Spoilers ahead for Red Dead Redemption 2.Red Dead Redemption2is a game laden with nuanced storytelling and rich symbolism, and this approach to storytelling reaches as far as the year the game is set. The choice to set the game in 1899 is far from a trivial one, and this setting has implications for thebroaderRed Dead Redemptionnarrative, tying into core themes like freedom, the flow of history, and the mindset of outlaws.
In some ways, theRed Dead Redemptiongames are the most successful pieces of contemporary western media, with the western film genre being decades past the height of its popularity. Although bothRed Dead Redemptiongames pay homage to these classic westerns via imagery, character archetypes, and music, the franchise is more of a retrospective deconstruction of “Wild West” mythology, using outlaw characters to examine deeper themes. Whilethe story of Arthur Morganis memorable and emotional, he should also be viewed as something of a mythological figure, not in the legendary or superhuman sense (though he is certainly impressive in many ways), but in a tragic and metaphorical one.
Arthur, multifaceted and grounded as he may be, is a character that represents the rough and lawless Wild West, at least as it has been defined in American culture and by Arthur’s fellow gang members. Of course, Arthur sadly passes away at the end of the game, with his death marking the end of the Van der Linde Gang and a new start for otherRed Dead Redemption 2characters like John, Sadie, and Charles.
This is where the significance of the year 1899 comes in. WhiletheRed Deadseriesmay seem vibrant and action-packed, it’s really a franchise about the decay of a certain lifestyle, necessitated by the ceaseless march of time. Arthur, a man who embodies the qualities of lawless, untamed America, dies in the very last year of the 1800s, driving home the idea that the lives these outlaws lead is coming to an end, and they need to either adapt or be brought down with it. Essentially, the 1800s are characterized by the romanticized outlaw mentality, at least in theRed Deaduniverse. As society progresses, however, old lifestyles necessarily have to change, so 1899 serves as the sunset year for the century of the cowboy.
Of course, Rockstar isn’t suggesting that the idea of the Wild West outlaw instantly and decidedly died on the last day of 1899—the existence ofthe firstRed Dead Redemptionis proof of that. However, just like how the first day of January symbolizes new beginnings for so many people, so too does the start of the 20th century inRed Dead Redemption.Red Dead 2, in its entirety, shows players how the Wild West is dying out and being replaced by modern civilization. At the end of the tumultuous in-game year of 1899, the Van der Linde gang is shattered and quintessential cowboy Arthur Morgan dies, driving a stake through the heart of the doomed outlaw dream.
In the early 1900s, there are still a few cowboys roaming the west. Notably,Red Dead Redemption 2characters like Bill Williamson andthe detestable Micah Bellare still active. John Marston, soon-to-be pawn of the “civilized man,” ends up hunting down Bell at the end of the game to enact his revenge. When Marston encounters Bell, they briefly argue about Arthur’s fate. Bell says “Arthur’s been gone a long time, it’s a new century.” He says this in an effort to minimize Arthur’s death, not realizing that he’s part of the “dead century” himself. When John ultimately kills Bell and the rest of the Van der Linde gang, and gets executed himself, it’s an extended metaphor for the death of the Wild West and its ideals.
Red Dead Redemption 2
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America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.
