Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Villain as Hated as Red Dead Redemption 2’s Micah Bell

by

This article contains major spoilers for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Red Dead Redemption 2.

There is no shortage of compelling villains in gaming, but some of the best are often considered so because they are sympathetic or tragic. However, games with villains that really make players hate them can be just as effective as those that earn players’ sympathy, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 features both sides of this spectrum. One character is particularly despicable and conjures comparisons to the infamously hated Micah Bell from Red Dead Redemption 2.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 constantly asks players to grapple with moral choices, often around whether to kill a foe in the name of revenge or spare them and embrace forgiveness. For as awful as characters like Istvan Toth and Markvart von Aulitz are, their villainy is much more palatable since they make their intentions clear from the start. However, the betrayal of Vauquelin Brabant makes him so much more loathsome since his two-faced nature seems to stem from a selfish place, rather than one of ideals, showing a clear parallel to Red Dead Redemption 2‘s Micah.

Vauquelin Brabant is as Despicable as Red Dead Redemption’s Micah Bell

Micah Bell is One of Gaming’s Most Hated Characters

Red Dead Redemption 2 players are likely well acquainted with the villain of Micah Bell, whose misdeeds throughout the course of the game paint him as one of the most treacherous characters in gaming. While Micah is an ally of the Van Der Linde Gang for most of the game, red flags start appearing before he takes a hard left turn toward betrayal. With a suspicious background and questionable behavior shown in the Strawberry Massacre, it’s not surprising that Micah ended up as an informant for the Pinkertons, selling out the gang’s whereabouts for personal fortune.

Traitors are already some of the easiest characters to hate in any narrative, especially those who sell out their comrades for personal gain. What makes Micah an even more despicable traitor is the fact that he manipulated Dutch’s paranoia to drive a wedge between him and Arthur so he could secure the money from the Blackwater job for himself. The finale of RDR2‘s epilogue can be one of the most cathartic experiences in the game, where players finally get to kill Micah as John Marston and put an end to his villainy.

Brabant’s Betrayal Solidifies Him as Another Micah Bell

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s Vauquelin Brabant follows a similar character arc to Micah, and plays a nearly identical role in the game’s narrative. Players will first encounter him as a prisoner of Otto von Bergow alongside Hans Capon when Henry sneaks into Maleshov fortress to rescue his liege. Despite having reservations about taking Brabant along in their flight from the fortress, Capon assures Henry that Brabant is an ally, having led the defense of Kuttenberg against Sigismund’s army before being captured.

However, it’s clear that Brabant is only an opportunist after he attempts to run off with the silver Zizka, Henry, and the gang stole from the Italian Court, killing Adder in the process. Although Brabant claims to be a French Baron, a quick look at his history reveals he is a charlatan who stumbled his way into nobility and jumps at the chance to manipulate whoever he can for personal gain. The final twist of the knife comes when it is revealed that Brabant is commanding the Prague troops laying siege to Suchdol castle, and after he captures and tortures Samuel during the Reckoning main quest mission, players can make the easy choice to kill him in the Praguer camp.

If players decide to let Brabant live at this moment, he promptly summons guards and exposes their position, making it clear that he’ll take any extreme measures to safeguard himself.

In many games, players rarely encounter villains as malicious as Micah Bell and Vauquelin Brabant. These characters are exemplars of treacherous, selfish antagonists who will stop at nothing to further their own interests, even if it means betraying their supposed allies to reach their goals. Given the intense dislike Micah Bell has garnered within the gaming community following the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2, it seems only fitting that Vauquelin Brabant should share similar infamy in the aftermath of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Read More

2025-03-16 03:07