Karen Jones' transition from a productive gang member to an alcoholic was rough to watch in Red Dead Redemption 2, but she made it hard to sympathize.
As her namesake implies, Karen Jones is one of the most annoying characters in Red Dead Redemption 2. The character may have had limited screen time, but her inclusion often felt out of place or random. It also doesn’t help that Red Dead Redemption 2 gave her a tragic ending, but barely took the time of day to explain what happened.
Karen originally joins the Van der Linde gang after helping them rob a bank while dressed as a nun, allowing her to hide weapons under her garments. Even though she proved herself useful early on, however, Karen was only featured in two missions within Red Dead Redemption 2's main storyline, once in the Horseshoe Overlook Chapter and once in the Clemens Point Chapter.
Sean, another RDR2 Van der Linde gang member, always showed an interest in Karen. At one point, he can be heard professing his love to her while drunk. After his death during one of RDR2's story missions, Karen is shown to begin drinking more frequently, implying she had a growing problem. Tilly goes to Arthur about her concerns over Karen’s changed behavior. However, as the chapters go by, Karen continues getting more aggressive and negative as her drinking progresses.
Why Karen Deserved Better In Red Dead Redemption 2
For being one of the more useful female gang members in Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s frustrating that Karen is only featured in two missions. She had the skills and wits to be put to more use, but since her skills are barely utilized, her inclusion in the two missions feels out of place, especially when Arthur has to come to her rescue, like when she’s assaulted by a man at a Valentine hotel after the gang came to town. In some ways, she was shown as capable of standing her own ground, but then at times she seemed naïve and rushed in her actions, always getting her into some kind of trouble.
However, perhaps what’s the most annoying about this Red Dead Redemption 2 character is her evolution from a productive gang member to a drunkard. Her storyline with Sean is never emphasized in the game and easy to miss, so it’s not easy to recognize his death was likely the catalyst for her drinking. Even though the other gang members knew she had a problem, they do nothing to help her. Rather, they left her on her own once the gang split up.
Tilly later reveals to John in a letter that she believes Karen died of her drinking once the gang went their separate ways. Sure, she had a drinking problem, but it feels as though it escalated too quickly in effort to lazily give finality to this character’s story. Karen deserved a better ending, especially since many of the other female gang members went on to live better lives – Mary-Beth became a writer and Tilly settled down, after all. But, then again, Karen got so little screen time in Red Dead Redemption 2 that her inclusion in the game's epilogue would have likely just annoyed players even more.
NEXT: How Much Time Passed Between RDR2's Ending & Its Epilogue
