Red Dead Redemption 2, despite being tagged as a sequel to the first game, is actually a prequel to the first game. Rockstar went all out with this game, from its realism to its memorable areas to some hilarious NPCs. Another cool thing they did with the game was the approach they took to the game’s narrative, more specifically the game’s approach to foreshadowing.
Whether the game alludes to events that eventually happen either late into the story or to events in the first game, Rockstar chose to take a subtle approach to its use of foreshadowing. It really is another to appreciate the game even more.
10 Vultures Fly Around Strauss After Downes Ranch
Leopold Strauss is the loan shark of the Van Der Linde gang and handles their finances. It is quite clear that he preys on the desperate and at times weak and this can be seen after Arthur returns from Downes Ranch the first time around.
Vultures can be seen flying around Strauss at the camp. This is a way of saying that Strauss is just like a vulture, picking up whatever scraps are left of the weak and desperate.
9 Javier Foreshadows His Encounter With John In The First Game
In the beginning of the game, John Marston is missing in the mountains after scouting the area out. Arthur and Javier go out to look for him but Javier makes says something that will make veteran players wide-eyed.
Javier will say that if he was in John’s position, the latter would look for him. Sure enough, that is exactly what happens in the first game as John eventually tracks Javier down in Mexico.
8 A Party Is Held After Micah Falls, Just Like Lenny Said
Also in the beginning of the gang in the first chapter, a conversation breaks out in the gang about what might happen after any of them fall. Micah will say he doesn’t want any fuss after he falls in which Lenny will reply “when you fall, there’ll be a party”.
After killing Micah in the game’s finale, John, his family, Uncle, Charles and Sadie are celebrating and throwing a party. They’re actually celebrating John and Abigail getting married instead of Micha’s death, but it is still a party nevertheless just as Lenny called.
7 The Cabin In The Finale Can Be Seen During The Ride To The First Train Robbery
Speaking of the finale, it takes place at a random cabin on the edge of a mountain which the only structure in the area. Earlier in the game, Dutch will lead the gang to a train to rob in the snowy landscape and this cabin can be seen in the distant.
A cycle of violence is one of the key themes of the series. This cabin shown in both this mission and in the final mission highlights how the story comes full circle.
6 Dutch Hides Away In A Cave, Despite Arthur Saying Otherwise
At the end of chapter 2, the gang’s hideout at Horseshoe Overlook is compromised. Arthur and Charles head out to find a new place to set up camp and Arthur makes an ironic statement.
Arthur will tell Charles “There ain’t no way Dutch is just gonna hide away in a cave somewhere. Goes against everything he stands for”. In chapter 6 though, Dutch does exactly this when the gang arrives in Beaver Hollow. Plus Dutch does the same in the first game too, highlighting Dutch’s descent into madness as his world crashes down around him.
5 Arthur Has Coughing Fits At Times Before His Tuberculosis Diagnosis
After returning from the island of Guarma. Arthur is hit with the devastating news that he has tuberculosis, which he contracted after Thomas Downes spit blood in his face when he visited him earlier in the game. Arthur though shows signs even before his diagnosis that something isn’t quite right with him.
Sometimes he can be seen having a bad sounding coughing fit. A huge instance is when Arthur talks to Strauss after setting up shop in chapter 4. He will start coughing bad in the midst of talking with him and actually has to hold his hand up to tell Strauss to wait a minute. It seemed like nothing on a first playthrough but replaying the game makes the scene an eye opener.
4 Young Jack Says He Wants To Be A Gunslinger, Which Happens
When walking around camp, you can sometimes run into Arthur’s fellow gang members having conversations with each other. One conversation is that Jack will tell Hosea and his mother that he wants to be a gunslinger when he grows up, which Abigail will be upset at.
After Jack’s parents die in the first game, he takes his father’s guns to avenge his death. Becoming exactly what his parents didn’t want to become and bringing the cycle of violence full-circle once again.
3 Edgar Ross Needs To Enjoy Fishing
While Arthur and Jack are enjoying a fishing trip, they are interrupted by Pinkerton agents Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross, the latter of which is the antagonist of the first game. After failing to convince Arthur to sell Dutch out, Ross will leave telling them to enjoy fighting while they still have the chance.
Ironically enough, Jack interrupts Ross fishing in the first game’s epilogue and kills him to avenge the death of his father. Seems Ross was the one who to needed to enjoy fishing.
2 Uncle Sometimes Sits In The Exact Place He Dies
In the second game’s epilogue, players see John Marston build his future home at Beecher’s Hope. After it is done and he has settled in, John can sometimes encounter Uncle, the most useful person in a useless kind of way, sitting in the exact place he eventually dies during the first game.
Even more eerie is the fact that he not only in the same exact spot but he sits in almost the same exact way as well. Wasn’t this game supposed to be fulfilling our cowboy fantasies?
1 John And Abigail Stand In The Exact Spot They Are Eventually Buried At
Once the game is complete and John has secured a future for both him and his family, he will talk about it with his wife on a spot overlooking Beecher’s Hope. This spot might look familiar to some and there is a reason for that.
If players go to this exact spot after beating the first game, they will see that this is where John and Abigail are buried. Who knew foreshadowing can be so heart-wrenching?
