Red Dead Redemption 2: What Arthur Morgan's Two Epitaphs Mean (2024)

Red Dead Redemption 2 may not directly be a choice-influenced RPG, but players still get to create their “version” of Arthur. He can either be a good man living an outlaw life or a man corrupted by the greed, violence, and overall ways of the Dutch Van Der Linde Gang. This is somewhat reflected in Red Dead Redemption 2’s honor system and all the ways characters interact with Arthur or remember him after he passes.

Living a good or bad life is, of course, a reflection of the man who lives it, and Arthur Morgan is uniquely capable of both. NPCs will all remember Arthur Morgan, but the game goes a bit further with his grave than other Red Dead Redemption 2 graves. Indeed, Arthur Morgan will essentially get one of two graves with their own symbolism and their own epitaphs, and here’s what they symbolize.

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Red Dead 2: Arthur Morgan’s High Honor Grave

In the case that Red Dead 2's Arthur has high honor, he’ll die by succumbing to his injury and tuberculosis, watching the sunrise. Arthur obtains peace for the first time in his life, at this moment. This will be reflected in his gravestone being well taken care of and adorned with flowers, and an Eagle will be there. His grave will say, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

The condition of the gravestone states the obvious: that he was loved in life and is missed now in death. The eagle comes to represent Arthur Morgan’s courage and strength as he faced all of his life’s challenges, including Dutch’s gang and the closing of the west. Most importantly, the eagle represents Arthur’s freedom from these things and how be managed to be above the sheer villainy from the likes of Dutch and Micah. But his epitaph is the most interesting.

A beatitude taken right out of the Book of Matthew, it seems pretty straightforward—those who pursue righteousness at all cost are blessed, indicating that Arthur’s choices are redeemed through death. There is an added urgency to this beatitude though, as hunger and thirst was more common during the time of this beatitude than it is today. Supplies were scarce, and so it was urgent. This added urgency is reflected in how Arthur Morgan comes to terms with his mortality and chooses to end his life as a good man, helping John and his family. In this fight-or-flight state of his coming death, Arthur could have walked away and lived longer, but he urgently needed to correct his life’s wrongs, choosing the righteous option and reflecting that in his death.

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Red Dead 2: Arthur Morgan’s Low Honor Grave

In the case that Arthur has low honor, Micah will execute him and Arthur ends his life in the turmoil that he lived it. His grave, in this case, will be weathered, dilapidated, and without flowers—a coyote will stand by. His epitaph here will read: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” His grave, here, is obvious—not that he isn’t missed or loved, but that in his death, everyone simply moves on. The coyote represents knowledge, cunning, adaptability—all traits Arthur used in his life until he ran out of time, until he could no longer accomplish his task. Like the coyote is misunderstood and seen as a scavenger of sorts, so too does this reflect the public opinion of Arthur Morgan’s low honor life.

At the same time, the Epitaph reinforces this language with a twist. It says that those who do miss Arthur Morgan, not those who have forgotten him, will be comforted. This mainly addresses John Marston, as he struggles to deal with the pain of his loss, and all those who do remember Arthur Morgan in his passing. More importantly, this is about how those who grieve are blessed in their heartbreak, as they grow and do not forget, but genuinely move on. This is unlike Dutch and Micah, who remain rooted in their ways after Arthur’s death. And, on top of that contrast, it shows what Arthur Morgan did in life—even with low honor—is what he does in death: helps people grow as people.

At the end of the day, the character of Arthur Morgan is complex, and his death reflects that. This “simple” reflection of his life and death, for example, shows how strong Red Dead 2’s staying power is and why it has remained in discussion for so long. After all, this is just a taste of how deep Red Dead’s story, characters, and themes actually go.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.

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