I've played a lot of open-world games, but honestly, few characters have made me feel as uncomfortable from the very first moment as Micah Bell in Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar wastes absolutely no time in showing you who this guy is—the tutorial isn't even over before Micah's true nature is shoved right in your face. I remember thinking to myself, this man is going to be a massive problem.
Micah is a member of the Van Der Linde gang and also serves as RDR2's main antagonist. Unlike the rest of the crew, he doesn't care about camaraderie or living peacefully. He'd rather spend his time either committing crimes on his own or bullying other members of the gang. Even though he loses nearly every fistfight in the game, that never stops him from talking a big game while putting everyone else down. Players find him easy to hate, and Arthur Morgan clearly shares that disdain.
The mission that stuck with me the most was Sadie Adler's introduction. Arthur, Dutch, and Micah head out to investigate a homestead, where they find a deeply traumatized Sadie. A normal person would try to calm her down, but not Micah. Instead, he chases her around, terrorizing her purely for fun, and his recklessness ends up setting the house on fire. Thank goodness Dutch and Arthur still had their wits about them—they stepped in, de-escalated the situation, and brought Sadie back to the gang. That moment says everything. Sadie later becomes just as important as Arthur, and her introduction highlights the stark contrast between Arthur's decency and Micah's vileness.
Then there's the Strawberry jailbreak. Arthur is sent to break Micah out of prison, and I honestly thought we could handle it with a little finesse—maybe slip out quietly. Nope. Micah comes out guns blazing and goes on a killing spree, forcing Arthur to follow along. The gunfights in earlier missions usually involved other outlaws or lawmen actively trying to take down the gang, but Micah's rampage in Strawberry felt completely different. After that mission, the player is slapped with a dead or alive bounty in Strawberry, and no other gang member casually displays that level of brutality. Honestly, even Micah's horse gave off a menacing vibe, but that was nothing compared to what he did in Strawberry.
I remember feeling genuinely frustrated that the game wouldn't let me just leave Micah behind. That feeling only made my dislike for him grow.
With those early impressions burned into my brain, it was no surprise when Micah ended up being the game's final and most despicable villain. Even before his betrayal of the gang is revealed, you already have more than enough reasons to know he can't be trusted. He contributed more than anyone else to the gang's downfall, and he committed every cruel act as casually as eating breakfast. Dutch's judgment got worse and worse as the game went on, but it's honestly shocking that he didn't see through Micah's treachery sooner—even if you believe Dutch would have eventually betrayed Arthur anyway.
Here's a quick look at the lovely things Micah does within the first few hours:
-
Chases Sadie around her own home and burns the house down
-
Goes on a senseless killing spree during the Strawberry jailbreak
-
Bullies and belittles other gang members constantly
-
Acts purely out of selfishness from start to finish
If you compare a high-honor Arthur to Micah, the contrast is night and day:
| Trait | Arthur (High Honor) | Micah Bell |
|---|---|---|
| Loyalty | Fiercely loyal to the gang | Only loyal to himself |
| Treatment of others | Helps strangers, protects Sadie | Bullies, terrorizes, kills |
| Decision-making | Thinks before acting | Reckless and violent |
Micah is an obvious villain in RDR2, but that's only because Rockstar didn't hold back in showing what an unrepentantly terrible person he was. If a high-honor Arthur represents the noble side of outlaws, then Micah represents them at their most evil. Micah Bell is easily one of gaming's most despicable characters, and Red Dead Redemption 2 makes sure players know that within just a couple of hours. If you haven't played it yet, trust me—you'll understand the moment you meet him.