How John Marston Was Complicit In Red Dead Redemption’s Ending

John Marston’s recklessness and lack of caution helped the Pinkertons easily locate him in Red Dead Redemption, but it didn’t have to be that way.

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Even though John Marston tried everything to save his and his family’s life in Red Dead Redemption, a few key mistakes ultimately made the outlaw complicit in his own death. He was reckless when his family was trying to start a new life, despite knowing he was a wanted man, and the Pinkertons were able to find him largely because of his own actions.

The original Red Dead Redemption game follows John Marston as he hunts down several of his former Van der Linde gang associates. Meanwhile, his wife Abigail and son Jack are being held hostage by the Pinkertons, working on behalf of the U.S. government. They claim that they’ll safety return his family to him if John goes after his old accomplices, including Javier Escuella, Bill Williamson, and ringleader Dutch Van der Linde.

John complies with the Pinkertons’ demands, despite that meaning he must take the lives of his former comrades and friends. In the end, while he’s able to get his wife and son to safety, John ultimately dies in the process, making his actions largely feel futile. But if the outlaw had just taken better precautions, he may have lived to see another day.

John’s Mistakes Make Him Somewhat Responsible For His Death

The Van der Linde gang disbanded in 1899, and upon its disintegration, John, Abigail, and Jack embarked on a journey across the U.S. to start a new life. At one point, it’s mentioned that they made it as far as the Yukon but for some reason they decided to head back to familiar ground. By 1907, the family ends up at Beecher’s Hope, which is a bit too close for comfort to the areas in which the Van der Lindes would cause mayhem.

It would have been much wiser for John and his family to try and get as far away from their old stomping ground as possible; it would be harder for the Pinkertons to track them, and less folks would be familiar with the infamous Van der Lindes. After near a decade, the family may have thought there was no longer a threat, but clearly that proved to be a fatal mistake.

This isn’t the only mistake John made, however, as the outlaw was also careless with the fake names his family was using. For example, he assumed the name Jim Milton. Not only is Jim close to his original first name, but Milton is a direct reference to Detective Milton, one of the lead Pinkertons tracking him down. Given that Milton is not the most common last name, and the similarity between John’s pseudonym and real name, Jim Milton would tip anyone off to his location. It also doesn’t help that John still used his original name often, like when he applied for the bank loan in Red Dead Redemption 2, he told the banker his name was John. While John’s mistakes in the Red Dead Redemption games were innocent, they nevertheless were careless, and demonstrate how his own actions led the Pinkertons to find him.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/red-dead-redemption-rdr2-ending-government-kills-john/