Moments pages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.
- Irish: So long, John Marston. You're an angry and a feck ugly man... but not a bad one. Many players likely thought back to this exact line after Marston's death.
- When John is reunited with his family, and all his interactions with them after. Ah, all's right in the world.
- Compass, that is all.
- "Head home to see your family." Six words every player has waited to see since popping the disk in the machine.
- After all the crap John has to go through, it's refreshing to just help him go through his everyday ranch chores and spend time with his family.
- In Undead Nightmare, despite the non-canon status and the weirdness of it, players get to see more of John living happily with his family.
- The stranger mission "Who Are You to Judge?" Though the ending is... odd, Jeb did get his sweetheart back, and for a horse, she seems to love him too. Particularly when compared with the other stranger missions, which tend to end in Nightmare Fuel or a Tear Jerker, this one is a welcome break. Then again, it says something about a game when one of the happiest endings you get is a guy being able to bang his horse.
- Through Video Game Caring Potential, you can conclude the "Jenny's Faith" quest by hogtying her after giving her the medicine and carrying her to a populated location rather than let her waste away in the desert. If this causes a bounty to be placed upon you, then Jenny will even adapt to the environment you set her loose in rather than just running away, such as doing work around MacFarlane's Ranch or kneeling down to pray at Las Hermanas.
- The men John assembles to attack Fort Mercer are a marshal and his deputies, a conman, a psycho, and a thug, but none of them betray John at any point during their objectives, even risking their lives at one point or another to fulfill their obligations (except Irish). John's farewell to them is also friendly and with a sense of humor, compared with how they met with each other. Compared to how Ross basically made Marston his bitch and used him to kill his own former friends, and then had the US army kill him once he succeeded.
- Landon Ricketts getting to pass away peacefully in his sleep. Anyone with a solid grasp of history knows that most historical gunslinging legends (Wild Bill Hickock, Billy the Kid, etc.) were usually brutally murdered. This includes John, who gets gunned down by an entire company of U.S. soldiers even after going through hell to see his family one more time. That Ricketts was able to avoid the fate of many other legends is Heartwarming, if rather bitterly.
- A small one, but the fact that John Marston turns down every advance by other women without hesitation, especially in comparison to just about every other Rockstar protagonist out there. It quickly becomes clear how much he loves his wife.
- John Marston will also turn down propositions from hookers by referring to his mother not approving. John Marston Jr that is, AKA Jack Marston, and both his parents are dead.
- If you have your horse hitched up and walk away from them but remain close enough for them not to despawn (remain in town) they will sometimes somehow unhitch themselves to find and be near you.
- In Armadillo, a sweet old nun all the way from Las Hermanas may offer John a blessed cross.
- The scene where John carries his former friend, Javier Escuella, out of the prison cell to bring him to the authorities. Abraham Reyes sees them close to each other and quips, "Two old friends reunited. It is a beautiful thing." His quip is exactly the same thing even if Javier dies by John's hand and his lifeless body is being carried over the shoulder by John, which still makes it heartwarming, but also a bittersweet Tear Jerker, especially if you've played RDR2.
- In various towns you can sometimes see people playing fetch with their dog.
- Learning in the epilogue that Bonnie MacFarlane is now apparently Happily Married. Considering all the crap that happened to her over the course of the game, it's nice to find out that she was able to move on from her crush on John Marston and find someone for herself, especially since she didn't have many suitors who wanted to marry an Old Maid.
- When you're playing as Jack, and have him skinning animals, he sometimes says, "Just like you showed me, Pa!" D'aw....
- Uncle. For all his faults, he cares about the Marstons enough to give his life, fighting to protect them. Also, the fact that John Marston, who has no issues looting anyone, or skinning anything else, that has died, won't even loot his corpse.
- Saving the side missions to do as Jack after killing Ross. It makes the most sense, as John would be too occupied on his quest to do them all. While the dialogue is virtually the same as John’s, it comes to light that Jack is actually a very friendly individual (at least if you have high honor). Although having little reason to live and becoming a depressed loner, it can be seen that he actually goes out of his way to help people. While he’s still a hardened gunslinger at heart, he still retains his father’s compassion.
- A retroactive example: Jack's default outfit consists of his father's pants, hat and boots, a white shirt, and a beige jacket. Now who in Jack's life also wore a beige jacket... for years the jacket was just a random piece of clothing, but nowadays it looks like Jack is paying his respects for his Uncle Arthur by wearing a similar coat. Jack's clothing is inspired by both of his father figures, instead of just one.
- Jack seems to continue the Cycle of Revenge by killing Ross, and makes several comments that imply he's a Death Seeker. Despite all this, there is hope that Jack went on to lead a better life if an Easter Egg in Grand Theft Auto V is any indication - Franklin has a book in one of his houses that is written by a "J. Marston." Assuming this is Jack (and it can be given his love for reading and his wish to be a famous writer), Jack did indeed go on to become a writer and presumably left the gunslinger life behind.
