Character · Van der Linde gang
Simon Pearson
Simon Pearson is a supporting character of Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), set in 1899. He is the cook and butcher of the Van der Linde gang and a former sailor. With Susan Grimshaw, he sets up each of the gang's camps, and he sends Arthur Morgan out for meat. In "Blessed are the Peacemakers", during the Clemens Point chapter, he brings Dutch an offer of a parley from the O'Driscolls, which turns out to be a trap. He is gone from Beaver Hollow by the start of "Our Best Selves", when Dutch calls him a coward. By 1907 he is married and runs the general store in Rhodes.
He is played by Jim Santangeli, an American actor.
- Name
- Simon Pearson
- Born
- Not given in the game
- Status
- Alive in 1907
- Nationality
- American
- Affiliation
- US Navy (formerly); Van der Linde gang (until 1899)
- Role
- Camp cook and butcher; shopkeeper in Rhodes by 1907
- Family
- Aunt Cathy; wife Ethel (by 1907)
- Games
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Voiced by
- Jim Santangeli (voice and motion capture)
Biography
Origins
The games give no date of birth for Simon Pearson. He served briefly in the United States Navy: Rockstar's 2018 description speaks of a short stint in the navy, and an official guide of a short stint at sea (both texts, with his family of whalers, are quoted under Personality). In his stories in camp and on the crayfish trip with Arthur Morgan, he names Java and Bali among the places he saw; the Red Dead Wiki adds Sumatra. He tells Arthur that his ship was once stranded at sea for fifty days.
The official guide says he later got into serious trouble out west with men who were extorting money from him. The Red Dead Wiki identifies them as loan sharks and says Dutch van der Linde and his gang got him out of their hands. He then became the gang's cook and butcher.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (1899)
Chapter 1: Colter
After the failed ferry robbery in Blackwater, the gang flees north into the mountains and takes shelter in Colter, an abandoned mining town, during a snowstorm. In "Outlaws from the West", when Davey Callander's body is carried into the cabin, Susan hands out the first jobs and tells Pearson to see what food is left. Dutch then addresses the group and asks Pearson and Miss Grimshaw to turn the place into a camp, since they may be there for a few days.
In "The Aftermath of Genesis", Pearson tells Arthur, in the shed where he cooks, that a few cans and a rabbit are all he has to feed ten or twelve people. He starts a story about the Navy, which Arthur tries to cut short. He explains that he could not get supplies in before the flight from Blackwater, and that he sent Lenny Summers and Bill Williamson hunting but they found nothing. Arthur replies that the gang will survive, and if need be will eat the cook, the fattest of them. Charles Smith, who has come in, ends the argument and takes Arthur hunting despite his burnt hand. Before they leave, Pearson throws Arthur a can of assorted salted offal for the road.
On the way out, Charles says Pearson does not know what he is talking about and that there is game in the hills. The two men kill two deer. On the way back, Arthur points out to Charles that the cook has been drinking since the flight from Blackwater and left without any food. At the kitchen they find Uncle drinking with Pearson, and Arthur sends him away. Pearson shares his Navy rum with Arthur and Charles, then asks Arthur to help with the skinning. Arthur skins one of the deer. Pearson asks him to bring him anything else he catches, and Arthur asks him in return to make a good stew.
In "Old Friends", Dutch leads Arthur and several other men to raid the O'Driscoll hideout at Ewing Basin. Before leaving, he asks Pearson, Hosea Matthews and Charles to look after Colter, since there are O'Driscolls about. In "Eastward Bound", when the snow thaws, Pearson loads supplies onto the wagons while Abigail and Charles help the injured John Marston into one of them. He rides in the lead wagon with Dutch on the way down to Horseshoe Overlook, near Valentine. Once the new camp is set up, Dutch tells everyone to get to work, and Pearson speaks up from the crowd: the gang needs real food, and someone has to bring it in every day.
Chapter 2: Horseshoe Overlook
At Horseshoe Overlook, Pearson works from his chuck wagon (see Skills). In "Who is Not Without Sin", Arthur carries a drunk Reverend Swanson back into camp, and Pearson is one of the gang members who comment as they pass, with a remark about someone having had a good time. At the end of the chapter, after a shootout in Valentine, Dutch decides to move on, and in "A Strange Kindness" Arthur comes back to find the camp being packed up. The gang settles at Clemens Point, on Flat Iron Lake in Lemoyne, near Rhodes.
Chapter 3: Clemens Point
At Clemens Point, Sadie Adler has been helping Pearson in the kitchen. In "Further Questions of Female Suffrage", Arthur comes across the two of them in a heated argument: Sadie refuses to spend her days cooking and reminds Pearson that she and her husband shared the work on their ranch. Arthur offers to take her into Rhodes to buy supplies for the kitchen. Before they leave, Pearson gives Arthur a letter to post, addressed to his aunt Cathy, in which he describes his adventures and his success in life. On the way, Sadie opens the letter and reads it aloud in an imitation of him. Back at camp, Arthur and Sadie help Pearson unload the wagon.
In "Blessed are the Peacemakers", Micah Bell calls Pearson over and, when Dutch joins them, pushes him to explain himself. Pearson says that he met a couple of O'Driscolls on the road into town, that a fight nearly broke out, and that they ended up suggesting a parley between Dutch and Colm O'Driscoll to end the feud. Dutch asks whether they have lost their minds, and Hosea calls it a trap. Micah insists it is worth the risk, and Dutch agrees to go with him, with Arthur covering them with a rifle. Pearson asks whether he can come too, and Dutch turns him down.
The parley is a trap: the O'Driscolls capture Arthur, who escapes and rides back to Clemens Point badly hurt. When he collapses in camp and tells Dutch it was a set-up, Pearson apologizes to him, and Dutch replies that it is too late for apologies. Pearson then helps carry Arthur to his tent. After "Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern" and the visit of the Pinkerton agents Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross, the gang leaves for Shady Belle, an abandoned plantation house in the bayou near Saint Denis. In "The Battle of Shady Belle", Arthur and John clear the house of the Lemoyne Raiders who occupy it. When the caravan arrives, Dutch asks Miss Grimshaw and Mr. Pearson to work their magic on the new camp.
Chapter 4: Saint Denis
Pearson dislikes the swamp, and at Shady Belle he complains about it to several gang members (see Relationships). After "Angelo Bronte, A Man of Honor", he invites Arthur on a companion activity the Red Dead Wiki calls "Hunting". The two men row from Shady Belle into the swamp to the east and search the water for crayfish. Pearson then spots alligators near their nests and draws them away while Arthur gathers their eggs.
In "Horsemen, Apocalypses", the O'Driscolls send Kieran Duffy's mutilated body into the camp on a horse and attack Shady Belle. Once they are driven off, Dutch has Charles, Reverend Swanson and Pearson bury Kieran, while Arthur and John clear away the bodies of the attackers. Pearson takes no part in the bank robbery in Saint Denis that ends the chapter: the mission page lists him among the gang members who do not appear in it.
Chapter 5: Guarma
While Dutch, Arthur and the survivors of the robbery are stranded on Guarma, the rest of the gang moves to Lakay, a group of shacks in the bayou. According to the Red Dead Wiki's character page, he and Abigail are the ones who greet Arthur at Lakay in "Fleeting Joy". Milton's Pinkertons attack Lakay soon after, and the gang moves again, to Beaver Hollow, a cave in Roanoke Ridge.
In "That's Murfree Country", the scene that closes the chapter, Uncle brings a drunk Molly O'Shea into the new camp. She claims to have informed the Pinkertons about the Saint Denis robbery, and Susan kills her with a shotgun. Susan then tells Bill and Pearson to burn the body.
Chapter 6: Beaver Hollow
According to the page of "Money Lending and Other Sins VI & VII", if Arthur throws Leopold Strauss out of Beaver Hollow at night, Pearson and Susan, who sleep next to him, wake up frightened and move out of the way when Arthur pushes Strauss toward their beds, where Strauss packs his bag. Pearson is among those who later ask Arthur about Strauss's disappearance. According to the Red Dead Wiki's character page, he drinks more and more in this chapter and sees no way out for the gang.
After "My Last Boy", Pearson is no longer at the camp, nor are Uncle, Mary-Beth Gaskill and Karen Jones. The game does not show them leaving. At the start of "Our Best Selves", Dutch tells Arthur that Uncle, Pearson and Mary-Beth have run off and calls them cowards; Arthur answers that they do not want to die.
Epilogue (1907)
Epilogue: Rhodes
By 1907 Pearson owns the general store in Rhodes, in Scarlett Meadows, which A.J. Banks ran in 1899. He is now married to Ethel (see Relationships). A photograph of the Van der Linde gang posing on a stagecoach hangs on the wall near his counter.
John Marston, who now lives with his family on a ranch at Beecher's Hope, can visit the store several times; the Red Dead Wiki counts four conversations. Pearson is glad to see him, and each congratulates the other on his new life: John on the shop, Pearson on the ranch. John tells him that he still sees Uncle, Charles and Sadie. Pearson admits that he once told Ethel too much about the gang while drunk. He also mentions the Grays and the Braithwaites, the two feuding families the gang dealt with in 1899 (see Quotes).
The end credits of the game, which follow "American Venom", include a scene in the store. Pearson finishes serving a customer, who leaves. He walks back to his register, takes a breath and looks at the photograph of the gang on the wall with a slight smile.
Personality
Rockstar Games introduced Pearson on September 6, 2018 with a short description: "The camp's butcher and cook, Pearson served a short stint in the navy that he likes to talk about at length. A loud, jolly degenerate who is somewhat in denial about the turn his life has taken."
A character page from an official guide, reproduced on the Red Dead Wiki, gives a longer version: "The gang's butcher and camp cook, Pearson did a short stint at sea that he likes to talk about at length. His father and grandfather were both sperm whale hunters and he was going to follow in their footsteps but, by the time he left school, nobody wanted whale oil any more. He came out west and got in some bad trouble with some men who were shaking him down for money. Dutch found him at his wit's end and took him under his wing. He is a loud, jolly degenerate who puts on a brave face, but is somewhat in denial about the turn his life has taken."
In camp he worries out loud about the food supply and asks the others to bring in meat, fish or vegetables. He often talks about his years at sea (see Origins), to the point of presenting sardines as the sea monsters he fought. Uncle, Hosea and Mary-Beth hear some of them in camp scenes (see Relationships). He drinks often (see Biography).
The move to Shady Belle weighs on him. He complains about the mud and the swamp (see Hosea Matthews and Susan Grimshaw). On a rainy night there, drunk, he walks around the camp saying that he does not want to die like an animal but like a gentleman cook (see Skills for the song that follows). He does not take part in the gang's robberies: the Red Dead Wiki counts him, with Reverend Swanson and Molly O'Shea, among the only members never shown taking part in a crime.
In his own words
The Red Dead Wiki opens its page on him with what he tells Susan Grimshaw in the gazebo at Shady Belle: "I once saw the cape from a forty foot swell. I once crossed the equator during a meteor shower, I rode into harbors surrounded by beautiful maidens selling pineapple, and colors, colors so brilliant they'd burn your eyes... and now, I live in a swamp, waiting to get shot for riding with outlaws." In a speech to the camp listed on the wiki's quote list, he demands more food: "I'm talking meat, fish, vegetables, I can cook any of these things, the only thing I cannot cook is air." About animal pelts, he points out: "You know you could trade these or sell these in pretty much any town, if you're looking to make a legitimate bit of money of course."
Names
Rockstar's description and the official guide call him only Pearson; the full name Simon Pearson is the one used by the Red Dead Wiki and Wikipedia. In the dialogue he is Pearson or Mr. Pearson: Susan Grimshaw calls him "Mr. Pearson" when she hands out the jobs at Colter in "Outlaws from the West", and Dutch uses the same form in "Old Friends". In "Blessed are the Peacemakers", Micah Bell calls him "fat man" twice. In her 1907 letter to John and Abigail, Tilly Jackson remembers him as "angry Mr. Pearson". The Red Dead Wiki also lists Tacitus Kilgore, the name the gang uses to receive mail, among his aliases; the letters the wiki reproduces under that name are addressed to Arthur.
Appearance
The guide's portrait shows a heavy-set man with long dark hair and a thick mustache, wearing a black top hat with a red band, a worn dark knit sweater over a white shirt, dark trousers and tall black boots. According to the Red Dead Wiki, the anchor tattooed on the back of his hand dates from his Navy years. By 1907, the wiki adds, his hair has turned gray and is nearly gone on top, and he wears a striped shirt under a full apron.
Relationships
Susan Grimshaw
Susan and Pearson set up each new camp together. According to the Red Dead Wiki, when Lenny and Mary-Beth make fun of his cooking, Susan tells them to mind their manners, since Pearson takes good care of them.
At Shady Belle, Susan finds him in the gazebo listing what he saw at sea and complaining about living in a swamp (see In his own words). She says she never took him for the self-pitying sort; he blames the mud, then insists he is fine and goes back to work.
Arthur Morgan
Pearson relies on Arthur for meat from the first hunt at Colter (see Biography) onward. Arthur teases him and avoids his Navy stories. At Horseshoe Overlook, Pearson tells Arthur how much the world around him excites him and admits he is sometimes glad to be out of the Navy; when Arthur jokes that joining a gang must have been quite a change, Pearson turns serious, says he saw terrible things, and walks off.
Pearson apologizes to Arthur after the failed parley and takes him crayfishing at Shady Belle (see Biography); he also asks him for items (see Missions).
Uncle
Uncle spends much of his time in Pearson's kitchen and at his campfire. At Horseshoe Overlook, Pearson, nearly shouting, insists that things could be worse and recalls a crew stranded at sea and dying; Uncle answers that he would gladly trade, and describes being orphaned at nine in a strange city. Pearson calms down and grants that every life is hard in its own way. Another night, a sea story from Pearson leads to Uncle's tale of getting lost in the Congo. At Clemens Point, Uncle asks whether he misses the sea; Pearson says he does but is too old to go back, and Uncle tells how he once nearly sailed to Brazil with a captain's wife but missed the boat drunk. According to the Red Dead Wiki, when Uncle insults his cooking, Pearson calls him a repulsive little maggot.
Sean MacGuire
Sean is Pearson's usual singing partner, with Pearson on the accordion (see Skills). When Sean walks past the stew pot at Horseshoe Overlook, Pearson tells him to get some food. At Clemens Point, the white rabbit Sean and Jack find near camp ends up in Pearson's pot.
Sadie Adler
After her rescue, Sadie helps Pearson with the cooking at Horseshoe Overlook, without enthusiasm. At Clemens Point she refuses to spend her days chopping vegetables, and their argument leads Arthur to take her to Rhodes with Pearson's letter to his aunt (see Biography). According to the Red Dead Wiki, during one of their quarrels Pearson raises his cleaver and tells her to watch her mouth.
Hosea Matthews
According to the Red Dead Wiki, Pearson and Hosea get on well and often joke together. Pearson is among those Hosea offers a drink at Clemens Point after a big win at cards. At Shady Belle, Hosea asks him whether he is ready for Tahiti; Pearson says he has never been there but has seen Bali and Java, including a man no bigger than a coconut who spoke seven languages. Hosea tells him that Abigail played her part in town so well that she is the best actress he has ever seen. Asked whether the bank job will work, Hosea tells him to get ready to leave, and Pearson says he is relieved, since the swamp is not for him.
Charles Smith
At Colter, Pearson's worry about food sends Charles and Arthur on their first hunt (see Biography). In "Old Friends", Dutch leaves Pearson, Charles and Hosea to watch the camp.
Bill Williamson
At Horseshoe Overlook, Bill brings fish to the kitchen and loudly demands gratitude; Pearson answers that he has already thanked him and asks whether he is hard of hearing. Drinking together at Shady Belle, Bill tells him his whole problem is that he is a drunk; Pearson shoves him and calls him all talk, and Bill knocks him down with a punch. The scene can play again at the party for Jack's return.
Micah Bell
Micah calls Pearson "fat man" (see Names) and pushes him to tell Dutch about the O'Driscolls' offer of a parley in "Blessed are the Peacemakers" (see Biography). At Clemens Point, after a score, Micah throws money at Pearson and orders him to go buy food; Pearson timidly walks off while Micah laughs. In another version of the scene, Micah hands him the money and puts the rest in the camp box.
Dutch van der Linde
Dutch took Pearson into the gang when men were shaking him down for money (see Personality). In "Blessed are the Peacemakers", Pearson brings him the O'Driscolls' offer of a parley and is told to stay behind; Dutch later calls him a coward for running off (see Biography).
Karen Jones
Karen sings with Pearson at the poker table (see Skills). At Horseshoe Overlook she tells Susan that, back at Colter, she had thought of eating her, and that she and Pearson could not agree on the best dish.
Javier Escuella
At the Horseshoe Overlook stew pot, Pearson and Javier compare mud with snow. Pearson passes on a tip about a woman and some outlaws at Watson's Cabin who keep money hidden there; Javier says he will let him know if he finds anything, and Pearson makes the same offer to Arthur if he is nearby. Javier plays the guitar for several of Pearson's songs (see Skills).
Abigail Marston
While Jack is missing at Shady Belle, Abigail finds Pearson smoking on the dock and asks where her son is; Pearson says Jack is a smart kid who always turns up. If Arthur mentions the boy's disappearance, Pearson asks whether anyone could blame him for running off, and Arthur agrees. At Lakay, Pearson and Abigail welcome Arthur back from Guarma (see Biography).
Mary-Beth Gaskill
According to the Red Dead Wiki, Mary-Beth and Lenny mock Pearson's cooking until Susan steps in (see Susan Grimshaw). At Shady Belle she asks Pearson where Kieran is (see Kieran Duffy).
Lenny Summers
When Pearson tells Arthur at Colter that Lenny found nothing to hunt (see Biography), Arthur answers that Lenny is more into reading books than hunting. Lenny also mocks Pearson's cooking (see Susan Grimshaw).
Kieran Duffy
When Kieran goes missing after the party for Jack's return, Mary-Beth asks Pearson where he is. Pearson does not know and tries to change the subject with the story of a shark he once saw eat several men. After the O'Driscoll attack on Shady Belle, Pearson is one of the three men who bury Kieran (see Biography).
Leopold Strauss
At Beaver Hollow, Pearson and Susan sleep next to Strauss and are woken if Arthur throws him out at night (see Biography). According to the Red Dead Wiki, Pearson and Abigail afterward tell Arthur they are disappointed that he did not consult the others.
Molly O'Shea
After Susan shoots Molly at the end of "That's Murfree Country", Pearson and Bill are ordered to burn her body (see Biography).
Orville Swanson
In "Who is Not Without Sin", Pearson has a remark for the drunk Swanson as Arthur carries him through camp (see Biography). The Red Dead Wiki groups the two men together among the members never shown taking part in a crime (see Personality).
Tilly Jackson
In her 1907 letter to John and Abigail, Tilly lists Pearson among the people from the gang she misses (see Names).
John Marston
In 1907 John can visit Pearson several times at the Rhodes general store and give him news of his new life (see Biography).
Ethel Pearson
Ethel is Pearson's wife in 1907. She is never seen, but she can be heard when John talks to Pearson in the Rhodes general store; according to the Red Dead Wiki, she lives upstairs. The wiki calls her his second wife and says Pearson admits she has a mean streak but loves her. The wiki's infobox lists an ex-wife named Michele, a name it does not tie to any scene in the game.
Aunt Cathy
Cathy is Pearson's aunt. In "Further Questions of Female Suffrage", he gives Arthur a letter to post to her, which Sadie reads aloud on the way to Rhodes (see Biography).
Skills, weapons and horses
Cook and butcher
Pearson runs the camp kitchen: he cooks the daily stew at his chuckwagon and butchers the game brought in. Arthur can give him carcasses and other provisions, which go into the camp's food supply. When stocks run low he asks the camp for meat. From "Our Best Selves" onward, with Pearson gone, the camp stew is no longer available; the Red Dead Wiki's page on the mission suggests big game meat with herbs instead. The Red Dead Wiki gives him a hunting knife as his weapon.
Satchels
From chapter 2 to chapter 4, and again in chapter 6, Pearson crafts satchels for Arthur and decorations for the camp from pelts and other animal parts. All satchels and four of the decorations require the Leather Working Tools, bought from the camp ledger for $225 ($180 with the high honor discount, according to the Red Dead Wiki). The ledger itself opens once Arthur has collected a debt for "Money Lending and Other Sins I & II" and put it in the camp box. Each satchel takes a perfect deer pelt and two other perfect pelts; the Legend of the East Satchel is unlocked by crafting all the others. In the epilogue, Pearson is gone, and John can buy the satchels at any fence without supplying pelts.
| Satchel | Holds more | Perfect pelts | Unlocked by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tonics Satchel | Tonics | Deer, buck, elk | Two medicine wagon upgrades in the ledger |
| Ingredients Satchel | Cooking and crafting ingredients | Deer, badger, squirrel | Five animal carcasses donated to Pearson |
| Kit Satchel | Kit items | Deer, elk, panther | None |
| Provisions Satchel | Provisions and cooked meals | Deer, bison, raccoon | Two provisions wagon upgrades in the ledger |
| Materials Satchel | Crafting materials | Deer, boar, iguana skin | Three recipes crafted at the scout campfire |
| Valuables Satchel | Valuables to sell | Deer, beaver, rabbit | $50 in cash given to the camp box |
| Legend of the East Satchel | All item types | Deer, cougar, wolf | All other satchels crafted |
Camp decorations
The Red Dead Wiki lists 17 decorations Pearson can make. The four that need the Leather Working Tools are the cougar pelt covering for Arthur's chest, the boar skin table top in Arthur's tent, the pronghorn leather table tops and the snake skin banjo head.
| Place | Decorations (materials) |
|---|---|
| Arthur's tent | Alligator skull (alligator skin); bighorn ram skull (ram carcass); chest cover (2 cougar pelts); table top (boar pelt); rug (2 ox hides) |
| John's tent | Rug (4 boar pelts) |
| Camp tables | Two table tops (2 pronghorn hides) |
| Pearson's wagon | Pronghorn skull (pronghorn carcass) |
| Main campfire | Moose antlers; wolf skull (wolf carcass); banjo head (2 snake skins); crate cover (beaver, muskrat and fox pelts); log seat cover (2 wolf pelts); lean-to ground cover (cow hide) |
| Scout campfire | Ground covers (2 goat hides); elk antlers; hanging bones (buck antlers) |
Accordion and songs
Pearson plays the accordion. The Red Dead Wiki's camp events page lists the songs he plays or sings: "Home, Dearie, Home", "A Yankee Ship", "Blow the Man Down" and "John Brown (Glory, Glory Hallelujah)" with Sean MacGuire; "Ring Dang Doo" with Sean and Uncle; "Poor Lonesome Cowboy" with Karen Jones and, with Uncle as well, "Otis Miller", both to Javier's guitar. At the party for Jack's return he joins Uncle halfway through "The Cowboy", and on a rainy night at Shady Belle he sings "The Old Scout's Lament" alone.
Missions
The English Red Dead Wiki lists thirteen story missions of Red Dead Redemption 2 for Pearson, plus the end credits and one companion activity. The French Red Dead Wiki gives the same thirteen missions. The table below also includes the missions in which he only speaks a line, is talked about, or in which his absence is noted.
Red Dead Redemption 2, story missions
| Mission | Chapter | Pearson's role |
|---|---|---|
| Outlaws from the West | 1. Colter | Sent by Susan to check the food supplies at Colter; Dutch then asks him and Susan to turn the place into a camp. |
| The Aftermath of Genesis | 1. Colter | Mission start. Tells Arthur the camp is out of food, gives him a can of salted offal, then shares his rum and has Arthur skin a deer. |
| Old Friends | 1. Colter | Left at Colter with Hosea and Charles to guard the camp while the others raid the O'Driscolls. |
| Eastward Bound | 1. Colter | Loads supplies, rides in the lead wagon with Dutch to Horseshoe Overlook and asks for fresh food every day. |
| Who is Not Without Sin | 2. Horseshoe Overlook | At camp. Comments as Arthur carries a drunk Reverend Swanson to his tent. Not in the wiki's list. |
| A Strange Kindness | 2. Horseshoe Overlook | Listed by both wikis; the mission page does not describe his role. The gang packs up the Horseshoe Overlook camp. |
| Further Questions of Female Suffrage | 3. Clemens Point | Argues with Sadie in the kitchen, gives Arthur a letter for his aunt Cathy, then unloads the supplies with them. |
| Blessed are the Peacemakers | 3. Clemens Point | Reports the O'Driscolls' offer of a parley; Dutch refuses to take him along. Apologizes to the wounded Arthur and helps carry him to his tent. |
| The Battle of Shady Belle | 3. Clemens Point | Arrives with the caravan; Dutch asks him and Susan to set up the Shady Belle camp. |
| Horsemen, Apocalypses | 4. Saint Denis | After the O'Driscoll attack, buries Kieran with Charles and Swanson on Dutch's orders. |
| Banking, The Old American Art | 4. Saint Denis | Absent. The mission page lists him among the gang members who do not take part in the bank robbery. |
| Fleeting Joy | 5. Guarma | At Lakay. Welcomes Arthur back, according to the character page, before the Pinkerton attack. |
| That's Murfree Country | 5. Guarma | After Susan shoots Molly at Beaver Hollow, ordered with Bill to burn the body. |
| Visiting Hours | 6. Beaver Hollow | Listed by both wikis; the mission page does not describe his role. |
| Money Lending and Other Sins VI & VII | 6. Beaver Hollow | Woken up if Arthur throws Strauss out at night; later asks where Strauss has gone. Not in the wiki's list. |
| My Last Boy | 6. Beaver Hollow | Last mission with Pearson at camp; he is gone once it is completed. |
| Our Best Selves | 6. Beaver Hollow | Mentioned. Dutch tells Arthur that Pearson, Uncle and Mary-Beth have run off and calls them cowards. Not in the wiki's list. |
| Ending Credits | Epilogue II | Seen running the general store in Rhodes and looking at a photograph of the gang. |
Red Dead Redemption 2: companion activity, requests and camp games
| Activity | Chapter | Pearson's role |
|---|---|---|
| Hunting (Simon Pearson) | 4. Saint Denis | Activity giver: crayfish, then alligator eggs, in the swamp east of Shady Belle (see Biography). Available after "Angelo Bronte, A Man of Honor". Rewards: three crayfish and up to ten alligator eggs. |
| Item request: a rabbit | 2. Horseshoe Overlook | He asks Arthur for a rabbit. According to the Red Dead Wiki's page on the Errand Boy trophy, the request is rare and mostly appears in chapter 2; it rewards a unique blue denim scouting jacket and counts toward the trophy. |
| Item request: a naval compass | 2, 3 and 4 | According to the Errand Boy page, he asks for it only during a poker game with him. A naval compass can be found in the boathouse of Braithwaite Manor, or in the lockbox of Ashton's stagecoach during "Fatherhood and Other Dreams". It also counts toward the trophy. |
| Dominoes | 4. Saint Denis | One of the gang members Arthur can play dominoes with at Shady Belle, along with Hosea, Abigail and Mary-Beth. |
Quotes
The lines below are given as spoken in the game, in the original English, with the mission and the person addressed.
Colter and the road east
We have a few cans of food and a rabbit... for what, ten, twelve people?
The Aftermath of Genesis (RDR2, chapter 1), to Arthur, in the shed where he cooksWe were stranded at sea... for fifty days.
The Aftermath of Genesis (RDR2, chapter 1), to Arthur, who has just said he does not wish to hear about the Navy. Arthur answers: "And you unfortunately survived..."You're gonna need something to eat out there.
The Aftermath of Genesis (RDR2, chapter 1), throwing Arthur a can of assorted salted offal. Arthur reads the label and says: "Starving would be preferable."Navy rum, sir... it's the only thing... the only thing. Keeps you sane, it does.
The Aftermath of Genesis (RDR2, chapter 1), after Arthur, handed the bottle, asks what it isNot too bad, Mr. Morgan. Yeah, they always said you were a butcher.
The Aftermath of Genesis (RDR2, chapter 1), watching Arthur skin the deerHeck, Arthur Morgan's first decent bit of hunting, after all these years.
The Aftermath of Genesis (RDR2, chapter 1), as Arthur hangs the deer skin on a rackAnd... we need food... real food... that means every day, one of you.
Eastward Bound (RDR2, chapter 1), speaking up from the crowd after Dutch tells the gang to earn their keep at Horseshoe OverlookSomebody had a good time.
Who is Not Without Sin (RDR2, chapter 2), as Arthur carries a drunk Reverend Swanson through camp
The parley
It's peace, Dutch... the O'Driscolls... I mean, I think there's a way.
Blessed are the Peacemakers (RDR2, chapter 3), to Dutch, after Micah tells him to speak upI met a couple of the O'Driscoll boys on the road into town... things were about to get ugly... but you know how I am in a fight, huh? Like a cornered tiger. Anyway... somehow it didn't, but... we got to talking... and they suggested a parley... to end things... like gentlemen.
Blessed are the Peacemakers (RDR2, chapter 3), to Dutch, Arthur and Micah. Dutch answers: "Gentlemen? Colm O'Driscoll? Have you lost your minds?"What about me?
Blessed are the Peacemakers (RDR2, chapter 3), when Dutch decides to go with Micah and Arthur only. Dutch replies: "This ain't the time for tigers, my friend."I'm sorry, Arthur.
Blessed are the Peacemakers (RDR2, chapter 3), as the wounded Arthur collapses back at Clemens Point. Dutch cuts in: "It's a bit late for apologies..."
Said to him and about him
Mr. Pearson... Miss Grimshaw... I need you to turn this place into a camp. We may be here for a few days.
Dutch van der Linde, Outlaws from the West (RDR2, chapter 1), in the Colter cabinYou noticed how Pearson's had a bottle in his hand ever since we fled Blackwater? We give the camp cook five minutes to grab the essentials and go, and he doesn't even bring a crumb of food.
Arthur Morgan to Charles Smith, The Aftermath of Genesis (RDR2, chapter 1), on the ride back from the huntI love it! Miss Grimshaw, Mr. Pearson, would you two kindly work your magic?
Dutch van der Linde, The Battle of Shady Belle (RDR2, chapter 3), on arriving at Shady Belle
From the quote list of the Red Dead Wiki
You see that swamp, Arthur? That's God's own pantry.
To Arthur, about the swamp around Shady Belle (RDR2, chapter 4; quote list of the character page)You know, sometimes people here still talk about the brutal demise of the Grays and the Braithwaites. I just smile and keep quiet.
To John Marston in his store in Rhodes (RDR2, 1907 epilogue; quote list of the character page)
Development and performance
Casting
Pearson is played by Jim Santangeli, an American actor, writer and director. According to the Red Dead Wiki, he was born in 1976 in Easton, Connecticut, is known for the series Our Cartoon President and the film Paterno, and was cast as both the voice and the motion capture performer for Pearson. The wiki and GTA BOOM add that he had earlier voiced a pedestrian in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV.
After the game
On June 8, 2019, Santangeli took part in the Red Dead Redemption 2 cast panel at SacAnime Summer 2019 in Sacramento, with Roger Clark, Rob Wiethoff, Steve J. Palmer, Peter Blomquist, Alex McKenna, Curzon Dobell and Gabriel Sloyer.
During a TikTok livestream reported by GTA BOOM on June 11, 2026, he said he has a part in Grand Theft Auto VI, which he described as "a little small bit" and "some cool stuff, but small". In that article, Ray Ampoloquio called him the first publicly confirmed actor of the game at the time.
Cut content and concept art
The Red Dead Wiki lists unused trousers and a sweater for Pearson in the game files, identical to the ones he wears in the final game. Two camp encounters at Horseshoe Overlook were cut: in one, Pearson tells Charles how lazy some people are about bringing in food, then asks Arthur whether he will help, and Arthur says he might; in the other, Pearson warns Arthur that he may have to start serving hardtack, which Arthur has never heard of, and calls it a nautical thing Arthur would not understand. The same page lists a poker activity with Pearson among cut or reduced content.
Concept art published by the wiki shows Pearson with Bill, Karen, Tilly, Uncle, Mary-Beth and Strauss. The wiki also publishes a comparison of his hair model before and after the game's day-one patch. On the gang photograph that hangs in his store in 1907, the coach driver sits on the right, a layout the wiki's cut content page traces to early development, before the driver's seat moved to the left.
Reception
Rankings
In Game Informer's staff ranking of the 24 members of the Van der Linde gang, published on December 27, 2018, Pearson comes 21st. The entry says that, unlike the three members ranked below him, "Pearson isn't awful. He's just kind of a dork", and cites his letter to his aunt, which Sadie reads aloud and in which he lies about his accomplishments. It adds that he "fulfills an important role: feeding everyone, which goes unappreciated by the whole gang", but that "Pearson's biggest crime is how uninteresting he is".
TheGamer places him fifth in a list of ten gang members by Jerrad Wyche, published on August 10, 2019. Wyche writes that Pearson first "comes off as a whiny and needy man who just so happens to be the gang's cook", that he is "simply a man not cut out for this lifestyle", and that he "only becomes frustrated when his livelihood is directly at stake".
Other media and legacy
Marketing
Pearson is one of the gang members presented by Rockstar in the series of character portraits and descriptions posted on Twitter on September 6, 2018 (see Personality), which The Hollywood Reporter reproduced on September 7, 2018. The Red Dead Wiki's gallery also includes a promotional artwork of him. He is in the front row of the composite of 23 gang members' official art designs that illustrates Wikipedia's list of the game's characters, where his section is titled "Mr. Pearson".
Trivia
- Dutch uses the insult "repulsive little maggot" on Angelo Bronte as he drowns him in "Revenge is a Dish Best Eaten". The mission page notes that Pearson says the same words to Uncle (see Relationships).
- During the crayfish activity, Arthur can shoot the alligators instead of waiting for Pearson to draw them away. Pearson is then angry and waits for him at the boat, but the activity carries on as planned.
- Up to eleven alligator eggs can be collected during the activity; one is automatically handed to Pearson at the end, which leaves Arthur ten at most. If Arthur has already done the "Duchesses and Other Animals" errand for Algernon Wasp, which also involves alligator eggs, he mentions that earlier errand, according to the activity page.
- The Red Dead Wiki classes the crayfish activity, a chapter 4 activity, as missable content.
- The Marstons' dog, Cain, can sometimes be seen sniffing and licking the food on Pearson's table.
- The Rhodes general store is the only general store in the game whose owner changes between 1899 and 1907. According to the wiki's page on the store, A.J. Banks, its owner in 1899, moved east to start other businesses.
Gallery
