Dutch van der Linde

"We can't always fight nature, John. We can't fight change, we can't fight gravity, we can't fight nothin'. My whole life, all I ever did was fight..."

- Dutch van der Linde



Dutch van der Linde is a central character and one of the primary antagonists of Red Dead Redemption, and a central character in Red Dead Redemption 2.

With the addition of the Liars and Cheats DLC pack, van der Linde is also a multiplayer character model that may be selected in the 'Damnation' section of the Outfitter.

Background
Dutch was born in 1858. Little is known about his younger days. His father fought for the Union in the American Civil War and died at Gettysburg. Because of his father's death, Dutch seems to have developed a grudge against Southerners. Dutch also mentions that he left his home when he was 15 years old because he rarely got along with his mother, whose death Dutch only found out several months after the fact from an uncle of his.

He valued liberties above all else and dreamed of living an independent existence. To attain these desires, Dutch began to resort to a life of crime. In the early days of his criminal life, Dutch had an "odd" partnership with Colm O'Driscoll, a fellow infamous outlaw and the leader of a gang, and at some point met and befriended Hosea Matthews, a con artist who tried to rob Dutch and likewise tried to do to him. Dutch and Hosea later formed their own gang and began to operate in West Elizabeth. Notable members that joined the gang were Arthur Morgan, Micah Bell, John Marston, Abigail Marston, Bill Williamson, and Javier Escuella. At some point later, Dutch and Colm became bitter enemies after Dutch killed Colm's brother and Colm killed Dutch's lover Annabelle in retaliation.

At the time, Dutch was an altruistic and idealistic rogue, believing the gang could make a difference in the world. He fashioned himself into a Robin Hood figure, taking money from those who had more than they could ever need, and giving it to those who had very little, and truly needed it. He saw himself as a symbol of the romanticized Wild West, and a humanitarian champion of the people, opposing government control, supporting individual liberty and punishing general human cruelty and selfishness. His romantic image and charisma inspired his gang to believe in his vision of a "Savage Utopia", and it was in the name of Dutch and his cause that they committed crimes such as murder and robbery. By 1899, Dutch was reluctantly starting to realize that the way of life he held dear was fast becoming an unrealistic proposition.

Events of Red Dead Redemption 2
"The leader of a sizable gang of outlaws and misfits. Idealistic, anarchic, charismatic, well‐read, well‐ lived, but possibly starting to unravel under the pressures of the encroaching modern world."

- Rockstar Games' description of Dutch for Redemption II.

Dutch van der Linde appears in Red Dead Redemption 2 as a major character and leader of the Van der Linde gang. After a failed heist on a Blackwater ferry, he leads them into the Grizzlies in Ambarino. He and the gang stay there for a short period of time until the blizzard ends and the snow thaws. Soon after, they head down the mountain to a small area called Horseshoe Overlook, overlooking a small town called Valentine. Dutch leads them on a series of increasingly dangerous heists, eventually tearing the gang apart and deteriorating Dutch's sanity.

Beecher's Hope
Eight years later, Dutch hides out in Mount Hagen with Micah. After being confronted by John, Dutch allows him to kill Micah before walking away.

Post-Redemption 2
Van der Linde had not been seen nor heard from in a few years, and despite claims of sightings was thought to have perished in a fire following a botched robbery in 1906. During one of the cutscenes in "The Gates of El Presidio", it is rumored that Dutch is in Colombia and not likely to be seen ever again. This was later proven false.

Events of Red Dead Redemption
When Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella are dealt with in Mexico, Edgar Ross declares that John is not finished hunting his old gang. He is told that Dutch is back in the West Elizabeth region and Marston is obligated to kill him. Together with a Native American named Nastas and Professor Harold MacDougal, John tries to hunt down Dutch. Nastas tells Marston and MacDougal of Dutch's fortress in the mountains called Cochinay where he has recruited a new gang consisting of Native Americans that lived in poor conditions on local reservations. Dutch takes advantage of the natives mutual hatred of the government and has created an army now holed up in the mountainous fortress. Dutch's Gang has been attacking and harassing settlers outside of Blackwater. The Blackwater Ledger makes mention of an incident where Dutch and his gang killed two men on a homestead north of Blackwater.

John and Nastas investigate and scout Cochinay with the goal of locating Dutch himself. Nastas is injured while climbing the mountains so John continues the climb alone. After killing a scout, John picks up his binoculars. When looked through, John observes Dutch killing a captured police officer. After looking away, John returns his glance on Dutch again only to see Dutch now aiming at him. A shot is fired, but it hits the Binoculars, causing John to fall back and get knocked unconscious. Satisfied, Dutch holsters his pistol. Not long after, the Bureau of Investigation has received word that Dutch's Gang has robbed the Blackwater Bank and has taken hostages inside.

After taking a sniping position and gaining entrance to the bank. John confronts Dutch with a group of sheriffs and has him corned in an upstairs office. However Dutch is holding a young woman hostage at gunpoint. Dutch takes the moment to speak with John, all the while slowly making his way towards the exit. Dutch asks about John's family. Remarking how fast time flies before berating his marriage to Abigail telling the sheriffs that John "married a whore". When John brings up that Dutch had left him to die years prior, Dutch dismisses this and mocks John for being an "errand boy" for the government. Dutch suddenly inches closer to the door and shoots the young woman in the head while throwing her corpse into John's arms. John and the sheriffs pursue Dutch on horseback after realizing he escaped in an automobile parked outside the bank. They come across the automobile, now wrecked and with Dutch nowhere in sight.

Later, Dutch and his gang surround the Blackwater Hotel while John and Professor MacDougal are inside.Shouting up at John, he announces that he plans on killing John and the Professor for "sport". However, John and MacDougal escape out of a window and across the rooftops before reaching a pair of waiting horses. John is then able to safely escort MacDougal to the train station at Manzanita Post.

The U.S Army launches a full scale assault on Cochinay. After weakening Dutch's forces by luring them out of Tall Trees and into the Great Plains where the army ambushes them. John Marston, Edgar Ross, Archer Fordham ride to Cochinay with a garrison of U.S. Army soldiers with the intention of killing Dutch and ending his gang. The army assaults Cochinay, gunning down most of Dutch's Gang. John tells the American Army Captain to tend to his wounded while he faces Dutch alone. Seeing John coming, Dutch mounts an armor plated Gatling Gun and attempts to use it to gun down John. However John shoots an oil lantern fixed behind Dutch, causing a fire that forces him off the gun. Dutch then flees into the caves with John chasing after him. The caves lead to atop a mountain cliff where John holds Dutch at gunpoint.

Dutch tosses his pistol off the mountain and the two exchange words. Dutch remarks the inevitability of his situation and the changing times. He laments that his whole life he tried to fight societal change but that like gravity. change was always constant. John asks Dutch why he could never give up if he knew his fight for change was in vain. But Dutch explains that he couldn't give up as it was too much in his nature to fight. John coldly claims that if Dutch won't surrender, he'll have to shoot him. Dutch smirks at this and comments on the hypocrisy of law enforcement. Saying that after he dies, the law will find "another monster" to target and use that to justify their wages. Dutch takes a step back towards the mountain cliff and says "Our time has passed...John" before allowing himself to fall back off the cliff to his death. Choosing suicide over capture. Edgar Ross later shoots Dutch's corpse with a pistol in order to make it look like John shot him, claiming that it "looks better in the report that way."

Dutch's prediction of the bureau not stopping after his death came true. In The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed, John himself became the next target of the agency and this subsequently leads to his death.

Personality
Dutch seems to carry a philosophy similar to other characters in Red Dead Redemption. Dutch seems to want a world that goes along the lines of a Hunter-Gatherer Society, a world that opposes technology and governmental control and where men fight to survive. A world where men live like they did in the old Wild West. When Dutch appears, he is fighting against the town of Blackwater which is filled with agents and technology. Since Dutch once fought for the poor, and the agencies in Blackwater constantly take from the poor, this means that Dutch sees the new West as evil. Also, since he has fought against the government and banks his whole life, this means that he may want to not only destroy Blackwater, but he may also want to completely destroy all government, currency, and social order. The way he attains this appears to be by recruiting soldiers and taking out towns that are hot spots for government agents and technology, and he is unafraid to kill to achieve this world.

Another part of Dutch's philosophy seems to be returning to the older ways. While the New West promotes clothing, technology, and civilization, Dutch seems to want to move back to the Old West which promotes survival, discipline, and using skill and courage to overcome hardship. While most people in Blackwater try to raise themselves up and civilize the Old West, Dutch would prefer they remain civilized where they are and allow the Old West to survive in the way to which it has grown accustomed, and when the citizens of Blackwater, and indeed; the Federal Government, will not allow him or his people to live their lives the way they wish; he attacks.

Dutch himself is shown to be a merciless killer who justifies killing innocent people or lawmen as a way of combating the corruption of the federal government. Despite his brutal ways, Dutch is shown to be educated and unlike many outlaws, is committing these crimes for idealistic reasons rather than greed.

Ironically, in spite of his anti-government ideals, Dutch seems to have a slightly fascist and authoritarian stance when it comes to managing his own gang. He constantly preaches "loyalty" and "faith" as being among the highest and most honorable tenets; this makes it easier for him to make fiat decisions that decide the course of the gang without taking any input or criticism from those he is leading. In fact, whenever a member of the gang questions Dutch's actions, he immediately sees the act of doing so as traitorous and a threat. Additionally, many details about how the gang operates mirror practices in various implementations of government. For example, everyone must contribute 50% of the take from any completed job to the camp as a whole, similar to taxes in capitalism; much of the work done in the camp itself is again, for the good of the whole community, such as donating animal carcasses to add to the food supply, as might be expected of a communist regime.

In conversations, John Marston refers to Dutch's past actions and crimes with a Robin Hood-like idealism. However, John has also stated that this idealism was really just an excuse to mindlessly kill and rob people. This became more obvious as Dutch grew more violent and erratic as time went on. To the point where John even questioned his sanity.

By the mid-1900's, the once idealistic rogue had become a delusional frantic killer who was secretly aware that all of the horrible crimes he committed changed nothing about the government or society.

In his final moments, Dutch expresses remorse for his actions. Telling John that he couldn't stop fighting for his ideas even though he realized the futility of it simply because it was who he was. He even described himself as a "monster". Before committing suicide, Dutch told John that "Our time has passed." Signifying his acceptance that the Old West way of life was dead and his ideals along with it.

Pre-1899
As seen in a photo on Arthur Morgan's wagon, Dutch is seen in a younger appearance without his mustache and darker hair.

1899
In 1899 Dutch is shown as an average built man with a thick, black mustache and soul patch under his lips, he also has dark black, slick back hair that curls at the end. He is always seen in elegant suits or fancy clothing some examples include, a black and red vest with a blue and white pinstripe shirt and gold chains on his vest and a black tail coat and black hat, a low cut red vest with a white shirt and the same tail coat from the former outfit, during the Saint Denis bank heist he wears a white shirt and red vest and bigger tailcoat which leads to the survivor look in Gurama with an elongated mustache a large amount of scruff on his face. During the first chapter he wears a knee length coat and rifleman gloves, and during the mission in which you attend to Angelo Bronte's mansion he wears a black and white three piece suit with a top hat.

1907
During the Epilogue, Dutch only briefly appears with an ungroomed beard and even longer hair with gray-white streaks along with a very large and thick winter coat thrown over him.

1911
In 1911 Dutch has aged considerably with large white streaks through the sides and top of his hair, but has regained some of its previous colour since 1907, and has gained obvious weight and wears a pink shirt and brown pants with a black a silver necklace around his neck. He also shaved his beard back down to a mustache without the soul patch, however and sports a more modern haircut.

Mission Appearances

 * Red Dead Redemption
 * "At Home With Dutch"
 * "Great Men Are Not Always Wise"
 * "The Prodigal Son Returns (To Yale)"
 * "And The Truth Will Set You Free"


 * Red Dead Redemption 2
 * "Outlaws from the West"
 * "Who the Hell is Leviticus Cornwall?"
 * "Our Best Selves"
 * "Red Dead Redemption"
 * "American Venom"

Red Dead Redemption

 * Ironically, Dutch uses a Semi-automatic Pistol, a symbol of future technology, when he is against civilization himself. Granted, the gun would have been 18 years old at the time of his death, but even Edgar Ross uses a far older Winchester Repeater.
 * In the mission "And The Truth Will Set You Free", when Dutch is forced off the machine gun, he has a High Power Pistol in his holster. When he is fleeing through the caves, the first time he fires at you is with a High Power Pistol, the second time he fires is with a Semi-automatic Pistol, and when he is cornered, he has a trusty Cattleman Revolver, although on occasion the game will glitch and he will be holding a Semi-Automatic Pistol. It is possible that Dutch had a Cattleman tucked into his belt or in a pocket as a backup, although sometimes in "The Prodigal Son Returns (To Yale)", he will have a Cattleman in his holster and the Semi-Automatic Pistol in his hand. This could be a glitch, as it happens to John sometimes in "The Gates of El Presidio".
 * John implies that he still has respect for him, when he says to Agent Ross, "I'd kill you a hundred times before I killed Dutch if it were an option." The fact that John says this even right after watching Dutch shoot an innocent woman in the head raises concerns about John's character as a person but is likely meant to show John's opinion towards Ross, more arguably, who he sees as worse than Dutch. Probably because Ross has the power that he is corrupt with, which is the key thing Dutch has always been against.
 * After Dutch has died, his lair can be explored. There is a well-stocked bookshelf and a desk with a typewriter, further emphasizing his intelligence and his paradoxical relationship with modernity. There is also a bathtub hidden behind a makeshift curtain.
 * These contradictions may also be intentionally emblematic of an underlying hypocrisy in Dutch and his gang. As John points out to Javier Escuella their philosophies were an excuse, which is something "[they] all knew."
 * At the edge of the cliff on the mission "And The Truth Will Set You Free" Dutch appears to be wounded in the torso despite appearing unharmed moments earlier.
 * Dutch appears to be a frighteningly skilled shooter, as he is able to shoot John's binoculars from well over 100 feet away, on about a 70 degree upwards angle, with the wind, cold and gravity effects of being on a mountaintop working against him, and above all he does this with a single shot from what is meant to be a mid-range pistol, taking no more than a second to correct his aim.

Red Dead Redemption II

 * In the mission "The New South" in Red Dead Redemption II, Dutch tells Arthur that his father was killed in a field in Pennsylvania fighting Southerners during the Civil War. This heavily suggests his father was killed during the Battle of Gettysburg, one of the most famous battles of the Civil War.
 * His alias "Aiden O'Malley" is a reference to a character with the same name in Grand Theft Auto IV

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