How the enemies and allies of John Sontag and Chris Evans inspired characters in RDR2.
The history of the Wild West is so enshrouded in myth, lies, obfuscations, half-truths, and rumor that once these delicate layers are peeled back, the definite facts they're mounded on seem scant enough to be scattered by a breeze — if they weren't weighted with blood and gold. Famous figures like outlaw Emmett Dalton and Wyatt Earp's wife, Josephine, intertwined the bare facts of their lives with legend. In the attempt to immortalize themselves, they erased themselves: it is not always clear whether something really happened, let alone how it happened or who did it.
More allusions to Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights in Red Dead Redemption 2, including themes, character and mission names, and more.
Paradise Lost and Arthurian legend are both so steeped in misogyny that removing it would transform either work unrecognizably. Eve, as Milton infamously writes her, is a dim-witted, sexy doll, if a doll could also be evil. This conception of Eve connects directly to the chivalric treatment of women. Many people take offense at the idea that chivalry is misogynistic because they think of it as “being nice to women,” when its real function is to infantilize and patronize women based on the presupposition that they are lesser beings that must be guided and taken care of – Eves who must be protected from their own sinful nature.
I've discussed Paradise Lost in some depth now, but there are still quite a few allusions that didn't fit elsewhere. This also seems like the best place to discuss the other allusions to the Romantics in the game. Here's a roundup of the essays, followed by a list of the other references the game makes.
One of the writers’ apparent motivations in writing Red Dead Redemption 2 was to make Red Dead Redemption even more sad. The way the first game is retconned in the second one can be annoying because of the mismatch in details, but at times, it’s very effective ...
Dutch Van der Linde is not the only Satanic figure in Red Dead Redemption 2. While Dutch captures Satan’s dark charisma, Micah’s similarities to the fallen angel are more superficial. Unlike Milton’s seductive character, Micah is something you try not to step in. In Mary-Beth's words – she's the most perspicacious character in the gang – he's just “not that interesting” (Horseshoe Overlook; Shady Belle). Micah's very banality is what makes his role in the tragedy so effective. He isn't particularly good at manipulating people – we see his clumsy and obvious attempts to charm some of the gang in camp; only Bill and Javier are initially susceptible to it…
