“ | I'm really sorry for you, son, it's a hell of a thing. | „ |
—Barnes diagnosing Arthur with Tuberculosis.
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Joseph R. Barnes is a minor character featured in Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online.
History[]
Background[]
Dr. Joseph R. Barnes is a physician and a surgeon that practices medicine in Saint Denis, running a clinic. He sells tonics and cures to the player. He mentions that he has a family.
Events of Red Dead Redemption 2[]
While riding around in Saint Denis, Arthur Morgan has a violent coughing fit and soon becomes unconscious. When he regains consciousness, a concerned passer-by escorts him to Barnes' clinic. Once Arthur is there, Dr. Barnes examines Arthur, before diagnosing him with Tuberculosis. After giving Arthur his condolences and injecting him with steroids to boost his energy, Arthur leaves the clinic.
Barnes's fateful diagnosis of Arthur is one of the lines he reflects upon during his last ride.
If the player returns to Barnes' clinic after being diagnosed with Tuberculosis, Dr. Barnes will ask Arthur how he feels.
Additionally, in a random encounter, the player can save a stranger who randomly passes out, outside of Saint Denis, by rushing him to Dr. Barnes. Barnes will then anesthetize the man, amputate the infected arm, and apply a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. If Arthur encounters the stranger after "A Fork in the Road", Dr. Barnes will tell him he should not be doing this and advises him to go and rest due to his illness.
If the player meets the amputee, later on, they will discover that the amputee has murdered a woman for making fun of his disability, and is going to be hanged.
Character[]
Personality[]
Barnes is a brisk and matter-of-fact doctor who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, wasting no time sawing a man's arm off until he's drenched from head to toe in blood. While he is empathetic towards his patients, he's ultimately money-driven, though it's just so he can provide for his family. He refuses to do a check-up on Arthur before he pays him, even though he's having a violent tubercular episode, and isn't shy to remind a mauled-half-to-death man he owes him while performing surgery on him.
Appearance[]
Barnes looks to be somewhere in his 50's, with short grey hair and a beard. He's neatly dressed in white dress clothes, a grey vest, and a blue bow-tie. He's also bespectacled and has a habit of smoking his pipe.
Mission appearances[]
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- "A Fork in the Road"
- "Red Dead Redemption" (voice only, determinant)
Trivia[]
- Dr. Barnes is likely named after Joseph K. Barnes, a physician and surgeon general for the United States during the 19th century who served Presidents Lincoln and Garfield.
- He has an engraving of Hippocrates by Peter Paul Rubens hanging on a wall in his office.