This Horrifying Red Dead Redemption Theory Changes How You See John Marston

John Marston is easily one of the most celebrated protagonists in the Rockstar Games canon, as well as arguably the most tragic. Serving as the main character of "Red Dead Redemption" and a supporting character in "Red Dead Redemption 2," John wholly embodies the series' title. Though he continually gets pulled back into the outlaw life, John ultimately wants to do right by his family and be a good man in his last moments. He sticks to his convictions to the bitter end, going out in a blaze of glory. One fan theory, however, posits that John didn't immediately go to his reward in the sweet hereafter. Instead, John Marston might still be trapped between the world of the living and the land of the dead.

This theory has grown in popularity over the years, thanks in large part to the enduring love that fans have for both "Red Dead Redemption" and its spin-off DLC, "Undead Nightmare." In this DLC, John Marston is suddenly confronted with a horrific zombie outbreak and must go on a quest to quell his former friends and family who have become monsters. Because of the DLC's supernatural elements and plot points that contradict the main game — including certain characters getting killed off before their time — most fans consider "Undead Nightmare" to be strictly non-canon fun. But what if it isn't? What if "Undead Nightmare" is actually a continuation of John Marston's tragic story?

Some fans believe that "Undead Nightmare" depicts John Marston's arrival in a kind of purgatory, where he must battle to absolve himself of his past sins. Only after vanquishing the undead hordes and making impossible sacrifices for his loved ones will he be able to move on and find peace in the afterlife. The theory hinges on John's interactions throughout "Red Dead Redemption" with a mysterious character called the Strange Man. 

The Strange Man's identity is never revealed outright, but both "Red Dead Redemption" and "RDR2" strongly imply that he's the personification of death. He appears to test John's moral fortitude on a few occasions, sending him on missions to help strangers in need. The Strange Man is unharmed by bullets and last appears to John at the spot that will serve as his future grave. Perhaps most telling, the Strange Man tells John that he is "an accountant ... of sorts."

Redditor Beef_5upreme puts forth the idea that the Strange Man was counting John's good deeds as well as his sins, which would allow him to properly judge the former crook. Then, Beef_5upreme suggests, "When John died ... His sins had been so great in life that he was not allowed into paradise. But since he did seek to redeem himself ... he wasn't sent to hell. He still has to prove himself to The Stranger that he is truly repentant by facing up to his past." Of course, that's easier said than done — John has zombies to kill, after all.

This fan theory holds that the zombies encountered by John Marston are specifically meant to represent his wicked past. Though John tried to leave his life of crime behind and become a farmer and family man, his former life still haunts him. He has to kill the darkness of his past and show that he's willing to make the hardest sacrifices before he's worthy of Heaven. 

At the end of "Undead Nightmare," John also becomes one of the zombies roaming the land. However, he's very different from the other ghouls he's encountered, as he's still in possession of his soul. This could be taken as a sign that John's soul has been purified through his trials in purgatory. Another Redditor points out that this seems to be backed up by some of the dialogue spoken by the Aztec goddess Ayauhtéotl in the final stretch of the DLC. Specifically, she says, "We must confront the dark corridors of our conscience," and asks a very telling question: "Can a bad man have a good soul?"

As explained by Beef_5upreme, "while [John's] mission in life was to redeem himself in the eyes of the law and mankind, his trial in death is to redeem himself in his own eyes as well as the eyes of god. This is why, at the end of the DLC, he is the only zombie with a human soul and conscience." In this interpretation, John Marston may be a monster, but he has proven that his heart is good. It's unclear if or when John Marston can finally cross over and rest in peace, but this theory holds that he's well on his way by the end of "Undead Nightmare."