Dutch is a great character.

[Unspoken OH]

I love and hate Dutch. Love him because of his charisma, positive thinking, leadership and in the beginning of the game he looks out for the gang members (before he goes crazy). Hate him because he goes insane at the end and betrays half the gang. 

 

I've played GTA V and I'm more terrified of Dutch than of Trevor Philips. Dutch's character is way more serious. Trevor's character is somewhat comical (at times).

 

Honestly, had I been a bad-ass gunslinger back in the 1800's, I would have very likely fallen victim for Dutch's incredible charisma, too. 

[smokeless6]

I've played through twice, and honestly I can't stand Dutch, on many levels. In the first run it took a while. I could see that Arthur is intended to see Dutch as a sort of father figure, family. But as the game wore on I came to resent him. Dutch is the leader of the gang, but his schemes rarely come off. He's a poor planner, has no long-term vision, always reactionary, which leads the gang in to dead ends. He's a big talker with nothing to back it up.

 

Aside from how poorly he leads the group, I also came to resent him because he contributes nothing to the camp. This isn't just Dutch, I came to resent a number of camp-dwellers. Folks who complain endlessly while never lifting a finger to pitch in. There's never a "Dutch" entry in the camp ledger, despite his demand when arriving at Horseshoe Overlook that it's time for everyone to earn their keep. Except you, right Dutch? And to top it off he and his woman are constantly bickering. Keep a lid on it. It was so bad that I started sleeping in the wild. I didn't want to wake up to that every morning.

 

By the time we had gone to Shady Belle I was in full rebellion. Dutch would stand on the balcony and every time I'd return to camp (covered in mud and blood with game hanging from every strap) he'd be up there saying "Come on up here Arthur" and I just ignored him. You'll only lead us astray Dutch, which I would say out loud, in reply. I thought to myself, why am I following this man? This in no leader. This a blowhard with no plan. Bluster is not leadership, it instead masks his insecurity and failure. I never felt the sense of loyalty Arthur is supposed to feel.

 

I came to wish that Rockstar had approached the camp dynamic in a different way.  Javier, Lenny and Hosea, thems my boys, but the rest could go jump in the lake. Bunch of no-good freeloaders and malcontents, sitting on their asses all day, and b!tching at me to get to work. Really? I wish Rockstar had instilled more of an "all hands to the pump" vibe around camp, where I could see I wasn't the only one trying to make a difference. As I drop another $50 in to the till, only to see someone else coughed up a 15-cent feather, bless their socks, I wondered why I'm in with this gang. I wanted to just strike out on my own, convinced I'd be better off than tagging along with this lot, poorly led and devoid of industry and application. I would have shot Micah, Mrs Grimshaw, and Reverend Swanson with no remorse.

Edited November 5, 2021 by smokeless6

[wangsparkinglot]

When I found Dutch's speech notes on my 3rd playthrough in Horseshoe I saw him finally for what he is, a con man of people.

He talked about family etc but it was always about him

 

As far a character goes he was ok, not a lot of depth in him I didnt think. Lots of indignant anger but no substance. 

[Old Man With No Name]

I wish there wasnt a scene where Dutch left Arthur for death. It was pointless scene imo. I wish rockstar had cut this scene before game's release. Because there is an already small feud between Dutch and Arthur in Chapter 6 and he left John for death, didn't care jack's mother kidnapped. These and more other reasons was enough to see Dutch went insane already. 

We already knew Dutch prefered micah over arthur in chapter 6. We didn't needed for "dutch betrays arthur" scene. This scene is the only thing that ruins Dutches character in my opinion

 

Otherwise, he is great guy. I really liked being his right hand man as arthur. especially in chapter 3 braithwaite manor scene. If this was an rpg game, i would stay with Dutch till the end. No matter if i die or not. 

Edited November 6, 2021 by GroveStGTAV

[billiejoearmstrong8]

Dutch = a cult leader. He recruited vulnerable people into his gang (every single story of how each member joined is them at their lowest point and Dutch "saving" them), brainwashed them into thinking they were living for some kind of noble cause, but was really exploiting them to make money and feel powerful all along. Sitting around in his finery while his followers did the work, and coercing them into committing despicable crimes with the promise of his "plans" and "just one more job" before they can live in paradise - classic cult leader! I think he did believe his own bullsh*t to an extent but it was just that, bullsh*t. He was always a manipulative fraud with a superiority complex. Uncle knew it too.

 

That said, he was a brilliantly written and acted cult leader! Full of charisma and nuance and totally entertaining. Probably the best character in the game.

Edited November 6, 2021 by billiejoearmstrong8

[Copcaller]

Dutch was a interesting character sadly the dutch that the gang knew died when he killed that woman in blackwater. 

[Sean800]

Sometimes I rewatch the conversation between Milton and Dutch in Chapter 3. And boy, Milton totally tore him apart. And that was right after the best mission in the game. I remember I genuinely thought "yeah, Dutch will lose his mind after this", after hearing that argument for the first time.

 

Still, at the end, Milton turned out to be just as bad as Dutch, in fact he dies savagely like a common crook.

[Jimbatron]

I could write a lot more about this. Dutch I think is possibly the best Character R* have ever written.

 

He is a huge case study in bad leadership - something that’s timeless in that it has been a recurring theme since the dawn of civilisation to the present day.

 

He clearly gets where he is from a combination of charisma and identifying what people need. He recognises problems in society and presents solutions to those badly affected, hence he is able to assemble the gang and keep them together for a time. That might not be a bad thing, but he suffers from a lack of judgement at crucial times, and as mentioned above, his real priority is himself staying in control, over his actual vision or the well-being of the group.

 

Also he mistakes challenges to approaches that are well meaning for disloyalty, instead listening to the person who tells him what he wants to hear but has bad motives for doing so.

 

Its easy to see this in a modern business environment, or politics, as well as historical characters. And such poor leadership traits aren’t always obvious with good luck when things are going well - hence the gang initially struggle to come to terms with why “Dutch has changed”. It’s really circumstances expose his flaws that were always there.

 

The story of descent is brilliantly told as it’s long enough to show how, step by step, he loses control. But there character is complex enough to still make his situation relatable to a degree despite his flaws. You are left to wonder at the end of Ch6 and American Venom how much he was purely bad or if he just believed his own propaganda and couldn’t see the truth of the situation and his own flaws.

 

Add on top of this a simply superb performance from Benjamin Byron Davies. If this had been a Hollywood movie, I genuinely think he’d be talked about for a best supporting actor academy award.

[Agent Edward]

He is a good character, but not as complicated to understand as many of you says he is, I think this official description from Rockstar Games themselves sums him up pretty well:

"Dutch Van der Linde, the leader of a sizeable gang of outlaws and misfits, Dutch sees himself not as a criminal, but as a man fighting back against a corrupt system of power. He is radically opposed to government control. He values individual liberties above all else and dreams of living an independent existence, appropriating wealth from others and answering to no authority. He took orphans and street kids under his wing, taught them how to read, instilled self-worth and the importance of independent thinking... all framed within his own ideologies and while they did most of his dirty work, of course. He believed in them in exchange for them believing in him. Dutch is idealistic, anarchic, charismatic, well-read and well-lived, but possibly starting to unravel under the pressures of the encroaching modern world. He is reluctantly starting to realize that the way of life he holds dear is fast becoming an unrealistic proposition.".