Summary
Billy the Kid has been off the historical script in Season 3 for a while now, but the contrived path is has taken to get here saps some of the potential payoff from this finale.
As soon as it turned out that Billy the Kid survived the incident that killed him in real life, it was obvious where Season 3 of MGM+’s surprise hit was going. But the happy ending it contrives out of thin air here in Episode 8, “The Redeemed”, is difficult to buy into, since it’s basically just fantastical wish fulfilment. Surviving his own historical fate wasn’t enough for Tom Blyth’s Billy. He also had to settle things with Pat Garrett and take down the Santa Fe Ring by way of Thomas Catron.
Implausible though it might be, this is what we’ve got to work with, so it’s our job to discuss it. Billy’s final mission has some hairy moments – and a finale-appropriate amount of action – and a couple of major character deaths that warrant a mention. So, without further ado, let’s break it all down.
Prodigal Daughter
Billy only has one remaining objective – assassinating Thomas Catron to free Lincoln County from the influence of the Santa Fe Ring. But he only has a few living allies who can help him do it. In Lincoln, he meets with Sam, who offers to introduce him to the one person who might enable him access to the most protected man in the state: Emily.
As we know, Emily is still smarting over her father having killed her husband, so she’s surprisingly willing to help Billy out. Luckily, Catron’s about to embark on a propaganda tour with several stops, at each of which he’ll be vulnerable. She acquires the itinerary so that Billy can plan his attack.
What’s most interesting about all this is that it cracks a window into the post-Kid American West, where Billy has become a folkloric character thanks, ironically, not just to his own exploits but Pat’s tall tales about them. We get to see Emily not just learning about Billy’s survival but getting to meet the legend in the flesh, and we also get to see Catron finally allowing himself to believe that Billy is of no concern to him. How ironic.
Jesse Didn’t Leave After All
A pretty big deal was made about Billy and Jesse Evans parting ways at the end of the penultimate episode. The finale reverses this decision and completely refuses to explain it outside of Jesse’s vague family-first explanation. It’s a really weak aspect of the script, since the show clearly wanted to have its cake and eat it with regards to the fallout in the previous episode and the climactic stuff in this one.
Jesse’s helpful in ironing out the details of the plan, but less so in keeping a low profile. He trips and falls into the first brothel he finds, so when the authorities later come around asking questions and showing sketches of the former Regulators, the hooker Jesse spent some time with is able to identify him. This rumbles Billy and Jesse’s safehouse and forces them to relocate, meaning they miss the best opportunity to nail Catron.
Luckily, Emily has another idea. If she becomes publicly involved in her father’s campaign, which until this point she has refused to do, she can create enough of a distraction for Billy and Jesse to make their move. The only other thing she needs to do is ensure that the story Ash Upson wrote about the Rings sees the light of day, and her father will surely be ruined.
A Double Death Closes out ‘Billy the Kid’ Season 3
The plan works. With Emily taking the stage, Billy and Jesse are able to stab their way into position, and then Billy finally takes out Catron in a very public assassination. In the ensuing gunfight, though, Jesse is mortally wounded and has to compel Billy to leave him behind so that he can die a martyr’s death holding off his pursuers.
Ahistorically, Billy survives and rides off into the sunset with Dulcinea and their child, a little unsure about whether his actions have ultimately facilitated any change, but reassured by the fact that he got his measure of revenge for the people who the Santa Fe Ring in general, and Catron specifically, brutally oppressed.
It’s a fine conclusion, on balance, but probably one that is ultimately a little too neat and tidy to feel like it is doing Billy the Kid justice.
