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Sure, civilization may be dull, but the alternative, Mr. Marston, is hell.
Edgar Ross

Edgar Ross is a recurring character in the Red Dead series, appearing as a central character and the main antagonist of Red Dead Redemption, and as a supporting character and a secondary antagonist in Red Dead Redemption 2.

In Redemption, with the addition of the Liars and Cheats DLC pack, Edgar Ross is also a multiplayer character model that may be selected in the 'Damnation' section of the Outfitter.

History[]

Background[]

He has been billed as one of the most humble, innovative and honest law enforcement officers of his class, and colleagues say that Ross produces results where others fail.
Description of Edgar Ross' accomplishments in a newspaper article in 1907

Born in 1861,[1] Ross has a long-running career in law enforcement. He has many years of experience as a senior agent of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, under the mentorship of agent Andrew Milton. Ross is praised as proficient and formidable in his work.

Events of Red Dead Redemption 2[]

Horseshoe Overlook Chapter[]

Ross and his superior, Andrew Milton, approach Arthur Morgan while he is out fishing with little Jack Marston by the Dakota River, just outside Horseshoe Overlook. Milton tries to make a deal with Arthur, whereby if he hands over Dutch van der Linde to the Pinkertons, he will not be hanged for his crimes. Arthur angrily turns down the offer and the agents leave, with Ross mockingly telling Jack to enjoy fishing while he still can.

Clemens Point Chapter[]

Ross and Milton approach Dutch and his gang at their camp in Clemens Point. Milton tries to convince the gang to turn on Dutch in exchange for being allowed to flee for a short time. This fails however, and the agents leave empty-handed.

Saint Denis Chapter[]

During the bank robbery in Saint Denis, Ross is seen by Milton's side when he captures and executes Hosea Matthews outside Lemoyne National Bank, ensuing a shootout.

Beaver Hollow Chapter[]

Edgar Ross is seen in Annesburg with his superior, Agent Milton, while leaving a business meeting with Leviticus Cornwall. After Cornwall berates them for their lack of progress, Milton tells Ross that the pair have work to do.

Following Milton's death, Ross leads a large group of Pinkertons up to Beaver Hollow. While not physically seen, he can be heard yelling orders to his men and calling on the gang to surrender.

Post-1899[]

At some point after 1899, Ross left the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Later on, Ross joined the National Bureau of Criminal Identification, an association tasked with recording information of criminal activity and assisting law enforcement.[2] Ross continued to excel in his duty, attaining further praise and respect.

Beecher's Hope Chapter[]

RossandFordham

Agents Ross and Fordham investigating Micah's corpse

In 1907, Ross is appointed as the chief of the newly federal law enforcement body, the Bureau of Investigation (BOI).

Ross and his new associate agent, Archer Fordham, find the corpse of Micah Bell in his hideout at Mount Hagen, and this puts them on a manhunt for the killer. The two agents are seen going to various towns and locations, interviewing a number of people. After going through Valentine and Rhodes, they manage to trace the culprit to John Marston at his ranch in Beecher's Hope, where they see him teaching Jack how to groom a horse. Just before the end credits roll, Ross and Fordham look on the ranch and leave, plotting their next move.

Events of Red Dead Redemption[]

Edgar is the 50-year-old leader of the local, fledgling government agency. He is a man whose faded physical prowess has been supplanted by his mental acuteness - a cynic who sees the worst in everyone, and who loves the power that the government has recently granted him. He sees himself as an individual who is completely above any law.
Description of Ross in the GOTY Edition guide of Red Dead Redemption.
Edgar Ross

In 1911, prior to the events of Red Dead Redemption, Ross takes John Marston's family away from him in order to strong-arm him into hunting down some of his former comrades from the Van der Linde gang. Following the abduction of Abigail and Jack Marston, Ross and Fordham are seen escorting John Marston to the train station in Blackwater, during the opening credits of Red Dead Redemption.

Nuevo Paraíso[]

After John either apprehends or kills Javier Escuella, he meets with Ross and Fordham at the Ramita de la Baya bridge crossing between New Austin and Nuevo Paraíso. There, Fordham instructs John to further pursue Bill Williamson and return to Blackwater upon completion, mentioning Dutch van der Linde is believed to be at-large in the area, Ross merely condescendingly adds that Abigail "sends her regards" before they take Javier away in an automobile, dead or alive.

West Elizabeth[]

Although Williamson and Escuella have been dealt with, Ross remains unsatisfied and reveals to John that he must next assist him and Fordham in tracking down Dutch van der Linde.

After rescuing their informant, Nastas, from the Wreck of the Serendipity and attempting to foil Dutch and his gang's robbery at the First National Bank of Blackwater, Ross decides to mount an assault on Van der Linde's camp at Cochinay with the assistance of the U.S. Army. During the assault, the armored car he, Fordham, and John are riding in is rendered inoperable, so they are forced to continue on horseback alongside the accompanying U.S. Cavalrymen.

Once they arrive and blow the gates open, he, Fordham, and the soldiers assist Marston in dispatching the gang members until the American Army Captain and Marston proceed further into the fortress. John eventually corners Dutch, who subsquently chooses to commit suicide by throwing himself from a cliff; declaring to Marston that their time is up and that the Bureau will find another "monster" to justify their wages.

Upon arriving at the site of Dutch's corpse, Ross is unimpressed with Marston's inability to have shot Dutch himself. Taking Marston's pistol and shooting Van Der Linde's dead body, Ross states that it "looks better in the report that way". Ross and Fordham finally relinquish their custody of Abigail and Jack, telling Marston they can be found back at his ranch at Beecher's Hope, before unceremoniously departing.

While John rebuilds his ranch and resumes living with his family for a time, Ross later violates the agreement, assaulting Beecher's Hope with a contingent of U.S. Army soldiers and U.S. Marshals. Marston holds off waves of the attackers, fighting mercilessly to defend his family. Eventually, the Marston family retreats to a barn, and John sends his wife Abigail and his son Jack away from the ranch on a horse. Ross and his agents surround the barn, fully armed with their weapons pointed at the door.

Rdr ross

Ross, satisfied with John's death, lights a cigar

Deciding to sacrifice himself in order to secure his family's future, Marston exits the barn slowly and faces the attackers. Drawing his sidearm, Marston takes down as many of the attackers as he can, but is quickly gunned down by the firing squad. Ross victoriously lights a cigar as he watches a dying Marston fall to his knees. After Marston draws his last breath and collapses, Ross, the lawmen, and the soldiers then leave the ranch, leaving John's corpse to be found by Jack and Abigail.

Epilogue[]

Ross had continued leading the Federal Bureau in Blackwater for three years until retiring 1914 to a lakehouse at Lake Don Julio with his wife, Emily.[3] In spite of his retirement, however, the Bureau continues to contact him for consultation due to his experience and level of fame within their organization.

In the same year, a 19-year-old Jack Marston seeks out Ross to avenge his father. After paying respects and mourning at the graves of John, Abigail, and Uncle, Jack visits the train station in Blackwater, where he runs into Howard Sawicki, a younger Bureau agent, and inquires about Edgar Ross. He learns that Ross had received a "chest full of medals", and that he retired to a small cabin with his wife on Lake Don Julio in Cholla Springs, New Austin. Jack Marston visits subsequently travels there, where he meets Edgar's wife, Emily Ross. With Jack assuming the guise of being tasked with delivering a letter to Ross, she tells him that he is hunting with his brother, Phillip Ross, on the south side of the San Luis River, in Mexico. Jack then crosses into Mexico and finds his brother hunting along Rio del Toro. Phillip tells Jack that Edgar is hunting ducks downstream. Proceeding west along the river, Jack discovers Edgar shooting at a flock of ducks and confronts him about the death of his father.

DeceasedRoss

Ross falls down, dead

Ross shows no remorse for having betrayed and killed John, claiming the one ultimately responsible was John himself and the life he lived. Ross declares that he would similarly have no hesitation to kill Jack, then tells him to leave before he does so. Jack refuses to leave, resulting in a climactic duel. Ross is gunned down and falls dead by the riverside, thus Jack is successful in avenging John.

Character[]

Personality[]

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

Throughout the events of Red Dead Redemption, Ross is portrayed to epitomize the unfair and detestable nature of the corruption in the federal government during its time. He is indifferent, snide, amoral, disloyal, unscrupulous and inequitable to a fault. This is demonstrated most when he abducted John Marston's family in order to strong-arm him into hunting the former members of the Van der Linde gang, changing the terms of their agreement in order to suit his needs, and subsequently betraying Marston, despite all he had done for Ross.

Ross advocates federalism and acknowledges the hypocrisy of his methods as necessary, displaying an 'end justifies the means' attitude to law enforcement. Ross views himself as someone who enforces the rules and explains to John that the alternative outcome to having rules in civilization is simply "hell".[4] Even though Ross admits the potential corruption of law enforcement, he still views himself and the agency as more justified than the outlaws they hunt, namely Dutch van der Linde. While Ross places the agency on a higher moral high ground than outlaws, he himself doesn't seem to be motivated by any morally justifiable reasons. Throughout Red Dead Redemption, Ross is only concerned with achieving personal glory and even mocks the citizens of Blackwater by calling them "scum" while berating John Marston. Ross' disdain for outlaws is also shown in Red Dead Redemption 2, when he mockingly tells four-year-old Jack Marston to enjoy his fishing when he still can, just for the sake of it.

In several instances throughout the game, Ross displays a rather dark, dry, morbid sense of humor. He joked that Abigail was "killed in a prison riot last week" and at one point threatened John with execution by electric chair instead of allowing him to see his family, if John did not co-operate with them.

He may have also held some prejudicial views, like calling Nastas a savage after first encountering him, and assuming that he might not speak English even after being told that Nastas was an informant.

Ross is a purveyor of modernism and scientific progress, expressing his support for future technology and new discoveries. Despite being older than Marston, Ross chooses to ride in automobiles and use modern weapons.

Appearance[]

1899

Edgar Ross has slightly buzzed dark brown hair with a thick mustache. Ross is always seen wearing his Pinkerton uniform: a crimson Parisian vest and dark grey frock coat, a bowler hat with silver trimmings accompanied by black pants and matching tie.

1907

As of 1907, Ross' appearance has been altered somewhat. He has aged slightly, with what appears to be small amounts of grey in his now middle-parted hair. He is not seen with a bowler hat, and instead wears an ascot tie, a crimson opulent vest with a chain, black riding gloves and an equally dark frock coat.

1911

By 1911, Ross has aged considerably. His hairline has receded and his hair and mustache have completely grayed; he also appears to be shorter. He wears a three-piece suit, consisting of a beige dress jacket with a grey vest and a white shirt beneath, all while sporting a red tie and a brown bowler hat.

1914

In 1914, Ross' facial appearance is the same. However, his attire has changed since his retirement, consisting of an off-white shirt with beige suspenders along with a red bandanna and wide brimmed hat.

Mission appearances[]

Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption 2

Quotes[]

Red Dead Redemption[]

Nobody is playing games with you, Mr. Marston, but if we were to play some games there would be some very interesting ones we could play. Like hanging you for murder, or confiscating all your property like that little farm of yours, or putting you in an electric chair. Those are the sorts of games we could play, but we chose to play a different game, so calm down, and play along with us.
Edgar Ross
The life you lived.. you don't just walk away from that, buy a few chickens and make it all disappear. You should be dead or rotting in a jail cell by now. We are giving you a chance at new life, a chance at redemption. You can't erase the past, Mr. Marston... But we can.
Edgar Ross
Come on, Marston. Moral degeneracy waits for no man. Let's hurry along.
Edgar Ross
Mr. Marston, please, I have never insulted your meager intelligence. Do not insult mine.
Edgar Ross
Oh, spare me the noble savage fall on my sword tripe, will you, old boy? It's nauseating. You don't wish to be dead. You're an insignificant creature, desperately clinging onto life like the rest of the scum in this town.
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 wife was killed in a prison riot last week.
Edgar Ross to John Marston
Come on, Archer, let's go find somebody else we can annoy.
Edgar Ross
Your father killed himself with the life he lived.
Edgar Ross to Jack Marston
And I'll shoot you like one too, you little piece of trash! Now get out of here before I kill you as well!
Edgar Ross's last words

Red Dead Redemption 2[]

Enjoy your fishing, kid... while you still can.
Edgar Ross, threatening Jack
This is Agent Ross with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Put your guns down.
Edgar Ross, announcing his arrival at Beaver Hollow, and ordering the gang to surrender
Lay down your weapons now. We have you surrounded.
Edgar Ross, during the assault on Beaver Hollow
All of you, hold it right there! They're escaping into the woods.
Edgar Ross, after Micah convinces Dutch to flee the camp
Jennings, take your men around and cut them off.
Edgar Ross, during the assault on Beaver Hollow
Where's Van der Linde? Get after them and find him!
Edgar Ross, after Dutch flees from the camp
We still have two of them by the cave.
Edgar Ross, spotting Arthur and John outside of the cave
I see Arthur Morgan and John Marston.
Edgar Ross, identifying Arthur and John and announcing it to his men
Drop your weapons. Put your hands in the air, and we will cease fire.
Edgar Ross, ordering Arthur and John to surrender
They're running into the caves. Chase them down.
Edgar Ross, after Arthur and John reach the entrance to the cave
Go, go. After them.
Edgar Ross, ordering his men to pursue Arthur and John
They have no way out of there. Find them and kill them.
Edgar Ross, after Arthur and John continue to run through the cave
Mr. Morgan, Mr. Marston. You're trapped. Surrender and we will take you alive.
Edgar Ross, threatening Arthur and John during the assault on Beaver Hollow
I want them out of there now, dead or alive. Do you understand me?
Edgar Ross, commanding the Pinkertons to seize Arthur and John
I want all criminals to know that here in America, everyone will eventually pay for what they have done.
Edgar Ross' statement in the article "Bureau of Investigation Founded"

Trivia[]

General[]

  • "Edgar" is an English name, meaning "fortunate and powerful".
  • "Ross" is a Scottish surname, referring to a region in northern Scotland; it is derived from Gaelic "ros", meaning "promontory" or "headland".
  • Ross' height seems to differ between games. While in Redemption he is much shorter than most characters like John and Fordham, in Redemption II he appears to be around the same height as Fordham and others like Milton.
  • Edgar Ross is modeled off Charles Joseph Bonaparte,[5] founder of the Bureau of Investigation.
  • He also appears to be based off J. Edgar Hoover, an early leader of the Bureau of Investigation who became the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) upon its later renaming. While Hoover was credited with building the agency into a professional law enforcement organization, his actions throughout his lengthy tenure generated significant controversy and raised concerns about civil liberties and the abuse of government power.
  • Ross shares numerous traits and thematic elements with Frank Tenpenny, the main antagonist of Rockstar Games' 2004 title Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Both are presented as corrupted law enforcers who abuse their power and connections to force the protagonist into working under their guidance, all while being portrayed as highly hypocritical individuals.
    • Ross also shares traits with Mike Toreno of the same game; both are federal agents and force the protagonist into doing tasks for them while promising to release the protagonists' respective family members from some form of imprisonment.
  • Edgar Ross and Jack Marston are the only two major characters who appear in all four years of time in which the Redemption saga takes place: 1899, 1907, 1911 and 1914.
    • Ross and Jack Marston only appear to directly meet on two occasions - at the beginning and end of the Redemption saga. On both occasions, one of them is on the bank of a river and Ross was holding a shotgun and holstering a Cattleman Revolver.

Red Dead Redemption[]

  • Despite being a "man of modernism" he is seen using the Winchester Repeater as his weapon of choice, a model introduced in 1892 and was almost two decades in production by the time the events of Red Dead Redemption occurred.
    • Similarly, his favored handgun, the High Power Pistol, was already about 8 years into production as of 1911.
  • If the player loses in the duel on the Stranger side-mission "Remember My Family", Ross will use both a different shotgun and a low-tier handgun each time he is confronted by Jack.
    • In the very same mission, he wears a similar outfit to Uncle.
  • If he is aimed at during "The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed", the player can see he has a "friendly" cursor. This is merely a failsafe to stop the player from shooting and killing him.
  • Ross seems to have received all of the credit for killing John Marston, as the 1914 newspaper does not mention any other contributors in the assault on Beecher's Hope.
  • Ross' corpse can be looted for $400 after the duel.
  • If a powerful handgun is used, Ross' corpse might fall into the river, not allowing players to loot him unless pushed out of the river by walking slowly into the corpse.

Red Dead Redemption 2[]

  • Ross' relationship with Agent Milton is fairly ambiguous. While they do share similar views on society, it is unknown whether they cared for each other as comrades or whether Ross saw Milton’s death as an opportunity to advance his own career.
  • Despite working with the Bureau, in 1907 Ross still wears his badge from the Pinkerton Detective Agency.[6]

Gallery[]

Red Dead Redemption[]

Multiplayer[]

Red Dead Redemption 2[]

References[]

  1. Ross is stated to be 50 years old in the GOTY Edition guide of Red Dead Redemption, which takes place in 1911.
  2. Mentioned in the newspaper article "Bureau of Investigation Founded".
  3. Mentioned in the 1914 issue of The Blackwater Ledger.
  4. Stated in "And You Will Know The Truth"
  5. New National Order: The Power of Federal Law Emerges in Early 20th Century America (The True West – History that Helped Inspire Red Dead Redemption)
  6. After credits scenes, Infobox image.

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