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, Dutch van der Linde is also a multiplayer character model that may be selected in the 'Damnation' section of the Outfitter.

Background

Dutch van der Linde was the leader of the infamous Van der Linde Gang, which once operated in West Elizabeth. Notable gang members included Arthur Morgan, Micah Bell, John Marston, Abigail Marston, Bill Williamson, and Javier Escuella.

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.

As the years rolled by, though, Dutch slowly began to realize the futility of his cause. With new technology making it easier for the government to exert control over the people, liberty had given way to bureaucracy. The violence and greed of humanity had not stopped, and no one had been inspired by his example. His work had ultimately changed nothing. Worse still, the truth of his own hypocrisy crept deeper and deeper into Dutch's thoughts. He and his gang had attempted to change the world for the better, yet in doing so, they had become the worst humanity had to offer. His idealism turned into extreme anger, and Dutch gradually descended into madness, masking his pain with meaningless violence and an unfocused hatred of everything and everyone around him. In the end, Dutch himself caused the disillusionment of the other gang members.

Van der Linde had not been seen nor 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 in "The Gates of El Presidio", it is rumored that Dutch is in Colombia and not likely to be seen ever again. This is proven to be false and Dutch goes on to play a central role in the remainder of the game.

Red Dead Redemption II

TBA

Red Dead Redemption

When Bill Williamson is killed in Mexico, Edgar Ross declares John is not finished. He is told by Dutch van der Linde 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. John kills a scout after a battle to reach Dutch's mountain hideout: Cochinay 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 sees that Dutch has his pistol pointed at Marston. A shot is fired, but it hits the Binoculars and knocks Marston 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. Next, Dutch surrounds 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.

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. Marston and Dutch exchange words, with Dutch explaining how he can't fight his nature so he can't change. He declares that when he dies, "they" will find another monster to deal with, to justify their wages. He then tells John that they are a dying breed in a changing world. Choosing suicide over surrendering to the U.S. Army, Dutch tells Marston their time has passed and promptly falls back off the cliff edge. Ross uses Marston's pistol to shoot the corpse, claiming it will look better in the report. In the end, Dutch's prediction did come true, culminating in The Last Enemy that Shall be Destroyed.

Philosophy and 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.

In conversations, John Marston refers to Dutch's past actions and crimes with a Robinhood-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.

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" (Death)

Red Dead Redemption 2

▪ TBA

Murders Committed

Heidi McCourt - Shot in the head during a raid on a ferry. Mentioned by the Strange Man during "I Know You".
Two unnamed men - mentioned by the Blackwater Ledger, killed at a homestead north of Blackwater.
Muriel Scranton - Shot through the back of the head during a bank heist in "Great Men Are Not Always Wise".
Harmon Weinstein - Executed after the bank heist in "Great Men Are Not Always Wise".
Morgan Sterling - Shot in the head at Cochinay during "At Home With Dutch".

Quotes

Red Dead Redemption

Single Player

“	I think that's what they call 'two for the price of one' out here in this wonderful place!	„
	—Dutch taunting John and Harold MacDougal

“	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, John, all I ever did was fight.	„
	—Dutch to John

“	But I can't give up neither. I can't fight my own nature. That's the paradox, John. You see?	„
	—Dutch

“	When I'm gone they'll just find another monster. They have to justify their wages.	„
	—Dutch

“	Our time is passed, John.	„
	—Dutch's last words

Multiplayer

"I saw your friends runnin' off with their tails between their legs."
"C'mon my fine, patriotic friends."
"Come closer, I've got a surprise for you."
"Who do you think you are?"
"Meet one of the few benefits of your civilization."
"Go to hell!"
"You should've stayed at home."
"You're all cowards!"
"You're weak; you always were. You never had the stomach for this."
"Well, come and get it then."
"I am settin' these people free."
"We'll kill every last one of you!"
"You're even weaker than I thought."
"Why don't you look me in the eye?"
"Get the hell away from me!"
"You're a dead man."
"I'll make you so sorry."
"You made a big mistake comin' here."
"This time, I'll make sure you're dead!"
"Crazy?! Oh, I'll show you crazy, you just keep comin'."
"We're takin' what's ours!"
"I'll cut your throat."
"Go back to your whore wife!"

Red Dead Redemption II

"This place... ain't no such thing as civilized"

-Dutch in the second trailer.

"Do you have my back?"

-Dutch questioning Arthur Morgan's loyalty.

"Listen to me! We don't want to kill any of you, but trust me, we will!"

-Dutch threatening the train passengers

"WAKE 'EM UP a little!"

-Dutch ordering his men to fire on the train

"You have got to keep faith. They will not crush us!"

-Dutch reassuring Arthur

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a robbery!"

-Dutch during a bank heist

Trivia

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.
The name "Dutch" may also be a nickname like Irish, French, and Welsh, as the surname "van der Linde" is originally from the Netherlands. His surname doesn't use a capital for the ' van der ' part, which is common in the Netherlands.
'van der Linde' is Dutch for ' from the Lime (tree) ', possibly referring to a Dutch song; Oh Lindeboom ( English: oh Lime tree)
Dutch may be a reference to Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch council communist. As the above note states, 'van der Linde' is Dutch for 'from the Lime'. Marinus was injured at work in 1926 by getting lime in his eyes, so it's a very possible reference.
By saying he and John are 'a dying breed', he means the end of the Old West and incoming civilization.
Dutch's orange attire may refer to his name, as orange is the color 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.
- As a matter of fact, all Dutch sports teams wear the color orange. This is done because orange is the historic national color of the Netherlands, originating from the coat of arms of the Dutch founding father William of Orange-Nassau. Also, the top red band of the current Dutch flag was originally orange. It is possible van der Linde wore the orange color in order to honor his country of origin.
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 civilized "typical white" migrants.
Chogan can be heard saying that he killed one of his own men.
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".
It is unknown how, but while Dutch jumps off the cliff a gunshot may be heard, although Dutch dropped his gun earlier.
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 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" it appears he has been shot in the gut. This is possibly from him dropping the Semi-automatic Pistol while running from John causing it to go off and hit him in the stomach, and if he did drop the Semi-automatic Pistol, that would explain why he is holding the Cattleman Revolver.
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 more than a second to correct his aim.