Is Uncle Red Harlow? - Red Dead Redemption 2

I think you shouldn't assume that uncle was born. There is plenty of evidence that shows uncle is an immortal primordial force of nature.

Real fans know that uncle is actually Gavin

I’ve always loved the theory that Revolver is a version of true events that did happen to him, but exaggerated by Uncle to the point of ridiculousness like all his stories. The broad strokes happened, but not the insane shit.

Uncle openly criticizes Dutch and calls him a would-be king, and Dutch calls Uncle a court jester — It’s often said that a jester was the only one at court who could point out a king’s flaws and get away with it, since his antics wouldn’t be taken seriously

I personally like the idea that revolver is a dramatization of young uncles life before the gang.

The scene with him calling out Dutch and being threatened just gives me the vibe that Uncle is sitting there like "Boy, I'm twice your age, seen and done things that'd make you shit yourself.", but he's not dumb and plays it off as a joke.

The funniest conversation about Uncle in II is between John and Jack when Jack asks why everyone calls him Uncle then asks if Uncle was old when Jack was a kid and John goes "He was old when I was a kid son."

I've always believed he is Red Harlow: Think about it, Uncle died defending Beecher's Hope and his family, if he is Red Harlow, his story ended like it started...

Regardless of whether or not Uncle is actually Red Harlow, I most definitely feel like there is more to Uncles past than we realize. It wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out he really was some sort of badass gunslinger who simply grew old and turned into the lazy drunk we know and love.

The one thing that always tells me otherwise is when uncle tells Pearson about his childhood. He lost his parents at 9 and red lost his at 14

Always liked Uncle. Sure he's annoying but he clearly has wit that he masks as a lazy fool but you don't live as long as he has with just luck alone. He's clearly well traveled and has a knack for reading people. He clearly has Dutch figured out because he's probably seen dozens of men like him over time.

My answer is always: Why not, it's fun to think that the Red Harlow stories grew from the seed of Uncle's young escapades. I enjoy watching different takes on it, whether or not the vid agrees with me :)

Bold of people to criticize you for having an opinion when a certain other creator who beats dead horses for a living exists. Great job as always.

I could see Uncle being a Civil War Vet. I feel that he is much older than we realize. Could be how he got his nickname, especially if he was an older service member in the unit. Due to the trauma of the war he drops his name because that part of him died on the battlefield and adopted “Uncle” to remind himself of his fallen brothers and he doesn’t want to talk about his past because he just wants to forget (also to avoid the political fallout if a person he is talking to fought for the opposite side of the war). This could also explain his “lazy” attitude in Rdr1, he isn’t lazy but actually much older than we once thought. It would also give him a redemption line at the end of Rdr1 trying to right the wrongs he committed during the war.

Uncle standing there talking at a clearly audible level about a really messed up childhood/adolescent age of having both his parents die, and having to make it on his own, and Susan just giving a hearty “good morning Arthur” like nothing😂 That might be the most Red Dead camp interaction ever🤣🤣

I think Uncle being Red would fit in quite nicely with R*'s misanthropic view of westerns. Red's a heavily romanticized and hyperbolic story which, as is presented by that NPC conversation, is seen as aspirational in the R*'s version of America. For that same Red to turn into just another fat, lazy old drunk like the rest of us feels like such a fitting twist on the story. Not to mention Uncle's reticence towards his past, which would make Red's folk heroic stature rather ironic if the man himself is ashamed of it. None of this is evidence that he is Red, of course, but I think from a story-telling perspective it'd be quite fitting if he was.

Say that hypothetically, after the events of Red Dead Revolver, Red Harlow was challenged by several more gunman. He never got any rest because of his name and history. Eventually with his age, physical exhaustion, stress, and rampant alcohol consumption he wore down. He got out of shape and developed a bad back. Because people would come after him if he told the truth about who he was and what he had done in his past, he got into the habit of telling lies all the time to throw people off. He grew a big beard to hide his scars. And joined up with Dutch's gang so he could be in the safety of a group of Outlaws who don't even know he's actually Red Harlow. It would be kind of ironic that he spent all of his youthful days hunting down evildoers, only to take shelter in their numbers in his twilight years. It's got the Rockstar storytelling charm to it.

There are also some other supporting reasons to uncle being red Harlow, 1. Uncle carries a red cloth in his back pocket, like the one red wears. 2. Uncles revolver is exactly the same as Harlows accept uncles is a bit old and rusty due to his aging. 3. In rdr1 you can actually see some markings on uncles hands, some people think it’s just his hand but others think it’s red Harlows burn marks🤨

A more “canon” theory that is still just as absurd is that Uncle is actually Otis Miller who faked his death with a stunt double and fell in with Dutch due to his similar ideals. He knows the danger that being in the spotlight brings, adopting the persona of “Uncle” and the “camp rat” as Arthur calls him. Not to mention they look kinda similar, at least from Otis Miller’s cigarette card.

We just need an uncle game, that would make it all clear