@@tdoran616 But aren't they? Dutch is in RDR1 and there's much more to see of him in RDR2. I understand what you mean but i think alot of the people who are into RDR2 as much as pinky is are into RDR1 equally as much
@@tdoran616I believe they are. I remember many having the same fervor for rdr1 back in the day, but it was confined to places like forums and such since video essays weren’t really a thing on yt at the time. Rdr2 is great in that it’s brought a younger and fresh audience to the franchise
It's a general problem in fiction that mental health is stigmatized to the point of villainy because then you apparently don't have to write a well rounded character
*me, seeing this comment before finishing the video*: “wow, that’s so cool, I can’t wait to hear it” Me at 22:53 : “that wasn’t what I thought it would be… IT WAS EVEN BETTER!!!”
I love actual discussions about these characters instead of what I usually see which is “Arthur is cool because shoot gun fast” this game is so much more than a power fantasy
Same (to both OP and the cowboy comment 💛), it feels weird seeing people make, like, motivation bro content using chapter 4 & 5 cutscenes. They've played the game, but where's the internalizing?
Great video! My take is that by 1911 Dutch is throughly depressed. He’s a lot more lethargic, and he’s mostly given up on justifying himself. If anything, the chaos he causes is almost like an elaborate suicide. He’s not in it to win anymore, he’s just trying to lash out one final time at a world he feels he no longer belongs in.
I was playing just today walking past Dutch’s tent when I heard that “I expect you’ll betray me in the end” bit for the first time and that really took me aback because to me that was the single most powerful sign of delusion that early on in the game, and you don’t really see anything of that level again until much later. Also, this is my first encounter with you and your content. Love the passion
literally this. when that happened to me I literally stood there for a solid minute thinking about everything I did up to that point that would justify Dutch's behaviour towards Arthur, and then just cussed him out and left 😭
Nobody ever talks about how Dutch immediately apologizes for saying this, sounding supremely confused why he said it in the first place. The tone isn't sinister, its worrisome, like Dutch isn't in control of what he's saying or doing. ua-cam.com/video/gz1jq4sdv1Q/v-deo.html
i am truly rly taken aback by the response to this video. thank u guys for both motivating and supporting my little passion project. i have all the intention of continuing to make content here, especially after such a positive first response. also for those requesting characters from other games, i would love to branch out in the future but believe it or not, my gaming knowledge and experience is quite limited so it may require some time and research and gaming hehe. anyway, thank you again 🩷
Amazing video! I have a friend who I recommended this to because we have obsessive conversations on RDR2 characters that sounds like your vid. Dutch is among my favorite characters in any work of fiction and you gave his character a lens that he deserves.
21:43 Dutch and Micah both apologize randomly in the camp after that mission, but the funny thing is, they both have the EXACT SAME LINE OF DIALOGUE, as if they both rehearsed it together, depending on whoever approaches arthur first
I’d like to add that the speech that Dutch gives at the start of the game (snow level) about how you all have to keep moving forward and how he loved davey and everyone needs to stick with him etc it turns out you can actually find a note with that entire speech written down, in the moment Dutches speeches feel from the heart and coming from pure passion alone but turns out he writes them down & rehearses them before hand, Dutch is literally the cunning fox from Pinocchio in human form.
56:33 There's panel with Dutch's VA wehre he talks about mocapping this scene; He said that going into character, he felt how Dutch realized in that moment how completely he had failed Arthur, and that this made him so heartbroken they had to do the scene several times because he just could not stop crying
Regarding camp encounters in Chapter 6 I think is quite interesting is that a lot of the time Dutch is sitting in a chair in front of his tent seemingly staring off into space. I believe he is dissociating in those moments. As someone who does experience a lot of dissociation I feel that might be what Dutch is going through. While it's not exactly a camp encounter and more so a thing that happens I felt like pointing it out. And that shot of Dutch in his tent seemingly staring at his wall makes me so sad. I wish things ended differently in the game
I agree. When I'm at my most symptomatic, I'll often stare off into space, either dissociating, having really vivid day dreams, or spiraling about a specific topic. Or a combination of the three.
There is this scene in Chapter 4 where it's explicitly called out ua-cam.com/video/OzU0LVEdPnk/v-deo.html I am mostly sure you only get this after the trolley incident but either way, Dutch staring off into space with no idea where he is or what's going on is a common problem based on what Dutch says in the follow up dialogue. ("I'm fine. Why does everybody keep asking me that?") His extreme defensiveness is also common for people with failing mental health so far as I know.
I don’t think that’s anything intentional. If you follow people around the camp they just sit around doing nothing most of the time. And the game puts emphasis on this “mediation / patience” with the lot of encounters that let you skip time for hours with Arthur just sitting waiting.
This theory makes a lot of sense. My father is diagnosed with bipolar 1 and ADHD and Dutch always reminded me of him (minus the cold blooded murdering part). The never-ending schemes, the paranoia and agression when challenged are things my father share with him.
So about Dutch sitting in the swamp in a daze after getting back from chapter 5 and going on about saying D4, F5, G6 etc. he’s talking about a chess move called Dutch defense one time I was playing I just sat there listing to him saying those moves over and over again and I was like “so this is where he officially derails” but looked it up and learned this
I actually also knew this! That being said I don't think it's super level, standard behaviour to be rambling aloud about chess moves, even in spite of how relevant it may be to him as an individual. A cool reference for sure, though :)
I think it's also got a dual meaning! Aside from the obvious name pun, the actual chess move itself is a rather aggressive, short-sighted play. Basically Black moves their pawn preemptively to prevent White from later controlling the middle of the board HOWEVER, it's also an opening that immediately exposes the Black King to attacks, while White is relatively safe. Basically, Dutch is envisioning a move where he makes a daring grab for power, meanwhile creating a huge weak point for the rest of the game... hm.. now I'm not saying this is telling of Dutch's tactical ability but the common follow up for this relies on the Black King's Knight (Arthur) going infront of the King to protect it :) sorry for the info dump I just really like the amount of symbolism behind Dutch being a chess player aside from the overdone 'oh he just views Arthur as a pawn' bit we should've been able to play chess in game rockstar >:(
I like to think that Dutch is trying to find ways to justify his next plan in his head. and I also think this is some form of dissociation he is playing chess in his head i interpret this as the gang members are under his control and he just thinks this is a game we're he can sacrifice a pice just because he can take the fall and come up with a new plan without the bother of that pice. I'm definitely looking way to much in this and is probably just a cool reference to the chess move. (Sorry for the terrible writing)
Something significant to me in the final moment between Dutch and Arthur is Dutch stepping off the revolver. It felt like the most apologetic gesture possible given the circumstances and the clarity you described.
idk if u study psychology or something but this is really well talked through, i'm not sure if i missed u talking about it or not but dutch's relationship with micah reminds me a lot of (in some bipolar cases) the 'favourite person' relationship, where people with bipolar will hinge a lot on a specific individual that they feel safe with, usually a partner or friend, and especially during high stress episodes kinda just defer to them, which is cool that they made the pixels do that.
@@anthonyf616 it is! its super common in bpd, and only occasional in bipolar (usually only in high stress periods), but this also could be a misattribution between bpd and bipolar by people who diagnose, because they're very hard to distinguish and often get misdiagnosed
@@nirjhar4803 so bpd stands for borderline personality disorder, and is characterized by significant, frequent mood swings, impulsivity and often self destructive behaviours. bipolar disorder is in the same ballpark, but the mood swings are usually much less frequent, and much longer lasting. they can overlap on a lot of issues, and you can have both of them, which makes diagnosis really difficult.
It's also important to know that bpolar disorder doesn't HAVE an acronym! So if you hear someone say "BPD", they are either misinformed or mean Borderline Personality Disorder--
Before even watching, as someone that has bipolar, and loves this game more than anything, I 100% agree with your diagnosis. He’s my favorite villain of all time because I believe there is something true in his heart, buts it’s corrupted by his own insecurities
So fun trivia about Angelo Bronte, Dutch's actor has the interpretation that Bronte is what broke him. He admires Bronte as everything he wishes to be, but is rapidly disillusioned with him and what the future of criminal masterminds will become. Kinda feels like he's been betrayed by his own ideas.
To answer your question about the one scene with Dutch seemingly saying random things, what he’s doing is playing two sides of a chess game. The scene takes place after the death of Hosea, and Dutch often played chess with him. The scene demonstrates Dutch’s aimlessness without Hosea and how he’s starting to spiral without his best friend/companion.
This! Also the move he describes in the scene is apparently called the "Dutch Defense" and I think it's supposed to be a reflection of how Dutch sends his "pawns" out towards the enemy (which one that is - idk, at that point probably Pinkertons)
@@S0LAVELLANHELLwhat accelerated his actions was Angelo Bronte. Granted a knock on the head didn't help but he shows no other long-term symptoms of a traumatic brain injury
dutch’s voice lines from the early game confused me so much i thought that the game was bugging in later dialogue from something i hadn’t done yet bc dutch is otherwise represented as this rational great thinker (haven’t played rdr1 idk) but then as the game went on i was like “oh this just how he is? damn they wrote him like my mum lol” and now seeing this all laid out i’m like hmmmm maybe my mother has a personality disorder and being randomly suspect of me for things i haven’t done and launching into things that she would normally know are bad ideas is not exactly normal…
42:09 I’ll never forget that absolutely heart sinking dread and shock I felt when I saw the start of chapter 6 for the first time, I couldn’t believe how much the game had CHANGED. The music, the last screenshot we get before the title comes up and the realization of the situation is all just so messed up. I will never ever get over this game.
Seeing molly just flopped over completely lifeless just feels so WRONG, Abigail comforting Marybeth. Javier looking between what has just happened and over to Arthur, Arthur walking out of shot. Pearson and uncle stood there in complete shock. It’s all so messed up. I was so heartbroken when Molly died I really was rooting for her to be okay
It’s truly a great indicator of how not clearly Dutch is thinking when he muses to Arthur that, because John was the only one captured alive from the Saint Denis bank heist, he must be the rat. Mainly because the difference between Hosea’s bounty and John’s bounty is probably very significant, as well as their notoriety. Hell, Agent Milton didn’t even recognize him on sight back at the Clemens Point raid like he did Arthur. Straight up had to ask him his name. And the Pinkertons have more info on the Van der Linde gang than any sheriff or bounty hunter would have access to. John even left and stopped participating in gang activity for an entire year. Who knows how long Hosea’s been going at it? Probably all his life. Makes a lot of sense that they would keep a lesser offender, John, alive and in a labor camp for the chance that they might get some information out of him about the other members. I mean, they were fully ready to let ARTHUR of all people walk free just for access to Dutch. And he DEFINITELY has a way higher bounty than John.
Not to mention, I believe Milton would see it as beneficial to have one of them alive in custody. They may not know John but I'm sure they could have deduced he was somewhat important in terms of the chain of command. Keeping him alive lures back people like Arthur, and I imagine they'd hope Dutch (little do they know, he does NOT care) would come back for him too and then they can arrest them all that way, rather than chase them all over the country surrounding oceans.
pinky, you're a gem. i played RDR2 religiously for 3 years, but hadn't in a long time before seeing you on tiktok. now im right back at it because I was intrigued to go back from seeing your analysis of the characters.
My personal theory is that Dutch did get some kind of brain damage in the trolley crash, but the kind that just like gives you a constant headache or brain fog or insomnia or something which didn't give him a chance to rest and recover after his manic episodes, making his symptoms that much worse and more frequent
56:33 I've seen an interview with Dutch's VA about mocapping this scene, and he said that putting himself into Dutch's shoes, he felt that Dutch realized how completely he had failed Arthur, and that this made him feel so heartbroken they had to redo that scene several times because he couldn't stop crying.
Also loving the little anti psychiatrist joke at the begining (we also still institutionalize handicaped ppl and they also get their children taken away more often bc they are watched a lot more !)
Thank you for making this. Dutch saying "Maybe life ain't such a thing to cling onto so tightly!" made me audibly gasp when i heard it. My brother and I laugh all the time at the increasingly boneheaded decisions that were made as the game went on. "We're going to New York. We're going to Tahiti. Australia. The moon seems nice. Maybe the cosmos will be our haven." It was nuts seeing this play out, knowing the cornered rodent-like madman he was in the first game. Wild stuff. Again, great video. Well done🎉
"I've finally figured it out Arthur. I know we're we're going. I'm taking us to the ONE place not CORRUPTED by Leviticus Cornwall.... _SPACE!"_ ~Dutch, in the alternate time-line where he's voiced by Tim Curry
Some people consider nuance and deep dive to be overthinking or something, but I do gain more respect for the performances and learn a little about psychology so A+
I feel like the reason why Dutch warmed up to Angelo Bronte so quickly without any sense of risk is (at least partly) that Dutch is generally drawn to the higher society / people in higher positions of power than he himself has throughout the whole game. He is clearly set on taking from the rich, be it Leviticus Cornwall, the Braithwaits and the Greys, or the general population of Saint Denis (the National Lemoyne Bank robbery). That likely ties to the claims of Dutch being a “Robin Hood” of the Wild West once upon a time, taking from the rich and giving to the poor, perhaps chasing some feeble impression of power via stealing from those above him and essentially enriching those on his own level. Regardless, he clearly has an obsession, or a fascination, perhaps, with the rich and mighty, not only from the viewpoint of an outlaw (meaning the rich are more lucrative to steal from) but also from a personal viewpoint because if we consider his fashion taste and deep liking for the finer things in life (the infamous tent upgrade, his gramophone, reading fancy philosophy books he doesn’t even seem to fully understand), we inevitably come to the conclusion that he stylizes himself into a man of a “higher position”. There likely is some feeling of rejection (might be that he holds some grudges from the past), or, even more likely, within the historical context of the game and the major change that is being forced upon the once wild America, he’s simply jealous of those who are now free to kill and rob without repercussions - you said it, the rich, you remember Dutch’s little speech he gives before killing Leviticus Cornwall? Crime sort of became a privilege only the richest and most powerful are able to reach, while dirty outlaws from the countryside are being hunted down and punished for their crimes. To put it simply, the rich simply stay in the way of his own power and his preaching of “freedom”. I believe, while he certainly doesn’t rationalize it this clearly, there’s clearly some resentment stemming from this change that’s been negatively affecting his life, which might lead to his fascination with Angelo Bronte and his unfortunate willingness to omit any risks. Sadly, the fact that Bronte “welcomes” him so "warmly" definitely fiddles with his feeling of superiority and grandiosity that you’ve mentioned in your video. He’s simply unable to see past his want of becoming one of the “big boys” and possibly further implement himself into the ring of Saint Denis’ high society criminals because as he said in Chapter 1, he’s getting too old for sleeping in the dirt. He sees a chance to rise above his station, and thanks to his deteriorating mental state you’ve so nicely established in your video essay, he fails to acknowledge the risks of trusting a person of Bronte’s nature, and once again falls pray to manipulation coming from a person with selfish and possibly nefarious intentions. Anyway, liked the video tons:)
I love emotional, sympathetic exploration of traditionally masculine shooty shooty bang bang games. Love you on TikTok, would love to see more long form essays from you!
It's so refreshing to find people who care about RDR character analysis as much as I do. I love the way you truly dive deep into Dutch's personality and how he twisted into Dutch from the first game. Great video! I look forward to more from you :) And I don't know if you take recommendations, but I would love to hear you talk about Sadie Adler and how her character had evolved throughout the game.
I was bummed this is your first video. I was ready to binge watch hours of your content! Incredible work, I hope you do more of anything here on UA-cam
Lots of people have said it but it's so refreshing to hear someone talking about Red Dead like you do. These characters deserve to be explored as thoroughly as this. You and Noah Caldwell Gervais: the only people I wanna hear talk about RDR on this webbed site thank yooou 💕
i am very autistic. mainly about this stupid video game. mainly about this specific character. this video was made for me. you're also funny! keep this shit up my brotha 🙏
It’s always so great to see people devote time and effort to passion projects like this, especially Red Dead!! Such an incredible piece of fiction, deserves all the love and attention it receives!!!
tiktok creators that actually have something interesting to say and arent just shouting into the void for numbers absolutely CAN AND SHOULD make the jump to making more long form content on youtube. i like this video already and im not even deep into it
The first Red Dead II video essay I’ve seen approached with any academic or literary discipline. Your concise editing of the in-game scenes to reinforce your analysis is top notch. I’m very impressed you kept it to an hour! I have a lot of Red Dead thoughts about both characters and themes I’d love to share- Dutch’s “I, we” speech correction he says to Charles in Outlaws from the West, also occurs in the opening mission of chapter 3 as Dutch gets off the boat from the fishing trip. “I, think I- I mean, we are gonna be okay.” and it also reappears in two dialogues with Javier, one on the beach in Chapter 3 and another with Javier that I’m struggling to find in chapter six. Thank you for also using the camp dialogue seriously- I think 95% of the people with the gall to make lesser video essays about RDRII haven’t even considered the full text of the word because they pay no attention to the equally-well performed camp scenes. The most astounding thing in the game imo- especially when multiple play out at once. Feels so alive.
Thank you! I appreciate this :) I really love camp interactions. I genuinely think one of the best performances in the game is from Benjamin Byron Davis in camp screaming about how they need money or they'll all be dead, it's crazy that you can go the entire game and never see it.
@@pinkygunslingy It's definitely the loudest and angriest we ever hear Dutch in the entire franchise-- but my favorite comes from the undisputed king of the campfire, Hosea Matthews-- that man has nine campfire stories-- the next most are Uncle and Micah with six each. I don't know how to title these camp dialogues, but I will call this one of Hosea's "Dragons in the West." In this video of all 86 stories, it's listed as Hosea #1: ua-cam.com/video/Ab_RLwSlitA/v-deo.html and can be found at 27:03. Close runner-ups "facing, something, together... but I ain't sure exactly what." and "I wish I had acquired my wisdom, at less of a price."
I would watch so many more of your video essays, if you ever willing to do them on other main characters. Specifically the role of Marstons to the dilogy because I firmly believe they are the main point in games(which is true) but half the damn fandom seems to disagree 😭 Also Javier's decline possibly, tho it all seems clear in the games we see, so that is mostly speculating on what happened between the games
I genuinely don’t understand how someone could look at those games and think that telling John and his family’s story isn’t the main focus of the entire duo
@@trashmouthcharleyWell, those are more than likely people who did not play the original RDR and were introduced to the series with the sequel/prequel, as I was. Those opinions can be disregarded and there’s no point arguing with people who can’t see the full picture
The Marstons are only the main point because they were main characters in R1 and the sequel had to account for that. As well, I think a lot of people are diehard Arthur fans because he’s a lot more talkative than John. You get more insights into his personality than with John
I’m only a few minutes in but I’m loving this so much already. I’ve been obsessed w/ rdr2 for years at this point and I love when people do deep dives like this. Would LOVE to see more stuff like this from you also your style of presenting info gives me such Jenny Nicholson vibes, I’m so into it
This is a great analysis, I always thought that Dutch had some mental issues but you really laid it out! I agree with everything you said here. My only question I have about Dutch remaining is; did he really care about the gang and in addition Arthur and John, who in a many fans minds are his “adopted children”? It’s hard for me to believe that he’s 100% only was out for himself from the start? Anyways amazing video, I was really looking forward to this ❤
I do think that in his own way he cared for them. Dutch believes the things he says, even if he's acting in ways that don't necessarily align with that, I think. He suffers from a lot of cognitive dissonance from what I see.
I was diagnosed with bipolar when I was 11. I didn't know it had all these symptoms. Explains so much about my life, why i think the way i do and act the way i do
This is the only Dutch analysis video I’ve ever been able to 100% fully agree with. Thank you so much for actually thinking it through and articulating it so well. It adds a new, great dimension to the game’s narrative.
I’d like to add onto the “Abigail is the second rat” theory. There’s two places this came from, A, Dutch, and B, misogyny. A: mr cool man boss dude said wife bad so he must have a point B: wife bad
Not familiar with the theory but the underlying logic explained it as mostly baseless lines up, especially in light of Dutch's diagnosis. Wasn't Abigail a prostitute before she joined the gang? I seem to recall from rd1 Bill Williams taunting John about how she'd allegedly been with most every man in the gang at some point. Though that could be faulty memory, and the veracity of that is unknown. Could've just been a baseless taunt to get under John's skin. There's probably something to that though. At least the part about her history before getting involved with the Van Der Linde gang anyway. It would be another way Dutch demonstrated that he was becoming unhinged. Holding her past against her. Because let's not forget that one of the oldest professions in the world is also one of the oldest methods for spying. A man who buys drinks to unwind and the services of a comfort girl for the night might be inclined to loose lips and reveal information that could be very useful for certain people. Especially in times of war or serious conflict. There were pamphlets and other materials around ww1 and 2 that warned about that sort of thing, so it's very easy to suspect that didn't just come out of left field. There was some underlying cultural belief for that bias. Misogyny? Sure. On the end effect of Dutch's behavior, absolutely. But it's also "Dutch being Dutch", just more so as things progress and his condition exacerbates. He preaches on the value of loyalty but sabotages the underpinnings for the gang to stay loyal to him at every other turn, no thanks in part to Micah doing the Grima Wormtongue on him. Likely Micah encouraged Dutch to blame Abigail as a means of hiding his own ulterior motives, and Dutch started listening. Something along the lines of if she was willing to sell herself before, what's stopping her from doing it again now, Dutch? And Dutch eating it up, letting it rattle around in his mind as an excuse and explanation for why things keep going downhill. But even if she was a second rat, she didn't gain much from it, in the end, did she? A few small spells of family life with Jack and John, only for the ghosts of the past to come back to haunt all over again, and John's taken the gun back up and getting himself into danger all over again. Then most of rd1 she's literally held prisoner/hostage by the government she might've originally ratted to, and used as both carrot and stick to compel John to take out what little is left of his old gang and to eliminate Dutch, getting his hands dirty so the government didn't have to. Even then, when that job is finished, what little peace she enjoys gets destroyed all over again, at the very hands of the ones she sold out to. Even if she was the second rat, she well and truly paid for it terribly in the end. One could argue she suffered far worse than Micah. Unlike him, she would have had to live with the consequences of her "ratting" till the very end, and it spilled over not just on her and John, but also onto Jack, blowing up all her and John's hopes and best intentions for Jack to live a better life than them. If she was the 2nd rat, she paid dearly for her 30 pieces of silver.
I mean she did get away scot-free even tho she road with Hosea when he got killed, they also captured John alive instead killing him like Hosea & Lenny, from Dutchs perspective John & Abagails escape seemed too convenient but yeah it must be misogyny because men bad
Prostitution is often used as a means of spying, while yes it’s mostly baseless claim, there is some truth to the idea. But clearly, the only reason this theory is popular is because misogyny, because we should put men in camps. I’m betting you’re a TERF
Not misoginy as much as her having a better motivation than anyone else to rat, including Micah. Micah's 4D chess plan to both get the gang killed and somehow also get the Blackwater money is never explained, how the Pinkertons knew about the ferry job was never explained, how Abigail managed to escape was never explained. This last one is easily explainable but the other two are, at least in my opinion, straight up plotholes, but they can also be explained with Abigail being a rat. Ultimately it's a dumb theory since the Pinkertons actively endanger her and Jack but atributing it all to misoginy is very reductive.
been waiting this for so long and i’m so so happy now. this is exactly what i needed today and this is so interesting to watch. this was so worth the wait!!!!!
Hell yeah man. I’m stoked to see a new UA-camr out there making long form content about video games as an art and giving them their due diligence it analyze their stories and characters.
This has got to be my favorite essay on UA-cam. The developers put so much effort into this game and it’s awesome to see someone comb through all the little details
I am utterly shocked to see that this is your first video. Not familiar with your shorts content, but this is a fantastic first effort. I hope that you continue to make content in this format, its incredibly engaging. Honestly, i could see you being very successful if you continue to do this.
I'm not even kidding you kind of have a good Micah impression. Like you don't particularly sound like him but you have his mannerisms right and it's pretty fun.
I can't finish the video because I'm playing the game for the first time, but I'll come back after I have finished the story. Your analysis is really interesting and well put, and it's evident you put lots and lots of effort into that!
Great video pinky. I'd love to hear your perspective on Jack Marston and his arc as well as your take on what happens to him after his encounter with ross and what would be fitting for the narrative.
The thing is...bipolar has another part to it. The depressive episodes. Dutch doesn't seem to experience any of those during the months of the story or even during his time in RDR1. What makes more sense to me is bipolar type schizoaffective disorder. Classified by much more of the manic side of bipolar disorder, but added on delusions (Tahiti), impaired social functioning (he left John to die on multiple occasions and allowed himself to be way too easily manipulated by Micah), problems with managing personal care (see from Saint Denis onward for that), and hallucinations (he always thought the Pinkertons were lurking somewhere).
You can see Dutch being depressed at several points in camp. ua-cam.com/video/BWN1McR-i28/v-deo.html He's a complete emotional wreck in all of Chapter 6 after losing Hosea. And his final line in RDR2 is a broken, hollow statement about how he has nothing more to say, before he wanders off, leaving John and the money. His entire look in the epilogue bespeaks how much he's fallen.
Somehow this channel just instantly clicked for me. I absolutely love your work, the pace of the video, the insight, everything. I can’t wait to see what you do next!
I’m so happy you’ve gotten into long form analysis of red dead (or at least have this time), I’ve loved the TikToks and cannot wait to get through this video. I hope you continue with this (:
i can never decide whether i love or spite the youtube algorithm, but i can easily say that my relationship with it is going through another 'love-phase' being recommended this. and except for loving the algorithm, i really love this video! :3
I haven’t finished the video so I don’t know if you mention it but one of my favorite narcissistic things Dutch does is when you save the boat captain in chapter 5 and Dutch introduces himself but immediately cuts the captain off before he can too
Finally. Some good fuckin' content. I'm only 9 minutes in but man, your analysis of Dutch and way of explaining is very superb. Especially the editing, Good Lord, I can only imagine the work for this. Very good job!
It really says so much about how I love your content that I watched this whole thing even though I am absolutely convinced it’s actually NPD haha. Thank you haha
@@pinkygunslingy yeah I definitely don’t disagree with any of the things you pointed out. But as a child of a narcissist, it’s all I could see from the second Dutch was on the screen lol (I played rdr2 first)
PLEASE KEEP UPLOADING. I could watch this for hours. I'd love to see more videos focusing on the mental health of video game characters. The whole stress monitoring thing is extremely interesting to watch as well. I think Johhny Silverhand in Cyberpunk would be a good video or Harry Du Bois in Disco Elysium.
As someone who has bipolar and recently got into Red Dead, this video is so important to me Thank you for this empathetic and nuanced look at Dutch whom we all love a normal amount
I would genuinely love to see more videos about this, specifically Red Dead. Dutch is a character that i really did love and at the start of the game, I really believed he was a good man and was stunned by the end of it all despite having known his fate in rdr 1 I still remember the first time I played, listening to his speech where he rallied the gang in the snow storm and I felt empowered by his words. If I was in the gang, I would feel invincible under the guise of someone so strong and passionate about what he believes in, and I really hoped that he could take the gang to a better world. But by the end of the game, I simply couldn't accept the idea that Dutch was 'evil'. Quite frankly, I still don't. I still believe there was a good man in there somewhere, a man who really did want nothing but the best for the people he cared about, but was led astray by someone he thought he could trust. The only thing I didn't understand was WHY he trusted Micah so easily and why he felt so betrayed by the people that have shown him nothing but support for years. This video really helped me see that clearer Overall, amazing video and a wonderful analysis, and whether or not Dutch has BPD or something else, I think it makes a lot of sense and adds an intensified realistic feel to it. I don't think I'll ever stop believing that Dutch had good intentions deep down and that the insanity eventually consumed him to a point past any chance of return, but I am happy to have gained a little insight on to what went through his head during the events of the game.
Watched the whole thing, excellent analysis. Could be the base of your whole channel, these types of videos. Loved you deadpan humor, paired well with your voice. So many Rockstar characters you could cover, large and small scale. I could really see Pinky being ‘the one to come too’. Hope to see more in the future!
This approach to Dutch really does stand out from other character dives. This really does make sense of the writing on the wall that we’ve all seen; never really thought that Dutch would ever get an official diagnosis
I haven’t seen many videos talking about Dutch’s downfall and the ones I have seen are all brief and reiterate the same points. It’s nice to hear an interesting take.
I follow you on tiktok but was pleasantly surprised to see this video in my suggested on here! Great video, should totally make more character/character mental health analysis video essays as i would watch all of them 😭
The man wears peach long johns after having the best drip in game, there is definitely something wrong
classic signs of psychosis: becoming dripless
Y'all got me fucking dying 😂😂😂
I love seeing people who are also this passionate about Red Dead 2
Not just people I love that she is the type of person that’s all up this. The fandom is more diverse than I thought, love to see it.
Same!
I just wish people were as passionate about RDR1
@@tdoran616 But aren't they? Dutch is in RDR1 and there's much more to see of him in RDR2. I understand what you mean but i think alot of the people who are into RDR2 as much as pinky is are into RDR1 equally as much
@@tdoran616I believe they are. I remember many having the same fervor for rdr1 back in the day, but it was confined to places like forums and such since video essays weren’t really a thing on yt at the time. Rdr2 is great in that it’s brought a younger and fresh audience to the franchise
A Rockstar Games mental health analysis that DOESN'T villainize mental illnesses?? It's like Christmas morning!
Rockstar and their amazing writing ❤❤
It's a general problem in fiction that mental health is stigmatized to the point of villainy because then you apparently don't have to write a well rounded character
Drink ice cold water please
Why do people try to justify mental illnesses? Mental ilness doenst save you from consequences
He’s a villain because of his crimes, not the other way around.
Genuinely was so stunned by your Dutch and Micah impressions. I could have sworn I heard that dialogue in-game. You've got some serious talent, pinky
thank u i think i rly have a future in voice work
*me, seeing this comment before finishing the video*: “wow, that’s so cool, I can’t wait to hear it”
Me at 22:53 : “that wasn’t what I thought it would be…
IT WAS EVEN BETTER!!!”
For realll ❤❤❤
I love to see you do Arthur one pleaseeee 💕💕
"You know ol' cowpoke, probably went off to go sketch a tulip of somethin'" 😂😂😂😂
I love actual discussions about these characters instead of what I usually see which is “Arthur is cool because shoot gun fast” this game is so much more than a power fantasy
but don't we all wish we were cowboys who shoot stuff 😕
Same (to both OP and the cowboy comment 💛), it feels weird seeing people make, like, motivation bro content using chapter 4 & 5 cutscenes. They've played the game, but where's the internalizing?
Okay but Arthur IS cool and he DOES shoot gun fast
@@jackmattingly6780 haha pow pow deadeye shotgun
Most people know this already. It was literally mainly praises for its characters and story aside from the insanely detailed world. Get a grip
Great video! My take is that by 1911 Dutch is throughly depressed. He’s a lot more lethargic, and he’s mostly given up on justifying himself. If anything, the chaos he causes is almost like an elaborate suicide. He’s not in it to win anymore, he’s just trying to lash out one final time at a world he feels he no longer belongs in.
I could never blame the gang for not knowing Arthur got captured, I disappeared for days on them folks after every quest
I was playing just today walking past Dutch’s tent when I heard that “I expect you’ll betray me in the end” bit for the first time and that really took me aback because to me that was the single most powerful sign of delusion that early on in the game, and you don’t really see anything of that level again until much later. Also, this is my first encounter with you and your content. Love the passion
literally this. when that happened to me I literally stood there for a solid minute thinking about everything I did up to that point that would justify Dutch's behaviour towards Arthur, and then just cussed him out and left 😭
@@m00n_y Fr. It’s Ch.2 so there’s literally nothing Arthur did/could’ve done by that point 😭 I was like damn well that adds another layer to things
I got this in ch2 before but I got it today in ch3
It's legit chapter 2 there. The game ain't even begun yet xD
Nobody ever talks about how Dutch immediately apologizes for saying this, sounding supremely confused why he said it in the first place. The tone isn't sinister, its worrisome, like Dutch isn't in control of what he's saying or doing.
ua-cam.com/video/gz1jq4sdv1Q/v-deo.html
i am truly rly taken aback by the response to this video. thank u guys for both motivating and supporting my little passion project. i have all the intention of continuing to make content here, especially after such a positive first response.
also for those requesting characters from other games, i would love to branch out in the future but believe it or not, my gaming knowledge and experience is quite limited so it may require some time and research and gaming hehe.
anyway, thank you again 🩷
Take your time to research, it’s all good. We want you to enjoy learning about them, for your own passion and to make the videos better.
Amazing video! I have a friend who I recommended this to because we have obsessive conversations on RDR2 characters that sounds like your vid. Dutch is among my favorite characters in any work of fiction and you gave his character a lens that he deserves.
Realy good job
You just get one more sub
The UA-cam algorithm sends its regards. Glad I watched the video. Very well done. Take my sub too.
Great video! I'm so happy I came across it.
21:43
Dutch and Micah both apologize randomly in the camp after that mission, but the funny thing is, they both have the EXACT SAME LINE OF DIALOGUE, as if they both rehearsed it together, depending on whoever approaches arthur first
oo, worth noting thank u
I’d like to add that the speech that Dutch gives at the start of the game (snow level) about how you all have to keep moving forward and how he loved davey and everyone needs to stick with him etc it turns out you can actually find a note with that entire speech written down, in the moment Dutches speeches feel from the heart and coming from pure passion alone but turns out he writes them down & rehearses them before hand, Dutch is literally the cunning fox from Pinocchio in human form.
@@bruhdon4748 ...rehearsing a speech does not make someone a liar.
@@bruhdon4748 woahhh where can you find that? in camp?
@@Ana-tj5fmyes, in camp during chapter 2.
56:33 There's panel with Dutch's VA wehre he talks about mocapping this scene; He said that going into character, he felt how Dutch realized in that moment how completely he had failed Arthur, and that this made him so heartbroken they had to do the scene several times because he just could not stop crying
Regarding camp encounters in Chapter 6 I think is quite interesting is that a lot of the time Dutch is sitting in a chair in front of his tent seemingly staring off into space. I believe he is dissociating in those moments. As someone who does experience a lot of dissociation I feel that might be what Dutch is going through. While it's not exactly a camp encounter and more so a thing that happens I felt like pointing it out. And that shot of Dutch in his tent seemingly staring at his wall makes me so sad. I wish things ended differently in the game
I agree. When I'm at my most symptomatic, I'll often stare off into space, either dissociating, having really vivid day dreams, or spiraling about a specific topic. Or a combination of the three.
There is this scene in Chapter 4 where it's explicitly called out ua-cam.com/video/OzU0LVEdPnk/v-deo.html
I am mostly sure you only get this after the trolley incident but either way, Dutch staring off into space with no idea where he is or what's going on is a common problem based on what Dutch says in the follow up dialogue. ("I'm fine. Why does everybody keep asking me that?") His extreme defensiveness is also common for people with failing mental health so far as I know.
I don’t think that’s anything intentional. If you follow people around the camp they just sit around doing nothing most of the time. And the game puts emphasis on this “mediation / patience” with the lot of encounters that let you skip time for hours with Arthur just sitting waiting.
Crazy to hear that you got Dutch and Micahs voice actors to dub the road meetup after Arthur got kidnapped
This theory makes a lot of sense. My father is diagnosed with bipolar 1 and ADHD and Dutch always reminded me of him (minus the cold blooded murdering part). The never-ending schemes, the paranoia and agression when challenged are things my father share with him.
same , i see my father in dutch too , so its bittersweet playing
So about Dutch sitting in the swamp in a daze after getting back from chapter 5 and going on about saying D4, F5, G6 etc. he’s talking about a chess move called Dutch defense one time I was playing I just sat there listing to him saying those moves over and over again and I was like “so this is where he officially derails” but looked it up and learned this
I actually also knew this! That being said I don't think it's super level, standard behaviour to be rambling aloud about chess moves, even in spite of how relevant it may be to him as an individual. A cool reference for sure, though :)
@@pinkygunslingy your opinions on rdr2 are like the Bible
I think it's also got a dual meaning! Aside from the obvious name pun, the actual chess move itself is a rather aggressive, short-sighted play.
Basically Black moves their pawn preemptively to prevent White from later controlling the middle of the board HOWEVER, it's also an opening that immediately exposes the Black King to attacks, while White is relatively safe.
Basically, Dutch is envisioning a move where he makes a daring grab for power, meanwhile creating a huge weak point for the rest of the game... hm..
now I'm not saying this is telling of Dutch's tactical ability but the common follow up for this relies on the Black King's Knight (Arthur) going infront of the King to protect it :)
sorry for the info dump I just really like the amount of symbolism behind Dutch being a chess player aside from the overdone 'oh he just views Arthur as a pawn' bit
we should've been able to play chess in game rockstar >:(
Do you think names from birth can effect someone's personality
I like to think that Dutch is trying to find ways to justify his next plan in his head. and I also think this is some form of dissociation he is playing chess in his head i interpret this as the gang members are under his control and he just thinks this is a game we're he can sacrifice a pice just because he can take the fall and come up with a new plan without the bother of that pice. I'm definitely looking way to much in this and is probably just a cool reference to the chess move. (Sorry for the terrible writing)
Something significant to me in the final moment between Dutch and Arthur is Dutch stepping off the revolver. It felt like the most apologetic gesture possible given the circumstances and the clarity you described.
This fucking game bro, there's just so much to cover, so many little moments, such sadness 😭
idk if u study psychology or something but this is really well talked through, i'm not sure if i missed u talking about it or not but dutch's relationship with micah reminds me a lot of (in some bipolar cases) the 'favourite person' relationship, where people with bipolar will hinge a lot on a specific individual that they feel safe with, usually a partner or friend, and especially during high stress episodes kinda just defer to them, which is cool that they made the pixels do that.
Thought that was BPD
@@anthonyf616 it is! its super common in bpd, and only occasional in bipolar (usually only in high stress periods), but this also could be a misattribution between bpd and bipolar by people who diagnose, because they're very hard to distinguish and often get misdiagnosed
@@tomnosocks Wait is BPD and Bipolar not the same thing? I always thought they were...
@@nirjhar4803 so bpd stands for borderline personality disorder, and is characterized by significant, frequent mood swings, impulsivity and often self destructive behaviours. bipolar disorder is in the same ballpark, but the mood swings are usually much less frequent, and much longer lasting. they can overlap on a lot of issues, and you can have both of them, which makes diagnosis really difficult.
It's also important to know that bpolar disorder doesn't HAVE an acronym! So if you hear someone say "BPD", they are either misinformed or mean Borderline Personality Disorder--
Before even watching, as someone that has bipolar, and loves this game more than anything, I 100% agree with your diagnosis. He’s my favorite villain of all time because I believe there is something true in his heart, buts it’s corrupted by his own insecurities
So fun trivia about Angelo Bronte, Dutch's actor has the interpretation that Bronte is what broke him. He admires Bronte as everything he wishes to be, but is rapidly disillusioned with him and what the future of criminal masterminds will become. Kinda feels like he's been betrayed by his own ideas.
To answer your question about the one scene with Dutch seemingly saying random things, what he’s doing is playing two sides of a chess game. The scene takes place after the death of Hosea, and Dutch often played chess with him. The scene demonstrates Dutch’s aimlessness without Hosea and how he’s starting to spiral without his best friend/companion.
This! Also the move he describes in the scene is apparently called the "Dutch Defense" and I think it's supposed to be a reflection of how Dutch sends his "pawns" out towards the enemy (which one that is - idk, at that point probably Pinkertons)
@@daa5865 Dutch's enemies at the point in the story is just whomever is the way of what he wants
Hearing you talk about red dead is therapeutic
"Oul cowpoke went off to go sketch a tulip or something"-Micah Bell, 1899
I have a mental health plan Arthur
“You always have a mental health plan Dutch.”
“Heh, this is a good one… (checks in with a psychotherapist).”
“I don’t doubt it.”
Help I read it with his voice
he did not, in fact, have a mental health plan
John: "BULLSH****TTTT"
This video is so important to me, finally someone who isn't a man talks about Dutch and doesn't blame everything on that damned trolley.
BRAIN INJURY???
GENUINELY! DUTCH IS SO MUCH MORE NUANCED THAN JUST A DAMN TROLLEY!
I gotta convince my girlfriend to play this game at some point
regardless, they wouldn’t have highlighted him not feeling great and suddenly getting worse after the trolley if it didn’t accelerate his actions lol
@@S0LAVELLANHELLwhat accelerated his actions was Angelo Bronte. Granted a knock on the head didn't help but he shows no other long-term symptoms of a traumatic brain injury
“That’s a manic man, your honor.” 😂 I appreciate you efforts and I’m looking forward to watching this.
on the subject of Mental Health awareness, I find Arthur's subtle depression to be the most relatable a character has felt to me personally. R.I.P
dutch’s voice lines from the early game confused me so much i thought that the game was bugging in later dialogue from something i hadn’t done yet bc dutch is otherwise represented as this rational great thinker (haven’t played rdr1 idk) but then as the game went on i was like “oh this just how he is? damn they wrote him like my mum lol” and now seeing this all laid out i’m like hmmmm maybe my mother has a personality disorder and being randomly suspect of me for things i haven’t done and launching into things that she would normally know are bad ideas is not exactly normal…
42:09 I’ll never forget that absolutely heart sinking dread and shock I felt when I saw the start of chapter 6 for the first time, I couldn’t believe how much the game had CHANGED. The music, the last screenshot we get before the title comes up and the realization of the situation is all just so messed up. I will never ever get over this game.
Seeing molly just flopped over completely lifeless just feels so WRONG, Abigail comforting Marybeth. Javier looking between what has just happened and over to Arthur, Arthur walking out of shot. Pearson and uncle stood there in complete shock. It’s all so messed up. I was so heartbroken when Molly died I really was rooting for her to be okay
It’s truly a great indicator of how not clearly Dutch is thinking when he muses to Arthur that, because John was the only one captured alive from the Saint Denis bank heist, he must be the rat.
Mainly because the difference between Hosea’s bounty and John’s bounty is probably very significant, as well as their notoriety. Hell, Agent Milton didn’t even recognize him on sight back at the Clemens Point raid like he did Arthur. Straight up had to ask him his name. And the Pinkertons have more info on the Van der Linde gang than any sheriff or bounty hunter would have access to.
John even left and stopped participating in gang activity for an entire year. Who knows how long Hosea’s been going at it? Probably all his life. Makes a lot of sense that they would keep a lesser offender, John, alive and in a labor camp for the chance that they might get some information out of him about the other members. I mean, they were fully ready to let ARTHUR of all people walk free just for access to Dutch. And he DEFINITELY has a way higher bounty than John.
Not to mention, I believe Milton would see it as beneficial to have one of them alive in custody. They may not know John but I'm sure they could have deduced he was somewhat important in terms of the chain of command. Keeping him alive lures back people like Arthur, and I imagine they'd hope Dutch (little do they know, he does NOT care) would come back for him too and then they can arrest them all that way, rather than chase them all over the country surrounding oceans.
pinky, you're a gem. i played RDR2 religiously for 3 years, but hadn't in a long time before seeing you on tiktok. now im right back at it because I was intrigued to go back from seeing your analysis of the characters.
pinky you should 100% do more of these, for a first time doing a video essay this is amazing!
My personal theory is that Dutch did get some kind of brain damage in the trolley crash, but the kind that just like gives you a constant headache or brain fog or insomnia or something which didn't give him a chance to rest and recover after his manic episodes, making his symptoms that much worse and more frequent
56:33 I've seen an interview with Dutch's VA about mocapping this scene, and he said that putting himself into Dutch's shoes, he felt that Dutch realized how completely he had failed Arthur, and that this made him feel so heartbroken they had to redo that scene several times because he couldn't stop crying.
I love that you weren't kidding when you said it was gonna be an hour long video! Time to get comfortable!
YES DUTCH CAN NOW GET HIS LITHIUM PRESCRIPTION.
Also loving the little anti psychiatrist joke at the begining (we also still institutionalize handicaped ppl and they also get their children taken away more often bc they are watched a lot more !)
Just one last prescription, Arthur
Thank you for making this. Dutch saying "Maybe life ain't such a thing to cling onto so tightly!" made me audibly gasp when i heard it. My brother and I laugh all the time at the increasingly boneheaded decisions that were made as the game went on. "We're going to New York. We're going to Tahiti. Australia. The moon seems nice. Maybe the cosmos will be our haven." It was nuts seeing this play out, knowing the cornered rodent-like madman he was in the first game. Wild stuff. Again, great video. Well done🎉
"I've finally figured it out Arthur. I know we're we're going.
I'm taking us to the ONE place not CORRUPTED by Leviticus Cornwall....
_SPACE!"_
~Dutch, in the alternate time-line where he's voiced by Tim Curry
"I'VE GOT IT, ARTHUR! LETS GO TO THE MARIANA TRENCH! NO ONE WILL THINK TO LOOK FOR US THERE"
Some people consider nuance and deep dive to be overthinking or something, but I do gain more respect for the performances and learn a little about psychology so A+
the fart reverb when dutch hit the cliff killed me
I still can't believe you managed to get the voice actors for Dutch and Micah to make a cameo during that hypothetical conversation.
A che minuto si trova?
I feel like the reason why Dutch warmed up to Angelo Bronte so quickly without any sense of risk is (at least partly) that Dutch is generally drawn to the higher society / people in higher positions of power than he himself has throughout the whole game. He is clearly set on taking from the rich, be it Leviticus Cornwall, the Braithwaits and the Greys, or the general population of Saint Denis (the National Lemoyne Bank robbery). That likely ties to the claims of Dutch being a “Robin Hood” of the Wild West once upon a time, taking from the rich and giving to the poor, perhaps chasing some feeble impression of power via stealing from those above him and essentially enriching those on his own level.
Regardless, he clearly has an obsession, or a fascination, perhaps, with the rich and mighty, not only from the viewpoint of an outlaw (meaning the rich are more lucrative to steal from) but also from a personal viewpoint because if we consider his fashion taste and deep liking for the finer things in life (the infamous tent upgrade, his gramophone, reading fancy philosophy books he doesn’t even seem to fully understand), we inevitably come to the conclusion that he stylizes himself into a man of a “higher position”. There likely is some feeling of rejection (might be that he holds some grudges from the past), or, even more likely, within the historical context of the game and the major change that is being forced upon the once wild America, he’s simply jealous of those who are now free to kill and rob without repercussions - you said it, the rich, you remember Dutch’s little speech he gives before killing Leviticus Cornwall? Crime sort of became a privilege only the richest and most powerful are able to reach, while dirty outlaws from the countryside are being hunted down and punished for their crimes. To put it simply, the rich simply stay in the way of his own power and his preaching of “freedom”.
I believe, while he certainly doesn’t rationalize it this clearly, there’s clearly some resentment stemming from this change that’s been negatively affecting his life, which might lead to his fascination with Angelo Bronte and his unfortunate willingness to omit any risks. Sadly, the fact that Bronte “welcomes” him so "warmly" definitely fiddles with his feeling of superiority and grandiosity that you’ve mentioned in your video. He’s simply unable to see past his want of becoming one of the “big boys” and possibly further implement himself into the ring of Saint Denis’ high society criminals because as he said in Chapter 1, he’s getting too old for sleeping in the dirt. He sees a chance to rise above his station, and thanks to his deteriorating mental state you’ve so nicely established in your video essay, he fails to acknowledge the risks of trusting a person of Bronte’s nature, and once again falls pray to manipulation coming from a person with selfish and possibly nefarious intentions.
Anyway, liked the video tons:)
amazing post
I love emotional, sympathetic exploration of traditionally masculine shooty shooty bang bang games. Love you on TikTok, would love to see more long form essays from you!
I mean, RD as a series is pretty damn emotional
It's so refreshing to find people who care about RDR character analysis as much as I do. I love the way you truly dive deep into Dutch's personality and how he twisted into Dutch from the first game. Great video! I look forward to more from you :)
And I don't know if you take recommendations, but I would love to hear you talk about Sadie Adler and how her character had evolved throughout the game.
It’s finally here
I was bummed this is your first video. I was ready to binge watch hours of your content! Incredible work, I hope you do more of anything here on UA-cam
Lots of people have said it but it's so refreshing to hear someone talking about Red Dead like you do. These characters deserve to be explored as thoroughly as this. You and Noah Caldwell Gervais: the only people I wanna hear talk about RDR on this webbed site thank yooou 💕
i am very autistic. mainly about this stupid video game. mainly about this specific character. this video was made for me.
you're also funny! keep this shit up my brotha 🙏
Bro, same
It’s always so great to see people devote time and effort to passion projects like this, especially Red Dead!! Such an incredible piece of fiction, deserves all the love and attention it receives!!!
tiktok creators that actually have something interesting to say and arent just shouting into the void for numbers absolutely CAN AND SHOULD make the jump to making more long form content on youtube. i like this video already and im not even deep into it
The first Red Dead II video essay I’ve seen approached with any academic or literary discipline. Your concise editing of the in-game scenes to reinforce your analysis is top notch. I’m very impressed you kept it to an hour!
I have a lot of Red Dead thoughts about both characters and themes I’d love to share- Dutch’s “I, we” speech correction he says to Charles in Outlaws from the West, also occurs in the opening mission of chapter 3 as Dutch gets off the boat from the fishing trip.
“I, think I- I mean, we are gonna be okay.”
and it also reappears in two dialogues with Javier, one on the beach in Chapter 3 and another with Javier that I’m struggling to find in chapter six.
Thank you for also using the camp dialogue seriously- I think 95% of the people with the gall to make lesser video essays about RDRII haven’t even considered the full text of the word because they pay no attention to the equally-well performed camp scenes.
The most astounding thing in the game imo- especially when multiple play out at once. Feels so alive.
Thank you! I appreciate this :) I really love camp interactions. I genuinely think one of the best performances in the game is from Benjamin Byron Davis in camp screaming about how they need money or they'll all be dead, it's crazy that you can go the entire game and never see it.
@@pinkygunslingy It's definitely the loudest and angriest we ever hear Dutch in the entire franchise-- but my favorite comes from the undisputed king of the campfire, Hosea Matthews-- that man has nine campfire stories-- the next most are Uncle and Micah with six each.
I don't know how to title these camp dialogues, but I will call this one of Hosea's "Dragons in the West." In this video of all 86 stories, it's listed as Hosea #1: ua-cam.com/video/Ab_RLwSlitA/v-deo.html
and can be found at 27:03.
Close runner-ups "facing, something, together... but I ain't sure exactly what."
and "I wish I had acquired my wisdom, at less of a price."
I would watch so many more of your video essays, if you ever willing to do them on other main characters.
Specifically the role of Marstons to the dilogy because I firmly believe they are the main point in games(which is true) but half the damn fandom seems to disagree 😭
Also Javier's decline possibly, tho it all seems clear in the games we see, so that is mostly speculating on what happened between the games
I genuinely don’t understand how someone could look at those games and think that telling John and his family’s story isn’t the main focus of the entire duo
@@jackmattingly6780 Most diehard Arthur fans try to prove exactly the opposite every time I mention it 🧍♀️ So, yk, there is people.
@@trashmouthcharleyWell, those are more than likely people who did not play the original RDR and were introduced to the series with the sequel/prequel, as I was. Those opinions can be disregarded and there’s no point arguing with people who can’t see the full picture
The Marstons are only the main point because they were main characters in R1 and the sequel had to account for that. As well, I think a lot of people are diehard Arthur fans because he’s a lot more talkative than John. You get more insights into his personality than with John
I’m only a few minutes in but I’m loving this so much already. I’ve been obsessed w/ rdr2 for years at this point and I love when people do deep dives like this. Would LOVE to see more stuff like this from you
also your style of presenting info gives me such Jenny Nicholson vibes, I’m so into it
thank u! i love jenny nicholson's content :)
Dutch is so charasmatic that even when he betrayed John and Arthur i still wanted to trust him
That’s how narcissists are. They’re so charismatic and smart that the way they carry and present themselves is enough to manipulate someone
@@pavasite4278 true
""We can't go East, because then we'd be in the ocean""
---Dutch Van Der Linde: 1899
700 IQ
This is a great analysis, I always thought that Dutch had some mental issues but you really laid it out!
I agree with everything you said here. My only question I have about Dutch remaining is; did he really care about the gang and in addition Arthur and John, who in a many fans minds are his “adopted children”? It’s hard for me to believe that he’s 100% only was out for himself from the start?
Anyways amazing video, I was really looking forward to this ❤
I do think that in his own way he cared for them. Dutch believes the things he says, even if he's acting in ways that don't necessarily align with that, I think. He suffers from a lot of cognitive dissonance from what I see.
Great analysis, I don't think I've ever seen such a detailed one on Dutch
I was diagnosed with bipolar when I was 11. I didn't know it had all these symptoms. Explains so much about my life, why i think the way i do and act the way i do
Holy shit that’s really early for a Bipolar diagnosis
This is the only Dutch analysis video I’ve ever been able to 100% fully agree with. Thank you so much for actually thinking it through and articulating it so well. It adds a new, great dimension to the game’s narrative.
ive waited a year to watch this video, wanted to finish both games before i got any spoilers. been looking forward to this so thanks :)
one of the best vids about dutch ive seem. i think you’re right about everything. im telling my kids this is game theory.
I’d like to add onto the “Abigail is the second rat” theory.
There’s two places this came from, A, Dutch, and B, misogyny.
A: mr cool man boss dude said wife bad so he must have a point
B: wife bad
a theory that drives me absolutely bananas
Not familiar with the theory but the underlying logic explained it as mostly baseless lines up, especially in light of Dutch's diagnosis.
Wasn't Abigail a prostitute before she joined the gang? I seem to recall from rd1 Bill Williams taunting John about how she'd allegedly been with most every man in the gang at some point. Though that could be faulty memory, and the veracity of that is unknown. Could've just been a baseless taunt to get under John's skin.
There's probably something to that though. At least the part about her history before getting involved with the Van Der Linde gang anyway. It would be another way Dutch demonstrated that he was becoming unhinged. Holding her past against her. Because let's not forget that one of the oldest professions in the world is also one of the oldest methods for spying.
A man who buys drinks to unwind and the services of a comfort girl for the night might be inclined to loose lips and reveal information that could be very useful for certain people. Especially in times of war or serious conflict. There were pamphlets and other materials around ww1 and 2 that warned about that sort of thing, so it's very easy to suspect that didn't just come out of left field. There was some underlying cultural belief for that bias.
Misogyny? Sure. On the end effect of Dutch's behavior, absolutely. But it's also "Dutch being Dutch", just more so as things progress and his condition exacerbates. He preaches on the value of loyalty but sabotages the underpinnings for the gang to stay loyal to him at every other turn, no thanks in part to Micah doing the Grima Wormtongue on him.
Likely Micah encouraged Dutch to blame Abigail as a means of hiding his own ulterior motives, and Dutch started listening. Something along the lines of if she was willing to sell herself before, what's stopping her from doing it again now, Dutch? And Dutch eating it up, letting it rattle around in his mind as an excuse and explanation for why things keep going downhill.
But even if she was a second rat, she didn't gain much from it, in the end, did she? A few small spells of family life with Jack and John, only for the ghosts of the past to come back to haunt all over again, and John's taken the gun back up and getting himself into danger all over again.
Then most of rd1 she's literally held prisoner/hostage by the government she might've originally ratted to, and used as both carrot and stick to compel John to take out what little is left of his old gang and to eliminate Dutch, getting his hands dirty so the government didn't have to. Even then, when that job is finished, what little peace she enjoys gets destroyed all over again, at the very hands of the ones she sold out to.
Even if she was the second rat, she well and truly paid for it terribly in the end. One could argue she suffered far worse than Micah. Unlike him, she would have had to live with the consequences of her "ratting" till the very end, and it spilled over not just on her and John, but also onto Jack, blowing up all her and John's hopes and best intentions for Jack to live a better life than them. If she was the 2nd rat, she paid dearly for her 30 pieces of silver.
I mean she did get away scot-free even tho she road with Hosea when he got killed, they also captured John alive instead killing him like Hosea & Lenny, from Dutchs perspective John & Abagails escape seemed too convenient but yeah it must be misogyny because men bad
Prostitution is often used as a means of spying, while yes it’s mostly baseless claim, there is some truth to the idea. But clearly, the only reason this theory is popular is because misogyny, because we should put men in camps. I’m betting you’re a TERF
Not misoginy as much as her having a better motivation than anyone else to rat, including Micah. Micah's 4D chess plan to both get the gang killed and somehow also get the Blackwater money is never explained, how the Pinkertons knew about the ferry job was never explained, how Abigail managed to escape was never explained. This last one is easily explainable but the other two are, at least in my opinion, straight up plotholes, but they can also be explained with Abigail being a rat. Ultimately it's a dumb theory since the Pinkertons actively endanger her and Jack but atributing it all to misoginy is very reductive.
been waiting this for so long and i’m so so happy now. this is exactly what i needed today and this is so interesting to watch. this was so worth the wait!!!!!
Hell yeah man. I’m stoked to see a new UA-camr out there making long form content about video games as an art and giving them their due diligence it analyze their stories and characters.
This has got to be my favorite essay on UA-cam. The developers put so much effort into this game and it’s awesome to see someone comb through all the little details
I am utterly shocked to see that this is your first video. Not familiar with your shorts content, but this is a fantastic first effort. I hope that you continue to make content in this format, its incredibly engaging.
Honestly, i could see you being very successful if you continue to do this.
Pinky, Your read dead takes are literally gospel and i will spend countless hours watching long form videos like this!! keep it up
I'm not even kidding you kind of have a good Micah impression. Like you don't particularly sound like him but you have his mannerisms right and it's pretty fun.
This is amazing, so worth the wait. Also your impressions of Dutch and Micah are 👌
I can't finish the video because I'm playing the game for the first time, but I'll come back after I have finished the story. Your analysis is really interesting and well put, and it's evident you put lots and lots of effort into that!
i love that red dead is a detailed enough game that I can watch hour long video essays on it every day
He's not bipolar, he's just a man with a plan 😔
I prescribe 5mg of goddamn faith twice a day
apart from frequent derailments, I imagine they're one in the same.
You're god damn right!
@@stalfithrildi5366I'd also recommend a prescription for a bit of time and a little money
What does he say? "A dreamer in an ever-increasing world of dullards" or something like that
I’m so happy to watch to this.Been hyped since the announcement.Thanks for doing this.
I need you to post more this is the long form content I CRAVE
Great video pinky. I'd love to hear your perspective on Jack Marston and his arc as well as your take on what happens to him after his encounter with ross and what would be fitting for the narrative.
Dutch is basically the 19th century version of the unibomber
The thing is...bipolar has another part to it. The depressive episodes. Dutch doesn't seem to experience any of those during the months of the story or even during his time in RDR1. What makes more sense to me is bipolar type schizoaffective disorder. Classified by much more of the manic side of bipolar disorder, but added on delusions (Tahiti), impaired social functioning (he left John to die on multiple occasions and allowed himself to be way too easily manipulated by Micah), problems with managing personal care (see from Saint Denis onward for that), and hallucinations (he always thought the Pinkertons were lurking somewhere).
You can see Dutch being depressed at several points in camp. ua-cam.com/video/BWN1McR-i28/v-deo.html
He's a complete emotional wreck in all of Chapter 6 after losing Hosea.
And his final line in RDR2 is a broken, hollow statement about how he has nothing more to say, before he wanders off, leaving John and the money. His entire look in the epilogue bespeaks how much he's fallen.
Somehow this channel just instantly clicked for me. I absolutely love your work, the pace of the video, the insight, everything. I can’t wait to see what you do next!
I’m so happy you’ve gotten into long form analysis of red dead (or at least have this time), I’ve loved the TikToks and cannot wait to get through this video. I hope you continue with this (:
My most anticipated UA-cam video of this year
tbh I would like to see how Dutch was acting on Garma, when he thought he had lost Arthur,Hosea,john,and Lenny in like the span of 24 hours
It's so relieving to know that I'm not the only one who has their entire brain consumed by Dutch van der Linde
"You know old cowpoke, probably went off to go sketch a tulip or somethin" 🤣
i can never decide whether i love or spite the youtube algorithm, but i can easily say that my relationship with it is going through another 'love-phase' being recommended this. and except for loving the algorithm, i really love this video! :3
I haven’t finished the video so I don’t know if you mention it but one of my favorite narcissistic things Dutch does is when you save the boat captain in chapter 5 and Dutch introduces himself but immediately cuts the captain off before he can too
let's gooooo i've been waiting for this, been obsessed with your tiktoks about it and now long form video. absolute win
Finally. Some good fuckin' content. I'm only 9 minutes in but man, your analysis of Dutch and way of explaining is very superb. Especially the editing, Good Lord, I can only imagine the work for this. Very good job!
I’ve rewatched this 3 times now and it doesn’t get old. I love your analysis of Dutch and how much thought was put into it. Also you’re funny.
It really says so much about how I love your content that I watched this whole thing even though I am absolutely convinced it’s actually NPD haha. Thank you haha
I definitely think it could be both! I just don't have ALL day but ofc, these disorders can overlap and whatnot.
@@pinkygunslingy yeah I definitely don’t disagree with any of the things you pointed out. But as a child of a narcissist, it’s all I could see from the second Dutch was on the screen lol (I played rdr2 first)
PLEASE KEEP UPLOADING. I could watch this for hours. I'd love to see more videos focusing on the mental health of video game characters. The whole stress monitoring thing is extremely interesting to watch as well. I think Johhny Silverhand in Cyberpunk would be a good video or Harry Du Bois in Disco Elysium.
I have been waiting so long for this i love your conent on tiktok and i have never seen someone analysing this game in such a way and i love it
As someone who has bipolar and recently got into Red Dead, this video is so important to me
Thank you for this empathetic and nuanced look at Dutch whom we all love a normal amount
YES I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR A VIDEO LIKE THIS
Honestly best rdr 2 commentary channel
There was cut dialogue with Dutch where he talks about taking an online quiz that said he was neurodivergent and a Ravenclaw
I would genuinely love to see more videos about this, specifically Red Dead. Dutch is a character that i really did love and at the start of the game, I really believed he was a good man and was stunned by the end of it all despite having known his fate in rdr 1
I still remember the first time I played, listening to his speech where he rallied the gang in the snow storm and I felt empowered by his words. If I was in the gang, I would feel invincible under the guise of someone so strong and passionate about what he believes in, and I really hoped that he could take the gang to a better world. But by the end of the game, I simply couldn't accept the idea that Dutch was 'evil'. Quite frankly, I still don't. I still believe there was a good man in there somewhere, a man who really did want nothing but the best for the people he cared about, but was led astray by someone he thought he could trust. The only thing I didn't understand was WHY he trusted Micah so easily and why he felt so betrayed by the people that have shown him nothing but support for years. This video really helped me see that clearer
Overall, amazing video and a wonderful analysis, and whether or not Dutch has BPD or something else, I think it makes a lot of sense and adds an intensified realistic feel to it. I don't think I'll ever stop believing that Dutch had good intentions deep down and that the insanity eventually consumed him to a point past any chance of return, but I am happy to have gained a little insight on to what went through his head during the events of the game.
This was so entertaining, I have nothing else to say other than that. Subscribed.
small game review type channels been lowkey popping off lately
Watched the whole thing, excellent analysis. Could be the base of your whole channel, these types of videos. Loved you deadpan humor, paired well with your voice.
So many Rockstar characters you could cover, large and small scale. I could really see Pinky being ‘the one to come too’. Hope to see more in the future!
Finally an hour of you talking about Dutch, tiktok was not enough
This approach to Dutch really does stand out from other character dives. This really does make sense of the writing on the wall that we’ve all seen; never really thought that Dutch would ever get an official diagnosis
I haven’t seen many videos talking about Dutch’s downfall and the ones I have seen are all brief and reiterate the same points. It’s nice to hear an interesting take.
I follow you on tiktok but was pleasantly surprised to see this video in my suggested on here! Great video, should totally make more character/character mental health analysis video essays as i would watch all of them 😭