Armed with the knowledge of the state of the van der Linde gang in the first Red Dead Redemption, we knew going into Red Dead Redemption 2 that, as its prequel, it was going to present a not-so-happy story about how the fibre of the gang crumbles apart, and how the characters that it portrays gets to where they were in the 2010 title. But no could have have predicted just how powerful some of that stuff would be. Over the course of its 50 hour story, Red Dead Redemption 2 tells a memorable story, with incredible writing characters, and constantly puts them all through grinder in heartbreaking ways. In this feature, we will talk about some of the saddest character arcs, stories, or single moments in the entirety of the game.
There will be major spoilers ahead for Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2.
SADIE
Sadie’s journey from being a helpless and grieving widow at the beginning of the game to transforming into a fierce, capable, and at times terrifying gunslinger over the course of Red Dead Redemption 2 is perhaps one of the best arcs for any character in the game, and while it’s gratifying to see her learning to deal with her loss on her own terms, it also has some pretty depressing implications. Arthur’s statement to her near the end of the game when he tells her that both himself and her are “more ghosts than people” rings very, very true- because that loss is what defines Sadie (and we’ll get back to Arthur’s side of this in a bit as well), and will always continue to do so, leading her to do things she wouldn’t ordinarily have deemed appropriate had her husband not died.
