Does Red Dead Redemption 2 have female characters?

Is there any reason you couldn't choose which gender you played as in this game? Many other open world games these days are giving female options like Assassin's Creed, Fallout and Horizon so why not this one?

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Playing: Dragon Ball FighterZ (PC), Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PC)

bubbub01 4 years ago#2

Game wanted to be pretty realistic. Basically no female cowboys. And if you would play as one, the developers would have to make sure that like 90% of people of the NPCs would be aggressive towards you for not being a housewife. There's actually a quest in the game that somewhat addresses this.

ShockWav3 4 years ago#3

Doesn't make sense at all given the game, the setting, and the period.

"Since everybody here is deadset on not being intelligent, let me start things off."- SterlingFox

Bear42 4 years ago#4

Because the game is going for realism and woman stayed home and cooked for there hardworking husbands during this time and didn't expect the right to vote, get paid the same and were just generally better people.

Now they are awful.

CaspuR 4 years ago#5

Wait for the online.

Plus Arthur is a great character I really don't see what a female could have done differently given the role and the setting.

The best option you got is someone like Sadie, even that is not that entertaining as being the lead enforcer in a gang.

I'm no God...But I'm the closest thing this world has to one.

SeekAndDestroy2 4 years ago#6

Because not every game needs a female PC. Simple as that. Arthur is essential to the plot and the game as a whole this is HIS story we are playing through. It couldn't have been told this way and have such an amazing story and believable world if the protagonist was female.

I decided to write a post concerning 10 strong female characters from a story world where this would really be an achievement. Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 are set in the Wild West, the conventional roles of women in that era included being daughters, wives or prostitutes. The Red Dead series flips this on its head and creates strong, independent female characters, some of which hold some of the roles I mentioned, however they are not defined by their roles in society and refuse to conform to the traditional roles of women in the era of gunslingers. Among these women are; bounty hunters, revolutionaries, powerful matriarchs and outlaws and each stand out in their own way.

When we first encounter Charlotte with a sickly Arthur Morgan, the first word that springs to mind to describe her would not be strong… pitiable would be more accurate. We find her crying at the graveside of her recently deceased husband, looking unkempt and starving. She reveals that she will likely die in the wilderness, as neither of them had any idea how to hunt for food and she herself is on the verge of starvation. At first she comes across as quite a weak woman, until we learn what drives her. What makes Charlotte one of the strongest female characters in the series is her resolve and determination, she refuses to go back to a cushy life in the city as it was her husband’s dream to go somewhere remote and live off the fat of the land. When Arthur offers to help her learn how to hunt and shoot, she is prepared to do whatever it takes to learn and she learns fast. She also warns Arthur not to try anything as she is more than capable of standing up for herself.

During the encounters with her, Charlotte reveals herself to be a strong and noble woman; she left the city and a life of riches as she found it be soulless, dull and unfulfilling, something she had in common with her husband. Although it was not her dream to live in the wilderness, she made the decision to stick with her husband and vows to continue to fight for his dream for them even after he passed on. Charlotte comes across as a free spirit, someone who is prepared to work hard for her living but simply lacks the knowledge of how to do so and she is not too proud to accept help from Arthur if it means living her husbands dream. She also proves herself to be a profoundly loyal and loving wife even when death has parted him from her, as she chooses to stick at the path he chose for them or die in the attempt. The player can encounter her as either Arthur one last time or as John Marston, where she can be found sitting outside her cabin; dressed in hunter styled animal fur clothing and writing in a book, something she had envisioned herself doing from the start. She claims that she is happy and living life how she and her husband wanted, and she had Arthur to thank for that and insists that either character take something from the house to show her gratitude as well as pointing out that she is not materialistic enough that she would miss any of the possessions. In the end, Charlotte proves herself to be a strong, independent, loyal, tenacious woman who is prepared to do whatever it takes to survive or die trying. She is noble and wise and sees the world in a similar way to most of Arthur’s gang, she is grateful for the help Arthur gives her and expresses this time and again and cares for him when he has a fit of sickness. She thanks Arthur for providing her with the tools to live independently and she goes on to make most out of them.

It says something about the character, when they are the soul survivor out of a group of legendary outlaws. When Arthur comes across the so-called legendary gunslinger Jim-Boy Calloway, he is being shadowed by one Theodore Levin a man writing his biography. Although, Levin is struggling to get much out of the aged and often drunk Calloway, so he employs Arthur to go and find some other legendary gunslingers who knew Calloway in his youth. Out of every one of them that encounters Arthur, (including Calloway himself) the outlaw known as Black Belle is the only one to survive. According to Levin’s information, Belle is an expert in running and surviving as she is the soul survivor of her gang and outlived all of her many husbands. When Arthur approaches her, she greets him with a gun pointed at him, questioning him about why he’s there, and learns that he seeks tales about Calloway and the old west, she accepts but points out that he has inadvertently lead bounty hunters right to her. Arthur offers to help her fight them off and she accepts the help, instructing him to man the detonators as the whole place is rigged with dynamite. With a self-assured wink at Arthur, she invites the bounty hunters to step forward.

Straight from the off, Black Belle shows exactly how she has survived so long, she is suspicious and resourceful; she has her guard up around Arthur and later reveals that she was never in any danger from him as the whole place was set to blow up if she wished him dead. She brushes off the threat of the bounty hunters as a daily occurrence and that she will likely be running til the day she dies. Clearly a dangerous, take no prisoners woman, although she was aided by Arthur she does not seem to see the bounty hunters as much of a threat suggesting she is used to dealing with them. Once the fight is over Belle reveals that the days of the Wild West were not much different to how they are now, although she scoffs at the mention of Calloway whom she claims only ever ran from a fight something she clearly does not do herself. Although the encounter is brief, Black Belle quickly cements herself as one of the more powerful female characters in the game. She is not a trigger happy old gunslinger like the others, but a careful veteran of the west who takes no chances, a mindset that has helped her survive for so long. Her confidence in her own skill is clear and she is obviously independent, refusing to allow Arthur to even help her put her things on her horse, laughing him off. When she departs, she gives Arthur one last wink before riding off into the distance to continue her life on the run. Belle is the first depiction of a female gunslinger we see in the game, and its safe to say being any kind of legendary outlaw proves you to be a strong and resourceful character and Black Belle is clearly that. She has no fear and seems to be very matter of fact about her life on the run, exuding a toughness that few other characters male or female in the game show. She dismisses Calloway as nothing but a coward and claims that a lot of the tales from the Wild West days were nothing more than that; stories. Although it is clear from Arthur’s brief but profound encounter with her that any stories regarding her legend were likely not exaggerated.

Although Karen Jones becomes something of a tragedy by the end of the game, she is still one of the prime examples of a strong female character throughout the game, though in my opinion, is somewhat underrated for it. Karen was an outlaw, part of Dutch Van Der Linde’s gang, a thief and presumably a prostitute, Karen claims to enjoy the outlaw life, saying it used to feel like one big party. Slightly older than Mary-Beth and Tilly, Karen is something of a ring leader of the girls, she is constantly at odds with the domineering Miss Grimshaw, whom she shares something of a love-hate relationship with. Although during most encounters with the older woman, Karen is seen either arguing with her or winding her up, most other times they are sat together singing. She is unafraid to speak her mind in any situation no matter who it is against, when Molly O’Shea confronts her and slaps her, Karen responds by punching her in the face claiming that no one puts their hands on her even if they are Dutch’s girlfriend. Karen shows how feisty she can be when Sean tries to flirt with her, she also punches him in the face despite the fact that the two share something of a relationship. The rest of the gang respect Karen as a strong person as she is even trusted to protect the gang on guard duty, which she claims to find amusing that she is protecting the men and claims to have no problem blowing the head off of anyone who approaches. Karen is tough, she takes a punch from a overly handsy mark, and tells Arthur she does not like having to be saved by men but is grateful all the same. This shows that Karen has something of a chip on her shoulder when it comes to men, she is fiercely independent, not wishing to have any man control her in any way.

She proves herself to be an important member of the gang during a robbery of the bank in Valentine where she used her considerable acting skills to get the crew in the door without raising alarm. She holds the hostages at gunpoint with the other gunmen and if and when the fighting starts she has no problem engaging in the shootout. Karen is tough, stubborn and independent, though she has shown softer sides to her character, she has a pep talk with Arthur when he questions his own morality and is seen comforting Abigail when Jack is kidnapped. She is shown to be quite compassionate as well, although most of her interactions with Molly are usually negative and she finds her to be stuck up, Karen does try to offer her advice when Molly begins to break down over Dutch. She is incensed when Susan kills her, screaming that she was a murderer and the only thing Molly was guilty of was being in love. This shows that underneath her hard exterior, Karen is a very compassionate and empathetic woman, attempting to help Molly and the vehement defence of her actions when she was killed are surprising, as on the surface, the two never got on and didn’t seem to like each other. Sadly, Karen struggles with drinking issues, which in the end becomes the focal point of her story, somewhat overshadowing the other aspects of her character. This is a shame, as I believe Karen to be a strong well-rounded character, yet after Arthur and the others get back from Guarma, she fully falls into the bottle and cannot get back out. She spends the last chapter of the game drunk, angry and unconcerned about her own health and fate. Karen disappears before the final mission of the game and no one really knows what happened to her, though it is presumed by Tilly that she drank herself to death. It is a tragic end to a good character, though it should not overshadow the aspects that made her this way. Karen was tough, independent and fun loving, though underneath this she was kind and compassionate, and proved herself to be a strong woman, but not all demons can be overcome.

So far the entrants on this list have been good women or outlaws or both. This entrant is different from the others as it is one of the antagonists from Red Dead Redempion II; Catherine Braithwaite. Catherine is the matriarch of the Braithwaite family, one of the two big plantation families feuding in Rhodes. Old Ma Braithwaite rules her family with an iron fist, using her many many sons and nephews in a constant battle for control over the small town against the rival Gray family. The feud goes back generations and is rumoured to have started over one family robbing the other of a large sum of gold. As the head of her family, Catherine is the most vocal about their disgust of the Greys and is more than happy to trade blows with her rivals by any means necessary. When Arthur and Hosea come looking for the “man of the house” one of her relatives is quick to correct them saying it is Catherine who is the “woman of the house”. This alone shows just how powerful a character Catherine Braithwaite is; in a world dominated solely by men, she rules over all the men in her family and they are all loyal and submit to her dominion over them. She is also something akin to the wild west equivalent to a mafia boss, as she has dealings with a local gang running a moon shine operation and with the powerful crime boss Angelo Bronte. She employs Hosea and Arthur and their gang to cause trouble for the Greys, which leads to them burning their fields. Straight from the off, Catherine is regarded by Hosea as crazy, while Sean thinks of her and her family as pompous and stuck up, it is also assumed of both families that the majority of the members are inbred, due to their mutual dislike of outsiders and aim to keep their own family numbers high without diluting the bloodline.

Catherine is a conniving, vindictive, hateful extremist, when she finds out Dutch’s gang is playing both sides of the feud and stole both her liquor and her prize horses she responds in the most heinous and extreme way possible. She has her sons kidnap young Jack Marston, much to the horror of the gang, particularly his parents, she then gives him to the even more dangerous crime lord Angelo Bronte to keep him away from his family. This proves to be Catherine’s gravest mistake, Dutch and the majority of his gang attack Braithwaite Manor, slaughtering almost the entire family. They apprehend Catherine who is hiding and despite being threatened she refuses to tell them were Jack is, opting instead to spout tired old southern beliefs how the only trouble she ever had was with Yankees. Dutch responds by killing the last of her sons and setting her family home ablaze, this finally seems to break Catherine, though she has no remorse claiming they wronged her. Although Dutch points out that kidnapping a boy compared to robbing shine and horses is hardly an appropriate response, Catherine relentlessly responds that all is fair in war, though distraught at losing everything she finally reveals where Jack has been sent. The gang leave the deranged women, leaving her to suffer her loss, believing it to be a worse punishment than killing her. Though this would not last long as the insane woman runs back into her house, burning along with it, Hosea remarks one last time; “I told you she was crazy”. Although a deplorable character, Catherine Braithwaite has to be admired for the power she wields, it was unusual for a woman to hold any position of power in that era, but Catherine was considered just as powerful and dangerous as her rivals and she backs that assumption up in the worst way. When Catherine felt wronged and disrespected, she struck at the most innocent of Dutch’s gang, remorselessly so. The level of spite and delusion in her, manifests itself in demonstrations of power and dominance, her family are completely subservient to her and she proves herself to be a woman that should not be crossed. She is a crazy old woman, this drives her to do unspeakable things, even locking away her own daughter for being mentally unstable, burying any type of stain on her and her family. Although she is controlling, she seems to love her sons as she is completely broken when Dutch’s gang lays waste to them, she would rather die with them than live without them, though whether this is down to the love of her family or the loss of power that died with them is unclear. Catherine Braitwaite is one of the most powerful female characters in the games, just in a very negative sense, which definitely earned her a spot on this list.

Susan Grimshaw is something of a jack of all trades within the Dutch’s gang. As the eldest woman in the gang she has many responsibilities and duties, some given by Dutch some self-appointed. She is the matriarch of the gang, sometimes acting as a mother hen but for the most part is a fierce head lioness whipping the rest of the pride into shape. Every time the gang moves camp, Dutch puts both Susan and Pearson in charge of setting things up and Susan in particular takes charge, commanding everyone in a captain like manner. Susan is no pushover and a no nonsense woman, she has no trouble getting in faces of the male outlaws and telling them what to do, for example; if playing as Arthur you get too dirty, Susan will reprimand you to the point of slapping you and personally make sure you have cleaned to her standards. If you stop contributing to camp funds, Susan will take turns with Dutch in reminding you of your responsibilities to the camp. If you become too violent and dishonourable while you are out, upon returning you will get a telling off from Miss Grimshaw. The majority of the camp have both a respect for her and fear her whip like tongue and slaps. She is also the self-named Madam in the gang, personally in charge of the women and keeps them at work and in line. She will not tolerate cheek or laziness and will scream at or beat them if she feels they are disrespecting her or not pulling their weight. The older women such as Abigail and Karen will often stand their ground with her and get into heated shouting matches, although she is particularly forceful with Tilly and Mary-Beth who are usually left cowering after a dose of her wrath. Despite her stern and sometimes overly harsh manner, Susan really does it all because she cares about everyone and is extremely possessive and protective over every member of the gang. If she thinks anyone is putting her family at risk she will take out her murderous fury on them; when Tilly is kidnapped, Susan knows exactly who the culprit is as Tilly confided in her. She personally goes on the hunt for them asking only Arthur for assistance believing the two of them will be enough. She quickly proves her worth dealing a fatal stab to the neck of a Foreman gang member while shooting the escaping members on horseback with Arthur. She shows no mercy for anyone she sees as a threat to the gang, she encourages Arthur to kill a defenceless Anthony Foremen, even after he promises to keep away from Tilly.

When a drunken and distressed Molly confesses to selling the gang out to the Pinkertons, the rest of the gang are stunned and Dutch is being persuaded by Arthur to let her go. Susan takes matters into her own hands and personally executes her in front of everyone, mercilessly saying that she broke the rules and this was the punishment for treachery. This shows how cold and unfeeling Susan could be, as not everyone agrees with her actions, yet she sticks to her decision, claiming that she did what she had to to protect everyone. Susan sides with Arthur in the final mission of the story and turns her gun on Micah though she is distracted by the approaching Pinkertons and Micah uses this to kill her. Susan proved herself to be a incredibly powerful character in the series, commanding respect and authority from both the men and women of the gang. Most of the gang feared her wrath, and considering they were all murderers and thieves this shows just how strong a character Miss Grimshaw is. We see her impose her dominance on the women of the gang and her sternness on the men, she stands for no nonsense and will turn her fury and aggression on anyone she thinks is not pulling their weight. Underneath her rough and domineering exterior though, Susan loves the gang dearly and everything she does is out of love. She proves herself to be very loyal, both to Dutch and anyone who has inspired her confidence, she can be caring and empathetic, though she will sometimes respond with tough love if she believes its whats needed. Though, her protectiveness can lead her to be cold and detached, showing no mercy or forgiveness to anyone she thinks is threatening the safety of the gang. It says something about how strong a female character she is when in the era of the Wild West in a gang of outlaws, Miss Grimshaw is one of the most feared and respected out of them all.

The women so far, have been shaped by the harsh conditions and ideals of the west. In this entry we see a woman shaped by the conditions of poverty and war. We first hear about Luisa, when her brother asks legendary gunslinger Landon Ricketts for help freeing her from a Mexican army prison. Ricketts tells Marston along the way that Luisa is a good and brave woman, a teacher and revolutionary, close to the leader of the revolution Abraham Reyes. Luisa is young but resolute in her beliefs, in one of her first encounters with Marston she is extremely vocal about her dedication to the cause, and even objects to John’s cynicism towards her ability to achieve anything. Marston too is impressed by her bravery and agrees to help her sister flee the country. Martson later finds her distraught, crying over the capture of Reyes whom she claims to be romantically involved with. She then vows to go and free him herself or die trying, though John stops her and promises to free the leader of the rebels himself. In a few short encounters we see Luisa’s fighting spirit; she is unafraid for her own safety and repeatedly tells John she is prepared to die for the cause of liberating Mexico. She will also make biting retorts to John, should he make any slight criticism about her beliefs or dedication. Unfortunately for Luisa, though she is brave and focused on the cause she is, as John says, somewhat naive, not so much about her cause but her belief in Reyes. She falls victim to the womaniser’s charms, she believes that she will one day be his wife as he has told her on many occasions, though this is a lie. He is a rich man who simply seeks to bed as many women as possible and he can’t even remember Luisa’s name and laughs off John when he puts forward the notion of marrying her. But Luisa is completely devoted to Reyes and the rebels no matter what it costs her and it does dearly; her mother and sister fled the country, her home was burnt down and her father was brutally murdered by the army. All of this just serves to strengthen her resolve and she works even harder to bring down the Mexican government, she is wise and noble which is why many of the rebels look to her as a leader, men and women alike and she is not ignorant of her gender either. She knows that capture is not an option for her or any woman resisting the army as they are treated brutally, being raped and beaten repeatedly until they are eventually killed. She shows maturity and wisdom beyond her years, though she is not emotional on the whole and can be even quite cold at times.

Despite the fact he saved her life, helped her family escape the war and freed Reyes so that the revolution could continue, Luisa judges John harshly for his actions and outright tell him that she cannot forgive him for assisting the army in the past, regardless of his reasons. Their relationship slowly becomes more and more distant to the point that it becomes more of a professional relationship than a friendship, though this is all on Luisa’s terms as John continues to respect and admire her. Luisa’s loyalty and bravery holds no bounds as she fiercely fights during the rebel siege of Escalera, when Abraham is captured and beaten, Luisa courageously charges at the armed men with nothing more than a dagger. She is shot dead in the attempt to free the man she loves, doing what she always claimed she would: giving her life to free her country. It is not in vain, at least in the short term, her actions help John free Reyes and take Escalera. Eventually the country of Mexico is liberated from the forces that held it, though in the long run Reyes would become just as much of a despicable, oppressive dictator as the one she helped depose. John is saddened by her death and tries to at least have her remembered, but is frustrated when Reyes still doesn’t remember who she was. Luisa, was the prime example of a strong woman, she partook in a war that was more dangerous for women than men, the army treated the women far more brutally than the men whom they would kill much more quickly. Luisa was so dedicated and loyal to her cause, that it overrode every other priority in her life; she viewed her life as something she would gladly give up if necessary. In the end she chose to fearlessly charge towards death to free her country, but not before inspiring others to do the same through her wisdom, nobility and bravery, making Luisa one of the strongest and most courageous female characters in the series.

For this entry I will be focusing on content from both Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 and Undead Nightmare, as I feel the non-canon add-on to the game gives us a deeper insight into her character. There is an argument to be made that Mother Superior Calderon is one of the wisest characters in the games. She is only a minor character in the first game, yet the few encounters John Marston has with her usually have deep moral implications. In the first encounter, John is asked to go and see her and is faced with the option to either help her or hinder her cause. When he first meets her, the Mother Superior is begging for money for the poor, she asks this of John, who proceeds to question why it is his responsibility to look after the flock of the Lord. Calderon responds wisely that the Lord is choosing to act through people like John, and sends them to her so they can help her, as she claims it will show the poor that people still care about them. John is still slightly sceptical though he donates some money anyway to the Mother Superior’s gratitude. John sees her again during the Undead crisis, when he arrives at Las Hermanas, she is being attacked by an undead, she frees herself from its grasp and promptly shoots it in the head. John and she converse, and she admits to being more resourceful in this crisis than her nuns, who will still not break their vow of pacifism to defend themselves against the undead horde. She asks John to help them and when he does she thanks him and she proceeds to aid John in bringing and end to the curse. She is certain that the sickness is one of the soul and has been caused by a disturbance of the land somewhere in Mexico, with the help of John she experiments on an undead to determine whether she is right. She proves her theory right when the holy water does have a momentary effect on the monster, though it recovers and she comments her faith might not be strong enough and that afflictions of the spirit are difficult to understand. She then points John in the direction of Escalera and Abraham Reyes, she makes her opinion of him clear, unhappy with the number of pregnant girls who have turned up at the convent because of him. In these interactions, we see how strong and wise she is; she is of course a noble woman with a holy cause, though particularly in Undead Nightmare, she proves to be resourceful and realistic, not allowing her faith to blind her when dealing with the undead. She is also the only one John encounters to have deciphered a real idea as to what the issue is and possible solution. Although, John would not be the first member of Dutch’s gang to be helped by this nun, though he would never know this.

Twelve years previous, Calderon was a humble Sister in Saint Denis, she is encountered by Arthur Morgan who had previously helped her colleague Brother Dorkins. She is helping the street urchins of Saint Denis learn how to read, but while talking to Arthur, one of them steals her crucifix and Arthur chases them down and retrieves it for her. This and tails of how Arthur assisted Brother Dorkins, formed Calderon’s firm opinion of the man Arthur is. The two would meet again whilst she is collecting money for the hungry, happy to see Morgan again the two begin to converse and it is a surprise to learn that Calderon relates to Arthur’s way of life, claiming to have done terrible and awful things in her past due to having a rather negative and cynical view of the world. At first Arthur is sceptical, that such a good woman was capable of this until the Sister explains that she changed her way of life because she discovered that love did exist and doing bad things became a ridiculous notion. Arthur slowly begins opening up to her, revealing a similar view of the world that she once had, Calderon begins to give him some insight into how she now sees the world and her words do seem to intrigue Arthur and give him pause for thought. She encourages him to help people and worry not so much about his fate, though she teases him that, she will still think of him as a scary outlaw. They meet for the final time at a train station, Arthur is sick and Sister Calderon reveals she is leaving to go to Mexico on a mission. When the Sister enquires what is wrong with Arthur, he reveals he is terminally ill and will be dead soon, he then begins to confess himself before her, telling her that he’s lived a bad life. Calderon tries to assure him that everyone sins and that deep down she knows the man Arthur really is. When Arthur scoffs at this, the Sister claims that the truth is Arthur doesn’t see himself clearly as when she sees him, he’s a far cry from the villainous outlaw he claims to be. Arthur opens up to Calderon further, telling her about his life and everything he lost, she relates the loss of her own husband to him, but insists that while there is pain there is also love and beauty in the world. Arthur sighs that he still doesn’t believe in anything and Calderon reveals that she often doesn’t either but then says she meets someone like Arthur and it all makes sense to her again. Arthur laughs at how wise and clever the nun is, though then admits that he is afraid of what will happen to him. She reassures him that there is nothing to be afraid of and that he should do a loving act. Arthur promises to try and Sister Calderon bids him farewell to start her new life in Mexico. In these scenes Calderon proves herself to be one of the wisest character in the series, she perceives things that few others can about the world and about people. During his time in the game, many characters tell Arthur he is a good man, but he often dismisses this as untrue, never showing weakness, fear or vulnerability to anyone, even the people closest to him. Yet, despite the two’s brief relationship, there is a trust between Arthur and Calderon, and the wise nun’s words and ability to see through him allows Arthur to open up in a way that we do not see at any other point in the game. Arthur makes himself completely vulnerable in front of her; he is no longer a fierce, tough, cold-blooded gunslinger, he is just a man, a man admitting that he is afraid to die and this fear is evident in his face and voice. Calderon acts as both a pillar of strength to help Arthur make the right decision, but also someone who inspires so much trust and confidence that even a tough man like Arthur admits his deepest fears to her. Calderon, is able to do what no other can, break down the walls of hardened men and in her own way make them realise the people they are inside. She has lived a life on both sides of the fence, she has admitted to having once been a person who did terrible things but now uses these experiences to help others, she also admits her continuing floors as a way to relate to people, to prove that while she may be a nun, this does not make her a saint. She is a woman who not only has a clear vision of her own life and purpose but the ability to perceive the type of person someone is, even if that person does not know themselves, she judges Arthur and John by their actions not by their words about who they are and has a very wise and good view of the world.

John Marston describes Bonnie MacFarlane in the same way he views his wife Abigail; she is a woman in a man’s world and this phrase perfectly sums Bonnie up. She is the head rancher at the MacFarlane ranch something extremely rare for a woman to be in such a male dominated business. Bonnie on the other hand does everything a man can and in her own mind does it far better than any man could. She herds cattle, breaks in horses and even patrols the property defending it from any undesirables that may try and pilfer from her land. However, we first meet Bonnie when she and Amos ride out to Fort Mercer and save a wounded John Marston from certain death. Bonnie is a noble woman, though stands for no nonsense, she calls it as she sees it and isn’t afraid to tell any man what she thinks. She can be sarcastic and witty and we can see this in her exchanges with John, she is more than happy to verbally spar and argue her point and more often than not, John finds her making some pretty good points. Bonnie is a hard worker and is somewhat unimpressed initially by John’s mission to go after Bill Williamson, looking at it something out of a story book and is more than a little put off by his obscure answers to her questions. She responds by pointing out the harsh reality of ranch life and teasing John about aspects of him she knows about. She is quite competitive, she challenges John to a horse race and a confident excitement shines from her the whole way through, taunting John when she’s ahead and promising to catch him if she falls behind. She is also exceedingly brave, and this is shown straight from the off and all through the entire time we know her. She risks her life to save John Marston by essentially rescuing him from the doorstep of the most dangerous outlaw in the area, she is more than willing to defend her ranch in the night, she tries to go into the burning barn to get the horses before the smoke brings her to her knees and forces her back out. Bonnie shows more courage when she refuses to be scared by the “white trash” that is Bill Williamson’s gang, even when they capture and hang her, when John gets to her and frees her, though she has clearly been abused, her first reaction is to lightly joke about the situation. Although, she does doubt her own bravery at one point, she comments that she wished she had been brave enough to leave home, go to more places and seen more of the world, John responds that often it takes more bravery to stay than to run. One thing that is also clear, is that Bonnie also has a soft spot for John, the two become close friends and she is surprised to learn that he has a wife and child. The two open up to each other, Bonnie shows how difficult the ranchers life is and what it costs her and her father whom she adores, and despite its hardships she would never want her life to change. She tells John how her father once wanted her to become a lady, even employing a bi-lingual governess to educate her. However when most of her brothers died and her one remaining brother left for New York to become a banker, Bonnie knew it was up to her to step up and take over the day to day running of the ranch. When Marston suggests that her brother should be there with his family and helping in these hard times, Bonnie bitterly responds that she doesn’t need his help and that he can do what he wants with his own life, though she herself worries about the choices he’s made. Bonnie is also extremely sympathetic to John when she learns why he is hunting Bill and what is at stake, even more so when he reveals his past to her, conceding that he has lived an extremely difficult life.

Although still young, a life of hard work in a harsh country has left Bonnie quite wise beyond her years, she sees things for what they are and has clear sense of right and wrong, she has no interest in the over dramatic glorified idea of the wild west days, the falseness of high society and corrupt government matters. She is both empathetic and kind, when she learns that John is trying to make himself a farmer, though she can’t believe it, she quickly tries to impart as much of her experience and skills to him as she can, which John greatly benefits from when he returns home later in the game. Bonnie has no problem commanding authority, during the storm, she verbally berates Amos the head ranch hand for his lack of willingness to go out and get the herd and gets increasingly annoyed when he doesn’t seem to grasp how vital it is. She outright states that there are jobs and positions of power in the world reserved only for men that a women could do much better. Bonnie MacFarlane is a woman who has stepped into the roll of a man because all the men in her family who were meant to, failed to live up to these responsibilities, while some died of illness, others died from foolish choices or ran away, and Bonnie has carried herself extremely well in a roll that traditionally for that era should not have been hers. She will verbally spar with any man that will step up to the plate and has no problem dressing them down if she thinks that is what is needed. Although, she is also kind and compassionate, she cares deeply about her friends, family and the people she is responsible for. Underneath it all though, despite being a woman in a mans world, Bonnie seems to really want parts of the life that women were supposed to have in that era; she wants a husband and a family. Though she never states this outright, her actions and words suggest otherwise, she gets frustrated with John when he doesn’t respond to her subtle encouragement, despite her apparently trying to encourage him otherwise and later on when he and Abigail ride away, she looks rather forlorn about it, also when John talks about Abigail and their family, when she responds there is a note of envy in her voice. Stepping into a man’s shoes has made it difficult for Bonnie to obtain the things that women are supposed to get during the time of the Wild West, nevertheless she is still one of the strongest and stoic characters on the game.

Abigail Marston, has had one of the toughest lives out of all the characters on this list. Our first glimpse into her character comes from her husband in the first game when he talks to Bonnie MacFarlane about her. He sums her up the same way he sums Bonnie up; a woman in a mans world. He talks of her fondly, saying that she is a strong women who did what she had to do to survive the harshness of being both an orphan and running with a gang of outlaws, it is later revealed that she was a prostitute. When we finally see Abigail in person, she is quite tough and even a little cold towards John, even making remarks that he claims are not fair. Though she quickly shows that behind that she deeply loves her family and simply wants to live the normal life they so desperately tried to transition to. She also seems completely surprised that people feared Bill Williamson and this gives us more insight into how tough a person she is. Despite berating him a lot, it is clear she loves her husband deeply and is completely devastated by his death, and dies herself a few years later, of sickness, also perhaps of a broken heart. In the second game, we get a deeper insight into Abigail, she is doing her best to be a mother to young Jack while on the run with a gang of outlaws, she is also struggling with John, whom is being distant from both her and Jack and it is revealed that John even abandoned them for a year, not believing Jack to be his.

Some members of the gang accuse her of having ideas above her station, such as Susan Grimshaw, however, she simply states that she refuses to continue a life of prostitution as a mother. She doesn’t back down from anyone in the gang, whether it be Bill, Susan or even Micah whom continually tries to hit on her. Aside from her toughness, she is also deeply compassionate and caring for others; when Sadie Adler joins the gang after tragically losing everything, Abigail is one of the characters who is there for her the most. Arthur also has a high opinion of Abigail, in his journal he even reveals that had she not been so head-over-heals for John, he and her might have made good couple and in his last encounter with her says that she and Sadie are the best women he knows. Her main priority not to mention pride and joy is Jack; Abigail’s fundamental role in the game is that she is a mother, she worries about her son constantly, wanting a better life for him but unsure how to make it happen. She wants John to leave the gang and start building a real life together, with Hosea suggesting at some point she might have to do that without him. Abigail is also respected and even feared in the gang, few try to tangle with her and when Jack is kidnapped John states that if they don’t get Jack back she will kill them all. Abigail is a mess up until Jack’s return, then things begin to look up as John finally realises how important his family is to him, Abigail is overjoyed that John is finally starting to step up to the plate. Abigail is pretty resourceful too, though she is against continuing life as a prostitute, she has no problem helping the gang in other ways; such as helping Hosea cause a distraction during the bank heist in Saint Dennis. Later she is the only one to find out where Dutch has hidden the gang’s money and is even sneaky enough to obtain the key. During their last meeting she quips to Arthur that she always was a good thief and Arthur wholeheartedly agrees. She has no problem defending herself from enemies, when she is captured she is able to break free and save Arthur by shooting Agent Milton in the head, putting away one of the gangs most powerful enemies.

During the epilogue she is hell bent on trying to live a normal life and to get John to do the same, though she is tough on him when he continues to act in a way she disagrees with, when John doesn’t listen to her she leaves him for the sake of Jack. Though when she returns to him when she receives word that he has bought Beechers Hope, the land she was dreaming about. She falls in love with the Ranch and her new family life, which is all she ever wanted and is distraught when John resolves to go with Sadie and Charles to take down Micah. John does return and Abigail is overjoyed when they finally get officially married. She has a dry and sarcastic wit, although she also loves to tease people, when John wants a photo of them both she is beside herself with giggles by the whole affair. She is matter-of-fact about the life she lived, even joking with Uncle about some… clients she once had, though she is not ignorant as to why it would make John feel uncomfortable, though this once again shows her toughness as the joke is how she made a client think again for being so cheap. Abigail is an orphan, who did what she had to do with the means available to her, she used her body to get by as many women did in that era. She fell in with a gang of outlaws whom she helped while on the run, she became a mother and did what she could for her son. Micah often claims that he is a survivor, but in my opinion the biggest survivor in the game is Abigail, most people would not be able to handle half the things she goes through, but she takes it all in her stride. Most importantly, she never stops hoping and dreaming about the life she wants, despite all her hardships, low prospects and estranged husband. It takes a powerful and resilient person to have hope after everything she’s gone through and Abigail is one of the toughest and most admirable women in any game.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, I’m pretty sure Sadie Adler is the embodiment of that saying. Sadie, became a fan favourite of the series for her ferocity, tenacity, passion and tragic back story. Unlike many of the characters on this list, up until we meet her, Sadie’s life was happy; she married her childhood sweetheart Jake Adler, who treated her as his equal partner. Similar to Bonnie MacFarlane, Sadie performed all the duties at the ranch she owned with Jake, not just the stereotypical job roles usually assigned to women on a ranch. She hunted, skinned, rode, and could shoot, and she resented anyone implying that she could do anything less. She too was a woman in a mans world, like Abigail and Bonnie, although when tragedy struck, Sadie gave a new meaning to that phrase. One cold night, the O’Driscoll Boys came to Sadie’s ranch, they took it over, killing her husband, for three days they stayed until Dutch,  Arthur and Micah arrived to liberate the ranch. Sadie’s life came crashing down, the love of her life was dead, her home was burned down in the scuffle with Micah and according to Sadie she doesn’t have anyone else to turn too. Sadie is grief stricken for the first two chapters of the game, to the point that she strongly considers suicide, though Abigail talks her out of that.

When the gang move to Clemens Point Sadie is asked to start helping out around camp, but she quickly becomes violently frustrated with the boring chore of helping Pearson prepare dinner. Arthur takes something of a tough love approach and takes her to collect some supplies, along the way, Sadie gives us some insight into who she is. She has a dry sense of humour, tinged with sarcasm and wit, she can be quite comical such as her imitation of Pearson, she doesn’t like to be treated delicately or like a damsel in distress. She has accepted she now runs with outlaws and is eager to amerce herself into this new dangerous life, more likely as a distraction from all that has happened to her. When she comes out of the store, she has changed her attire into something that other characters consider more masculine, though she thinks of it as practical. On the way home, Arthur and Sadie are ambushed by Lemoyne Raiders trying to rob them, and we get the first taste of the tough and wild fighter Sadie has become, she handles herself well and impresses Arthur with her skills and fearlessness. While at Shady Bell, the camp is attacked by the O’Driscolls, the entire gang retreats inside accept for Sadie who stays outside. Arthur goes after her only to find her killing three O’Driscolls by herself, surprised and even more impressed. Arthur realises there are more powerful forces guiding Sadie than he can comprehend, and resolves that this is what love has done to her. However, Sadie really shows her worth after the bank heist in Saint Dennis goes terribly wrong and nearly all the gunmen of the gang are either killed, captured or missing. She takes control of the situation, realising the Pinkertons would be coming for the rest of the gang, she rallies everyone together and makes them pack up and leave fast, leading them to the safety of Lekay, but not before making the clever choice of leaving a coded message behind that only gang members would understand. During the absence of Dutch and the others, Sadie begins her relentless one woman crusade against the O’Driscolls, whom she has been hunting down.

Upon their return, she and Arthur resolve to free John from prison, which they do. Its this part of the story that really cements Sadie as a fan favourite, she is strong in every sense in the word, her strength and cleverness is what saved the gang and they all acknowledge that. She is a capable leader and once again all this is set during a time were women were considered the weaker sex and incapable of such feats, yet Sadie flips that way of thinking on its head, and shows she is just as capable of leading as any man. She also shows how deeply passionate she is and how this and the undying love she has for her husband is continuing to push her to revenge herself upon the evil men that dared cross her. She helps ensure the death of Colm, despite this, she still cannot control the rage inside her and attacks the remaining O’Driscolls present. She’s still not done, despite seeing their leader die, she will not rest until all the O’Driscoll gang is completely destroyed. Sadie is possibly the only gang member that is somewhat unaffected by the low moral of the camp and the worsening situation between the gang members, showing both her stoic strength and resiliency, but also perhaps showing that this is nothing compared to the pain and depression she’s already been through and how they have hardened her. She asks Arthur to help her take out the remaining O’Dricolls, he is reluctant but if he chooses to help her, it is on the condition that she helps him get the Marston family out of the gang life when the time comes, to which she agrees. She leads once final attack on the O’Driscolls and after her mission is finally over, a blood-soaked Sadie finally breaks down, claiming that they turned her into a rage-filled monster, yet despite that her memories are still pure. After this, Sadie becomes a valued gunslinger, joining Arthur and Dutch on some of the bigger missions. She refuses to be disrespected and speaks her mind and sometimes clashes with the likes of Bill Williamson, whom she will gladly stand up to. During the battle on the oil fields, she remains beside Arthur the whole time and continually chooses to remain with him rather than Dutch, showing who her true loyalty is too. She also is on the train heist and helps secure the money, though after it is over, she absolves to stay with Arthur after Dutch and the others abandon Abigail, reassuring him that the two of them is all they need to rescue her. She supports Arthur through his pain at what has happened while also trying to keep him focused, she is more than aware he is sick and tries to protect him by giving him the job of covering her from a distance while she frees Abigail. After they escape, Sadie holds Abigail when she is told about John’s death and promises to help her and Jack, she is reluctant to leave Arthur, but he asks her to look after Abigail and Jack as he must confront Dutch and Micah, he tells Sadie that along with Abigail she is the best woman he has known and the two part ways for the last time. Sadie and Arthur have a clear bond, he is the first of the male gang members to see her for what she is and respect her, and she claims he is the only one she fully trusts. This is one of the reasons Sadie is such a strong character, she is fiercely loyal to Arthur and is one of the few gang members left who does the right thing.

The years pass and Sadie begins a new career as a bounty hunter, something she flourishes in, she is now a veteran gunslinger and has a feared and respected reputation. She is still a brash mouthed, tough woman, unafraid to threaten anyone who dares cross her and claims to enjoy her life of fighting. She is happy that John is trying to build a life similar to the one she had, but refuses to join him as she can’t live that life again without Jake. She has been hunting for leads on Micah, she recruits John and Charles to help her go after him when she finds him. Along the way, Sadie shows signs that she is finally beginning to move on from her life with Jake, playfully suggesting she could take up with a “handsome revolutionary”, either way she wishes to move away and start her own transportation or security business. However, when they reach the place where Micah is hiding, Charles is incapacitated early on and Sadie is stabbed soon after, John is worried she will die, but she alone forces her way up to the peak to help John confront Micah despite her wound. She has him at gunpoint but he wrestles control from her due to her wounds, though she is saved by Dutch and John, who shoot Micah and she and John leave with the Blackwater money. Sadie returns with John and is present for his and Abigail’s wedding, once she is healed from her wounds, she leaves Beechers Hope to begin the next chapter of her life. Sadie is a remarkable character, she suffers a terrible tragedy, only to bounce back and become a tough, independent and fierce woman, who is just a good a gunslinger as any of the veteran outlaws around her. She is tenacious and passionate, holding on to the love she has for her husband and using it to motivate her to destroy the forces that took him from her. Though behind the toughened gunslinger, is a good, honest woman, she is loyal to her friends and looks out for them, she is emotionally tough and reliable when times are bleak and single-handedly saves the gang and its members on more than one occasion. She is a character who suffers a great deal but is able to rebuild her life and becomes a good example of the people Dutch once wanted his gang to be. There is a strength in Sadie Adler that is difficult to put into words, she is deserving of her admiration from characters in the game and fans of the game alike, and she is without a doubt the strongest female character in the Red Dead Redemption series.

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