Even for those unfamiliar with the legend of Billy the Kid or the infamous Lincoln County War, a sense of impending doom hovers over "At the House," the penultimate episode of Epix's reimagining of the Wild West tale. It feels like the end is nigh, or at least close enough to inspire speculation about how and when it might arrive. After rescuing Segura last week, Billy makes his way to Lincoln, New Mexico, to find the Seven Rivers Gang already entrenched as the muscle of Lawrence Murphy, an Irish Union Army veteran who runs his operation—dubbed "The House"—from a sprawling store alongside two capable Irish comrades named Johnny Riley and Jim Dolan. Murphy is willing to pay top dollar for a job well done, and he's especially eager to secure the reputation of a man like Billy, whose bounty and outstanding warrants make his name a formidable force.
Murphy talks big, but his House is in disarray. A rival named John Tunstall, who appears to have hired Murphy's former attorney McSween, is emerging as a legitimate business foe, bleeding Murphy's operation dry through... well, it seems fair to his clientele. When Billy and Jesse go to shake down both Tunstall and the farmers whose crops he has been purchasing under Murphy's nose, it becomes clear that Murphy has been ripping them off and Tunstall is offering better deals.
You can see why Murphy is so high on Billy. He has invested in him and the Seven Rivers Gang in the hope of stoking fear in the region to the point where no one dares take a deal other than his—even if it's not in their best interests. But Billy isn't interested in pushing that narrative. In every exchange, he adopts the role of the good cop to Jesse's bad, and his inherent sense of reason and fairness means that no one is swayed and Tunstall remains the more desirable option. So, Riley goes to Jesse and tells him to tighten the screws.
Jesse is all too willing to indulge in this kind of thing. He still clings to a clichéd vision of a tough-guy outlaw and wants nothing more than to be one, especially since all the attention remains on Billy, who is being paid more handsomely and gifted expensive double-action pistols to show off his gunslinging skills to Murphy's influential clientele—and his adoring wife—at a soiree. So, Jesse overcompensates when he, Billy, and Pay return to see the farmer, Garcia. His threats result in the farmer's death when he tries to shoot Jesse in the back. It's Pat who pulls the trigger, so he's taken away to see Sheriff Brady and locked in a cell for the night to appease Lincoln's large Hispanic community, who are out for blood after the killing.
Billy is predictably remorseful and goes to pay his respects at Garcia's funeral, where he runs into one of Tunstall's employees, George Coe, and his associate Charlie Bowdre. They propose Billy meets with Tunstall, but Billy, knowing how much trouble that would cause, decides against it. But when he sees how Jesse and the rest of the gang are rewarded and encouraged by Dolan, with Pat being sent away to a court where he might be hung in order to appease the Mexican populace—all obviously a big ruse—you can see Billy begin to consider the offer. With Tunstall out of town, it's McSween Billy meets with in secret, only to be told that his life will change that very night. It's all very portentous, and beautifully sets up a finale in which war will presumably break out in Lincoln County—and I think we know which side Billy will be on.
