Loose Ending: Red Dead Redemption · 7:10pm Jan 30th, 2023
For those who may need a refresher, Loose Ending is my series of endings to things as told by me, closing the book on things that may have been ambiguous or otherwise ended without answering every question. This one is about the game from RockStar Games, Red Dead Redemption. Spoilers, obviously, for anyone who has yet to play the game.
Professor Harold MacDougal returned to Yale to teach anthropology and wrote three more books about his studies of Native Americans and settlers in West Elizabeth and New Austin, all of which were published. The books, Civilization and the Savage Heart, The Fundamental Transformation of Savages and Civilized Man and the Savage World would become widely circulated throughout the academic community of the time, used as a basis for new anthropologic studies. Professor MacDougal himself became something of a celebrity because of his 'findings,' and would often regale students and others during his lectures with tales of his exploits in Blackwater and the Great Plains. He would not mention Nastas or John Marston during any of his retellings.
Some time later, after an argument with a fellow professor, MacDougal would be forced to leave Yale and most of his theories and books would be discredited. Undaunted, Professor MacDougal would embark on another expedition to South America to study "the affects of the rainforest on the subspecies of tropical savage" with a group of students. He was shot by a colleague two weeks into the expedition and his body was not recovered.
After seizing power in the Neuvo Paraiso Revolution of 1911, Abraham Reyes would declare himself President of Mexico following the execution of the previous president, General Ignacio Sanchez. In honor of Luisa Fortuna, the "brave peasant girl" who inspired people to join his revolt, Reyes would create a holiday on the day of her death during the Escalera Uprising. Without Luisa's help in rallying fellow Mexicans to his cause and sabotaging Sanchez' forces, Reyes' rebellion would not have been successful, and so he would name Laura's Day in her honor, mistaking her for another girl with whom he had casual relations.
Despite his espoused views on liberty, democracy and listening to the people, Abraham Reyes would become a tyrannical dictator and suspend democratic elections in favor of the construction of a new presidential palace in Mexico City. During a revolt against him in 1914, he would order a crowd of protestors numbering in the thousands to be shot. Another revolution would take place and Abraham Reyes would be publicly executed in 1915 after attempting to flee the country.
Nigel West Dickens continued traveling and selling "miracle cures from the East" with varying degrees of success. He would eventually start his own company, Dickens' Miracles Incorporated. His company would eventually go international, selling tonics and cures as far away as Baghdad.
Although his "cures" would not do all he advertised, some of them would actually prove helpful to some customers, leading him to patent a few of the formulas. Nigel West Dickens later retired and started a family after buying land in New Austin from a stranger. His company would later become Dickens Pharmaceuticals and continue providing drugs well into the time of Niko Bellic and Franklin Clinton. Its products included Deludamol and a Redwood Cigarettes patch.
Seth Brias' current whereabouts are unknown. Some travelers in the west claim to see a man fitting his description at old cemeteries digging up corpses and talking to them. He is often blamed for things that go missing in and around Armadillo.
Marshal Leigh Johnson retired from law enforcement in Armadillo after 17 years of service. He moved away and later settled down and started a family of his own on the east coast. His deputies would follow similar paths. The Johnson Justice Dedication Award was named in his honor and is given by police in Liberty City, Vice City and Los Santos.
Landon Ricketts was honored by the town of Chuparosa and the other communities he had helped in the Nuevo Paraiso region of northern Mexico following his passing. Stories of his heroic deeds continue to be told to this day among the smaller towns in Mexico and America, and he is remembered as a legend.
The kind Bonnie MacFarlane eventually married and would have several children of her own. The MacFarlane Ranch continues to operate to this day with her grandson, Drew MacFarlane III as owner.
Herbert Moon closed his shop in Armadillo and moved further west a few years after WW1. He would later attempt to move to Europe to be among the "pure white race as God intended." He died shortly after and his final request was that his body not be touched by any non-white people or Jews. Despite this, he was buried near a Jewish cemetery in an unmarked grave. His living descendants are all Jewish, after his daughter Herberta married Isaac Solomons.
The body of retired Bureau Agent Edgar Ross was never found. He is believed to have met an ill fate while on a hunting trip with his brother in Mexico. In truth, he was killed in a duel by Jack Marston after a heated exchange. He is remembered as a prominent agent of the early FIB, known for his effectiveness and ruthlessness. His efforts against the Van Der Linde Gang and other outlaws of the time are a subject of learning for new agents. FIB Agent Steve Haines considered him to be an icon, and an episode focusing on him was planned for a t.v. show before Haines' own death at the hands of Trevor Phillips.
Agent Archer Fordham was dismissed from the Bureau following budget cuts and restructuring in 1915. He later joined a small criminal gang and was injured and arrested following a failed bank robbery. He died during a prison riot in 1925. It is unknown if he participated in the riot.
Jack Marston's fate is unknown. Some sources indicate he enlisted and fought for the United States during World War 1 and World War 2, while other sources claim he remained in West Elizabeth, continuing to help communities and strangers in need, and still other sources claim he was involved in the revolution against Abraham Reyes. None of these accounts can be confirmed.
A book detailing the life and times of John, Jack, Abigail and the Van Der Linde Gang was published, supposedly written by Jack Marston. It remains a very popular book and account of the history of New Austin, West Elizabeth, New Hanover and Lemoyne, being a more popular and more accurate account than any of the books published by Professor MacDougal.
The Strange Man continues his accounting.
I find the helbert moon one funny.
He probably rolling over in his grave.
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The part about his daughter marrying a Jewish guy is canon. I added the rest. I think it makes sense seeing as how he seemed to be so hateful of everyone and everything.
What happens to Archer though... pure irony.
I love how you tied this into the Grand Theft Auto universe!
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Thanks Howard. Yes, this was very fun to write and I think pretty fitting. I put a lot of thought into it and I especially like the ironic bits. The part with Archer just came to me, seems so perfect. Dutch warned that they'd have to "find another monster. They have to justify their wages." With no major criminals to pursue, Archer was laid off, becomes a crook to pay the bills and ends up dying in a prison riot... just like Ross joked had happened to Abigail and Jack.
I left out Irish and some of the other characters because they either have a pretty definitive end(Irish dies after firing a gun in a courthouse or something) or they end ambiguously.