Exploring the vast landscape of Red Dead Redemption 2, players are often confronted with the harsh realities of its gritty world, where violence and depravity lurk around every corner. While the main campaign is packed with intense and unsettling moments, venturing off the beaten path through exploration and side quests reveals equally dark narratives. One such narrative is buried within a Stranger mission available in Chapter 4, which players focused solely on the primary storyline may easily overlook.
This intriguing side quest, known as “The Mercies of Knowledge,” begins with Arthur meeting a Professor in Saint Denis. The Professor tasks Arthur with acquiring a shipment of moonshine, which he claims will fuel his “machine of love.” As the plot unfolds, the true nature of this machine becomes apparent, and the reality is far from romantic.
The Professor’s creation is, in fact, an electric chair. He believes it will offer a serene passage for the condemned to face judgment. However, the grim contraption delivers anything but a peaceful end. This brutal truth is experienced firsthand when Arthur is tasked with capturing Wilson J. McDaniels, a criminal destined to demonstrate the chair’s efficacy. The execution is a grisly spectacle.
As expected, McDaniels’s demise is agonizing, filled with screams and smoke as electricity courses through him repeatedly. In his final moments, he begs for a merciful bullet to end his suffering. Observers argue about the humanity of such a death, with mixed reactions from the crowd, including one woman’s stark endorsement of the device as “mighty fine.”
Adding to the horror, the Professor finds himself another casualty of his own making, succumbing to a fatal shock while operating the execution switch.
Although McDaniels’s death might not be the game’s bloodiest moment, its rawness surpasses epic shootouts and high body counts. Watching a man endure such torture is unsettling, regardless of his sins, which include murder and other unsavory crimes. The crowd’s lack of empathy only deepens the scene’s foreboding atmosphere.
“The Mercies of Knowledge” resonated with historical undertones, drawing from the real-world 1890 event—the first electric chair execution. Like McDaniels, William Kemmler suffered through multiple voltage jolts, with reports of his body igniting during his execution’s lengthy, ten-minute ordeal.
Red Dead Redemption 2 frequently taps into history for its storytelling, grounding its fictional world in reality. While inspirations can lead to dark retellings like this mission, they enhance the game’s immersive and nuanced tapestry, offering players a world both familiar and foreign.
