Deacon St. John, the protagonist of Days Gone, is the typical tough guy with a dark past. Before the events of Days Gone take place, Deacon had already dropped out of high school, joined the army, and been an enforcer in the Mongrels MC. It was a dark life and Deacon would’ve likely met a similarly dismal end if he had continued down that road. However, Sarah would act as a beacon for him, literally drawing him away from his worst activities. After marrying Sarah, Deacon seems to have been on a much better track. Although chaotic stories rarely end as happily as Deacon’s did, the apocalypse had other plans in store.
When the Freaker virus began running rampant across the world, Deacon is separated from Sarah and spends two years thinking she died. She had actually been working at a militia camp in an effort to create a cure, and thought Deacon was dead as well. Until Deacon finds Sarah alive at the end of Days Gone, he is thrown back into his old life of chaos and darkness. Deacon rages against the world that took his wife away from him, and that leads him to do some horrible things. Days Gone 2 might’ve been a great opportunity for Sony Bend to seek Deacon’s redemption, but that would likely mean he wouldn’t make it out unscathed.
The Fall of Deacon During Days Gone
It would probably be best to describe Deacon St. John as the anti-hero in Days Gone. Dropped into the apocalypse just when he was starting to find peace, Deacon seemed to be searching for something as he stumbled his way through the hordes. This leads him to kill the occasional non-threatening survivor via overdose or drown an entire Ripper village out of spite. With the latter, it was an effort to make up for the lives of Iron Mike’s lost survivors. Thinking they’re justified, Deacon and Boozer decide to blow up a damn and drown an unaware village that held the entire Ripper cult, including men, women, and children.
It isn’t just his post-pandemic actions that he deals with during the events of Days Gone. It’s revealed through the campaign that the leader of the Rippers was an old acquaintance of Deacon and Boozer. Carlos was an ex-member of the Mongrel MC until he killed another member over drugs. Deacon and Boozer were tasked with holding him down while Carlos, known as Jesse at that time, had his tattoos removed with a blowtorch. Deacon ends up killing him, but in doing so has to come to terms with his past in the MC.
Deacon’s Redemption in Days Gone 2
It’s rare that stories as chaotic as Deacon’s end with a happy couple riding off into the sunset. Especially when the hero has caused as much mayhem and havoc as he has. The level of violence that Deacon operates at is not mentally or physically sustainable, and the constant trauma is just building on what he had going on before the apocalypse. Days Gone 2 would’ve likely seen Deacon come to terms with his actions in a similar way as he did with Carlos, but on a much larger scale. Days Gone 2 could’ve redeemed Deacon St. John, but that likely would’ve meant some more heartbreak for players.
Unfortunately, Sony has continued its silence on the chances of a Days Gone 2, but there are rumors that a pitch was denied. That hasn’t stopped fans from signing a Days Gone 2 petition by the tens of thousands in order to get Sony to hear them out. Whatever form Deacon would take in another title, fans would surely just be glad to have more of the post-apocalyptic Oregon they’ve grown to love. With the original Days Gone coming to PC on May 18th, maybe there is hope for a further telling of Deacon’s story when the game finds a new community.
Days Gone is available on PS4, PS5, and releases May 18 for PC.
