Molly O'Shea

**Molly O'Shea** is a supporting character featured in *Red Dead Redemption 2*.

## History

### Background

Molly was born into a wealthy family in Dublin, Ireland. She came to the United States searching for adventure, eventually joining Dutch van der Linde and his gang at some point prior to 1899. She and Dutch later became lovers.

### Events of *Red Dead Redemption 2*

In Colter, she is seen escorting Dutch to his room, and stays with him throughout the chapter. If Arthur asks Molly if she would like to stay with the others for company, she refuses, saying: "Dutch is all the company I need".

Molly can be found around camp, but she never participates in any camp chores or finding a lead to make money. In the third chapter, she wants to speak with Arthur about Dutch, but Uncle interrupts them with information about a potential robbery. Later, after the gang relocate to Shady Belle, Molly asks Dutch to speak to her, but he declines on the assertion that he is too busy.

While some of the gang are in Guarma, she disappears for a lengthy period of time, with many saying that they haven’t seen her.

#### Beaver Hollow Chapter

Immediately after re-locating to Beaver Hollow, Uncle returns with a drunk Molly, who he allegedly found in Saint Denis. Molly begins to rant about Dutch ignoring her, stating that she loved him, and sarcastically calling him "the Lord God almighty". Molly then proceeds to tell everybody that she informed the Pinkertons about the gang's planned bank heist in Saint Denis. Enraged, Dutch immediately pulls out his revolver, but Arthur attempts to stop him by claiming that she is a "fool" who isn't worth his time. Before any more can be said, Susan Grimshaw shoots Molly in the stomach with a shotgun, stating "she knew the rules", and subsequently ordering Pearson and Bill Williamson to burn the body.

Most of the gang members believed Molly got what she deserved. The only people who were truly shaken by her death were Karen Jones and Mary-Beth Gaskill. Immediately after Molly's death, a scene between Karen and Susan may occur where Karen accuses her of being a murderer, before renouncing Molly's guilt. Later in the chapter, Mary-Beth can be seen conversing with Tilly Jackson, expressing her grief by telling her that she "can't get over" Molly's death and that she was simply a fool in love who "would say anything".

It is later revealed by Agent Milton that the rat is in fact not Molly, but Micah, who was feeding information to the Pinkertons. Milton tells Arthur that, while he spoke with her a few times, she did not say anything of value and merely left them with more questions than answers.

## Character

### Personality

Molly is considered stuck-up and entitled by the other women in camp, most notably by Karen, which is mainly due to her disdain for others and her refusal to do any work inside or outside of camp. In particular, Sean is unimpressed with her attitude and higher class, calling her a "snotty nosed little West Briton" on one occasion. Additionally, Molly also has characteristics of vanity and narcissism; she can often be found primping herself in her compact mirror, wears various forms of makeup such as lipstick, and takes pride in her appearance. She may also be superstitious, as she asks Arthur whether her grandmother was right in saying that her broken mirror means seven years of bad luck, before asking him to get a new pocket mirror for her.

Molly's mental state declines throughout the game, seemingly due to Dutch's lack of interest in her, the indifference of many gang members, and frequent moving around. As such, she becomes increasingly unwilling to socialise with others, often saying: "I need to be alone" or "I'm not much company" to Arthur if he tries to converse with her. Molly's relationship with others in the gang also deteriorates. She becomes somewhat paranoid about others talking negatively about her, even going as far as confronting Karen about it at one point. In particular, she seems to believe everyone in the gang thinks she is a joke; she can be heard saying things such as: "them out there, they're all laughin' at me", for example. She also believes that they disregard her, which is evident in the way that Dutch, Arthur and Uncle do on various occasions in cutscenes.

In the first chapter, Molly is content in being with Dutch only and having him all to herself, possibly hinting at a possessive or even controlling personality. However, her relationship with Dutch becomes increasingly strained and she becomes more unhappy, as he continues ignoring her due to the stresses of being an outlaw. Molly also claims she has seen Dutch looking at other women; whilst exploring the camp, he can be seen flirting with Mary-Beth on multiple occasions, so this is likely who she is referring to. While Molly genuinely loves Dutch, he does not show the same level of affection for her, causing Molly to become ever more desperate for attention, to the point of confessing to a crime she did not commit just to get a response, causing her demise; her final words are: "Oh, not so big now... are we, your majesty?".

### Appearance

Molly is a young, curvaceous woman with stereotypical Irish features of red hair, green eyes, and freckles. Compared to the other women, she wears a lot of make-up, sporting red lipstick and eye-shadow. Her hair is half-tied up, while the rest of her red curls drape freely down her back. Molly typically dresses in a corseted, low-cut, green top (similar to a Swiss Waist or Victorian Drindl) with a golden-gilded pattern and trim, with matching golden jewelry, as well as a red skirt and white boots. Just like other gang members, Molly often changes her attire and hairstyle.

## Trivia

* Molly is the only member of the Van der Linde gang to never accompany Arthur on a mission or a companion activity, and as such is the only one to never appear on the map as a companion icon. The closest she comes is in "Horsemen, Apocalypses", where her death can result in failure, but like all others not participating in the fighting, she does not appear on the map.
	+ In addition to this, Molly is the only female in the gang who never participates in chores around the camp. Arthur may say to her that there's plenty of work to be done around the camp, but she dismisses this, saying “I’m no one’s serving girl”.
* It's possible Molly was the first to notice Dutch's mental decline. During a cutscene in the mission "An Honest Mistake", she questions Arthur, saying *"How is Dutch? I mean, how does he **seem** to you?"*. After Arthur gives her a vague answer, Molly then says: *"I... I really love him you know... but if he... Like he always says, loyalty is everything so..."*. This could very well be in reference to the Pinkertons' interrogation of her, although her initial interest in Dutch's wellbeing suggests that she may have noticed a change in Dutch.
* Molly is the only member of the gang who died in 1899 not to be buried. Instead, Miss Grimshaw orders Bill and Pearson to burn her body. This is most likely because she was believed to have given information to the Pinkertons and was therefore not worthy of a proper burial.
* The red skirt worn by Molly closely resembles the "Constance Skirt", available for female players to wear in Red Dead Online.