Summary
The Van Der Linde gang ofRed Dead Redemption 2lived outside the law, but they had their own code to live up to.Red Dead Redemption 2gives players plenty of time to learn how the Van Der Linde gang operates, particularly in comparison to other outlaws. They don’t just rob everyone they meet, or go in guns blazing to every situation. There’s a lot more nuance to the gang than players may believe going in, which heightens the tragedy of the gang’s eventual fate. The Van Der Lindes were far from perfect, but they still had standards.
Founded byRDR2’s resident planner Dutch Van Der Linde, the Van Der Linde gang started with only two members, Dutch and Hosea. While the two traveled together from then on, it wasn’t until they took in the teenage outlaw Arthur Morgan that the gang began to properly expand. Over the years, the Van Der Lindes would take in new members, mostly outcasts who needed either protection or a purpose. While they had to run afoul of the law, this crew managed to survive off of their talents for years.Red Dead Redemption 2just happens to follow the final months where everything fell apart.
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There were a few rules that themembers ofRDR2’s Van Der Linde gangwould abide by at the time of the game. For one, the gang tries to stick to robbing the rich, while leaving the poor alone. The reasons for this are not only logical, as poor people have less money, but also a point of honor. Most of the gang have known poverty, and they don’t want to make a struggling person’s situation worse. They reject the idea of robbing or harming women or children for similar reasons. The gang out out to survive and make money, but they aren’t heartless.
When it comes to violence, despite featuring deadly gunfighters likeRDRprotagonists Arthur Morgan and John Marston, the Van Der Linde gang are fairly reserved. While they will fight back, and do so effectively, taking the first shot is not their usual approach. Their guns are more useful for intimidation in their robberies, and pulling the trigger on a civilian is heavily frowned upon. On the other hand, when faced with lawmen or other outlaws, the Van Der Lindes show how lethal they can truly be. The gang are not pacifists, but they prefer to save their guns for situations where they are truly necessary.
Sadly, the Van Der Linde’s code was already slipping at the game’s start. The addition ofRed Dead Redemption 2villain Micah Bellis an obvious sign of this Despite Micah killing without restraint and generally being honorless, Dutch never does anything about him and considers him a valuable member of the gang. Leopold Strauss' loan sharking is another indicator of the code’s weakening as it preys on the poor, with Arthur notably finding such a job to be disgraceful. Once these guidelines were bent, the Van Der Lindes lost their way. Through deaths and disloyalty, nothing of the old gang was left in the end.
The Van Der Linde gang had principles that set them apart from the other gangs players would encounter.RDR2’s tragic hero Arthur Morganis the best example of such, as the player can see him exercise mercy and kindness through various events while still being a tough outlaw. While he managed to keep his personal code until the end, the same unfortunately couldn’t be said for the doomed gang as a whole. The code of the Van Der Linde gang helped make them likable, and if they had kept it, thenRed Dead Redemption 2might have ended differently.
Red Dead Redemption 2is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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