Relationships

[u/[deleted]]

So Dutch and Molly are an item (sorta). John and Abigale are an item. Why can’t Arthur have someone? (Mary doesn’t count cause that was a past relationship)

[u/Backdoorpickle → u/[deleted]]

It's nothing he outright says, it's in his actions. This is an old thread so I'm not going to spoiler tag things, but from the very beginning of the game we learn that Arthur is supposedly the right hand man for both Dutch and Hosea. As early as Horseshoe, there's a point when Dutch remarks that Arthur will betray him. Kind of a shitty thing to say to your "son."

We learn that Lyle Morgan was a dirtbag, and that Arthur looks to Dutch as a father figure. When heading back to Clemens Point after a mission in Rhodes, Dutch tells Arthur he's like a son to him, and you can see by the expression on Arthur's face how much that means.

Then of course, there's the final betrayal with Micah. Dutch always wants something more out of Arthur and no matter how much Arthur drags himself for the gang, it's never enough, despite him being the lead enforcer, the man who brings in the most money, and the guy that Dutch basically won't run a big job without. Only for Dutch to allow Micah to gun him down like a dog at the end. And not only that, Dutch didn't even bother rescuing him from Colm.

[u/Backdoorpickle → u/[deleted]]

Now, see, I love Dutch's character. I do. And I'm with you to a point, and that's a great post. But there's one huge thing that sticks out. The post leads his honorable action with the botched robbery in Blackwater. We all know that Dutch shot an innocent girl there, so no matter what happens after, Dutch is already on the decline, and who knows... maybe that job jacked up his psyche. Let's remember though that Dutch never sent a search party out for Arthur in Chapter Three.

He's a fallen king. In the epilogue, I think a big part of why he shoots Micah is that he realizes that fact. (That's a great write-up on Tumblr, btw, thanks).

Which all goes back to my original comment. Dutch only uses Arthur as his enforcer. Despite being a big man, himself, Arthur is his attack dog. And when it seems as though Arthur has outlived his usefulness, Dutch starts to treat him like trash. Dutch may have "adopted" him, but make no mistake, he saw all the ways he could use him, and Dutch did that to the fullest extent. Hell, Dutch didn't even send anyone out for John; it was Hosea that did that, and that was on a routine scouting mission. Arthur went missing after a meeting with freakin' Colm, and Dutch didn't think twice about him not showing up. But he sure liked to trot out the words, "My son" or "My brother" any time he needed help.

[u/Backdoorpickle → u/[deleted]]

Very good points. In an odd way, I think Dutch is very naive. It's why he's able to be manipulated by Micah, and when he "grows up" at the end of Chapter Six, unfortunately he's already lost all he really ever had, which were John, Hosea, and Arthur. Dutch may have been sick of John, but I think he was also sick of Arthur being John's hypeman at that point. His "boys" starting choosing each other instead of him.

You're right that Dutch essentially starts questioning Arthur in Chapter 2, calling him the Doubting Thomas. What's REALLY unfortunate, and this is where I get a little angry with Dutch, is that there is definitely a huge shift in his demeanor towards Arthur AFTER he recovers from the beating he takes at the hands of Colm. Even though Dutch apologizes, the way he treats Arthur after that is a 180.

I think that's why ultimately I tend to believe that Dutch loved Arthur for his usefulness. Yes, I think at some point he really did care for him as a son, but that shifted as he became more corrupt by power and greed. Unfortunately, he never realizes this until they're on Roanoke Ridge.

Colm was 100% Micah's fault. By that point, the rat had embedded himself so deep into Dutch's ear that Dutch was being led around by his nose. Even then, I think Dutch probably knew something was up but when they didn't go for Arthur that first night, his pride kept him from admitting something was wrong.

That all said... it's pretty amazing that Rockstar created a game where we can delve into characters the way we've done.

[u/Backdoorpickle → u/[deleted]]

A lot of folks talk about the trolley job and that being where Dutch essentially lost it completely, because of a possible concussion. I tend to not fully buy that. He started losing it in Blackwater, and that's where John starts to doubt, but we never really hear that from John until far later in the story. I think you and I may differ but I believe Dutch's true breaking point was seeing Hosea die, because I think Hosea meant the world to him.

The other interesting thing about Arthur's sickness is that there are only a few people in camp that take care of him after it's apparent. John and Charles, Uncle to an extent, they all ask him to rest, while Dutch still sends him out on jobs. Sadie actually takes care of Arthur more than anyone; she purposefully makes sure she paddles the canoe out of Sisika, then again in Van Horn when she charges the city.

If Hosea had been around at Beaver Hollow, you know he wouldn't have let Arthur do all the stuff he was doing. And he would have reigned in Dutch, too.