Summary
The main playable character and protagonist ofRed Dead Redemption 2, Arthur Morgan, is a complicated character. Thanks toRDR2’s Honor system, he’s a variable character, and can either be a righteous force for good, or a bad-to-the-bone outlaw. Either way, though, Arthur is a well-educated, self-aware man, and his dialogue frequently betrays his philosophy and his perception of the van der Linde gang’s place in the world.
[Warning: This article containsspoilers for Red Dead Redemption 2,]
Balancing the treachery of outlaw life with genuine care for his fellow gang members, Arthur is everything Dutch thinks he is, and perhaps once was. Although willing to accept and even prepare for the impending extinction of the American cowboy, Arthur’s loyalty to Dutch makes him the final casualty of the gang’s collapse. Butbefore Arthur dies inRDR2, he gets offmore than a few quips, one-liners, and memorable musings. Here are Arthur’s best quotes fromRDR2.
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10"When The Time Comes, You Gotta Run And Don’t Look Back. This Is Over."
Arthur Warns John Of Impending Danger
ThroughoutRDR2, Arthur knows that the viability of his outlaw way of life is slowly dwindling.This places him in stark contrast with Dutch, who stubbornly insists upon exerting his own will as long as possible, even when it puts others at risk. However, he’s bound by his loyalty to the rest of the gang. Seeing himself as a sort of father figure, a levelheaded counterbalance to Dutch’s anger and self-righteousness, he refuses to leave until he absolutely has to.
But he sees John differently, and he shows it, much earlier than most other signs of his loss of faith, in this quote. John has a wife and a son, andArthur believes him capable of becoming the family man he needs to be. to do that, he’ll need to part ways with the gang, so that they’re no longer at risk of losing him.
9"We’re More Ghosts Than People."
Arthur Laments His Fate
Sadie Adler’s is one of the more satisfying character arcs inRDR2. Arthur and the gang find her hiding in her cellar, her husband murdered and her home commandeered by O’Driscolls. She attacks them on sight, but they calm her, and welcome her into their camp, where she quickly becomes an integral part of their posse. Once she warms to him, Sadie eventually has a heart-to-heart with Arthur, during which they exchange traumas.Recognizing their common pain and desire for vengeance, Arthur acknowledges that he and Sadie are “more ghosts than people.”
In a way,Arthur and Sadie are always cursed to live in the past, longing for a life they’ll never be able to return to. That’s the main motivation behind Arthur’s line here, but there’s another meaning. Everyone in Dutch’s gang is a ghost in one way or another, whether it’s because of their misspent youths or their clinging to a rapidly disappearing way of life.
8"Five Thousand Dollars? For Me? Can I Turn Myself In?"
Arthur’s Wit & Humility
For all his serious self-reflection, Arthur can also be pretty funny. Whether it’s antagonizing random strangers, pushing back on Dutch’s plans, or sassing the Pinkertons on his trail,Arthur is full of jokes and witty comebacks. That’s abundantly clear by the time detective Andrew Milton corners him, and tells him there’s a $5,000 bounty on his head. Arthur reacts by playfully raising the idea of turning himself in to claim his own bounty.
Even in the face of extreme danger, Arthur is quick with a quip. It’s a testament not only to his wit, but also to his overall positive attitude throughout much of the early game. There’s also a bit of humility behind this line, as Arthur seems genuinely impressed by the value of his own head. That said, there’s also a kernel of truth in there.Arthur really does need that $5,000, whether it’s to retire to Tahiti or seek treatment for his tuberculosis.
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7"I Guess I…I’m Afraid."
Arthur’s Vulnerability
ThroughoutRDR2, Arthur can repeatedly check in with Sister Calderón, a nun at a church in Saint Denis. If Arthur has completed both Sister Calderón’s first Stranger mission, and has high Honor, she’ll later appear on a bench near the Saint Denis train station for the mission, “The Fine Art of Conversation.” In a heart-to-heart, Arthur will admit to her that he’s dying of tuberculosis, and she’ll give him space to express how he feels. Arthur expresses his fear in a moment of vulnerability, and Sister Calderón, without missing a beat, turns to him and insists, “There is nothing to be afraid of, Mr. Morgan.Take a gamble that love exists, and do a loving act.”
If Arthur’s Honor is low, he’ll instead meet with Reverend Swanson during this mission.
This is a rare moment in whichArthur’s strong façade breaks down completely, and he expresses his emotions honestly, verbally, and outside of his jourmal. Here, Sister Calderón also implicitly acknowledges that, as much bad as Arthur has done, and as much as he doubts it, he still has a good heart. In her belief, he can still be saved - but religious connotations aside, she makes it clear that his good deeds will redeem him.
6"Some Jobs Aren’t For Saving. And Some Legacies Are For Pissing On."
Arthur’s Morality
Arthur encounters many strangers throughout his travels, and meets most of them with near-infinite patience, if not outright kindness. So, when he meets down-on-his-luck Jeremiah Compson, who’s recently lost his home, Arthur may agree to break into it for him and retrieve some of his furnishings. However, once inside, Arthur discovers Compson’s ledger, whose pages reveal that he once worked as a slave catcher, and was proud of himself for it, too. Arthur confronts Compson, who raves abouthis own legacy, which, Arthur is quick to remind him, is worth less than nothing.
This isan excellent encapsulation of Arthur’s moral code. Although he’s willing to lie, steal, and kill, he has to draw the line somewhere. His beliefs aren’t defined by law, or the word of others - they simply reflect his own observations and life experiences. In this quote, he could arguably be projecting his feelings onto his own legacy as well, as he’s grappling with his own doubts about whether his good deeds outweigh his bad.
Arthur’s Karma
But Sister Calderón isn’t the only person Arthur has a heart-to-heart with. When the gang gets embroiled in the conflict between the Wapiti tribe and the Army, Arthur spends some time getting to know its chief, Rains Fall. He confides the secret of his illness in Rains Fall, who allows him to opine on the nature of fate. Arthur resolves that bad things tend to happen to bad people, revealing thathe has a sort of karmic view of his own destiny. He considers his tuberculosis something of a punishment for the evil he’s done, and has quietly resolved himself to its ravages, believing himself deserving.
But Rains Fall quickly retorts, saying that Arthur is too hard on himself. He’s right -there’s no such thing as black and white morality inRed Dead Redemption, and it’s impossible to call even a low-Honor Arthur an irredeemably bad person. This cuts to one of the game’s central themes, and plows through Arthur’s self-inflicted guilt in just a few short words.
4"All Them Years, Dutch, For This Snake?"
Arthur’s Regrets
Towards the end ofRDR2, Arthur discovers Micah’s betrayal. He and a few other gang members turn on Dutch, and as they confront him, Arthur questions him, “All them years, Dutch, for this snake?” His voice cracks as he interrogates his former father figure, signifying that their relationship is well and truly broken. This is also the first time, however, thatArthur expresses regret for all the time he’s spent with Dutch- even the good stretches. Dutch has cast aside all the trust he and Arthur have built up over the years, and there’s no longer any hope of mending their bond.
This is the very crux ofRDR2’s narrative,the inevitable tragedy the entire plot has been building towards. The bottom falls out under all Dutch’s plans and promises in this very moment, as his last and truest believer finally declares him too far gone. All that’s left is for the gang to slowly fall apart in the absence of any kind of leadership.
3"Just Do One Thing Or The Other. Don’t Try To Be Two People At Once."
Arthur Mentors John
Arthur frequently serves as mentor to John, much as Dutch was to him when he first joined the gang. However,where Dutch trains Arthur in the ways of the outlaw, Arthur tries to convince John to leave the gangbehind at the first opportunity he gets. When John struggles with dual loyalties (to his wife who wants out, and Dutch who wants them in), Arthur tells him to stop trying to be both a gangster and a family man at once. It’s clear which side Arthur wants him to pick, and John does attempt to take his advice - at least for a while.
This line takes ona tragic tone when considered in the context of the firstRed Dead Redemption. AfterArthur’s last ride inRDR2, John takes over as playable protagonist, and buys a small plot of land to turn into a family farm. Between the end of that game and the beginning ofRDR1, he makes a real go at it, and manages to eke out a modest living. But the government comes knocking and demands he track down his old associates, and John has no choice but to oblige. Soon, he’s forced to play both sides again, robbing and killing while he longs to return to his family. This leads him directly to his demise.
2"It Weren’t Us Who Changed."
Arthur’s Lament
But as much as he wants to save John, Arthur also professes his own noble desire to keep the gang together. He tells John as much: “Nothing means more to me than this gang. I would kill for it. I would happily die for it. I wish things were different, but it weren’t us who changed.“This is Arthur’s philosophy in a nutshell: the preservation of the gang is central to his whole identity, and he’d do anything to protect those he sees as his charges. But he still recognizes that the world around them is changing, and they’ll all have to find a way out of it soon. Arthur, meanwhile, is prepared to go down with the ship.
This quote may also be a slight directed at the gang’s leader, as if Arthur were saying, “it’s not you and I who have changed, John, it’s Dutch.” And that’s true enough - Arthur and his fellows repeatedly acknowledge that, where Dutch used to be something of a noble outlaw, he’s become so obsessed with his own power and money that he cares about nothing else, to the detriment of everyone around him.
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1"I Tried, In The End. I Did.”
Arthur’s High-Honor End
In a high-Honor playthrough,these are Arthur’s last words, spoken as he succumbs to tuberculosis while watching the sun rise from a scenic ridge. In context, he’s referring to his attempts to free John and the others from the dangers of gang life. Despite his best efforts, however, many of his former friends are dead - but he takes some solace in the fact that he tried.
A low-Honor Arthur instead dies at Dutch’s hand, and spends his last breath cursing his former mentor.
But this can also be interpreted to have a wider meaning. If Arthur breathes these words as his last, then the player tried, made a conscious effort through him, to be good despite the necessity of evil. He finally acknowledges, then, that morality is gray by nature, and that he’s not the strictly bad man he’s often believed himself to be. It’s not technically the end of the game (John still needs to say his piece), but it’s the perfect button on Arthur’s story. In his final moments, Arthur elegantly resolves one of the most central themes inRed Dead Redemption 2.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Did you love the original Red Dead Redemption back in 2010? Check out this prequel to the first game, Red Dead Redemption 2. Players explore the complex Western world as Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang. Get ready to find an adventure in the western frontier in the 1800s, fighting against government figures and famous rivals. While some controls are difficult to manage at first, after some practice mounting and dismounting your horse, you should be ready to meet more characters. The stunning graphics are to be expected with Rockstar Games, as they created other popular open world games such as Grand Theft Auto.
