The Strange Man has been a highly debated figure in the Red Dead Redemption community for years now. The Strange Man is a result of something supernatural and creepy, and Red Dead Redemption 2 certainly proves all of that with a mere visit to the cabin in Bayall Edge in the Bayou Nwa, Lemoyne, where players can uncover a strange and tidy home dedicated to the Strange Man.
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With so many supernatural elements involving the Strange Man, it’s a good time to take a look at some theories of old that might serve as some ideas as to who the Strange Man is in Red Dead Redemption 2. After all, this is one of Red Dead Redemption’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
Spoilers ahead for Red Dead Redemption!
1
The Strange Man is God Himself
The One Above All is Here to Judge John Marston in His Final Weeks
One of the first theories to come out of Red Dead Redemption about the Strange Man is the idea that he is God – not just any god, but God. While there are a few things involved in the story of the Strange Man that would contradict this, the most blatantly obvious piece of evidence comes from the finale of the I Know You mission in Red Dead Redemption, where John Marston damns the Strange Man, to which the Strange Man replies: “many have.”
In such a lawless country back in the Old West, it’s no surprise that some would take the Lord’s name in vain and damn him, just as they themselves have been damned. It would also explain how the Strange Man knows of the ethical conundrums and moral queries going on about New Austin that he sends John Marston on, almost like a testing crusade to see if he can be redeemed, or if he’s still a cold-blooded and selfish killer.
One of the bigger pieces of evidence that the Strange Man is God is in how he treats John Marston. Since God gave man free will, it’s pretty fitting evidence that God is the Strange Man when he lets John Marston make his own choices, and doesn’t even try to influence him. It would also make sense considering God is all-seeing and all-knowing, and John comments in the Bayall Edge that he feels like he is being watched (and he is if players check the mirror). However, the one major flaw in this theory comes from the fact that the Strange Man knows about the Armadillo curse, and could even be responsible for it after making a deal with someone for “happiness or two generations”, and that doesn’t sound like God to make a Faustian deal…
2
The Strange Man is Satan
A Devil Makes a Cursed Deal for Souls and Torment
The complete inverse to the theory that the Strange Man is God is that the Strange Man is actually Satan, the Devil himself. Most of this theory comes from the fact that the Strange Man seems to relish in sin and almost goads John Marston into getting involved in sinful affairs just to see what would happen. Satan loves to test and torture the morality and free will of God’s children, so sending him off to deal with debauchery and other sinful acts in a lawless West seems like something a silver-tongued Devil would do to John Marston.
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More importantly, we once again go back to John damning the Strange Man, as many religious people would have damned the Devil over God. Yet, perhaps most important of all is the Faustian deals represented with the Strange Man, as the Bayall Edge cabin has a map of Armadillo which reads: “I offered you happiness or two generations. You made your choice.” And it seems the vanity of the Devil cannot contain itself, which is why there’s a photo of him behind Herbert Moon, the one man in Armadillo who isn’t sick as if he’s protected by some higher and darker power through a deal.
This deal with Herbert Moon seems pretty conclusive, especially since the whole town is sick with cholera except for Herbert Moon. Another thing to note with Herbert Moon is how he is a sinful man who is right up the Devil’s street since he’s homophobic, xenophobic, racist, and an antisemite – which is exactly why he has disowned his daughter, Herberta after she married a Jewish man. Herbert’s immunity to the plague seems like his deal was to have two generations, with a daughter and a granddaughter (due to said daughter’s marriage), but he forfeits his happiness because it’s a marriage he does not agree with.
3
The Strange Man is Death
The Grim Reaper is An Accountant, of Sorts, Just Like the Strange Man Says
Another fairly well-thought theory on the identity of the Strange Man is that he is indeed Death, the embodiment of the Grim Reaper. The Strange Man lingers over John because the Strange Man is the Grim Reaper who knows just how and when John is going to die, and sees the unavoidable nature of it all. The Strange Man even tells John he is an accountant, of sorts, almost like he collects the debts of the living by guiding their souls to Heaven or Hell.
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What makes the Strange Man an embodiment of Death is his morbid all-black attire for a funeral, and the fact that he tests John’s moral standings as if to see whether he is going to Heaven or Hell when his time comes, and by 1911, his time is vastly approaching. In fact, the Strange Man even knows the exact spot where John will die, as he stands within Beecher’s Hope and compliments it as a beautiful spot, which just so happens to be at the same tree where John is buried.
People can damn death too for how it takes loved ones, and the Strange Man’s complete neutrality shows that he is not good or evil, and is simply unavoidable no matter what outcomes people choose. Death comes for all, in the end. The Strange Man knows everything about John as if he’s been following the good and the bad to see where he has to take him when his time comes. The only real flaw in this theory is why would he be worshiped in a shack in the Bayou, and why would he put a curse on the town of Armadillo.
4
The Strange Man is Cain, the Elder Brother of Abel
The First Murderer is Doomed to Walk the Earth
A more unexpected theory on the identity of the Strange Man comes from the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Cain is the first son of Adam and Eve, and murders his brother, Abel. For committing such a sin, God exiled Cain from his home, sent him to wander the Earth for his entire life, and marked him so that he would be reborn as man or animal – never able to truly die for his sin.
One of the most terrifying aspects of this theory is John’s punishment for trying to deal harm to the Strange Man, as the Lord says in Genesis 4:1-16: “Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” John shoots the Strange Man 3 times, and in return, he is shot 21 times by Edgar Ross and the law enforcers who come to kill him. Not only that, but John’s three shots indicate the three deaths at Beecher’s Hope: One bullet for John, one for Uncle, and the third for Abigail. The fourth shot jams – sparing Jack.
Another case for the Strange Man being Cain is the fact that Cain was the firstborn human from Adam and Eve, so the fact that he has walked the Earth for centuries, only aids in the idea that the Strange Man truly has forgotten his name. The Strange Man also wanders the Earth just like Cain is forced to, as he’s never seen galloping on a horse, but instead taking in the sights around him. However, a true flaw in this theory is in the Strange Man’s powers. Sure, he can’t die, but why is he being worshiped in a painting? How can he watch John and simply disappear? Why does he know so much? Cain isn’t all-seeing and all-knowing.
- Released
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October 26, 2018