I Gave You All I Had · 12:45am Feb 7th, 2023
Spoilers for the ending of Red Dead Redemption 2.
There’s a line near the end of Red Dead Redemption 2. Arthur Morgan—the protagonist—lies cliffside, dying. He’s been betrayed by the band of outlaws he’s dedicated his life to. Once a strong man, he's now weak, crawling toward a gun.
He reaches for the weapon…
…as the boot of the gang’s leader steps on it.
Dutch looks down at him. Dutch has long since his mind, made madder by recent events. He is toxic, and he barely seems aware of it. Despite their years together, none of it matters. Arthur has been in the right for the last while. Dutch keeps sinking into himself and the black clouds of a rat.
An exchange follows.
It ends on a line that breaks through Dutch.
“I gave you all I had,” Arthur wheezes.
It’s not the words… but how it’s said that makes the mark. It encapsulates everything. The years of service. The constant undertaking of shit. Even in sickness and tragedy, Arthur served. And, with his dying breath, he says those words. It tells everything.
I think about that line a lot. This isn’t what you can tell people out of the blue. Maybe… when it’s related to a point. Or—perhaps—when discussing the game. I relate to that line a lot. So do others, I think. We’ve all given our all to someone or something… that’s betrayed us. Or maybe it’s just the giving part that makes it stick.
I don’t know.
But I think about that line a lot.
~ Yr. Pal, B
It hurts seeing Arthur keep at it with Dutch after a certain point. By then, both the player and Arthur know it's well passed time to cut and run, get out while he can, but he doesn't. His expected lifespan aside that late in aside, he's too wrapped up in Dutch's bullshit even then. That's what that line will always have me thinking about.
Well good thing he went to equestria in a story.
i.redd.it/m9luj7435qi21.jpg
Hey, you want a really good video essay on the red dead games that’s like 3 hours long? It’s good to listen to in the background and he time stamps the games in the description if you just wanna hear him talk about red dead 2.
Absolutely solid game with an even better story, so glad people are still talking about it.