It's been 10 long years since Rockstar San Diego released its open-world western epic, Red Dead Redemption. While the core game about one man's attempt to escape his past and reunite with his family will go down as one of gaming's greatest tales, it's the implications of one arbitrary, yet deeply provocative side quest that has left a lingering impression on me. One that, to this day, has yet to be resolved by the many forum-based philosophers who have debated it.
For a bit of backstory, the side quest in question is titled "I Know You", and it involves Red Dead's main protagonist, John Marston, and a chance encounter with a mysterious man in the wilderness. Clad in a black suit and top hat, the man sends John on a series of errands that put John's morality to the test
Over the past decade, there have been several theories offered up to explain the identity of The Strange Man, as well as the meaning behind his eccentric behavior and seemingly supernatural abilities. Most prevailing theories are, for the most part, substantiated by a specific selection of dialogue shared between John and The Strange Man, however due to the conflicting nature of the available evidence, there has yet to be any definitive conclusion.
That said, the one thing that most everyone can agree on is: whoever The Strange Man is, he is almost definitely a supernatural entity of some sort.
Before delving into the possibilities, it should be pointed out that this, on its own, presents one of the most compelling aspects of the "I Know You" quest line, as the implications of a supernatural individual existing in the world are well beyond the scope of the game's otherwise grounded narrative.
Is he God? Is he the Devil? is he a figment of John's imagination? There are elements of the player's interactions with The Strange Man that suggest any of those possibilities could be true.
When John first encounters The Strange Man, it becomes immediately apparent that he A.) is not from around here, and B.) knows exactly who John is.
Sure, it's entirely possible that this man had seen John's face on any number of wanted posters over the years, but the enigmatic nature of the conversation that follows strongly suggests it is more than a casual shakedown.
"Do I know you?" John asks
"I hope so. I seem to know you." answers The Strange Man
The conversation escalates as The Strange Man incites John through knowledge of his past crimes. The Strange Man's choice of words are prying, existential, and cryptic. John becomes increasingly agitated by The Strange Man's assertions, but before reaching a breaking point, The Strange Man requests that he visit a "friend" in Thieve's Landing whom, at that very moment, is attempting to forsake his marriage and solicit prostitution.
Upon reaching Thieve's Landing and finding The Strange Man's "friend", John can either appeal to the his better senses by convincing him not to cheat on his wife, or pay for the woman's services himself.
After this exchange, John simply goes about his business.
When John's escapades eventually bring him to Mexico, he once again encounters The Strange Man in the wilderness.
During their conversation, The Strange Man says to John, "I hope my boy turns out just like you".
This line has often been singled out as evidence for The Strange Man being a divine entity - either to support the claim that he is God, referring to his son, Jesus, or Lucifer, referring to the anti-christ. There are some obvious problems with both of these assessments, as The Strange Man will assert this claim regardless of how John chooses to deal with the man in Thieve's Landing. Case in point, it wouldn't make much since for God to hope his son would turn out like John (assuming he just paid for a man to cheat on his wife).
"You kill people so easily, yet you respect the vows of marriage. That's very curious." The Strange Man says
"I'll let the appropriate authorities judge my morality, friend." John replies, contentiously
"Yes you will, and they shall." quips The Strange Man.
The exchange is brief, but loaded with enough subtext to fill a college dissertation. Is The Strange Man referring to John's inevitable ill-fated showdown with the law, or is he perhaps asserting that John will soon be subjected to scrutiny by a higher power? With everything that has transpired up to this point, my prognosis is the ladder.
Despite engaging in some pointed banter, The Strange Man seems to be, once again, primarily interested in John's moral persuasions. He invites John to seek out an elderly nun that is currently traveling with a large sum of money. The options provided are just as polarizing as those from the previous task, and John can either venture to assist the nun in reaching her destination unharmed, or rob her himself.
In addition to the contemplative words The Strange Man exchanges with John, one of the standout interactions from this leg of the "I Know You" quest line comes from the nun that John can choose to help. As one might expect, the nun John meets believes that he was sent to her by God.
While this could be written off as being circumstantial, I for one don't believe that an emphasis on God's potential role in this, especially when considering the underlying context, should be overlooked.
John's final encounter with The Strange Man occurs towards the end of the game, and it's in these final moments that ultimately cement the "I Know You" quest line in the upper echelons of video game meta. That is to say, the evidence supporting the claim that The Strange Man is an omnipresent, supernatural entity becomes virtually indisputable.
There is a staggering amount of detail to unpack here, and it's in this interaction that the vast majority of discourse surrounding The Strange Man's true identity stems from.
"Ain't this a beautiful spot?" The Strange Man asks, without turning around to greet John.
"Sure. What are you doing here?" John asks.
"My accounts. I'm an accountant." The Strange Man replies matter-of-factly.
"Is that so?" questions John.
"In a way" rebuts The Strange Man.
The "fine spot" The Strange Man is referencing also happens to be the exact spot that John is later buried. Evidently, The Strange Man possesses an intimate knowledge of John's ultimate fate - down to the exact location of his final resting place. The Strange Man then identifies himself as an "accountant", which many believe implies that he is a reaper of sorts - sent to account for John's soul.
"What's your name?" John asks, clearly becoming agitated by The Strange Man's lack of transparency.
"You know, it's the darndest thing, but I can't remember" The Strange Man ponders aloud.
"Tell me your damn name and where you know me from!" John asserts, his tone growing increasingly hostile.
When John presses The Strange Man for his name, the response given is anything but subtle, and sounds reminiscent of what one might hear from an old god or force of nature that has wandered the earth for eons - observing the countless seasons of mankind as they passed into darkness. Throughout their many interactions, The Strange Man's composure never seems waver at the sign of increasing tension and hostility between the two. In this moment, despite John visibly becoming angry to the point of violence, The Strange Man simply paces calmly, as if trying to recall a name that he has long since forgotten.
"Tell me your name, or I won't be responsible for my actions" John demands, reaching for his sidearm.
"Oh, but you will. You will be responsible. This is a fine spot. See you around, cowboy." The Strange Man says calmly.
"Damn you!" John exclaims, as he raises his gun and fires at The Strange Man.
"Yes, many have" replies The Strange Man, who is at this point walking away from John, seemingly unaffected by the volley of bullets passing through and around him.
If there were a mic present in this situation, it would have been dropped. John, visibly bewildered, looks down at his emptied firearm as if stunned by its apparent failure to affect his target. Upon returning his gaze over to where The Strange Man had once stood, he realizes that he is now alone in this empty field. The strange man is gone.
As the "I Know You" quest comes to a close and its final moments dissipate, it becomes abundantly clear that John had just stood in the presence of a force well beyond his comprehension. The Strange Man had appeared before John for a very specific purpose: to measure the quality of his soul, and to determine what will await him on the other side. Was the strange man God, appearing before John during the last days of his life in an effort to save his soul? Was he the Devil, manifesting himself to John as a means to tempt one last time before claiming him for eternity?
Perhaps, but not likely.
If I were to assign The Strange Man with a D&D alignment, it would undoubtedly be "Lawful Neutral" - and neither of those entities seem to fit that mold.
Humans have, since the beginning of time, desperately sought simple answers to cosmically complex problems. That said, I believe that The Strange Man is the representation of John's desire to come to terms with himself- even though it's up to the player to decide how he proceeds.
It seems impossible to equate The Strange Man to any one religious or otherwise supernatural entity, because his character seems to have been intentionally designed to encompass them all: God, the Devil, Death, Fate - all of the beings or forces of the universe that humankind personifies in an effort to create a human connection between us and our ultimate fate.
Ultimately, The Strange Man's identity isn't as clearly defined as we would like it to be, but is instead an amalgamated representation of humankind's plight to come to grips with its greatest and worst inheritance - the capacity to do good and evil, and the mortal doom that awaits us all.
