The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed

"They're gonna kill us, aren't they?"

- Jack Marston

"No, I ain't gonna let that happen."

- John Marston

 is the final story mission in Red Dead Redemption.

Scene 1
As the mission begins, John Marston walks into the barn to find his son working. He and Jack begin to speak optimistically of their future as ranchers and as a family, as well as an airplane demonstration due to come to the county in a few months' time. All seems well in Beecher's Hope until Uncle yells for John from outside the barn. John knows what's coming, so he immediately tells Jack to run into the house and "Don't come out no matter what".

Scene 2
After John and Uncle defeat the first wave of American soldiers attacking from the west, John runs into the house to check on his wife and son. He again tells Jack to stay in the house. This time Jack doesn't listen. Jack grabs a rifle and follows his father outside. The three men fight the onslaught, soldier by soldier. Uncle is gunned down, but John and Jack continue the fight.

Scene 3
Another wave held off, John gets Abigail and tells her and Jack to get to the barn. He will hold off the next imminent wave of soldiers. This time they will come from the plains to the south. You may choose to hold them off from the ground or on top of the silo.

Scene 4
The Marstons hold off yet another wave of soldiers attacking their land. John runs into the barn, where he knows Jack and Abigail will be waiting. They are panicking, confused and think they should all run away. John knows that's not possible. He knows he can't escape his past. John puts his wife and son on a horse and tells them they need to ride and don't stop. It's the only way they will have a chance. Reluctantly, Abigail kisses her husband goodbye. Jack and Abigail ride out the back of the barn, leaving John to face the fate from which he has tried so hard to escape. John turns, peering between the barn doors at the last faces he will ever see. He stops, drops his head, and takes a long, deep breath. Then he looks up and pushes the doors wide open, revealing more than twenty soldiers all armed and aimed his direction. In cinematic fashion, the camera switches to the Dead-Eye Targeting mode, as the player takes control of John Marston's last stand. John takes a few down, but ultimately it just isn't enough. Be careful not to push the button for dead eye, this will disable the dead eye making it so you won't kill anyone. He is mowed down by bullet after bullet, as his clothes become drenched with his blood. He falls, takes his last breath, and dies. He sacrifices himself for his family and in hope of the life they may have. He has achieved redemption. Amidst the group of men is Agent Ross, smoking his cigar with a look of disquiet on his face, suggesting that he may on some level regret Marston's death. Another thought is that he is just a sick man, as it suggests in "Remember My Family".

Scene 5
Abigail hears the shots coming from the ranch and tells her son to go back. The player takes control of 16 year-old Jack as he rides back to the ranch, allowing him to spur the horse continuously without being bucked off. Jack and Abigail arrive to find John's body in a pool of blood. Abigail embraces her dead husband and weeps in bitter sadness for her fallen love and the life they never had.

Jack and Abigail bury John on the property alongside Uncle. The camera zooms in to John's grave, his epitaph reading "Blessed are the peacemakers". A quick fade reveals the same shot in a downpour, panning out from John's grave revealing Abigail's right beside it. She had died three years later. A man, with a striking resemblance to the protagonist, looks down at the burial site. The man puts Marston's hat on and turns, revealing himself as 19 year-old Jack.

Mission Prerequisites
Before this mission becomes available, the player must complete:
 * Jack Marston mission: "Spare The Love, Spoil The Child";
 * Abigail Marston mission: "Old Friends, New Problems"; and
 * Uncle mission: "A Continual Feast".

Mission Objectives
To complete this mission, the player must:
 * Kill the first group of soldiers that attacks the ranch.
 * Defend the ranch house.
 * Protect his family as they run to the barn.
 * Join his family in the barn.

Mission Details
When the Mission begins, you must kill the first set of soldiers with Uncle. Use the Bolt-Action Rifle. While the cart is the focal point when you first gain control, it is not very good cover as the Army can easily flank around and kill you. Instead, look to the right and take cover behind the cluster of boulders in front of the farmhouse. After killing the first squad, Uncle instructs you to go check on your family, and a cutscene will begin when you get to your house showing Jack coming out with you. Take cover behind the porch railing in front and kill the soldiers, taking cover and making sure your health is okay. Uncle will aid you, but Jack must only shoot their horses as he is too young to kill. Once Jack shoots one of their horses, that is a prime time to take them out as they are disoriented from the fall.

After killing a few soldiers, Uncle inevitably will get shot in the chest. Kill the rest of the soldiers. Some will begin to come from the north, but stay on the south porch to catch them by surprise, and a cutscene will begin where Uncle advises you to get Abigail and Jack evacuated. He then coughs and dies. There is now a big lull before Fordham can bring in more soldiers. Use it to gather ammo, which is convenient because the U.S. Army service rifle is also a Bolt-Action.

John will herd his remaining family out toward the barn, but as they cross the road, more soldiers will arrive. Stay close to your family and protect them by taking out every guard who comes near. Finally, you will get to a cutscene where you send them off and are left to face a firing squad of U.S. Army troops headed by Edgar Ross. Ross is not visible in the crowd, but it is possible to fire at Fordham or the platoon leader whom you met in "And You Will Know the Truth". After you fire out a few shots with Dead Eye, the mob will gun you down (note that this is a scripted event and entirely unavoidable). After this, you will be in control of Jack, and you must ride back to see your father.

Mission Failure
When playing as John Marston, the mission will fail if the player:
 * Assaults or kills Abigail, Jack, Uncle, or Rufus.
 * Allows Abigail or Jack to be killed.
 * Abandons his family.
 * Assaults or kills livestock.
 * Breaks the law.
 * Kills a dog.
 * Commits vandalism.
 * Assaults or kills townsfolk.
 * Dies.

When playing as Jack Marston, the mission will fail if the player:
 * Does not return to Beecher's Hope.
 * Assaults, kills or abandons Abigail.
 * Assaults or kills Abigail's horse.
 * Breaks the law.
 * Kills a dog.
 * Commits vandalism.
 * Assaults or kills townsfolk.
 * Dies.

Mission Complete Unlockables

 * "Remember My Family" Stranger side-mission
 * Ability to play as Jack Marston
 * U.S. Army outfit Discovery

Known Glitches

 * Main article: Glitches in Red Dead Redemption


 * After Jack and Abigail have ridden off, before the turn to the barn door, you can see a second Jack NPC model still hiding against the front wall of the barn.
 * When John steps out of the barn, the game will pause for a bit before going into Dead Eye.
 * When Jack and Abigail return to Johns body, sometimes his body will still be animated causing John to still be alive (even with the bullet holes in him)! When the cutscene starts, John won't be on the floor when Abigail goes over to him; instead he will be about a foot off the ground. However, when the second cutscene climaxes, he is nowhere to be seen.
 * Sometimes, when Jack and Abigail are riding back to John's body, Abigail will be standing on top of the horse. (Confirmed on PS3)
 * After Abigail has died and Jack has finished looking at his fallen family, a younger Jack will still be there as if he is still holding Abigail although his eyes follow the older Jack.
 * Also adding on to the last point, Abigail or Uncle may be standing on their graves.

Trivia

 * The mission name is a reference to a line in the fifteenth chapter of the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." This is in reference to John having to conquer death in order to save his family and be truly redeemed.
 * Being that John Marston was the last surviving member of Dutch's Gang, he is symbolically the last enemy to be destroyed by the Bureau of Investigation in their goal of disbanding organized outlaw groups across West Elizabeth.
 * Illustrative of Edgar Ross's inherent corruption, his use of the U.S. Military to finish Marston is actually a direct violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, a Federal crime. Signed into law in 1878, the Act prohibits members of the Army and Air Force from exercising nominally state law enforcement, police, or peace officer powers that maintain "law and order" on non-federal property (states and their counties and municipal divisions) within the United States.
 * This mission is very similar to a scene in the 1988 film Mississippi Burning, in which an African American man's farm comes under attack by the KKK. He tells his wife and son to "keep running and don't look back" like John Marston did to Jack and Abigail, and ultimately he is killed, sacrificing himself so his family can escape.
 * While John and Jack are talking before the Army arrive, Jack speaks of the invention of airplanes as "machines that turn men into angels". This is a reference to the stranger mission "Deadalus and Son".
 * Even though the player can shoot Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham dead in the final Dead Eye moment, Ross will still be alive in the following cutscene.
 * An early myth circulated that the Strange Man met in the stranger mission "I Know You" can be seen in the crowd of soldiers that gun down John Marston. This has since been demonstrated as false.
 * While returning in the final sequence of the mission, Jack's horse will not lose stamina. This is possibly to prevent any humor of the horse bucking off Jack and Abigail in the game's tragic finale.
 * The final shootout is very similar to the ending of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; the two come out shooting before being killed by members of the Bolivian Cavalry.
 * The final location where you meet the Strange Man, who remarks "This is a nice spot", is the same spot John is buried in the final cutscene.
 * There's a glitch after Jack and Abigail leave on the horse where Jack will be standing next to the desk next to the table he started near in the beginning of the mission. All he does is watch John, though.
 * During the second wave of soldiers, John can go to the back of the house, and if one angles the camera right, they can see a terrified Abigail crouching next to the window of their bedroom. This is why the door was locked.
 * Even if the player refills John Marston's Dead Eye by consuming Chewing Tobacco, Snake Oil or Moonshine, prior to the scene where Marston is shot, the Dead Eye remains at the same low level in the final Dead Eye moment.
 * John's hat can be shot off after the Dead Eye sequence.

Videos
Video:RED DEAD REDEMPTION: MISSION 57# THE LAST ENEMY SHALL BE DESTROYED|A video walkthrough of the entire mission.

Video:Red Dead Redemption - Weird Bug|Abigail standing while on horseback glitch.

Achievements
El_último_enemigo_que_debe_ser_destruido