PINKERTON'S FAVORITE WHORE
He Paid to Be Betrayed
I canโt stop thinking about that girl. That shot from the credits โ where the Pinkertons approach her with a casual smile, while sheโs servicing another client. Iโm absolutely sure Charles had been with her more than once, not just during that mission in the Valentine saloon. Weโre not shown everything, right? We donโt see how the gang members spend their downtime, when they go into town, who they spend it with.
Iโm almost certain Charles wasnโt the only one. Half the guys in the gang clearly had a thing for whores. And that woman โ that prostitute โ Iโm sure she was one of the people who gave information to the Pinkertons. Maybe even about Charles himself, though he managed to leave Beecherโs Hope. In the end, she definitely helped lead them to John.
Working girls donโt care what they get paid for โ whether itโs to spread their legs or spill someoneโs secrets. Especially if they get paid twice as much. And her clients โ even Charles โ couldnโt really hide their identity from her. Sure, heโs the quiet type, but if you watch that saloon scene before the cutscene triggers, you can clearly see him talking nonstop to the girls โ his mouth never stops moving. We donโt hear any of it, but his lips are constantly moving, like heโs deep in conversation. Javier, by comparison, barely moves his mouth.
Prostitutes arenโt stupid. They take mental notes on their clients โ who they are, how much theyโre worth, and whether thereโs more to gain than just cash. So hereโs what Iโm thinkingโฆ I once read this crackpot theory that Charles was the real rat in the gang. Probably a joke, because the arguments were like: โHe drinks coffee. Dutch drinks coffee. Boom โ traitor.โ Seriously.
But my theory? The girls โ the prostitutes โ were the real rats. Or at least, they played a way bigger role than anyone realizes. Maybe that sounds even more insane, because Iโve got no hard evidence โ except for that one frame in the credits, where sheโs clearly giving information to the agents. Maybe not directly about John, but about Charles and Javier? Very likely. And if so, all she did was pass along what the guys themselves told her โ in drunken confidence, far too trusting of their smugly satisfied, rented companion for the night.
Where the Gang Fell Apart
We only see things through Arthurโs eyes, but we have no idea what the others are doing. Dutch told them to blend in, act like civilized workers, and find ways to make an honest living. But he didnโt tell them to get black-out drunk, hire whores, and start bar fights. And yet thatโs exactly what they did โ so recklessly it borders on stupidity. When youโre that drunk, you donโt care whoโs listening or what youโre saying.
Thereโs even a line in a conversation between OโDriscoll members, where they say Colm ordered them not to mess with whores until their job was done. And honestly? He was right. A drunk man whose dick is doing the thinking is no friend to his own brain. And yes โ scientific studies confirm that sexual hormones impair both cognitive and physical performance. Aroused men are less rational, more impulsive, and their coordination drops. (This is a bit of a tangent, but it fits.)
So, is it possible that one of the biggest reasons behind the gangโs constant failures wasnโt just Dutchโs madness or Micahโs betrayal โ but the reckless, indulgent lifestyle of its men? Iโm not blaming them for wanting to satisfy basic urges. But, seriously โ showing up as a group of four (Arthur, Javier, Charles, Bill) at the saloon, all of them among the most wanted criminals in the country, openly using their real names, and then starting a fight?
Thatโs not just carelessness. Thatโs self-destruction.












