Red Dead Redemption: Every Villain Ranked From Worst To Best
2. Dutch Van Der Linde
Across both games, there were two sides to Dutch Van Der Linde;
One is the nurturing father figure of Arthur, John and the rest of the gang; and there is something tragic about the man who yearned to protect his people and survive the expanding frontiers of the dying Old West.
One of the biggest themes of RDR2 is the expansion of the industrial revolution into new territories, and Dutch was the last of a dying breed of individuals who hearkened back to a lawless time. In the right light, Dutch would have been the biggest anti-hero of the series. More than even Marston or Morgan.
But that is not the case, as the other side of Dutch overtakes him and his true self emerges throughout the games. Dutch is a skilled manipulator and opportunist; more than even the likes of Micah Bell or Angelo Bronte. Dutch feeds of the naivete and desperation of the downtrodden, and uses their hate and fear as tools to serve his own purpose. Siding with the disillusioned or marginalised groups only to further his own selfish deeds.
The transformation of Dutch in RDR2 is palpable and unsettling to watch; a man who tended to a tormented Sadie Adler evolved into a cold specimen who refuses to save Marston from the hangman's noose, and passively holds the women and elderly of his gang hostage. By the time he makes his debut in RDR, he is a sickened and psychotic man with no more morals.
Perhaps he was always like that?