Dutch van der Linde

"We all make mistakes John, I never claimed to be a saint.""

 is a Central character who later becomes one of the main antagonists in Red Dead Redemption.

Background
He was the leader of the infamous Dutch's Gang, which once operated in West Elizabeth. Gang members included John Marston, Abigail Marston, Bill Williamson, and Javier Escuella. Once an altruistic rogue, Dutch gradually descended into madness, which causes the disillusionment of the other members.

Van der Linde had not been seen or heard from in several 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, it is hinted that Dutch is in Colombia and not likely to be seen ever again.

Marston and Williamson may have competed for Dutch's favor as hinted by Williamson's line "Dutch always said you were an arrogant son of a bitch!"

Interactions
When Bill Williamson is killed in Mexico, Agent Ross refuses to return Marston's family and instead declares John is not finished. He is told Dutch van der Linde is back in the Blackwater 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. John kills a scout after a battle to reach Dutch's mountain hideout and picks up his binoculars, a vital tool in Red Dead Redemption. When looked through, John observes Dutch killing a police officer. He then looks through again and Dutch has his pistol pointed at Marston. A shot is fired, but it hits the Binoculars and knocks Martston out. Dutch recruits disenfranchised young Native Americans off of the local reservations for his new gang. John and a posse of U.S. Marshals stake out the bank and wait for a chance to kill Dutch. The mission goes south when the gang kills a man in the front entrance and fights off the posse for a few minutes. John corners Dutch in an upper room but he has taken a woman hostage and uses her as a human shield. Dutch escapes after shooting the girl in the head and throwing her body into Marston's arms.

In the final assault on his hideout with the U.S. army, John and government agents wipe out his army. Together, he and Dutch battle with each other. Eventually, Marston gains the upper hand and chases Dutch to the edge of a cliff. At the top of the cave system Dutch is backed to a cliff by Marston. Marston and Dutch exchange words, with Dutch explaining how he can't fight his nature, he can't change. He then tells John that they are a dying breed in a changing world. He commits suicide and casts himself off the cliff and falls to his death. Agent Ross uses Marston's pistol to shoot the corpse and claims it will look better in the report.

Philosophy
Dutch seems to carry a philosophy just like most of the 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 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. And 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. And 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.

It is worth noting that Dutch's philosophy shares much with the Transcendentalist movement; both promote a return to a communal, natural way of life. This is not entirely coincidental; the Transcendentalist movement was the same movement berated by Agent Ross in his speech to John Marston.

Another big part of Dutch's philosophy seems to be self-destruction. While the New West promotes clothing, technology, and civilization, Dutch seems to want to move back to the Old West which promotes survival, war, and hardship. While most people in Blackwater try to raise themselves up and civilize the Old West, Dutch tries to lead people on a path to self-destruction.To Dutch, self-perfection is to be rejected and self-destruction is to be accepted.

Mission Appearances

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

Trivia

 * The name "Dutch" may also be a nickname like Irish, French and Welsh, as the surname "Van der Linde" is originally from the Netherlands.
 * Under "miscellany" of the newspaper that is issued after the bank fiasco, there is a small obituary for a woman named Muriel Scranton. It says that she "was killed by gunshot to the head in the First National Bank of Blackwater" and that she was married to a man named Joseph Scranton. This is more than likely the woman that was killed by Dutch. A bit more interesting is the tombstone of a Mrs. Jane Scranton who died in 1903, located in the Blackwater cemetery. The engraving says she, too, was married to a Joseph Scranton. It is possible that this Joseph Scranton is one person, and an unfortunate serial widower. Also a Joseph Scranton owns a small restaurant in the middle of Blackwater.
 * By saying he and John are 'a dying breed', he means the end of the Old West and incoming civilization.
 * Like Landon Ricketts, Dutch bears a close resemblance to famous actor Lee Van Cleef, as well as to actors Robert De Niro and Daniel Day-Lewis.
 * The orange longsleeve that Dutch wears looks exactly like the orange longsleeve worn by Charles Bronson's character in the Spaghetti Western "Once Upon A Time In The West."
 * This orange attire may also refer to Dutch's heritage, as orange is the colour of the Dutch royal family. It is seen as a symbol of national pride in the Netherlands to wear orange. Many Dutch sports teams have orange kits.
 * Dutch also seems to possess a high level of intelligence and persuasion, seen as his new gang consist of natives who have a great disliking of the civilised white migrants.
 * 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 Cattlemen Revolver, although on occasion the game will glitch and he will be holding a semi-automatic pistol.
 * It is unknown how, but while Dutch jumps off the cliff you may hear a gunshot, although Dutch dropped his gun earlier.
 * When you catch up to Dutch at the cliff, he has been shot in the torso, however Marston never injures him during the chase.
 * The name "Dutch Van Der Linde" may be a reference to the film Winchester '73. In which the main antagonist is named "Dutch-Henry Brown".
 * Dutch appears to be a playable multiplayer character in the upcoming DLC Liars and Cheats

Quotes
"Well hello John, I believe that's what they call two for the price of one out here in these parts."

- Dutch taunting John and Harold MacDougal.

"My whole life, John, all I ever did was fight."

- Dutch to John.

"Our time has passed, John."

- Dutch to John before his demise.