13 Dutch Van Der Linde Secrets In Red Dead Redemption 2

His Dad Died In The Civil War

Dutch doesn’t talk all that much about his family or his life. Still, when the man talks, there are a few bits of information that get through. He says something about his father as an example. He says that his father died fighting for the North during the Civil War.

Dutch says it happened in a field in Pennsylvania, to be more exact. This means that Dutch’s father probably died in the Battle of Gettysburg. So, Dutch would have been younger than 10 when his father died.

He Has A Personalized Sheath For His Knife

The Van Der Linde Gang has to carry strong weapons with them almost all the time because of how they live. Most of the time, they carry handguns, but they also carry knives for close fights and hunts.

If you look closely at the sheath where Dutch keeps his blade, you’ll see that it’s not just a normal one you can buy at a store. He had the thing made by himself. It even has his name stitched into it. So no one else in the group could ever think it was theirs.

Not All Of His Speeches Are Off The Cuff

Throughout the game, Dutch gives a lot of great talks, usually to get his gang members to work harder or agree with him. It works most of the time because they are always inspiring talks. And he seems to come up with strong words on the spot.

But a note he put in the trees near the Horseshoe Overlook camp shows that some of them are planned. This is because the letter has a speech written on it that he gives later in the game. Even though he improvises a bit, it’s not exactly the same, but the note has the same general framework and main points.

Dutch Loves The Work Of Evelyn Miller

You might notice that Dutch spends a lot of time at camp reading. It looks like Evelyn Miller is his favorite author. Dutch talks several times about the artist and his work. Even though Lenny doesn’t like Miller’s books as much as he does, the dynamic leader gets into an argument with him about them.

Dutch seems to see the world the same way as the author. Even so, it’s interesting that when you meet Evelyn Miller later in the game, he is nothing like the criminal. Maybe Mr. Van Der Linde didn’t get some of what the writer was trying to say.

He Shares A Close Bond With His Horse

A lot of the people in the Van Der Linde gang each have their own horse. The Count is a beautiful white horse that Dutch rides. In the beginning of Funny Shooter game, Arthur tells Charles about how close Dutch and The Count are.

Arthur says that he once tried to get on the horse but was thrown off right away. It looks like the animal will only let Dutch ride him. It seems that the way a boss makes people feel very loyal also works on animals.

The GTA 4 Connection

In the third chapter of the second game’s story, Dutch presents himself as “Aiden O’Malley,” which is a fake name he makes up on the spot to hide his real name. Considering that his gang is well-known and that the Pinkertons have been on their trail since Chapter Two. It makes sense to have a nickname.

Aiden O’Malley is also the name of one of Niko Bellic’s allies in Grand Theft Auto 4 who helps him out. This isn’t the first time that Rockstar’s two great series have talked about each other. In GTA 5, there is a book called “Red Dead” that was written by “J. Marston.” Maybe Jack did end up writing after all.

You Can Find Dutch’s Mother’s Grave In Blackwater

Dutch is not a very family-oriented guy, despite what he tells his gang members. Even though he talks a lot about family, and it seems like he really does see them as a family, he rarely, if ever, talks about himself. He talks about his father, but not much about his mother.

If you come back to Blackwater during the game, you can stop by the Blackwater Cemetery. Even the tombstones can be read. You can visit the grave of a Mrs. van der Linde if you want to. From what the writing says, it’s clear that this is Dutch’s mother, who is buried where it all started.

“Favored Sons” Parallels With “And The Truth Will Set You Free”

As a sequel, Red Dead Redemption 2 may be at its best when it makes a point about how its story repeats itself. If a sequel stays too close to the original, it will eventually be seen as a copy of the original. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a lot like the first game, but it knows this and uses it as a strength.

This is most obvious in the task “Favored Son,” which is similar to “And the Truth Will Set You Free” from the first game. Dutch gives a speech in both tasks about how he can’t “fight nature.” The first person sees it as a boast, while the second person sees it as a sincere opinion that he can no longer live in the natural world.

What Really Happened At Blackwater

Even though the game doesn’t go into detail about what happened in Blackwater—mostly because neither John nor Arthur were there—you can figure out the key points by putting together Arthur’s journal and Dutch’s real personality. It’s not a very good shot of them.

In Blackwater, where Arthur is from, he says that Dutch shot a woman. Dutch was probably trying to put some space between the gang and the Pinkertons by doing this. From there, a few gang members slowed down, but Dutch didn’t help them. Instead, he left them behind so he could get away.

Dutch Never Donates His Own Money To The Camp

As the head of the group, the question must be asked: Should Dutch also give? Even Hosea’s name is written in the book, which is a good reason to talk about it. Dutch’s name doesn’t come up very often, if at all. Not to mention where the gang’s big money goes.

The camp for Dutch is expected to be one of the first upgrades that players get. That alone says a lot about who Dutch really is. Even though none of his money goes toward the new tent, he still gets it. Even though it does make people want to give, by that point they are already pretty much part of the cult.

Dutch’s Ego Is On View As Early As Chapter One

From a story point of view, Dutch doesn’t really start to lose his mind until the fourth chapter, but you can see his ego right away in the first chapter. Even the first task is enough to show that Dutch’s gang is completely controlled by his ego.

Think about it: in that first task, who do you really get a sense of? Dutch. Why? Because only Dutch allows himself to act and speak in a direct way. He is the name and face of the gang, so he stands for them. His speech is all about himself and getting his men to fight under HIS name.

Dutch Teaches His Followers How To Read

One of the things I like best about Dutch is how much he seems to care about school. This is not education in the way that it is done in private schools. Instead, it is a community education where everyone works together to get smarter. As a fan of books, Dutch teaches his students how to write well.

Both John and Arthur say that they learned to read in Dutch. Dutch also taught Arthur a lot about how to write well, which is clear from how well his later students wrote. Dutch doesn’t teach his female followers how to read, which is strange (but maybe not so strange). For example, even though he was close to the gang, he never taught Abigail.

Dutch Preys On The Weak

It’s kind of cute that Dutch took Arthur in when he was young, don’t you think? Arthur, who was 15 years old and had nowhere to go, found a home with Dutch van der Linde. In John’s absence, Dutch was also like a father figure to Jack, helping to shape his ideas about the world. The same thing is true about Lenny, too. And Eagle Flies. Charles, too. And Sadie.

Do you see the pattern? Dutch takes in people who need help, but he also has his own plans. Because Dutch takes advantage of the weak, all of the good people he takes in end up being violently loyal to him. Dutch knows that these people are going to “owe” him. Because of this, he pretty much ran Arthur’s life for 20 years.