Until now, Epix’s Billy the Kid hasn’t relied much on its real-life past to provide dramatic weight. It’s generally worked on its own terms, and while any acquaintance with the titular character’s background has meant that key names and anecdotes have had a bit more weight, that’s about it.
In “Fate,” I was thinking about this since in the frigid opening scene, Billy meets Pat Garrett, the man who will eventually kill him. And there’s a sense of jarring significance to the introduction, as if we’re all intended to forcefully inhale at the mention of the name. If I hadn’t had to Google Pat and double-check his relevance, it could have been a cool moment.
Recap of Billy the Kid season 1 episode 6
As a title, “Fate” has a double meaning. Sure, Billy’s fate is in doubt, but when Pat returns him to Jesse Evans, whose gang he’s travelling with, he uses the same phrase: “Fate must have brought us back together.”
Billy’s unexpected decision to travel with Jesse and agree to rustle John Chisum’s cattle is difficult to reconcile, especially given how they left things in the previous episode. That moment didn’t ring true, and this one doesn’t either. It begs the question of why the show continues returning to these two.
Billy and Jesse have a little chat about Barbara, and that appears to be the end of it. Everything has been forgiven. Jesse’s comrades, particularly Bob Olinger, aren’t fond of Billy, but a drunken fistfight irons that out. We’re still supposed to believe that Billy is a decent man who is forced to make poor decisions, but it’s hard to believe that while he’s acting like a jerk. Later, when Chisum’s cowboys ambush the gang, Billy gravely wounds a guy, the victim exclaims, “Why do you have to rob and kill people like me?” Subtle!
Billy maintains that his goal is not to kill anyone. When Pat asks him about his recent celebrity, he claims he doesn’t care about being famous, let alone famous for murder. Despite this, he kills individuals without provocation in every episode. He already executed Don Ortiz, thus his refusal to kill a cowboy here doesn’t seem completely right. By having the guy try to shoot Billy in the back, the script makes it simple.
He’s absolutely fine with killing in self-defense. However, it’s still unclear what the programme is truly attempting to imply here. It appears to be split between letting us sympathise with the protagonist and making him look cool by dropping a man with each shot he fires.
When the activities of the Seven Rivers Gang make the news, Billy is heartbroken to hear himself characterised as a lawless desperado. But what exactly did he expect? He plays a little violin at one point, practically daring us to laugh.
The crew needs to move on, so it’s fortunate that an old friend of Jesse’s named Frank Baker shows up with a job offer just in time. He suggests that they go to Lincoln County, which is still rather lawless, and work for Lawrence Murphy, a wealthy businessman who requires a private army to keep competitors away from his holdings.
He’s willing to pay a hefty sum for the notorious William H. Bonney, which Jesse isn’t happy about. Billy, on the other hand, wants to embrace his celebrity. People will have to pay for his services if they require them now, and Jesse can take it or leave it.
The script, however, takes the matter out of Billy’s hands once more. Guillermo, a Mexican child, arrives at the ranch, looking for Billy – just how secret is this secret hideaway? He’s received a telegram from Segura, who is serving a life sentence in Chihuahua for the murder of Don Ortiz.
Before he’s hung in three days, he needs Billy’s help. While the rest of the Seven Rivers Gang proceeds to Lincoln County, Billy rides out to assist his pal, adopting the moniker Billy the Kid from Pat.
Billy gets Segura out of jail in approximately five minutes, and there’s another brutal scene where Billy repeatedly shoots one of the guards, and the muzzle flash from his gun illuminates the wanted poster on the dark jail’s wall.
“You are unique,” Segura concludes, having previously stated that he appeared to be. However, it does not appear to deter him too much. He and Billy are able to flee, but they must split up because the law is after them. Despite the fact that they have only recently met, they tell each other that they will always be brothers. Relationships in the Wild West seem to bloom fast, don’t they?
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