In our section on unforgettable moments of the past generation, we have seen many that have impacted us, but if I had to make a top 10, the massacre at the ‘Red Dead Redemption’ ranch would take one of the highest positions, without a doubt, both for the scene itself and for its consequences.
Taking advantage of the fact that there is so little left for the release of the highly anticipated ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ (October 26 on PS4 and Xbox One, let’s remember), we believe that it is the ideal time to remember this scene from the first ‘Red Dead Redemption’ that catapulted him to the Olympus of the video game , as well as Rockstar San Diego.
When you leave behind a life of misdeed …
“You can’t erase the past, John. By killing me, you won’t make it go away.”
In the past, John Marston belonged to the Dutch van der Linde gang, more out of necessity (his mother died giving birth and his father died when he was eight years old) than of his own free will, but he knew how to distance himself from his companions when he saw in what kind of human remains had they become , as they began to kill innocent people. And also, because they had betrayed him.
Despite the fact that in the adventure of ‘Red Dead Redemption’ we had a rank of honor (or dishonor) based on our attitude towards those around us, there was something immovable, and it was that palpable change in John Marston of wanting to become an honest person who wanted to live with his family (Abigail and Jack) in peace, on their Beecher’s Hope ranch. Although he had to kill many thugs along the way to do so. After all, it was the Wild West.
However, when the end began to be seen, a radical twist occurs: the feds kidnap his wife and son , to force John to kill his old gang, led by Dutch. In this way, they fall, one by one, until they collide with Dutch, who, after chasing him up the mountain through some caves to the point of shooting him, ends up plummeting into the void.
You can’t erase the past so easily
John Marston promised them happy with their new life . He had fulfilled the deal with the feds and his director, Edgar Ross, not without sarcasm in between, gave him back to his family. Now he could dedicate himself to things in the fields, such as controlling the cows so that they do not run away, driving the birds out of the barn with gunshots … Everything except a criminal life and to leave a legacy to his son with the subsistence.
The tonic of ‘Red Dead Redemption’ completely changed in that instant. All the missions in history were of that style, being an immensely calmer adventure for us to witness the daily chores of the people of that time. That did not save us, however, from some fright, like when Uncle told us that he saw Jack with a bear, and we had to go out in search of him to rescue him, but not before shooting down the poor animal. But it was our son or the bear, and it was clear to both John and us: family first.
But everything would change radically the next morning. John and his family, along with Uncle, are ambushed on their ranch. Enemies keep arriving from all sides and in one of the points Uncle ends up being shot dead.
Things were getting ugly, but John was holding up well. The problem was Abigail and Jack, they weren’t experts at shooting. Hence, he had no choice but to ask them to escape on horseback and without looking back. John was aware, in a way, that he was not going to survive this situation with the feds behind him. Because yes, Ross wanted to completely kill Dutch’s gang, and that included Marston himself . And it is something that, unfortunately, ended up happening.
Marston’s death in Red Dead Redemption
Having put his family in a safe place, John opens the door of his ranch and runs into a huge number of soldiers. The striking thing about the matter is that the game does not let us use the Dead Eye ability to shoot down the largest number of enemies in a fraction of a second and try to survive this new ambush, but that Marston suffers a most bloody execution .
Ross and his entourage watch as he falls to his death. The only thing that comes out of the sheriff himself is a cold, disapproving look, as he lights a cigar, to leave as if nothing had happened and leave poor John lifeless, staining the floor of his home with blood. An image (and blemish) that will be difficult to erase.
Here we would have to make a paragraph, because if ‘Red Dead Redemption’ was launched in May 2010 on PS3 and Xbox 360, already at the end of October, at the gates of Halloween (coincidentally on the 26th, the same day that its sequel will be launched on the market, just eight years later), RockStar Games released the expansion ‘Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare’ , where we coincidentally controlled a John Marston in a zombie plan, within a completely alternative and fictitious timeline, but that she was still curious about the sad future of John.
Returning to the main story, Abigail and Jack would end up returning to the ranch to see his lifeless body, and ending the game entirely. Or not. Something was missing.
Luckily, there was revenge in charge of Jack
And if we liked the outcome of ‘Red Dead Redemption’ so much , it was not only because of that truncated dream with John, to show the cruelty of that time, but because we ended up controlling Jack, three years later, after showing him respect to her parents (yes, Abigail would eventually die of unknown causes). Its objective? Kill Ross and exact his revenge .
Thus began a small search until we found the whereabouts of the federal, whom we would end up seeing in a part of the Toro River, north of Chuparosa, quietly hunting ducks. After appearing before Ross and seeing how he shielded himself saying that John’s death was deserved, they ended up facing a deadly duel where Jack would end up having his own revenge …
Ironically, Jack had become a true reflection of his father .
