The game world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is full of puzzling events. After we recently reported that a player was able to solve the gruesome secret of a missing team of athletes, we are now addressing what is probably the game's greatest mystery: The Blackwater massacrethat took place just before the events of Red Dead Redemption 2.
YouTuber Strange Man, who has regularly covered the mysteries of Red Dead Redemption in his videos in the past, is now providing new insights.
Spoiler warning: The article contains spoilers for the plot of Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2.
That was before
In the winter of 1898 the Van der Linde gang, to which the protagonist Arthur Morgan belongs, was near the city of Blackwater. The gang had a lot of money and resources at that time, leader Dutch van der Linde was even considering buying some land for his gang members.
Shortly before, the group accepted two new members: Jenny Kirk, picked up by the roadside gang, and Micah Bell, whom Dutch met at a bar in Crenshaw Hill.
Long-time gang members Arthur Morgan and Hosea Matthews worked on a new fraud scheme to make more money. Newcomer Micah and leader Dutch were planning to raid a ferry that was supposed to bring $ 150,000 to the bank in Blackwater – a huge pile of money at the time.
The Blackwater massacre
The plan for the boat attack was as follows: The whole gang – except Arthur and Hosea, who continued to work on their fraud scheme – were supposed to take part in the raid and flee to the wilderness in the west after successful completion.
In the beginning everything went according to plan and the gang quickly got the money. But from until today unknown reasons Dutch cold-bloodedly shot civilian Heidi McCourt during the raid, causing a chaotic mess.
A large number of Pinkertons (a detective firm that has been chasing the Van der Linde gang for a long time) and police officers appeared and involved the outlaws bloody gun battle
The rest of the gang was ultimately able to escape. However, she had to stow her prey in a place in Blackwater that is only known to Dutch and Hosea.
Was the Blackwater raid a trap?
The biggest question now is why the Pinkertons were able to react so quickly and in large numbers to the attack and how an experienced gang of criminals like the Van der Linde gang could be played out so easily.
Strange Man's YouTube video now provides an answer: In the "Outlaws from the West" mission, Dutch says that he is convinced that the Pinkertons knew about the attack in advance.
"So many men? Oh, they knew we were coming."
There are therefore two possible theories.
Theory # 1: Micah, the traitor
Micah Bell, who only joined the gang relatively shortly before the attack, was already a mole at this point. He alone convinced Dutch final that robbing the boat was a "good idea".
Later in the game, it turns out that Micah works as an informant for the Pinkertons – however, according to Pinkerton agent Andrew Milton, only after the gang returned from Guarma, which happened much later after the events of Blackwater.
Theory # 2:
Dutch has just become careless. It was not difficult for law enforcement officers to find out when and where the gang would strike when it was known beforehand that there would be a large amount of money on the boat.
For example, law enforcement officers and Pinkertons might have been waiting for the Van der Linde gang to be baited by such large prey, while Dutch and his outlaws acted arrogantly and carelessly due to their excess of money and resources. Dutch, in despair or resignation, may have murdered civilian Heidi McCourt when he found himself in front of a police force.
It is currently not possible to make a definite statement as to how exactly the massacre occurred. However, since the Red Dead Redemption games travel further back in time with each new title, a possible Red Dead Redemption 3, the finale of which could possibly even be the unsuccessful robbery, could provide further details. Of course, this is only speculation.
What do you think: How did the failed Blackwater raid on the Van der Linde gang at the start of Red Dead Redemption 2? Let us know in the comments.
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