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“ | Actions have consequences, Mr. Marston! You can't just buy a few chickens and expect it to go away. YOU can't erase the past, John... but WE can. | „ |
~ Edgar Ross to John Marston. |
“ | Jack: You killed my father! Ross: Your father killed himself with the life he lived. Jack: You killed him! I saw you! Ross: You keep saying that. Jack: You sent him to do your dirty work, then you shot him like a dog! Ross: And I'll shoot you like one too, you little piece of trash. Now get out of here before I kill you as well! Jack: I ain't going nowhere, old man. |
„ |
~ Jack Marston confronts Ross about his father's murder, shorty before their duel. |
Agent Edgar Ross is the main antagonist of the 2010 action-adventure video game Red Dead Redemption and a supporting antagonist in its 2018 prequel Red Dead Redemption II.
He is a corrupt government official who captures John Marston's wife and son and forces him to hunt down the members of his former gang, and also becomes his arch-nemesis including his son Jack.
He was voiced by Jim Bentley.
Biography[]
Past[]
Born in 1861, Ross is the director of the early federal law enforcement body, the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), which is now known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Ross is a purveyor of modernism and plays a strong role in both the narratives and themes of Red Dead Redemption. Ross, although older than Marston, chooses to ride in automobiles and use automatic weapons. Through dialogue, Ross advocates federalism and acknowledges the hypocrisy of his methods as necessary. Ross is portrayed as indifferent, unscrupulous, and sometimes even jubilant when at his most inequitable.
Red Dead Redemption II[]
During the late 1890s, Ross was a Pinkerton agent who served as the partner of Andrew Milton. They tracked down the Van der Linde gang across the country, especially after the Blackwater Massacre, when the gang tried to rob a ferry, resulting in a huge shootout. Ross will assist Milton every time and everywhere, until Milton's death.
Ross is then in charge of the Pinkertons and he led the assault on the gang's camp at Beaver Hollow but they failed to catch them. Sometime after 1899, he left the Pinkerton Agency and joined the National Bureau of Criminal Identification, an organization to record criminal activities and assist law enforcement. Ross gained respect and in 1907, he is named chief of the recently founded Bureau of Investigation (BOI). He and his fellow partner Archer Fordham found Micah Bell's corpse, who was working as an informant for them and began to track down the killer. In the ending credits, Ross is seen watching John Marston's ranch at Beecher's Hope, leading to the events of Red Dead Redemption.
Red Dead Redemption[]
Twelve years later, Ross has Marston's family held away from Marston in order to strong-arm him into hunting down Bill Williamson.
He sends John Marston, the main protagonist in the game, to kill all his former gang members by kidnapping his wife and son and keeping them hostage. After John has killed or captured his two former friends/members, Ross still won't take him to his family until John gets rid of Dutch Van Der Linde. After John has finally helped stop Dutch, Ross finally lets John go to his family.
After John has spent some time on his ranch, Ross is revealed to have betrayed John by sending in the army on an assault on his farm, killing John's friend Uncle. John pulls out a revolver and shoots the most he can and sacrifices himself so that his family could have a better life, realizing what Ross wants is his death and not the death of his family. Ross lights a cigar and watches John take his last breath until he finally collapses on the ground. Ross then gets all the credit for what John Marston did and receives a chest full of medals, and John is mentioned as one of the criminals involved.
Three years later, John's son, Jack, has become a gunslinger and goes to get revenge on Ross. Ross retired about a year ago and now lives at Lake Don Julio with his wife. Due to his reputation, the Pinkerton Agency often hounds him for work. Jack approaches Ross' wife, Emily, who tells him that Ross is hunting with his brother Phil, so he rides to Mexico where he finally finds Ross duck hunting. Jack confronts Ross about his father and Ross shows no remorse for having betrayed and killed John and even threatens to kill Jack as well. Jack Marston refuses to go and Ross challenges him to a duel. Jack wins the duel, finally killing Ross but this makes him a murderer, something that his father tried to avoid Jack from becoming. Ross' body floats in the river, Jack walks away and the credits start.
Ross is gunned down, a long-running theme of hypocrisy in the actions of Ross are ironically concluded, recalling the statement that "...Everyone will eventually pay for what they've done". Ross paid the price for murdering John. Ross became a victim of revenge and died as a murderer.
Quotes[]
“ | Mr. Morgan, Mr. Marston. You're trapped. Surrender and we will take you alive. | „ |
~ Edgar Ross threatening Arthur Morgan and John Marston in Red Dead Redemption II. |
“ | You see we - me and Archer - we're the bad guys. We enforce the rules. Now, while the rules may not be perfect, they're really not so bad. Yeah, see I'll tell you what the alternative is. It's not complicated. It's about one man and his gun versus another man. Sure, civilization may be dull, but the alternative, Mr. Marston, is hell. | „ |
~ Edgar Ross to John Marston. |
“ | Yeah, I know it's tough. You like Dutch. He's a charming fellow. He makes sense. He's like one of those nature writers from back East. Only he takes things a tiny little step too far. Rather than just loving the flowers and the animals and the harmony between man and beast, he shoots people in the head for money. And disagreeing with him. Now, I'm not a great intellect, but the metaphysical leap from admiring a flower to shooting a man in the head because he doesn't like a flower, is a leap too far. | „ |
~ Edgar Ross. |
“ | Your father killed himself with the life he lived. | „ |
~ Edgar Ross to Jack Marston. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In Red Dead Redemption II, Edgar Ross first meets young Jack Marston on the side of a riverbank, which is ironic because Jack eventually meets Ross again for the last time on the side of a riverbank in Red Dead Redemption.
- Ross' death contributes to the central theme of the Red Dead series: the fact that you can't run from your actions, with Arthur dying from tuberculosis/Micah, then Micah being killed by John which leads the BOI to Marston and Edgar Ross killing him, leading Jack to gun down Edgar. In the end, Jack is the only one who is still alive because he has committed no truly immoral actions.
- Ross is the first main antagonist of Rockstar to actually kill the protagonist, the second would be Micah Bell, (although it is determined, due to RDR2 having both high and low honor endings).
- He is about 162cm (5'4'' feet) and weighs 66kg (145 pounds).
- Ross’ true intentions were foreshadowed in the third chapter, where Dutch tells John that they need to find a monster, after him, (indicating that Dutch was trying to warn John about being turned on). This ultimately led to John getting killed by Ross.
External Links[]
- Edgar Ross on the Red Dead Wiki.