By now, you should all be well aware of Rockstar Games' latest masterpiece, Red Dead Redemption 2. Its massive world is richly detailed with so many stories, characters, and things to see that you'd be forgiven for not noticing that there are actually several stories and plots that are left completely unresolved by the game's end.
Most of these unresolved plots won't be found in the game's main narrative, as it is shockingly air-tight from beginning to end (with a couple of exceptions). However, if you look closely enough at the main story, as well as the many hidden stories scattered throughout the world, you'll find that there are actually many plot lines that leave players with more questions than answers. Here are 10 such storylines for you to ponder over.
10 10. Where's Gavin?
This is one of the longest lingering mysteries surrounding the entirety of the game. You can run into a seemingly lost British man named Nigel who is actively looking for his friend, Gavin. Upon interacting with Nigel, he asks you if you've seen his friend. Ordinarily, this would lead to a side-quest or task of some sort to help find Gavin, but surprisingly, you respond with a simple "no." And that's it.
You can't pursue it and you don't have any other information. Nigel is just left to keep looking around aimlessly for his friend. You can even run into Nigel again in the epilogue, where he is still looking for Gavin after several years of no luck. If you decide to kill Nigel, you can find a letter on his body that gives you some clue as to who Gavin is, but no one has been able to find this mysterious friend.
9 9. The Case of The Disappearing Princess
Throughout your travels in the eastern part of the map, you might stumble across a Wanted poster, asking for any information leading to the return of Isabeau Katharina Zinsmeister. She went missing 15 years ago after her family (Luxembourg royalty) visited the United States. And she hasn't been seen since.
In the events of the game, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has come to try to find the missing princess and is offering a pretty hefty reward for finding her. Alas, while you can talk to some townsfolk about it, this is pretty much where the story ends. Some players have found possible clues to the princess's whereabouts, but no one has had any success in finding her.
8 8. The Vampire of Saint Denis
If you've been following easter eggs and secrets in Red Dead Redemption 2, then you probably know there's a vampire located in Saint Denis that can only be discovered after you find a series of cryptic messages scattered throughout the city. Once you find him, you can stop his reign of terror and put him down for good. But what if there's actually more to this vampire than initially realized?
As it turns out, players have discovered a newspaper clipping that details the grizzly murders of several citizens years before the events of the game. The victims of these murders all have strange bite marks that look like they originated from an animal. There are even cryptic messages written in blood nearby. A man named Bosco Lopez was actually arrested and hanged for the murders, but it seems they have begun anew. Is this Bosco Lopez come back from the dead? Did they arrest the wrong man? Or is this a new vampire altogether? Sadly, this is another Red Dead mystery that will never be solved.
7 7. Who are The Night Folk?
If you explore the swamps of the bayou, you can run into all kinds of crazy supernatural things, including ghosts, phantom trains, and the Night Folk. The Night Folk are a group of pale, murderous psychopaths that you can randomly encounter while out on a moonlit swamp stroll.
Next to no information as to who these people are is provided. But once you have this random encounter, you unlock a side mission called, "A Fine Night for It," where you are enlisted by an old man to help get the Night Folk off his property. As you walk with him, he tells you a little bit about who they are. But besides mentioning that the mute Night Folk tend to mutilate their victims, he doesn't say much else.
We never find out anything more about them, who they are, what they want, or really anything of note. And by the look of things, that's the way it's going to remain.
6 6. The Mystery of Emerald Ranch
If you've played through at least half of Red Dead Redemption 2's campaign, you've likely spent a fair amount of time in a place called Emerald Ranch. It's a place where you can fence off some of your stolen goods and turn in stolen wagons But it's also home to one of the game's most mysterious families.
The Ranch is owned by a man named Eugene Wegner, who you find out has a bad reputation if you speak with Hosea and other townsfolk. But no one seems to know exactly why. All you can really tell, without further investigation, is that his daughter, Mariam, goes to the upstairs window of Eugene's house and is presumably held against her will.
While it is possible to, more or less, solve the mystery of what happened at Emerald Ranch, there's also nothing you can do about it once you put the pieces together. You can't free Mariam and you can't even talk to anyone about it. All you can do is watch Mariam look out the window, leaving this intriguing mystery without a satisfying conclusion.
5 5. What Caused the Plagues in Armadillo?
This is something you can only discover once you get to the epilogue. Taking over for John, you can go to almost any of the old towns and cities from the first Red Dead Redemption, but you'll very quickly discover it is not how you remember it. This is particularly true once you enter the town of Armadillo, only to discover that the town has largely been abandoned. This is due to the spread of several deadly diseases that left the town's population decimated. There's only a small handful of people left, with the only one seemingly untouched by the plagues being Herbert Moon.
The fact that he survived the plagues without any issues is already suspicious enough. But if you look closely on the shelf just about his right shoulder, you can see a framed portrait of the Strange Man, the mysterious man from the first game that seemingly knew when and how John was going to die. It's implied that Moon and the Strange Man might have made some kind of deal that led to the plagues. But that's where the mystery begins and ends, with the origins of the plagues and the connection to The Strange Man being left up to interpretation.
4 4. Rain Fall's Disappearing Medicine
Of all the unresolved storylines in Red Dead Redemption 2, this one might be the strangest. It feels less like a plot that was deliberately left open-ended and more like an item the developers forgot to throw in.
During the final chapter of the game, you meet a Native Chief named Rains Fall, who you can help try to broker peace between his tribe and the U.S. Army. While riding with him along the mountains, Rains Fall finds out that you're dying from tuberculous and offers you medicine he concocts from nearby herbs and plants. But that's the last you hear about it.
It doesn't show up in your inventory and is maybe mentioned one or two times afterwards. But for the most part, it's completely forgotten about. Granted, the way the story was going, it was extremely unlikely this would have changed Arthur's ultimate fate, but the fact that the medicine mysteriously vanishes seems like an uncharacteristic oversight from Rockstar Games.
3 3. What Happened to Karen?
Red Dead Redemption 2 is very careful about how it builds up its characters and where their actions ultimately lead them, and the case is no different for Karen. Throughout the bulk of the campaign, Karen is presented as a no-nonsense woman who becomes an alcoholic after the death of Sean. Her actions become increasingly combative at camp leading up the game's finale. When the smoke clears and all of Dutch's gang is either dead or moved on, Karen is simply no where to be found.
She doesn't show up in the epilogue, and the only hint about her ultimate fate is a letter you can receive from Tilly. It implies that Karen eventually succumbed to her alcoholism. What actually happens is never made clear. For a game that is very deliberate about its world and its characters, it's strange that the fate of one of the most prominent women in the camp is made unclear. This has led many to believe it's a noticeable omission from the developers. Are they planning to do more with the character in a future game or DLC? Only time will tell.
2 2. What Happened to Trelawny?
Much like Karen, Trelawny is another character whose fate is left ultimately up to interpretation. It's true he leaves the camp on his own terms, and even bids a parting farewell to Arthur, but it's pretty surprising that he's not mentioned once the epilogue kicks in.
This is especially odd when you take into account that pretty much all surviving gang members are either given an encounter or a mention at some point during John's story (even Strauss). It's even stranger when you take into account that he has a history of randomly appearing and disappearing from the lives of Dutch and his gang.
But nope, Trelawny is completely forgotten by the time the epilogue begins. And that is strangely how it remains. The common assumption is that he went back to his family in Saint Denis, but given his life of being a con artist and all-around charming criminal, it seems unlikely that he would just give it up altogether. Or maybe he did! At this point, it's anybody's guess.
1 1. Why Did Dutch Shoot Micah?
Dutch's journey from inspirational leader to unhinged despot desperately trying to gain control is one of the most fascinating stories in Red Dead Redemption 2. It's one of the linchpins of the entire campaign. Throughout the game, as Dutch's plans are continuously foiled, he begins to turn away from his most loyal followers (Hosea, John, Arthur, etc.) when they start questioning his leadership in favor of the villainous Micah Bell. Who never questions him at all, we should note.
As such, when Micah is revealed to be the traitor at the end of the game, Dutch refuses to believe it. This eventually leads to Arthur's death, and the gang splitting apart completely.
It isn't until the end of the game's epilogue, when John goes to get revenge on Micah, that Dutch returns, still seemingly working with Micah. But instead of helping Micah kill John, Dutch shoots Micah, allowing John to take Micah down. Dutch then leaves without saying a word. And while it's certainly an interesting twist, it's also not entirely clear why he has this sudden change of heart.
Sure, John and Dutch exchange a few words before he ultimately pulls the trigger, but it seems unlikely that their simple exchange was enough to change his mind. Adding to the plot twist, the last words Dutch speaks before shooting Micah just sound so world-weary. Did seeing John again make him realize the error of his ways? Did he just want to cut off his last connection the old gang and move on? It's never made clear, and that is more than likely by design.