"That's just a little boy, that's not the principle of your survival." With just one simple sentence, Dudge van der Linder sends an ultimatum to the desperate Brett White family, a group of irrational people who kidnap John Marston's son, Jack Marston, and provoke an affair with the Van der Linde Gang. But all this is just a pretense, eloquence can not solve the feud between the outlaws, as long as before entering the gate of the other side's manor, Daqi and his gang have a clear mind, to take back Jack as an opportunity, looking for an excuse to vent their anger, the method is the same: bloodshed.
Only bullets remained that ran through the ears of both sides. Arthur Morgan and Dutch led the gang to tear Brett White apart in five minutes, the manor was plunged into a sea of fire, the entire "past and present blood feud" was presented in a scene full of corpses, the whole work also entered a white-hot, and the fate of all the sad people in "Red Dead Redemption 2" gradually went to chaos and disorder.
All the details of this moment make up a complete picture, the bel canto of the background opera is complemented by the bloody picture, the corpse lying messily in the wilderness, immersed in the dirt, Datch vents his anger on Catherine Bright white, roaring and shooting the last bullet at her last child, and the final shot is only Left to Catherine, alone, staggering towards the roaring fire of the manor, which is the inheritance and symbol of the family, and life and spirit are burned. Dudge solves Jack's kidnapping, and the desire for violence gradually dissipates. This scene is probably the most touching of all the classic shots of "Red Dead Redemption 2", and it also pushes the plot to sublimation.
A lengthy rhythm is a form of paranoia
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game where the typical value is rooted in revenue. Needless to say, the vast majority of video games rely on the immediacy of the reward progression system, a philosophy that gamers have received since the early days of arcade games, from enjoying their high scores from Pac-Man to defeating opponents, to unlocking hidden characters in Nintendo Smash Bros. Brawl, to now acquiring new skills in RPGs like The Witcher 3, not to mention appearance and equipment that are gradually becoming the core of the reward system. At the same time, the storyline also needs to adapt and keep up with the rhythm of the game, and it can be felt that even narrative-driven works rarely have long periods of blandness. Classics such as Mass Effect and The Last Survivor will also portray contradictions and opposites in their own ways at the key watershed of the plot, and ensure multi-level participation at a stable reward rate to maintain the immersive experience.
"Red Dead Redemption 2" does not care or pursue a sense of participation, which is the deepest stubbornness of this game. Looking back throughout chapter three, the Van der Linde Gang has been trying to stir up a dispute between two families in the South (Gray and Brett White). The long quest process requires patience, from stealing grey gang horses to sneaking into gray gang taverns to sell Brett White's bootleg wine, and the lengthy process inevitably seems to be protracted. The story goes on for a long time, mixed with mundane tasks with excitement that is nothing compared to a gunfight with hordes of bandits or police. However, these are actually paving the way for the core ideas of the entire gang.
A whirlpool under the calm lake
Even as the outlaws gradually come to an end under the pressure of civilized society, Dachi and Hosia still see themselves as charismatic leaders. It can be seen from the details that there was a time before Westworld also began to tilt toward technology and law, and the rich invested a lot of money in private legal forces like Pinkerton, the sole purpose of which was to cut down these extralegal people, and more importantly, the Van der Linder gang could only survive the uneasiness of the street rats, and even covered their ears and blinded their eyes to face reality.
Arthur Morgan may have had a premonition of Rhodes' traps, the ropes around their necks were gradually tightening, and the two families were by no means as stupid as Dutchie had imagined. "Do you really think that when we burn down the fields, they will choose to forget?" In one mission, Morgan showed the team his inner intention to question and take it back, but was ironically ignored. Under the desperate pressure of survival, the group loses their minds, and the leader's madness leads the gang to destruction. The whole Rhodes dispute reveals uneasiness and doubts, but Dachi and Hosia pretend to be calm in the storm, until the crisis gradually becomes a disaster but can not find a way out.
Sudden change
Sean's death is shocking and a clarion call at the end of the chapter. Originally under the impact of civilized society, van der Linde helped to find a rare sense of security. The ensuing mission also makes the situation seem more stable, and if the family members live in peace, they may really be able to follow the passage of time slowly, and may really be able to get rid of the fate of extinction. But everything is an illusion, arrogance and frivolity with a heavy price to burst the bubble, a peaceful life of hatred and anxiety erupted, can only watch the people around them continue to break the last place of refuge, can no longer get any salvation.
All the stories in the third chapter are set in the way of the last two plots, and through the accumulation of hours, the epic of less than 10 minutes is revealed, and the patience in the early stages can definitely be magnificently rewarded. In the final scene, the camera's capture of the hearts of this group of outlaws reaches its peak, showing in awe how humans who have abandoned reason have gradually become monsters (at least until the third chapter show a certain degree of character). The horror of Dutch's rescuing Jack's nobility and the cruelty of killing, dragging the unarmed Catherine down the stairs and forcing her to watch her child being slaughtered, is a chilling scene in which the complex emotions of humanity in desperate circumstances are revealed.
"Only paranoia can change the world" – Andy Grove
The tepid rhythm of "Red Dead Redemption 2" is destined to require enough patience to deduce the plot, but the slow heat is definitely not the shortcoming of the game, on the contrary, the thickness of the work is brought about by the undercurrent surging under the calm water, such a bold idea and almost paranoid innovation to establish such a vast western world, slow down the narrative rhythm to obtain a mild and explosive impact experience, may really gradually become a model of future game plot.