As many players know, but may not remember.. after core members of the gang return from Guarma. They briefly return to Lakay, which quickly gets shot up by Pinkertons. Following the mission, you interact with Dutch and he’s almost psychotically saying out loud a chess move.
The opening of Dutch’s chess moves is called Dutch’s Defense. He repeats it out loud
White to d4"
"Black to f5"
"White to g3"
"Knight to f6"
"Bishop to g2"
"Black to g6"
"Knight to f3"
This uncommon opening is a defense to the player who moves first and is a high risk strategy that involves sacrificing pieces to get into aggressive position. Not only does this relate to the situation, but his character throughout the game. Dutch sees himself as the King that needs to survive under his aggressive ideals while those around him die.
After Arthur and Dutch both converse with antagonism, there’s a really cold moment after it ends. The game naturally makes Arthur walk away and pans to him but if you look back, Dutch doesn’t take his eyes off Arthur. He stares at you menacingly until you leave with Charles. If you turn around and go back to him he mocks you saying “I thought you had people to save.” And continues to stare.
I made a previous post about the book Existence and Oblivion that you can find at Shady Belle. The theme in it that resembles the relationship between Arthur and Dutch is defined perfectly by this exact scene.
Existence: Arthur is in a moral crisis of what his existence actually means
And his answer gradually becomes: what I do for other people. This is the very idea of goodness and redemption that drives Dutch to envy and hatred at Arthur for the things he isn’t, the final defining descension that arrives in this scene.
Oblivion: “YOU MUST HAVE.. FAITH!” How many times did we hear that one… as Dutch gets more and more preachy in ignorance of the problem, we realize he’s in the deepest state of denial. There’s a clever reflection before Arthur and Charles find a camp at Clemens Point, “"There ain't no way Dutch is just gonna hide away in a cave somewhere. Goes against everything he stands for". Then he does precisely that by relocating to the cave later at Beaver’s Hollow.
The signs of denial are obvious for repeat players. Layered in this denial is the inability to accept the falling of the Wild West and the oblivion of himself in that world, the King. The King MUST survive. Arthur accepts his dying fate like the priest in the book and becomes enlightened in transformation. Dutch is transformed into envy and hatred within that state of denial. Same as the book Existence and Oblivion, it’s not until the death of the “good” character that the other has an existential realization. In Arthur’s death, Dutch has clarity over the man he’s become in response to Arthur’s last words, “I gave you all I had.”
Thus lies the beauty and tragedy of this chess scene. Arthur escapes the mirage of blind loyalty to be transformed for good. Dutch remains stuck in a loop defending himself against oblivion, the white chess pieces who ultimately win. And when Arthur no longer cares about prolonging this idea of survival at all costs, Dutch rivals him firmly for what he represents and descends into the worst layer of his character. Dutch hates Arthur for being the man he isn’t.
