Leopold Strauss was actually the most loyal gang member
Despite his questionable qualities, Leopold Strauss proved in Red Dead Redemption 2 that he remained loyal to the Van der Linde gang to the very end.
Leopold Strauss was the Van der Linde gang’s loan shark, and although this was Red Dead Redemption 2 Character was seedy, it turned out to have a redeeming quality. Strauss remained loyal to the gang to the last, even when they stepped him to the curb.
It is unclear when or how to get Strauss Van Der Lindes, but was originally from Vienna before he went to the USA with his uncle as a teenager. After his uncle’s death, Strauss somehow got into the scheming business and crossed paths with Dutch, who eventually invited him to join their community.
As the game progresses, however, Strauss is portrayed as a villain who capitalizes on the needs of the poor. Arthur Morgan begins to see Strauss’ true nature when asked to do so berating the Downes family in repaying a loan. Patriarch Thomas Downes eventually succumbs to tuberculosis (after infecting Arthur), leaving his widow and son behind to pay off the debt. Arthur eventually sees Edith Downes working as a prostitute in Saint Denis and realizes how much worse Strauss is leaving the people and knocks him out of the gang. Strauss hardly defends himself when Arthur pushes his luggage towards him.
Why did Strauss never betray Van der Lindes?
During the game’s epilogue, some time after Arthur’s death, John Marston learns that Strauss was picked up by the Pinkertons on behalf of the government. While in Red Dead Redemption 2 Saint-Denis, Charles informs John that the Pinkertons attempted to interrogate Strauss, probably using less gracious methods of obtaining information. To John’s surprise, however, Strauss never revealed anything about the gang. He died in the care of the Pinkertons, although it is unclear what illness or injury he died from. John can’t help but say a few nice words about Strauss and notices that he “strong” and his loyalty was admirable.
It’s unclear why Strauss never whistled off the gang, considering that he had good reasons for Arthur kicking him out so abruptly. It may be that the loan shark had changed his conscience and felt bad about all the damage he had done in his job, so protecting the Van der Lindes was the least he could do. Or maybe that Van der Linde gang were more like family to him than his stoic face suggested. The game shows that Strauss did not have a good childhood – he was born into poverty and had little of his name until he started lending money. Either way, regardless of all the questionable things Leopold Strauss did over the course of the year Red Dead Redemption 2, his loyalty to the Van der Lindes was unbroken.
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