Across the twoRed Dead Redemptiongames, Jack Marston and Edgar Ross are the only two main characters to appear across all four time periods: 1907, 1911, 1911, and 1914. However, they only meet twice in two moments that oddly reflect each other. At the end ofRed Dead Redemption,Jack kills Ross in the mission “Remember My Family.” Early inRed Dead Redemption 2, the Pinkertons (Ross included) find and threaten Arthur Morgan while he is fishing with Jack.
The importance of this scene cannot be understated. Ross is holding a shotgun both times, and both times that Jack and Ross directly meet is at a lake. It’s the circular tragedy of revenge here being shown off, as Ross tells Jack to enjoy fishing just for Jack to kill Ross while the latter is fishing several years later. However, one small detail in this initial scene could have broken this cycle and changed not just the events ofRed Dead Redemption 2, but RDR1.
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Spotted by Redditor BpointShow, as the Pinkertons go to leave, Arthur Morgan’s hand is decidedly over his gun as if he’s about to initiate a duel. It seems very clear that Arthur Morgan isn’t just debating firing on the Pinkertons, but actually prepared for it. His hand jumps up whenJack Marstonasks, “who are they,” reminding Arthur that he’s around. Obviously, it’s not Jack’s fault or anything like that, but had he not been around and Arthur had met these agents on different terms, it seems likely that they wouldn’t have survived the encounter.
That, in turn, would have changed the entire storyline.Red Dead Redemption 2’s Dutch van Der Linde gangwouldn’t have fled from them going from camp to camp so much, the Pinkertons may not have appeared at theSaint Denis Robbery, Arthur and the others may not have ended up in Guarma, and much more. Had Arthur shot the Pinkertons and killed Edgar Ross (ignoring how it changes that game),Red Dead 1itself may have never even happened. There’s no Ross to take John’s family hostage, and in turn, there wouldn’t be that second lakeside meeting between Ross and Jack.
Of course, this comes on the back of Leviticus Cornwall not hiring more Pinkerton agents or something along those lines. In a “what if” scenario, it’s easy to speculate, but something else could have gotten the gang caught, Dutch could have still went south, and the law would have likely never stopped chasing John Marston.
All things considered though, this instance ofArthur Morgan being a good manshows what he would do for his family/gang. He couldn’t have known what would follow in the coming years, but this moment marked an important occasion for him, Jack, and the future of the gang.
Red Dead Redemption 2is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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