My name is Synthia. This is a multi-fandom account! Fandoms include: AiW HatterxHare; Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles; Conan Gray; The Office; Stephen Sanchez; Eddie Redmayne, RDR (Hosea Matthews; Arthur Morgan)
The way Hosea goes on about how he's an old man and that he doesn't have much time left and then fights a lemoyne raider off the side of a balcony gets me every time
one thing I dislike about the take that Dutch has ~always been that way~ and just kinda acted sane (as far as that works) for +20 years is that it paints Hosea as a complete fool.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think Hosea is completely untouchable, out of this world, a god amongst humans but he isn't stupid. As far as we are concerned he is a master at seeing through people, he reads them and tricks them like no other.
He's very smart and observant, often the one to take a step back and think things through thrice before investing into them and somehow you want to tell me he looked at loud, boisterous, energetic (supposedly manipulative) Dutch at the very beginning and thought "my god this guy is full of shit"?
Now, we don't really have any insight on how they really were before Blackwater or even years back when they took in Arthur but I truly and utterly believe that Dutch was making a real effort to do good, from the bottom of his heart, that he really tried to be better and ultimately failed. (and yeah, surely partly bc it stroked his ego but nonetheless)
Like, the first time we see, or rather hear that Dutch may be a little silly is in Colter, right after Blackwater when it was revelaed that he killed an innocent woman. This was also the very first severe stress situation we have "seen" Dutch in. He got lead on, maybe even set up after what sounded like a long period of luck and success and now him and everyone tagging along is in danger and everything has gone to shit.
The one that then seemed increasingly concerned and insisted on knowing what happened was Hosea. My thoughts are that Hosea knew that Dutch tended to act rash in stressful situations and that there was something nagging on his conscious, telling him that something went horribly wrong. Because he knew Dutch.
Dutch on the other hand started to grow desperate. He didn't just lose a ton of money and got the law after them all once again, but he also lost 3 members of the gang. 3 people to who he promised freedom and a good life gone just like that + he also started to feel the others losing hope and maybe he was confronted with the idea that maybe what he was doing wasn't as good and great as he has thought throughout all these years.
So he grows defensiv and even reckless because no, it can't be, him facing the fact that his time was not only over but he probably wasted all these years was a tad too painful, both for his ego but also for his being.
As time goes on he keeps slipping more and more since everything he does just seems to blow up right back into his face. The more he tries to fix the more to shit it goes and the desperation just seems to grow and grow.
So he clings to every little thing that keeps on making him believe that his cause is still good, that he's still doing right so he comes up with nonesense plans like Tahiti.
But most importantly, his probably biggest reminder still was Hosea. As long as Hosea was still there, still by his side it would be alright. Yeah, Hosea nags him all the time and they bicker and fight all the time, but he's still there, so that means he still believes in Dutch. With Hosea he could do it.
And then Hosea dies.
And the failure at the bank is so much worse than all the ones before because this time it wasn't Dutch that set things up, or Micah, or anyone else but it was Hosea. The very person that grounded him, that he clung to desperately to show him that his efforts are not in vain.
The disaster at the bank didn't only cost him Hosea, his life long partner, the person he trusted the most, but also the trust from the rest of the gang. John was already doubting him for some time now and now the others started to, too.
And maybe, maybe him doing all this what he thought of good these past years, saving and taking in people, wasn't the best for them at all. Maybe he doomed them more than anything.
But no, Micah is still at his side. And Bill. And Javier.
Well, if there's some people still believing in him then there has to be some truth to it, no?
Maybe Micah is right, maybe John is the rat. Or Abigail. Or Arthur.
Maybe all the others are just ungrateful. Maybe he gave them all and the moment he slips and fails they just leave?
Hosea woulnd't have. Hosea stayed with him.
Micah stayed with him.
And as he was on that mountain, looking at the boy he raised as his own, barely able to breath and all beaten up, telling him "I gave you all I had", that was the first time the realization of him not being as great, as good, as he hoped to be, as he tried to be, fully hit him and now he couldn't do anything but accept it. No denying it anymore, no deluding it. Just the cold truth.
I love Hosea (he's my fave) but one thing that's always bugged me is how he's definitely the most moral member of the gang but he still stays with Dutch after he kills that girl in Blackwater. I can't help thinking that'd be the last straw for Hosea...
If it's any consolation, there's nothing to suggest Hosea actually knew about Heidi McCourt. As far as I know, there's no encounter or cutscene where it's explicitly stated. In fact, an argument can be made to the contrary.
In chapter two, during a confrontation with Dutch, Hosea says "I heard things got nasty on that fairy", but he doesn't say how nasty. He then proceeds to ask Dutch to elaborate, but Dutch deflects, just as he deflected in Colter. Arthur flat out asked him what happened in Blackwater and Dutch responded with, "We missed you, that’s what happened." With Hosea, he quickly ends the conversation by telling him to "be strong".
That isn't the first time Hosea digs for information about Blackwater either. He later confronts Micah, asking, "Just what exactly went on in Blackwater?" This interaction is especially sad because Hosea basically begs Micah to answer, but the little rat brushes him off. Now, whether Hosea was asking why the the job went sideways or what the gang did in response is certainly up for debate, but his conversations with Dutch lead me to believe he might not know about the murder.
And in all fairness, that does seem like something Dutch would proactively try to hide, since killing innocent people is supposedly against their "code". Not far from the camp, you can even find torn up wanted posters detailing Dutch’s crimes, though it’s anyone's guess who destroyed them. One interesting detail, however, is that after Trelawny warns Arthur about the situation in Blackwater, he only tells Dutch about the wanted posters, not Hosea. I tried several times, but to my knowledge there’s no dialogue for it. The only gang member who wasn't in Blackwater who explicitly finds out about Heidi is Arthur, told to him by Javier when they ride to save John. Arthur never repeats this information to Hosea.
However ... as I like to deal in facts, the fact of the matter is Hosea could know just as much as he might not. It does seem a little farfetched to think Hosea never saw a single wanted poster, never heard someone talking about it, or simply wasn’t clever enough to piece it together on his own. Plus, Agent Milton does show up at the camp and call Dutch “nothing but a killer” while Hosea’s standing right next to him (though he could just be talking generally).
That said, I think Blackwater was the last straw, regardless of Heidi’s murder. After the botched robbery gets three gang members killed and the rest of them running from the law, Hosea blatantly tries to convince those remaining--Abigail, John, Sadie, Tilly, Lenny, even Arthur--to leave and "go legit". Hosea's reached a point in his life where all he has left is Dutch and the years behind them. He knows he's close to death, terminally ill, a wanted man, and he feels like sticking it out is a type of punishment for his own crimes. He declares several times throughout the game that he "wasn't a good man" in his youth, and he acknowledges (unlike Dutch) that gunslingers are part of a bygone era. He accepts this and literally says "I'm ready" when he talks about dying.
For further evidence of his sense of remorse, when talking to a frightened Abigail he says, "Seems we don't have any choice but to ride this train to the end of the line." He points to himself, and by "we" I think he means him and Dutch, as he immediately follows it up by telling Abigail to take Jack and start life anew somewhere safe. There's also another conversation (if you play on low honour) where he unambiguously says he wants to "make amends", but he feels like it’s too late.
In addition, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Hosea’s slightly afraid of Dutch. During almost all of their arguments, Hosea recoils when Dutch approaches/yells at him. If you watch a compilation of their arguments, you’ll notice that when things get heated Hosea steps back, walks off, or looks at the ground submissively. He’s probably well aware of Dutch’s temper and knows what he can do when he’s angry, which tends to be the case when you've known someone for nearly thirty years. It isn't until chapter four, Hosea's last chapter, that he becomes more assertive and pushes back. I really do believe Hosea was more than just a friend to Dutch; he was also his conscience and a bit of a leash. As Hosea’s health waned, so did his influence on Dutch, unfortunately. I think he knew leaving the gang would only make things worse for everyone else, so he stayed.
In the end, whether or not Hosea knew about Heidi is kind of inconsequential, because there's nothing he could've done about it besides what he tries to do in game: muzzle and undermine Dutch, plan adequate heists to ensure everyone's future, and convince his friends to move on, be better, and accept the ways of the new world. In a sense, Arthur became Hosea by the end of the story.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Adventures In Wonderland (TV 1992), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Related Fandoms
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mad Hatter/March Hare (Alice in Wonderland), Mad Hatter & March Hare (Alice in Wonderland)
Characters: Mad Hatter, March Hare, Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland), March Hare (Alice in Wonderland), Alice (Alice in Wonderland)
Additional Tags: LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Tea Parties, Gay Sex, Gay
Summary:
March Hare goes to Mad Hatter’s tea party like he does everyday but, he grows suspicious of Hatter’s motives.
Based off of The March Hare and The Mad Hatter from the Disney 1992 Series, “Adventures in Wonderland”.
Hare once lost his glasses while in the Hatter’s attic and Hatter pretended he couldn’t find them for more than half a day so he could be Hare’s seeing-eye Hatter. He cooked him dinner and read comics out loud to him into the evening until they fell asleep.
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