Bill Williamson escaped the assault on Fort Mercer in Act 1 and crossed into Mexico. John Marston follows him over the San Luis River into Nuevo Paraíso, a province in the middle of a civil war. The second act is built on a single decision: John works for both sides at once, because both sides claim they can hand him the men he came for.

Full spoilers for Act 2 of Red Dead Redemption follow.

Setting: Nuevo Paraíso

Nuevo Paraíso is the game's Mexican region, reached by crossing the San Luis River from New Austin. Chuparosa is its main town. Escalera, in the south, is the seat of the provincial government. El Presidio is a fortified army post, and Las Hermanas is a convent that shelters the poor. The province is under military rule and an armed rebellion is under way.

The two sides of the war

Colonel Agustín Allende governs the province for the Mexican government and lives at Escalera. His officer, Captain Vicente de Santa, handles most of the army's dealings with John. Against them stands a rebel movement led by Abraham Reyes, a well-spoken young revolutionary, and Luisa Fortuna, a farm girl who believes in him completely. Allende is sheltering Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella, which is what forces John to deal with him.

John Marston in a gunfight outside a Mexican mission church
John fights for both the army and the rebels across Nuevo Paraíso.

Working both sides

De Santa promises John that the army will deliver Bill and Javier, and sends him after rebels instead. Reyes promises the same thing, and sends him to raid army convoys and free prisoners. John takes both sets of jobs and says openly that he does not care who wins. The act is a long sequence of errands that never quite produce the two men, until John stops waiting for either side to keep its word.

Landon Ricketts

Landon Ricketts is an ageing American gunslinger living out his retirement in Chuparosa. Nigel West Dickens points John toward him in Act 1. Ricketts is the only figure in the region with no stake in the war: he protects the townspeople, teaches John how to shoot faster, and helps him during several missions.

De Santa's betrayal

De Santa eventually turns on John and hands him over to be executed. John escapes the firing squad and kills him. That break ends any pretence of working for the army, and John commits to the rebel side to reach Escalera.

Javier Escuella, former Van der Linde gang member, in Mexico
Javier Escuella, the second name on John's list, is taken at El Presidio.

El Presidio and Escalera

John and the rebels storm El Presidio to free Reyes, who has been captured. Luisa Fortuna is shot and killed during the attack. Javier Escuella is inside the fort, and John takes him alive. The act ends with the assault on Escalera: Allende's forces break, and both Allende and Bill Williamson are killed. Reyes takes the province and marches on the capital, and John rides back north with nothing left on his list but Dutch.

Key characters

Act 2 follows John Marston between two camps: Colonel Agustín Allende and Captain Vicente de Santa on the government side, Abraham Reyes and Luisa Fortuna on the rebel side. Landon Ricketts helps him without joining either. Javier Escuella and Bill Williamson are the targets.

Key events of Act 2

  • John crosses the San Luis River into Nuevo Paraíso to find Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella.
  • He works for Colonel Allende and Captain de Santa, and at the same time for Abraham Reyes and the rebels.
  • Landon Ricketts, a retired gunslinger in Chuparosa, trains and assists him.
  • De Santa betrays John and tries to have him shot; John escapes and kills him.
  • The rebels attack El Presidio to free Reyes, Luisa Fortuna is killed, and John captures Javier Escuella alive.
  • Escalera falls, and Allende and Bill Williamson are killed.
  • Reyes takes power in the province, and John returns north to hunt Dutch van der Linde in Act 3 (West Elizabeth).