Billy's luck seems to be running dry, and things only take a turn for the worse during "Interlude," the fourth episode of Epix's reimagined journey through the infamous outlaw's early years (though, let's be real, his later years were equally as tumultuous). The latest chapter opens with a chilling scene of Billy stumbling deliriously through the desert, firing at tumbleweeds before we flashback four weeks to see how he arrived at this state.
After his recent prison escape, Billy stumbles upon a man named Alias, a name he's adopted after being asked so many times if he was using an alias that he might as well embrace it. Clearly a bad omen, Alias nevertheless convinces Billy, using the logic of birds of a feather, to accompany him to Texas in search of a position as a cowboy for a man named Mr. Hooker. Hooker, who introduces himself as William H. Bonney, challenges Billy to sing an Irish ditty to prove his immigrant credentials.
Billy's voice is actually quite charming, enough to secure him the job and also to charm a woman named Alice into bed. Despite the impending doom that looms over Billy, "Interlude" at least grants him a few moments of respite, with him getting laid a couple of times.
But alas, the bad things are here to stay. Alias, dissatisfied with his role as a ranchhand, forces Billy into helping him steal horses from Camp Grant. This is a regular side hustle for Hooker, 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, naively enough, takes one of the stolen horses to the local blacksmith, Cahill, who recognizes the horse's brand and immediately brands Billy in turn, though 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 drunken Cahill isn't willing to let the whole horse thief matter go unanswered, so he starts a fight with Billy in the local saloon. Billy kills him in self-defense in front of witnesses, but since his reputation precedes him, he's looking at a long sentence despite having turned himself in. In doing so, Billy recycles the American dream that was fed to his immigrant family: prosperity, justice, and fairness—a dream he should have realized was just marketing hype.
While he awaits 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 once 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 brings us back to the opening scene of him delirious, dehydrated, and alone.
When Billy wakes up, he finds himself 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.
