Edgar Ross

"You see we, me and Archer, we're the bad guys. We enforce the rules. Now, while the rules may not be perfect, they're really not so bad. I'll tell you what the alternative is; it's about one man and his gun versus another man. Sure I know its difficult. Civilization may be dull, but the alternative, Mr. Marston, is hell."

- Edgar Ross

 is a major character who serves as the main antagonist of Red Dead Redemption.

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

Background
Ross is an agent for the early federal law enforcement body, the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), which is now known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Ross is a purveyor of modernism, and plays a strong role in both the narratives and themes of Red Dead Redemption. Ross, although older than Marston, chooses to ride in automobiles and use automatic weapons. Through dialogue, Ross advocates federalism and acknowledges the hypocrisy of his methods as necessary. Ross is portrayed as indifferent, unscrupulous and sometimes even jubilant when at his most inequitable.

Interactions
Ross, and his associate agent Archer Fordham are seen escorting John Marston through the town of Blackwater in the opening credits of Red Dead Redemption. Ross is juxtaposed to Marston as wearing an unusually immodest three-piece suit.

Ross is only partially explained through early gameplay references to government agents in Blackwater, and is obscured through Marston's reluctance to explicitly state his situation to his various allies.

After the player captures or kills Javier Escuella, Ross is seen to converse and exert his unique brand of self-righteous condescension on Marston. The player is required to meet Ross and Fordham at a bridge crossing between New Austin and Nuevo Paraiso. There, Ross leaves the player with instructions to further pursue Bill Williamson, and then return to Blackwater upon completion.

The player eventually kills Williamson, alongside Agustin Allende while working with Abraham Reyes, and quickly returns to Blackwater as instructed.

After the death of Williamson, Ross and his partner in the Bureau, Archer Fordham, are still unsatisfied. They then directly worked with Marston in the Blackwater area to help him track down his former gang leader and mentor, Dutch van der Linde. After several skirmishes with Van der Linde's gang, and a final dramatic assault on Van der Linde's camp with the assistance of the U.S. Army, Marston finally corners Dutch. Dutch chooses to instead kill himself by casting himself from the cliff, declaring to Marston, that their time is up, a reference to the federal government's manipulation and pursuit of them, and a foreshadowing of Ross betraying Marston.

After Van der Linde's death, Ross is unimpressed with Marston's inability to have shot Dutch himself. Taking Marston's pistol and shooting Van Der Linde's mangled corpse, Ross states that "...it looks better in the report..." Ross and Fordham finally and unceremoniously relinquish their custody of Abigail and Jack, telling Marston they can be found at the Marston ranch on Beecher's Hope. Marston reunites with his family, living in peace with them and enjoying the life he had worked and killed for.

However though, Ross breaks the deal in order to permanently wipe out Dutch's Gang. With the help of the U.S. Army, the Blackwater Police, Archer Fordham, and teams of bounty hunters, Ross launches an all-out assault on the ranch in Beecher's Hope. Marston holds off waves of the attackers, fighting mercilessly to protect his family. Eventually, the Marston family retreats to a barn, and John sends his wife Abigail and his son Jack away from the ranch on a horse. Ross and his agents surround the barn, fully armed with their guns pointed at the door.

Deciding to sacrifice himself in order to secure his families future, and accepting that he is not leaving the ranch alive, Marston exits the barn slowly and faces the attackers. Pulling out his gun, Marston fires as the soldiers and bounty hunters kill him in a wave of gunfire. Ross is seen in the crowd lighting a cigar as Marston falls to his knees. Marston does not acknowledge Ross or say a word. After drawing his last breath, Marston collapses. Ross and his agents leave the ranch, leaving John's body to be found by Jack and Abigail.

Epilogue
Three years pass, and Ross continues working in Blackwater under the Federal Bureau, soon becoming the FBI. During this time, Abigail dies of unspecified causes and Jack grows into a 19-year old man. His change in appearance and talent with a gun suggests that he has been training extensively to be more like his father.

After paying respects at the graves of John, Abigail and Uncle, Jack returns to Blackwater. At the train station, he runs into a younger FBI agent. Jack inquires about Edgar Ross. He learns that Ross had received a "...chest full of medals". Ross retired from the FBI sometime in 1913, and moved to a small cabin with his wife on Lake Don Julio in Río Bravo, New Austin. Despite his retirement however, it is apparent that the Bureau still hounds Ross for work due to his fame in their organization.

Jack Marston, in 1914, would track down Ross, visiting his retirement home in Río Bravo, where he meets Edgar's wife, Emily Ross. She tells him he is hunting with his brother Phillip Ross on the Nuevo Paraiso side of the San Luis River. Jack then crosses into Mexico and finds Phillip Ross hunting along Rio del Toro. Phillip tells Jack that his brother is hunting ducks down river. Proceeding west along the river, Jack Marston discovers Edgar shooting at a flock of ducks and confronts him about killing his father.

Ross shows no remorse for having betrayed and killed Marston, claiming the one ultimately responsible is John himself. Ross declares that he would similarly have no hesitation to kill Jack, then he tells him to leave before he kills him. Jack refuses to leave and he challenges Ross, and the two have a climactic duel. Ross is gunned down, a long running theme of hypocrisy in the actions of Ross are ironically concluded, recalling the statement that "...Everyone will eventually pay for what they've done".

Mission Appearances

 * &quot;Exodus in America&quot;
 * &quot;The Gates of El Presidio&quot;
 * &quot;Bear One Another's Burden&quot;
 * &quot;Great Men Are Not Always Wise&quot;
 * &quot;And You Will Know The Truth&quot;
 * &quot;And The Truth Will Set You Free&quot;
 * &quot;The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed&quot;
 * &quot;Remember My Family&quot;

Quotes
"Nobody is playing games with you Mr. Marston, but if we were to play some games there would be some very interesting ones we could play. Like hanging you for murder, putting you in an electric chair, or confiscating all your property. Those are the sorts of games we could play."

- Edgar Ross

"Actions have consequences, Mr. Marston! You can't just buy a few chickens and expect it to go away. You can't erase the past, John...But we can."

- Edgar Ross

"Come on Mr. Marston, moral degeneracy waits for no man."

- Edgar Ross

"Mr. Marston, I have never insulted your meagre intelligence, do not insult mine!"

- Edgar Ross

"Come on Archer, let's go find somebody else we can annoy."

- Edgar Ross

"The metaphysical leap from admiring a flower to shooting a man in the head because he doesn't like a flower is a leap too far."

- Edgar Ross

"You can't escape the past, Marston. Everyone eventually pays for what they've done."

- Edgar Ross

Trivia

 * Ross, when looted, will have around $400 on his body.
 * Despite being a "man of modernism" he is seen using the Winchester Repeater as his choice rifle, and even his pistol is 8 years old (it is possible he was originally supposed to use the M1911 featured in one of the artworks, a pistol that came out the same year the game is set).
 * In every Edgar Ross mission there is a car. You might ride in one or see one broken down.
 * When the player duels Ross, he will carry one of several other lower-tier handguns.
 * The character of Edgar Ross reinforces the narrative themes of government encroachment, federalism, situational hypocrisy, modernism, and technological advancement.
 * After duelling Ross his body might fall into the river if a powerful gun is used, not allowing players to loot the corpse unless pushed out of the river by walking slowly into the corpse.
 * Ross seems to have gotten all the credit for the Marston killing because in the 1914 newspaper, it does not even mention Archer Fordham, suggesting Fordham may have not become famous, well known or didn't want credit. This may have saved his life, however, as Jack Marston didn't pursue him afterwards.
 * Ross is, along with Jenny, one of only two characters to appear in both a Stranger and a story mission (however, it has been speculated that Howard Sawicki appears in the story.)
 * Ross wears similar clothes to Uncle on the stranger mission Remember My Family.
 * Ross is not seen in the Undead Nightmare DLC.
 * If he is aimed at during The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed, his cursor will be darker, and he cannot be killed.
 * Ross bears a slight resemblance to Salvatore Leone, an antagonist from the Grand Theft Auto series.
 * Edgar Ross must be very fond of shotguns because, if you lose in the duel on the Stranger mission Remember My Family Edgar Ross will use a different shotgun to hunt each time you start over.
 * Edgar Ross can be killed when John opens the barn gates, and with killing him then, the cutscene of him with a cigarette is not shown, but he is still alive in the stranger mission 'Remember My Family'.

Gallery
Edgar Ross