Summary
Red Dead Redemption 2celebrates its 6-year anniversary in 2024, and as such, it’s a good time to reflect on one of the game’s biggest mysteries: Gavin. When exploring the plains of America, players might stumble across a rather frantic and polite Englishman who is on a quest to search for his best friend Gavin. Yet, this search seems unsolvable, with nothing but a few clues and theories to surmise the fate of Gavin.
TheRed Dead Redemption 2community has tried to piece together the puzzle that will show them where Gavin is, whether he can actually be found, or if he’s just a figment of a colorful imagination. Can players actually find Gavin inRed Dead Redemption 2, and what is there to know about him? Below, no stone is left unturned in an attempt to discover the identity of Nigel’s friend Gavin.
Meet Nigel
Gavin’s Self-Proclaimed Best Friend in 1899
Nigel is a completely random encounter inRed Dead Redemption 2, and players can find him simply by exploring the towns and plains of the game.Notable locations of where Gavin can be found are during Chapter 2 and onward in Rhodes Saloon, Roanoke Ridge, and Saint Denis. Nigel is hard to miss thanks to his booming English accent and his loud ramblings as he speaks to no audience inquiring about how he is looking for his friend Gavin. There are a few interesting clues to Gavin’s identity that Nigel himself gives players:
The verbal description of Gavin’s profile provided by Nigel doesn’t offer players much when it comes to finding him, as everyone theystumble across inRDR2, whether they be strange or friendly, lacks a notable Cockney accent and a big size that could narrow down who he is. What is interesting here is how Nigel is dressed: his attire is formal and neat, and his face seems washed and well-groomed, indicating that perhaps Gavin hasn’t been missing for all that long.
Meeting Nigel in 1907
The Hunt For Gavin Continues 8 Years Later
As John Marston explores the plains of America, he too can stumble upon Nigel, who can now belocated in Blackwater, Tall Trees, MacFarlane’s Ranch, and east of Armadillo in the Epilogue. Nigel is in notable disarray, and his outfit is the same as it was 8 years prior, but in tatters and covered in dirt and sweat. His mustache is overly grown and unkempt, and the dark rings around his eyes indicate a man who hasn’t bathed or slept in hisquest to find his friend.
Nigel’s dialogue with John provides an interesting revelation after an 8-year hunt: “I can’t remember what he looks like. I’m looking for him, but I don’t know who he is. I’ve wasted my life… I wasted my life looking. I looked but I never saw. I saw nothing. Gavin…” Nigel has reached a point of no return, and like a dog chasing his own tail, he just can’t stop. Nigel won’t stop looking for Gavin, despite not knowing who Gavin is anymore, and he seems unaware that he’s been doing this for 8 years straight. Nigel’s deteriorating mental state could be a keen clue into the identity of Gavin, but the letter on his person explainsmore of the mystery.
The Importance of Nigel’s Letter From Tom
Looting Nigel Provides A Curious Clue
Upon looting Nigel, players will uncover a letter that was sent from a man named Tom. Players can read the letter in full below, with further discussions about important details and clues following:
Dear Nigel,
I was so happy to hear from you. I cannot believe it, mate! My two friends - you and Gavin, boys I grew up with now real rich and successful cowboys in America! That’s incredible news. Well done, mate Seriously. Well done. I know you and Gavin would find success over there. I mean, it stands to reason. A pair of boys from little old Maidenhead, Berkshire, now successful over in America. I might come and join you myself.
Now that you two have done so well. Both of you rich and living in big mansions with servants, and all them cattle. I remember when the height of your ambition was pretending you were a Londoner and seeing if you fooled those Scotch boys we met by the barracks. Funny thing is, Gavin never mentioned none of this in his letter, but he always was a bit of a quiet one and I reckon you wrote after he did. Either way, I am mode up for the pair of you. Made up. Cowboys! Millionaires! We miss you,
especially your Mum, since your Dad passed on, but she told me she was so proud of you. Even Gavin’s Ma was happy. She said her usual piece about not thinking you had it in you, but she smiled and said she knew her boy would see sense or make sense or something eventually. Berkshire forever.
Your pal, Tom
P.S. I saw that bloke Brian Gold the other day, in the market. He said some real odd things about you, which I said weren’t true. Bet he’s laughing on the other side of his face now…
Is Gavin Suffering From Dissociative Identity Disorder?
Gavin Could Have Trauma Related To The Loss of His Father
In Tom’s letter, Nigel’s mother is mentioned, and it says how she misses him, especially after the loss of Nigel’s father. More interestingly, the letter continues, talking about how Gavin’s mother was also happy and expressed doubts about Nigel, saying that “she knew her boy would see sense or make sense or something eventually.” Could Gavin and Nigel’s mother be one and the same? There is no mention of Gavin’s father, as Nigel’s own is deceased. Perhaps this big move to America and Gavin’s identity was created purely from the loss of Nigel’s father. A piece of evidence within the letter could be: “I saw that bloke Brian Gold the other day, in the market. He said some real odd things about you.” Perhaps Brian was mocking Nigel’s disorder, something that Tom didn’t take kindly to.
The most eye-catching clue for this theory comes from Gavin’s mother stating “her boy would see sense or make sense”. Was Nigel/Gavin’s mother supportive ofthe move to Americain the hopes that Nigel would cope with his father’s death and perhaps move on from this Gavin personality that he suffered from? Perhaps Nigel did indeed move on for his father, thus allowing the trauma to heal and the need for Gavin to disappear. Yet, coping with the loss of his father was hard enough, so suddenly losing Gavin started the cycle all over again.
Were Gavin and Nigel Lovers?
They Were Really Best Mates
The way that Nigel talks about Gavin, and would walk the plains of America for him, makes it seem like there is something more than just a friend who goes for a cheeky weekend pint. In Nigel’s own words: “We were best mates. I mean, really best mates. He’d never leave me. Never.” The use of the wordreallycertainly raises a brow, and he is confident in the fact that Gavin would never leave him. After all, they came all the way from England tostart a new life in America. Yet, was there a reason they left England? Could it be bigotry towards gay people at the time?
In Tom’s letter to Nigel, he says “I saw that bloke Brian Gold the other day, in the market. He said some real odd things about you.” Perhaps this is referring to rumors of Nigel and Gavin’s relationship, and that they are more than just friends. Even in Nigel’s own words, he admits that “One morning, I just woke up and he just wasn’t there… someone must have taken him.” Maybe Nigel knows the bigotry of the 19th century and assumes Gavin was kidnapped and killed for his sexuality. Or, Gavin might have eloped with another cowboy and moved on.
Don’t Believe Nigel’s Lies
Has Nigel Lied About Gavin’s Fate This Whole Time?
It’s hard to believe that Gavin is real or even alive when one considers the lies that Nigel has told Tom in the letter. The first clue is “A pair of boys from little old Maidenhead, Berkshire.” If Gavin and Nigel are from Berkshire, then they are not Londoners, which Nigel claims to passersby. Tom also confirms in the letter “I remember when the height of your ambition was pretending you were a Londoner” showing that this isn’t the first time Nigel has lied about being from London.
Nigel is also living a fabricated life, as he has written to Tom and told him that Gavin and himself are “rich and living in big mansions with servants”. Clearly, that isn’t the case, otherwise, Nigel wouldn’t be wandering the plains of America shouting his friend’s name. Perhaps Nigel and Gavin did come to America together, but the untamed nature of the Old West made Gavin decent prey for gunslingers, and he isnow in a wooden box somewherein the desert, leaving Nigel to falsify his fate in an attempt to manipulate himself to believe that Gavin isn’t dead. Or, perhaps life in 19th-century America and the unfamiliar heat has driven Nigel insane.
Red Dead Redemption 2is filled with mysteries. UFOs, ghosts, sasquatches, time travel, and all other mystical sci-fi and horror elements will have players shaking in their cowboy boots. Yet, one of the more interesting aspects is a lost Englishman who might not even be real. When combing through the game’s files, there’s nothing on Gavin, just Gavin’s friend, Nigel. All players can do is speculate and theorize on what Gavin’s fate is, and if he was even real to begin with.
