Red Dead Redemption 2 Plot Hole Found, it's a Head Scratcher

Red Dead Redemption 2 players have discovered what could possibly be a major plot hole with how the timeline of the series matches up, and it’s definitely a head scratcher.

Both Red Dead Redemption games were released around eight years apart, and it’s pretty obvious from certain details that the entire backstory of the series was not planned out from the first entry.

Details like Arthur not being mentioned in the original Red Dead Redemption, or New Austin being a new area to John despite setting foot there several years previously, proves that the sequel was happy to retcon certain aspects if it meant telling a good story.

This is pretty normal for any series that deals with prequels really. You’re always going to get random inconsistencies and errors when telling a story over a certain number of years.

Red Dead Redemption 2 fans have discovered another plot hole with regards to the story, and it feels like such a weird detail that Rockstar Games would have had no choice but to retcon it.

Rockstar Games)

Bill's age doesn't add up

As posted on the Red Dead Redemption 2 Reddit page, one fan poked fun at Google’s AI search overview claiming that Bill Williamson is 17 years old in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Not to give too much credit to generative AI overviews, as they often get details wrong or mixed up between sources, but as another user points out this may actually factually correct based on an older Red Dead source.

You see, the official hardcover strategy guide for Red Dead Redemption claims that Bill is 29 years old in 1911, the year the game takes place. With Red Dead Redemption 2 taking place 12 years earlier, that would make him 17 years old in 1899.

I know smoking and drinking can age a man in terrible ways, but there’s no way this man is 17 years old here.

Meanwhile, his character model in the first Red Dead Redemption also doesn’t quite look 29, as shown below. If I had to guess, I’d place his age as at least ten years older than what the official sources claim.

Rockstar Games)

I always took John to be the youngest of the crew members left alive by the time of Red Dead Redemption, given the dialogue between him and the others. With John being around 38 years old in the first game, it makes little sense that Bill is almost a decade younger.

We’ll chalk this up to a minor error with the strategy guide. Rockstar later retconned Bill to be born somewhere between 1869 and 1872, which puts him in his 30s in Red Dead Redemption 2, and pushing 40 by the time of the first game.