Summary
“Interlude” sees things go from bad to worse for Billy as he begins to make his way as a wanted man.
This recap of Billy the Kid season 1, episode 4, “Interlude”, contains spoilers.
Things aren’t going well for Billy, and they only get worse during “Interlude”, the fourth episode of Epix’s new reimagining of the infamous outlaw’s early years (not that he had any later ones). The latest outing kicks off with a cold open showing Billy deliriously staggering through the desert and opening fire on tumbleweeds before cycling back four weeks to show how he got there.
Billy the Kid season 1, episode 4 recap
After his prison escape last week, Billy stumbles into a man named Alias, so-called because he has been arrested and asked if he was using one so many times that he figured he might as well just adopt the moniker. Alias is obviously bad news, but using birds of a feather logic, he talks Billy into accompanying him to Texas and trying to secure a position as a cowboy for a man named Mr. Hooker, who pushes Billy — introducing himself as William H. Bonney — to sing a little Irish ditty to prove his immigrant credentials.
Billy’s voice isn’t bad, honestly. It’s enough to secure him the job, and also to charm a woman named Alice into bed. Despite all the bad things that are about to befall BIlly, “Interlude” at least gets him laid a couple of times.
But anyway, the bad things. Alias, unhappy with his lot as a ranchhand, strongarms Billy into helping him steal some horses from Camp Grant. This is a regular side hustle of Hooker’s, but his usual method is to have his cowboys take all the risk while he pockets all the money. Alias isn’t happy with that arrangement, so he plans to cut Hooker out of the deal. Billy, somewhat naively, takes one of the stolen nags to the local blacksmith, Cahill, who recognizes the horse’s brand and immediately brands Billy in turn, albeit figuratively. But he knows a horse thief when he sees one.
Predictably, Hooker gets wind of the scam. Alias wakes Billy up in the night to tell him he’s leaving since he has shot Hooker dead. Billy stays behind, but a drunk Cahill isn’t willing to let the whole horse thief matter go, so he starts a fight with Billy in the local saloon. Billy kills him in self-defense in a room full of witnesses, but since his reputation precedes him, he’s looking at a hefty sentence despite having turned himself in. In so doing, Billy recycles the idea of America that was fed to his immigrant family, of prosperity and justice and fairness, which by now he should have realized was just marketing spiel.
While he’s awaiting trial, Upson visits Billy, mostly just to keep him at the forefront of the audience’s mind. Billy assures Upson they’ll meet again, and I’m sure they will, but in the meantime, Billy springs himself from captivity again and sets out as a proper outlaw. He promptly has his horse stolen by Natives — a fair trade, they explain, for having had all their lands stolen, which it’s difficult to quibble with — which is how we catch up to the cold open, with him delirious, dehydrated, and alone.
When Billy wakes up, he’s in New Mexico, being tended to by a woman named Barbara, who occupies an isolated homestead in Lincoln County, just outside Fort Stanton. A group called the Seven River Gang calls that place home, but they’re away rustling cattle, which gives Billy time to “bond” with Barbara. But the cliffhanger ending reveals that Barbara already has a man, and that man is Billy’s old pal Jesse Evans. Since Jesse is now Billy’s savior, he probably won’t like the idea of him shacking up with his missus. We’ll see how that plays out next week.
You can stream Billy the Kid season 1, episode 4, “Interlude”, exclusively on Epix.
