Red Dead Redemption 2: 10 Mind-Blowing Secrets & Theories You Need To Know
4. Hosea Gave Arthur Tuberculosis, Not Thomas Downes
A huge motivator in Arthur’s own search for redemption is his terminal tuberculosis, to the point where you could argue his diagnosis is the singular most important event. Arhur believes he got it from beating Thomas Downes to death near the game’s opening; Thomas spits blood into Arthur’s mouth, and he later tells the nun he got it beating a man to death for a few bucks.
However, there isn’t any cast iron evidence for this. The circumstantial stuff is quite convincing, but it couldn’t hurt to look at another possibility.
From quite near the start of the game, Hosea has a persistent cough. It’s not as bad as Arthur’s however, so that means he’s either better at hiding it or it’s an unrelated symptom of his (relatively) advanced age.
Thematically though, it seems Arthur’s redemption hinges on kicking Strauss out of camp and doing everything he can to do right by Mrs. Downes. If Hosea did give him it, that’s arguably more poetic. Arthur is trying to redeem himself by focussing on his more recent behaviour. But the truth is, he was raised as an outlaw. It doesn’t matter what he does; he was doomed from the start.