One essentially embodies the ambiguity of man, communication, and civilization, while the other embodies the ambiguities of the divine, of chaos, and of life and death. Yet, what’s important to note is that the conman is often understood as a variant of the Tricker character archetype, which is why his horse Gwydion is named after a Welsh Trickster God and why he seems so connected to The Strange Man. This is why he dresses up and does a lot of the things he does, perfecting this character archetype in Red Dead Redemption 2. Indeed, Josiah Trelawny is very much based on a classic western archetype of the conman-magic, confidence tricks, persuasive elements, double lives, scam and heist-like artistry, information, and more all embody this character. He is aloof and indirect, and putting everything else aside, that’s their main connection. He’s someone torn between family life and a life of an outlaw with the Dutch Van Der Linde gang, trying to balance them both while disappearing on both at several points. Josiah doesn’t really have a lot of religious connotation to him, nor is his mysterious ways all that mysterious. While they may be similar in appearance, the similarities in personality are less obvious. RELATED: GTA Trilogy Remaster Has a Red Dead 2 Easter Egg Yet, he walks a fine line between being helpful and antagonistic, being seemingly designed for John and not. He has important relationships outside John, seen in his hut, towns, and even Sister Calderon in Red Dead Redemption 2.
In all of this, the Strange Man is aloof and indirect. This could represent Jack Marston being spared in Red Dead Redemption (following the death of John, Uncle, and Abigail), the Holy Spirit (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), or the repentance of Peter who denied Christ three times and wept when he heard the Crow (the fourth). John also, here, fires three shots at The Strange Man before his gun jams on the fourth.
Since he says this where Abigail and Jack bury John Marston, which he labels as a fine spot, it’s easy to see the religious connections in Red Dead Redemption here. He also refers to himself as an accountant, and obviously not someone who keeps financial accounts-but someone who must take accounts, perhaps here of a person’s sins. He first appears to John, giving him some missions based on morality and/or the Ten Commandments (a cheating man and a nun, with murder, adultery, theft, and more coming into play)-meanwhile, the Strange Man doesn’t put much into his own identity stating that he had forgotten his own name. First, it’s worth mentioning what is known about the Strange Man.