The 10 Best Red Dead Redemption 2 Characters

Red Dead Redemption 2 tends to be regarded as one of the better video games to have been released in recent years. In part, this is because of its solid mechanics. However, Red Dead Redemption 2 also managed to stand out because of its narrative, which wouldn’t have been possible without its memorable cast.

10. Mary-Beth Gaskill

Mary-Beth Gaskill’s background isn’t 100 percent clear. However, it has been said that her mother died of typhoid, with the result that she had to live on her own until she became a member of the Van der Linde gang. Given this, it seems safe to say that Mary-Beth didn’t have the best childhood for a couple of reasons. One, she met the gang while fleeing from her pickpocketing victims. Two, she is estimated to be either 21 or 22 by Arthur during the game, which means that she would have presumably been younger still when that happened. Regardless, Mary-Beth is very curious in that she is a good-natured individual while also being an excellent conwoman, which aren’t characteristics that most people would assume go together. As for why Mary-Beth makes this list, there are a couple of main points. First, her kindness results in a number of moments that stand out. For example, she offered Kieran a cup of water while the latter was still tied up at the post. Similarly, she encouraged Arthur to make his last moments count when she learned of his terminal illness. Second, Mary-Beth’s life after leaving the Van der Linde gang is one of the more hopeful points in the narrative. She doesn’t just survive. Instead, Mary-Beth becomes a romance novelist, which is particularly nice because she has shown a clear fondness for the genre throughout the game.

9. Abigail Roberts

Abigail Roberts might be more familiar to interested individuals under the name of Abigail Marston. After all, she was already a major character in Red Dead Redemption as the protagonist John Marston’s wife. Here, Abigail is quite a bit younger. However, she is very much recognizable as the same character. Indeed, one can make a good argument that Abigail has been a rather static character over the course of the series in the sense that she remains more-or-less the same individual throughout. Still, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, particularly since Abigail’s personality makes her a wonderful contrast to the people around her. That is one of the major reasons that Abigail made this list. She has a very simple but very sympathetic dream, which makes it easy to root for her. Moreover, while Abigail can come off as a bit of a killjoy to some people, the narrative does a good job of showing both why she is the way she is and why she has one of the better claims to being right out of the whole cast. On top of that, she does have her moments as well, as shown by her shooting Agent Milton.

8. Josiah Trelawny

Josiah Trelawny considers the rest of the Van der Linde gang to be his friends. Even so, there can be no doubt about the fact that he will always put his interests over theirs. There are a lot of characters who would be made very unlikable because of that. However, Josiah manages to avoid that because of his charm, his cordial nature, and his willingness to contribute. One of Josiah’s more curious characteristics is the long periods of time that he spends away from the Van der Linde gang. Amusingly, it is possible for interested individuals to discover where he spends that time by heading over to Saint Dennis. There, Josiah is apparently a married man who has had two sons with his wife. Someone who can’t always be there for his family but nonetheless tries to make up for it when he is present. Moreover, calling out to Josiah makes it clear that he doesn’t want his family to know how he makes a living, as shown by him referring to the Van der Linde gang by the very euphemistic phrase of “the office.”

7. Tilly Jackson

Tilly Jackson is one of the younger members of the Van der Linde gang. As the story goes, she winded up in an outlaw gang called the Foreman Brothers after she was kidnapped from her mother. Eventually, one of the gang members tried to make advances on her, with the result that she killed him before making her escape. Unfortunately, while Tilly managed to make it back to her home, she found that her mother had already passed away. In time, she winded up in the Van der Linde gang, having been rescued by Dutch van der Linde when she was in trouble. Something that was true for a number of other members of the gang as well. In any case, Tilly makes the list because her conversations with Arthur are some of the best that can be found in the entire game. Furthermore, she is like Mary-Beth in that her life is another bright spot in the narrative, seeing as how she gets married to a well-off lawyer surnamed Pierre. In fact, the two are in regular contact with one another, which made for a rather nice moment.

6. Hosea Matthews

Hosea Matthews would be one of the Van der Linde gang’s two father figures. This makes sense because he and Dutch were the founding members, who teamed up because their attempts at stealing from one another made them appreciative of each other’s skill-set. Throughout the narrative, Hosea’s hard-won wisdom serves as a valuable counter-balance to Dutch’s more aggressive decision-making. Unsurprisingly, Hosea is a very likable character. He is smart, smooth, and surprisingly sensible, though the last was apparently the product of a lifetime’s worth of mistakes. As such, Hosea’s death hit that much harder. Something that was particularly true because it signalled the inevitable downfall of the Van der Linde gang. After all, it didn’t just rob Dutch of his counsel, it also caused Arthur to become more and more doubtful of Dutch, thus enabling Micah to slip into Hosea’s former place.

5. Lenny Summers

Lenny Summers was the son of former slaves. His father was an educated man, with the result that Lenny became an educated man as well. Unfortunately, Lenny was forced to become an outlaw at the age of 15 when he avenged his father, who had been murdered by a group of drunks. In time, he managed to make his way into the Van der Linde gang. There, Lenny was initially regarded with skepticism by Hosea, who would eventually go on to consider Lenny to be one of the gang’s best members. Primarily, Lenny Summers gets his position on this list for being a smart but also fun-loving character with a wide range of interactions that evoked a wide range of suitable emotions. In particular, people like to point out the drinking mission, which can be considered one of the funniest moments of the game. Sadly, those things just made Lenny’s death that much more painful, particularly since it happened in the same incident as Hosea’s death. Something that was foreshadowed by both of them commenting that they would like to be buried alongside a friend, which indeed came to pass.

4. John Marston

It should come as no surprise to learn that John Marston has a spot here. After all, he was the protagonist of Red Dead Redemption. For that matter, John can be considered a secondary protagonist for the follow-up as well, particularly since he is playable in the epilogue. In any case, he is actually quite interesting because he starts out a very different person in this game when compared with who he will become in its predecessor. Speaking bluntly, early John is wild, sometimes stupid, and sometimes nastier that he needs to be. However, he undergoes a good deal of character development throughout the game, with the result that he gradually comes closer and closer to the man that he will be. We spend more time with John than anyone else in the series. As a result, it makes sense that most people sympathize with him. Moreover, John’s character development in this game gives him a strong sense of dynamism. Something that makes him much more interesting than otherwise possible.

3. Sadie Adler

Sadie Adler tends to be one of the most liked characters in the Red Dead Redemption series. This is interesting because she has some serious flaws. However, those are very understandable considering her circumstances. In short, Sadie was once married to Jake Adler, with whom she had a very happy and very productive marriage. Unfortunately, that came to an end because of the O’Driscoll Boys, who killed her husband while forcing her to hide in the cellar to escape the same fate. She managed to survive because of the Van der Linde gang’s timely arrive. It took some time for Sadie to come out of her shock, which makes sense considering the loss of both her husband and her home. When she did, she proved to one of the most formidable characters in the game. Simply put, Sadie manages to be flawed but nonetheless very likable. On the one hand, she is brutal and reckless when it comes to the targets of her vengeance, so much so that it causes harm to her allies. On the other hand, it is clear that Sadie is willing to go to great lengths for the people who she cares for, as shown by her actions in the epilogue. Indeed, these traits are tied to one another because her aggression is driven by her loss.

2. Dutch Van der Linde

Unsurprisingly, Dutch Van der Linde occupies a high position on this list. After all, one can make a good argument that much of the narrative is focused on his gradual breakdown, which in turn, brings about the gradual breakdown of the gang named for him. This process could have been very boring. Fortunately, the acting and writing combined to give Dutch the presence needed to sell the whole thing. On the whole, Dutch can be considered one of the major antagonists of the game. As such, it should come as no surprise that he has numerous unlikable traits. To name an example, consider his emphasis on loyalty, which became so distorted that Micah managed to become his new right-handed man by never questioning him. Something that devastated him when it came out that Micah had been the spy. Even so, it would be too easy to say that Dutch was always a monstrous fool who veiled himself with hollow ideals. Instead, he degenerated into that over time because he couldn’t have built up the Van der Linde gang if he had always been that.

1. Arthur Morgan

A lot of action-adventure protagonists are extremely bland. Sometimes, this is intentional because that blandness makes it that much easier for players to insert themselves into the character. Other times, well, suffice to say that video game writing isn’t always the best. Arthur Morgan stands out among the lot, particularly since he comes off as ambiguous rather than muddled. Something that is much easier said than done. To a considerable extent, Arthur’s life was fundamentally shaped by both Dutch and Hosea, both of whom served as his father-figures. However, his discovery that he was dying of tuberculosis served as a moment of liberation, thus enabling him to follow his own will. Still, even if the player decides on a righteous path, it is hard to say whether doing so enabled Arthur to redeem himself. John definitely did so by sacrificing his life for his family in the original game. In contrast, Arthur remained much more ambiguous, which for some, made him the better character and his the better story. No mean feat considering just how well-liked John happened to be.