Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game full of sad and tragic stories. At its core is the “Van der Linde” gang. MeinMMO introduces you to 5 of the gang’s most tragic characters.
What is the “Van der Linde” gang? If you haven’t played the story of RDR2 yourself: You take on the role of the outlaw Arthur Morgan. At the beginning of the 20th century, he is part of an outlaw gang known as the “Van der Linde” gang.
This gang is led by the namesake Dutch Van der Linde and Hosea Mathews and was founded in 1870. The gang does not see itself as the classic outlaws who rob and kill without mercy. Van der Linde himself describes the group as a sworn community that simply wants to live in freedom.
The gang members are interesting and believable figures with diverse backgrounds. They convey a credible image of the time at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the era of the legendary Wild West.
All these characters contributed to RDR2 winning the Game of the Year award for the best narrative in the release year 2018 (via imdb.com). We want to introduce you to 5 individuals who have particularly tragic stories.
We are deliberately focusing on side characters. Therefore, the protagonists Arthur Morgan and John Marston are not included in this list. Additionally, we are leaving out the founder Dutch as he plays a major role in the main story.
Jack Marston
Who is he? Jack Marston is the only child in the group. He is considered the son of Abigail Roberts and John Marston. John is another protagonist in RDR2 whose role you take on in the epilogue of the game. In RDR1, John is the main character.
His son Jack is therefore also found in both parts. It shows what a hard life Jack has led since his earliest childhood. Despite everything, he differs from his rough and jaded father, as he was interested in books and history. For a while, it seemed Jack could become a writer or a scholar.
Childhood in Red Dead Redemption 2
This is what Jack experiences in RDR2: From the start, he spent his life within a gang of outlaws and was raised by this community. They were devoted and tried to keep him out of criminal activities. Jack had a close relationship with the members and called many “Uncle” and “Aunt.”
However, it soon became clear that all noble motives meant nothing: The gang stole and killed to achieve their goals of freedom and wealth. This inevitably had an impact on a child.
During the story, Jack was even kidnapped and witnessed the slow decline of the community. Additionally, the government, with its Pinkerton agents, was constantly on the group’s tail. Jack also had to watch as these agents kidnapped his mother Abigail to catch Dutch. At that point, the gang was already so fractured that Dutch simply abandoned them. It was Arthur who rescued them.
It was also Arthur who encouraged John to take Abigail and Jack away and leave the gang to start a quiet life. The main goal was for Jack not to live the same life as his parents.
Teenage Years in Red Dead Redemption 1
This is what Jack experiences in RDR1: However, the attempt ultimately failed. John bought land to set up a farm and provide his family with a quiet life, and everything initially looked good. Jack even got a little sister. However, she died for unknown reasons very early, which was a hard blow for the small family in exile.
Eventually, Pinkerton agents appeared again, taking Abigail and Jack hostage to use John for their purposes and eliminate the rest of the old gang. Jack was once again a hostage and had to hope that his father would not be shot and would return.
Ultimately, John did indeed return, and they lived somewhat peacefully on the “Beecher’s Hope” farm for a few months. But then the government broke the deal, and Jack had to watch as his father was shot by a military team because he was trying to give his family time to escape.
When a few years later his mother also died, Jack was left all alone. In the end, he followed in his father’s footsteps, became an outlaw, and embarked on his own quest for revenge.
Short Normality: John teaches Jack how to hunt. 
Jack Marston, at 19 years old at the end of RDR1.
Jack is the symbol of how hopeless the story surrounding the “Van der Linde” gang and John Marston is. Despite all his parents’ efforts, he ended up in the same vicious cycle as his father.
What happens to him next? That is not known. In the epilogue of RDR1, Jack shot one of the Pinkerton agents responsible for his father’s death. After that, the game ended. Jack has since been considered a possible character for a potential sequel.
The character we will introduce you to on the next page is also being considered for this role.
