"A failed man is often the most dangerous"
From one captain to another it seems, but this is a character I've had on my mind ever since my last playthrough.
What is the work?
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a 2018 open world action adventure game produced by Rockstar games, serving as a prequel to the beloved Red Dead Redemption. Taking place in the year 1899, the story follows Arthur Morgan, a member of the infamous Van Der Linde gang, who after witnessing the slow decline of both his gang and health would go on and attempt to seek his redemption, his success in this endeavour being up to the player.
Who is Lyndon Monroe and what has he done?
Captain Lyndon Monroe is a supporting character in the game. Appearing in Chapter 6, Lyndon is a soldier of the United States Army who is working to resolve the situation between the Army and the Wapiti tribe, unlike most other soldiers however he wishes to help the tribe rather than evict them from their lands.
Monroe is first seen returning to the Wapiti reservation after having a lengthy talk with both the mayor of Saint Denis and the Bureau of Indian affairs, hoping to dissuade them from evicting the tribe and allowing Cornwall Kerosene & Tar to drill for oil on their lands, unfortunately he is unable to convince them otherwise and returns to Rains Fall with the news. Here he meets Arthur Morgan for the first time and greets him, riding alongside Morgan and Rains Fall as they travel to a sacred site. As they ride he apologises to Rains Fall for not being able to do enough, reassuring him that he won't give up on helping the tribe, he then asks Arthur if he can help him out with an important task.
If Arthur refuses he doesn't push any further, politely accepting his decision. No matter what option you choose, he apologises for putting Arthur on the spot with his request before heading off alone.
If Arthur accepts Monroe's request, he will next be seen in the Wapiti camp, giving out food to the sick natives. Speaking with Arthur he informs the outlaw that Colonel Favours had been withholding vaccines from the natives, he admits to Arthur that he thinks Favours is "a horse's ass" and that the current situation is awful. Monroe informs Morgan that the vaccines are being diverted up towards Valentine and the two set off to find them. During the ride he admits to Arthur that he worries that his presence is making the situation worse, that Favours is intentionally trying to provoke the tribe into retaliating and most importantly, that he's been working behind Favours' back to help out the tribe as much as he can. He asks Arthur to be discreet and avoid killing the soldiers driving the wagon, still holding on hope for a peace between the Army and Wapiti. Arthur eventually returns with the vaccines, handing them to Monroe who goes to distribute them among the Wapiti tribe, thanking Arthur for his help.
In his last appearance, Monroe is overseeing a truce meeting between the Army and the Wapiti, though the meeting doesn't go too well. Behind Monroe's back however, Colonel Favours intended on getting him court martialled for treason once the meeting is over and getting him hanged. Once the meeting wraps up unproductively, Monroe calls out Favours for going against the federal government and his lies about the Wapiti breaking the peace treaty, Favours responds by ordering his arrest. However before he can do so, Arthur Morgan and Charles Smith get involved, taking a hostage and trading him for Monroe's release, taking him and fleeing from the attacking soldiers. Throughout the chase Monroe attempts to reason with the pursuing soldiers, asking them to hold their fire and refusing to fire on his former comrades. Even when they are pinned down by soldiers, Monroe still refuses to kill his former soldiers. Once they've lost their pursuers, Arthur and Charles take Monroe to Emerald Station where Arthur gives him money and allows him to board a train, leaving his past life behind.
Admirable Standards
Let's get the big ones out of the way Arthur and John both do a lot of good across the two games however most of their options are decided by the player, Charles and Sadie are also both very admirable but they're just way too violent. However all the characters mentioned above have significantly more screentime and resources than Monroe, with them all being highly skilled gunslingers. The only character who I feel is comparable is Rains Fall, both appear prominently in the same chapter and have a similar amount of screentime, but I feel that Monroe still stands out. He gets no support from the rest of the army, meaning that he's mostly working alone to help the tribe, his plan to steal and administer the vaccines to the tribe saved many lives including sick children, his attempts to reason with Favours and his former comrades, and his refusal to kill his former comrades definitely makes him stand out as a truly good person, even in the very grey world he resides in.
Another thing to note is that even if you decline helping Monroe and Rains Fall, the vaccine theft is still mentioned by Favours when he tries to arrest Monroe, giving the implication that he either asked someone else (likely Charles) to help or stole them himself, it is possible that this was an oversight but I doubt that and even then just going off the game itself, he still mentioned the event meaning it still took place.
Corrupting Qualities?
None, I could leave it there but i'll go into detail. Unlike most other US Soldiers we meet in the game and in massive contrast to Colonel Favours, Monroe holds no racist views towards the Wapiti tribe and treats them with the utmost respect, he sympathises with them and is even willing to go behind Favours' back to steal medicine that can save their lives. While he does insult Favours in conversation with Arthur, this is far from corrupting given the kind of man Favours is.
Final Verdict?
For me, I think he easily passes. Monroe stands out as among the most moral and incorruptible people in the Red Dead series, doing everything he can with the limited resources he has to help as many people as possible, and although he failed in making peace between the warring factions, he did everything he could to prevent it for as long as possible.