Red Dead Redemption Strange Man's Identity Should Have Remained a Mystery

Red Dead Redemption featured one of the coolest and creepiest characters in gaming, and we’ve been talking about him ever since.

After playing through Red Dead Redemption 2, John Marston’s story in the first just hits different, as does his interaction with The Strange Man.

This mysterious individual bumps into John several times spilling cryptic lines that hint at him knowing all about what our protagonist has been up to and how a reckoning is on the way. He was a memorable part of the game, to put it lightly, and while he doesn’t return in Red Dead Redemption 2, his image does in a painting and a mirror.

Recently, Rockstar Games founder Dan Houser spoke on the Lex Fridman Podcast about his work at the company and what it was like working on the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption games.

On the topic of Red Dead Redemption, Houser was asked about The Strange Man and if he could reveal his actual identity, as several theories had been put forward for who or what he could be.

Rockstar Games

Houser didn’t tip-toe around anything. He confirmed that The Strange Man is “meant to be a kind of manifestation of your shadow, your karma, the devil".

Some Things Should Stay a Mystery

As cool as that is, when I read it for the first time, I couldn’t help but be mildly disappointed, and I’d actually go as far to say that the character has been ruined forever now that we know what he’s supposed to be.

Of course it was obvious with all the contextual clues like his appearance and knowledge of John’s past and potential future, but still, there was an air of mystery.

I’ve seen other fans share my opinion, like one comment that read, “Some questions are better left unanswered,” and I couldn’t agree more.

Another comment directly followed up to say, “Agreed; I prefer the ‘He’s whoever you want him to be’ interpretation. He fits into whichever view the player most needs him to fit.”

While The Strange Man didn’t reappear in quite the same capacity in Red Dead Redemption 2, it does make me wonder if he’ll appear in Grand Theft Auto VI.

Fans are speculating that either Jason or Lucia won’t make it to the end credits and one of them will die sometime during the main story.

It’d be cool to see a modern day variation of The Strange Man appear to tease that fate, with a secret ending that saves them both to go against destiny itself.