Red Dead Redemption 2 recently passed its 2-year anniversary and the Rockstar Games’ western still finds new fans every day. The game’s narrative and world design still draw praise to this day and the prequel-sequel to Red Dead Redemption is still being investigated and pulled apart in terms of thematic elements and easter eggs.

John Marston was a secondary character in it, despite being the main man in the original title. With two games full of information let’s look at 5 things wrong with John Marston’s story and 5 reasons he’s one of the best characters in the franchise.

10 Best: Had A Moral Core

The entire foundation of the Red Dead Redemption franchise rests on the idea of men who’ve done wrong in their life seeking forgiveness. John Marston was a criminal who committed some pretty heinous crimes in his time, but you could always tell that he had a good moral core. It’s one thing to have a vile character that comes all the way around to being redeemed, but that’s harder for an audience to accept. When the character is flawed but still has a good core, the payoff feels earned since it was always hinted at.

9 Wrong: His Father Was Made Blind

Like most people who turn to a life of crime, John had a sad childhood that was surrounded by unfortunate circumstances. His father was a proud but illiterate man who hailed from Scotland as an immigrant and was actually born on a boat headed from his home country to New York in the United States. This man was said to have initially raised John but died after being blinded in a bar fight when John was 8 years old. It’s unclear how or when his father died after the night he was blinded in a bar south of Chicago.

8 Best: Overcame Adversity

People love underdogs and for the better part of his life, John was scrapping by just trying to make an impact on the world around him. He obviously found structure and purpose under Dutch Van Der Linde and alongside Arthur Morgan, but John was a lost soul for many years.

The thing that makes his story heartbreaking is the same that makes it memorable. He fought tooth and nail to redeem himself and become a better man for both him and Abigail, and somehow the world just had it out for him.

7 Wrong: He Was An Orphan

It was already talked about that John’s father passed when he was just 8, and the circumstances of his mother’s passing will be discussed shortly. This means that John lost both of his parents and entered an orphanage at an early age. He became part of the system at 8 years old, before running away at the age of 11. After a year of committing crimes and killing his first man, he was taken in by the Van Der Linde gang when Dutch saved him from being hung after trying to steal from homesteaders in the state of Illinois.

6 Best: He Loved Abigail

Most times in media when a troubled man finds the love of his life it often results in a toxic or destructive relationship. John and Abigail didn’t have a perfect relationship, but at the end of the day, they made each other better when they were together. John loved Abigail more than anyone in his entire life and that was evident by the fact she was the sole factor in him committing to a life of redemption. He wanted to be a better man, not for himself, but for the love of his life and mother of his children, Abigail.

5 Wrong: Arthur Disappeared From His Memory

When fans first learned that Red Dead Redemption 2 would be a prequel focused on the life of the Van Der Linde gang before the events of the first game, it opened up a ton of theory-crafting. The story ended up following Arthur Morgan, a good friend of John and the man who gave him his hat and taught him it’s never too late to be a better man. Now in hindsight, John’s character in the first game feels robbed, as he never spoke of or alluded to Arthur in any meaningful way to draw lines between the two games.

4 Best: He Changed For Arthur

In the context of the first game, it always seemed as though John’s focus on redeeming himself was solely based on his family. Though that plays a large role, the whole reason he had a family, to begin with, was thanks to his friend Arthur.

Arthur’s final weeks and days were focused and letting the people around him know that they could live a good, honest, and happy life. He made sure John knew Abigail needed to be his priority and getting away from the Van Der Linde gang was the only way of finding a better life.

3 Wrong: His Mother Died Birthing Him

As it’s been stated John’s father died when he was 8, and his mother passed giving birth to him in 1873. This was actually pretty common in those times given the lack of knowledge surrounding safe childbirth practices and medical care. It’s unclear whether or not John knew his mother was a prostitute, but it’s interesting that the love of his life was also a prostitute at one point in her life. John never had the chance to meet or engage with his mother, but the love he has for his wife Abigail shows just how much he yearned for a woman’s love.

2 Best: A Family Man

For the longest time, John presents himself as a loner who’s only really close to Dutch and Arthur, and the rest of the gang interacts with tangentially. When his romance starts to bud with Abigail it’s unclear where it is headed and if he’ll take the leap. Obviously, those who played the first game knows where he ends up and how he makes family his top priority. For a man who grew up without a family of his own, he makes it his sole mission to build a life he never had with a woman he loves more than anything.

1 Wrong: He Died A Good Man

John lived a life full of sin and regret, but he managed to put himself on the right side of things by the time he ultimately perished. His death might not happen in Red Dead Redemption 2, but the path he’s on in terms of redemption starts here. The game also features an epilogue that further establishes how John progressed towards being a good person. It’s a shame that despite all of his effort to right whatever wrongs he could, the world had other plans for him and his past wasn’t escapable no matter how hard he tried.

NEXT: Red Dead Redemption: 10 Easter Eggs & Secrets You Missed Your First Time Through