean] Get out of here.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Receives this by none other than his friend John Marston moments before his capture/death, calling him out on how he abandoned John out of selfishness and how he betrayed his family.
• Same Character, But Different: In I, Javier is constantly described as a False Friend and a creep around women who had "passion but no love" for the outlaw life. In II, his creepiness is not mentioned (it was given to Micah instead), he's extremely loyal to Dutch, and a genuine friend to John. Even as friendships start breaking, Javier is nowhere as bad as described in I.
• Sanity Slippage: Perhaps not as severe as Dutch's or Bill's, but it's pretty clear that he has spiraled downwards pretty badly after II. John outright says that he's lost his mind.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: When John says Javier took Dutch's downfall the hardest, he wasn't kidding. In 1899, he dressed well, his mustache was groomed and generally looked rich. In contrast, by 1911, he is an unkempt mercenary who works for anyone who pays.
• Ship Tease: A very subtle one with Tilly Jackson. You can find him sitting and playing the guitar for her a few times in camp. While he'll also play the guitar for others, pair this alongside a rather specific line Arthur can taunt her with if you choose the Antagonize option.
  Arthur: "I hope you're charging Javier all that attention he's been getting."
• Spiteful Spit: Gives one to John as he's being taken away by Ross. John gives one to Javier's corpse if he kills him... after shedding a tear.
  • In the last chapter of ''II'', he does this to Charles after attempting and failing to provoke him into a fight.
• Stepford Smiler: In I, John states that he saw Javier as "a cynic who wanted to be a romantic".
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Almost as tall as Dutch himself in II; according to John, Javier is approximately 5'8", which is above average for a Mexican male.
• Tempting Fate: In I, he regards John as a brother and says "You Wouldn't Shoot Me" before running away. You can play this trope straight either by hogtying him, or (reluctantly) take a more lethal approach and shoot him dead off of his horse.
• Terms of Endangerment: He constantly refers to John as "brother" in RDR 1, in spite of their relationship having long soured since the events of the first game.
• Token Good Teammate: Downplayed, but in II he seems to be the most reluctant to turn against Arthur and John while in contrast Dutch and Bill are quick to follow Micah.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: After the gang relocates to Beaver Hollow, Javier noticeably becomes more hostile towards Arthur, calling him out for wavering loyalty to Dutch. He also harasses other camp members for what he views as sowing discord, including trying to pick a fight with Charles and snapping at Abigail.
• Torture Is Ineffective: Gets shot, captured, dragged by a mule from his injured leg and publicly beaten. He still doesn't tell his captors a thing.
  Javier: <I come from Mexico. I've never met those men!>
• Uncertain Doom: If John captures Javier, his death isn't confirmed as John will mention he is dead whether he kills him or not. While it's likely he was executed it's worth noting that he seems to be the only person Ross and Fordham want brought in alive, as they don't voice the same level of complaints about Bill or Dutch when they are killed, suggesting they either wanted a public execution or they had plans for him.
• Undignified Death: If the player decides to kill him, he's unceremoniously shot dead while running away from John - presumably In the Back too given his back is always turned to John.
• Undying Loyalty:
  • Arthur believes that out of all the members of the gang, Javier is the most loyal. Indeed, he and Bill are the only members of the gang who remain 100% loyal to Dutch when the gang falls apart in 1899.
  • Averted by the events of the first game however, where Javier is shown to have fled to Mexico and offers to help John capture Dutch in exchange for not taking him.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Toward the end of II, while Arthur and Micah are at a standoff against each other, with John and Susan Grimshaw at the side of the former, Javier arrives and warns everyone that the Pinkertons are approaching; unfortunately, his warning inadvertently distracts Susan in the process, giving Micah time to fatally shoot her in the stomach.
• Vocal Evolution: Justified, as he has different voice actors in I and II. In the second game, Javier's Mexican accent is very faint, and he speaks with a low, relaxed demeanor. In I, he talks with an eccentric and slightly higher-pitched voice that exemplifies his much thicker Mexican accent.
• Villainous Breakdown: When John hogties him and locks him in a cell, Javier starts cursing at John, calling him a "puto" and wishing he and his family rot in hell.
• We Used to Be Friends: In I Javier repeatedly claims he was fond of John and didn't want to fight him, claiming to still think of him as a brother, something seemingly returned when John sheds a tear over his death. In II Javier is the only person in Dutch's gang to hesitate in drawing a weapon on John and Arthur, as well as the two openly admitting they'd save each other if the occasion called for it near the beginning of the game. Also, a random encounter with Bill and Javier would have the former suggest to the latter that John's a traitor, something Javier is skeptical of.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Was one in his youth. He was a freedom fighter in Mexico before fleeing to the United States, with Abraham Reyes speaking highly of his time fighting the government. He apparently kept this up after joining the gang, having been swayed by Dutch's Warrior Poet ways. This made Dutch's descent into madness all the harder on Javier.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The circumstances leading to him leaving Dutch behind, and where he went after 1899 are pretty much unknown, though some in-game sources state he's living in the mountains of Mexico by 1907.
• You Can't Go Home Again: In II, Javier is a self-exiled Mexican supposedly unable to return because of his high bounty as a freedom fighter. It seems that events between the two games made him able to broker some deal.
• You Don't Look Like You: Aside from his facial hair, Javier looks quite different in the two games he showed up in, in part due to his face in II being modelled after his second actor Gabriel Sloyer.
• You Wouldn't Shoot Me: When John corners him at gunpoint in I, Javier tells him, "Come on, you're not going to shoot your own brother, are you? We was family." Based on your actions, he can be either right... or dead wrong.

Uncle

"People call me lazy, I'm not lazy. Just don't like working. There's a difference."

Voiced by: Spider Madison (RDR I), James McBride (RDR II), John O'Creagh (singing voice, RDR II)

"Why don't I gets a warm and tender embrace?"

An elderly alcoholic and former thief, the only thing more mysterious than Uncle's real name is his past. The way John Marston tells it, he wandered into the gang's camp one day drunk as a skunk, his antics proving amusing enough to earn him a place among their numbers. Years later, he would find new purpose as a farmhand on John's ranch, though his work ethic is about what you'd expect.

---

• The Alcoholic: He's a habitual drinker in both games.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: As much as John hated having a lazy freeloader on the ranch, he treated Uncle as part of the family, considering Uncle was the one who helped him to reconcile with Abigail in 1907. When Uncle is captured by the Skinner Brothers, John is horrified and rides hell for leather to get him back.
• Ascended Extra: Uncle showed up near the very end of the first game as just some old crank living with the Marstons (and no mention of any prior affiliations with Dutch). II shows that not only was he a fellow member of the Van der Linde Gang but also the circumstances that led to him being with the Marstons.
• Big Fun: In II. While many members of the gang are annoyed by his laziness and sleazy attitude, he's nonetheless a jovial old drunk that tries to cheer everyone up. By the time of the original RDR, he's turned into a major grouch by comparison.
• Book Dumb: Implied by his assertion that he doesn't need to, claiming that reading pollutes the mind - a point he argues at one instance by using Dutch as an example - and going by what eventually transpires throughout the course of the prequel, he may possibly have had a point about evaluating the practical relevancy of what is being read before simply taking it at face value. Lenny, who is actually the polar opposite of this trope, can sometimes express a similar point directly towards Dutch later on, which entertains the suggestion that Uncle was Right for the Wrong Reasons - it's what and how you read that matters more than whether you should read at all. He at least makes it up for being street smart. He also seems to be up to date with the latest news and knows what's new in the market such as pre-cut houses. Note however that he claims that he doesn't need to read, and not that he actually can't if he has to, potentially subverting this entry, especially since no real evidence is offered of him being able or unable to read.
• Butt-Monkey: Uncle is the target of a lot of John's abuse (which can be justified, since Uncle can be pretty lazy at keeping up with his responsibilities within the Marston family ranch.)
• Blatant Lies: Repeatedly states that he has lumbago, and makes it out to be this horrific terminal disease, just to get out of actually doing any work.
  • Most of the stories he tells around the campfire about himself are obviously exaggerated, or simply could not happen at all, and only really serve to build him up.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Despite his laziness, Uncle actually quite intelligent, able to come up with plans for the future and keep up with recent news. When he met John in 1907, years after the fall of their gang, Uncle was the one who helped John to turn Beecher's Hope from the rundown shack on an empty plot of land that John bought to a ranch fertile with life, despite Uncle himself didn't hammer a single nail.
• Characterization Marches On: from a jovial and enthusiastically hedonistic chatterbox in the prequel, to a rather mirthless grouch who constantly complains about having to do things in the first game - although he's still just as lazy then as he would be later on.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Most of his claims of being sick or in pain are exaggerated or untrue, but the results of his capture by the Skinner Brothers certainly aren't.
• Contrived Coincidence: It is by pure coincidence that Uncle and John are reunited at Blackwater, seven years after the gang disbanded. This reunion also helps John to reunite with Charles but also helps him to build Beecher's Hope and reconcile with his wife and son.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Despite generally being lazy, drunk and ineffective, he does help out in several gunfights.
• Cruel to Be Kind: Or in this case, rude to be kind. After reuniting with John in the epilogue of II, Uncle berates John a lot, mostly because he knows that John has no idea what to do with the plot of land he bought. It's Uncle's insult and advice that actually motivates John to turn Beecher's Hope into a proper place to live.
• Crying Wolf: Given how grumpy he is in I, he may be genuinely feeling his age... but since he's always lying to get out of work, no one believes him.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Reveals to Pearson and Arthur that he was orphaned at the age of nine, forced to survive by running with criminals and scumbags, with none of his usual bluster or mirth.
• Dented Iron: According to his tall tales, he was a massive badass in his youth, presumably until his lumbago caught up with him.
• Distinction Without a Difference: He’s not lazy, he just doesn’t like working.
• Grumpy Old Man: Comes off as this in most of his appearances in 1. Justified since John isn't very nice to him either. The prequel shows he actually used to be pretty friendly and likable.
• The Heart: Uncle is a lazy drunk, but he cares about his fellow gang members and tries to raise morale, especially when things are dire. He's usually the one to initiate singing and drinking at the campfire, both by grabbing the banjo or asking Javier to play a song. By the time the gang is in Beaver Hollow, even Uncle can't bring himself to cheer anyone up.
  • Thankfully, he's right back at it in the epilogue. He gives John the kick in the ass he needs to build Abigail and Jack a proper home, and while he doesn't do much as far as manual labor, he's always there with a hot cup of coffee and a song to lift John and Charles' spirits while they get the homestead in order.
• Heavy Sleeper: Uncle is always seen taking a nap around camp and it takes a lot to get him to wake up. When Jack tries to prank a sleeping Uncle, John tells his son not to try as he puts it, "not even a stampede" can get him to wake up.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He dies defending the Marston family from the US Army (led by Edgar Ross) who storm in the ranch to kill John.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Despite his supposed laziness and being a very frequent target of John for it, he ultimately gives his life to help protect the Marstons.
  • Uncle is smart in his own way, even more so than John. Marston's ranch wouldn't be what it is today without Uncle's advice.
  • Despite being a freeloader, he loves the family dearly and gets along swimmingly with Sean and the girls especially. When the gang starts to fall apart, he's very shaken. Arthur suggests early on to him that he might want to look for a new crew, but Uncle says he's not willing to let them go.
  • Although his lazy attitude and meekness may make him looks like an archetypical coward, Uncle is pretty damn gutsy. Not only does the old man has the balls to insult Dutch right in the face, but he also has the balls to insult Dutch again within hearing distance behind his back. When the big guy retaliates by threatening to kill him, Uncle is not only unafraid, he scoffs at the threat. This meek-looking old man has bigger balls than half the gang combined.
  • He can also defend himself quite well, as seen in the stagecoach robbery he orchestrated and is later one of the camp guards in Lakay.
• Honest Advisor: Underneath the drunken old layabout is someone who's not afraid to speak the truth when it's needed; notably, he's one of the few willing to call out Dutch to his face about his messianic tendencies.
• Honorary Uncle: Hence the name. Arthur jokingly refers to him as "everyone's favorite uncle" and he ends up serving as this at Beecher's Hope. He's also the one who introduced Abigail to the gang, so he's an indirect matchmaker of the Marstons.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Understandably zig-zagged. Uncle in II looks exactly like his intended voice actor, the late John O'Creagh, who died during production and had to be replaced and overdubbed by James McBride. In the first game, Uncle does look vaguely similar to his voice actor Spider Madison, just with a shorter beard that's yellow at the end.
• Insistent Terminology: "Terminal Lumbago". Lumbago is lower back pain, and is categorically not a life-threatening illness.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Uncle spends a lot of time mocking John in the epilogue of II but he does has a point as John bought an empty plot of land with a rundown shack and has no idea what to do with it. Had Uncle not come along and given him some idea, it will remain that way.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's loud, lazy, and irritating, and these traits only got worse after settling down with John. Despite this, he really loves the Marston family, gives them genuine advice on how to run their farm, and will die protecting them.
• The Load: Uncle seems to always have been a lazy freeloader that John and even Arthur in the prequel disdained for being quite useless. Heck, one of his tips even ends on a near disaster as Arthur and several gang members must fight for their lives inside a burning barn, surrounded by angry guards.
• Manchild: He's very old, but has the personality of an immature delinquent.
• Mooning: In one camp interaction, Reverend Swanson calls him lazy and a lone wolf who howls at the moon. Uncle responds by giving him some... moon... to howl at. While still in his union suit/pajamas!
• Older Sidekick: To John during the latter half of the West Elizabeth Arc in I and the epilogue chapters of II.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Not one person in the gang knows or ever knew his name. Hell, he isn’t even anybody’s uncle - people just call him that, and nobody's sure why, though John speculates it's because he's the oldest member of the gang. After he’s gunned down along with John while defending the Ranch, Jack and Abigail engrave his tombstone with it for lack of an actual name.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • When the US Army invade Beecher's Hope, Uncle is unable to crack a single joke and is mostly serious the whole time.
  • Late in 2, after the gang has already lost many members, even Uncle loses his usual joyful self and rarely jokes anymore. On several occasions, he even gets into tense confrontations with Micah and in one of them, they nearly get physical.
• Playing Sick: Does this all the time in 2. Apparently, Lumbago is a terminal, horrific disease that disallows him from any sort of work, or even getting off his ass for that matter.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Pretty much an embodiment of this trope.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He always gets called out by John Marston for his lazy excuse. However, Uncle always refutes by criticizing John's flaws. This becomes very frequent to the point it sounds like a normal conversation between these two.
• Really Gets Around: According to John, Uncle's probably got a lot of illegitimate children. In his youth, his nickname was the one-shot kid!
• Retired Outlaw: He was an outlaw and member of the Van der Linde gang. Downplayed, because he's mostly a freeloader who seldom does anything.
• Retired Badass: Or so he says. He talks a massive game, for somebody that does nothing, though there are glimpses that maybe some of his tall tales are true. It should be noted in 2 that he's involved in a stagecoach robbery, cattle rustling, and robbing the Bank of Rhodes. Which, bluntly, makes him an incredibly successful outlaw by itself.
• Running Gag: In II, he often says he can't do something he is asked to do because he has "terminal lumbago".
  • There are a fair amount of shots of Arthur, or others kicking him to get him to wake up and go work.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Leaves the gang before Dutch's actions lead to his death.
• Smarter Than You Look: Don't let his laziness or haggard appearance fool you, Uncle is incredibly observant and can give very insightful advice and comments.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: While not at the same level as the jerkasses of the gang, not many people like Uncle for his laziness.
• The Thing That Would Not Leave: How he ended up living with the Marstons. Years after the gang broke up, he and John bumped to each other just after John bought Beecher's Hope. Despite John's opinion of him, he ended up staying with them.
• Took a Level in Jerkass:
  • Retroactively - he's much more of a grouch in the original game than in the prequel, actively complaining about John pushing him to help with work on the ranch, and never so much as cracking a smile when he appears.
  • He’s also a lot ruder and snarkier to John in the Epilogue compared to the main game.
• Unreliable Narrator: Uncle is known for telling rather far-fetched stories of his past such as being worshipped as a God by the aboriginals of Congo and being known as the "one-shot kid" in his youth. How much of his stories is true is up to anyone's imagination.
• Vague Age: Played for Laughs. Arthur at one point asks Uncle how old he actually is, to which he responds that he was "born some time between the fall of '49 and the fall of Rome."
  Uncle: My second wife always used to describe me as "ageless," though... she did leave me for a younger man.
  Arthur: Maybe we should cut you open and count the rings of whiskey.
  • This exchange from the first game really puts into perspective how old Uncle truly is.
  Jack: Why do you call him "Uncle"?
  John: Folks always just did. Probably 'cause he was older than everyone else.
  Jack: He was old when I was a kid.
  John: He was old when I was a kid, son.
• Vocal Evolution: Goes from sounding high-pitched and joyous in the prequel game to having a grittier and unpleasant tone in the first game.
• Wisdom from the Gutter: Uncle may be a lazy and ineffective old man who was a former member of an outlaw gang, but he certainly ain't stupid. When he comes to live with John and Charles in the epilogue of II, he correctly points out that Beecher's Hope as it stands currently is an absolutely atrocious place to live, and that Abigail would not be impressed with it, much less want to give it a "woman's touch" like John believes. Uncle then goes on to encourage John to take down the shack they're living in, and build a brand new home for his family to live in, ultimately making his and his family's lives for the better.
  • In II, he astutely calls out the emotional truth of some of the gang members: Dutch wants to be a king of America, with the gang members being his knights venturing to show the population a better, nobler way to live. He also identifies Susan Grimshaw as a fine woman who cares for the camp and its members with her whole heart, and calls her displays of stern strictness and her barbed tongue as being "a rose's thorns".
• Your Size May Vary: About the same height, or even taller than John and Arthur in 2, but appears far shorter than John in 1. Perhaps lumbago made him shrink?
  • The most probable reason for this is his age; even the healthiest and fittest of individuals will start to show some hunching of the spine, though this can start anywhere from the mid to late 60s, all the way to waiting until one's 80s or 90s, depending on a variety of factors (genetics, physical activity, overall health, etc). While their skeleton hasn't changed size, it's changed it's shape (or rather, the spine has), and the hunching makes one appear shorter when they would otherwise not with a straight posture. Uncle is clearly already at least in his 50s by the time of the prequel, and probably a little older, since everyone seems to recall him always looking old. Combine that with the medical capabilities of the time and the usual deterioration of quality of body (and thus quality of life) that tends to happen from age 50 onwards, it's not that big a leap of logic to assume that by Red Dead Redemption 1, he's pretty advanced in age, and his body is just showing it with the deterioration of his spine. Something that lumbago is a usual tell-tale first sign of the start of.