After an excruciatingly long wait since the fourth episode, MGM+'s most underrated original, Billy the Kid, returns with a vengeance for the fifth episode of Season 2, titled "A Debt Collected." It's not just a return with a bang but several, as it's all about people being violently butchered to set the stage for the final few episodes.
It's worth revisiting a few key conflicts that have been brewing since the show was last on the air. The previous episode's ending saw Pat Garrett being appointed as the sheriff of Lincoln County, which is historically significant as he was the man who ultimately killed Billy the Kid in real life. We were also left wondering about the ongoing conflict between Billy and Jesse, given that the latter seems unable to kill the former despite having no compunctions about slaughtering everyone else he meets. The romantic future between Billy and Dulcinea, who didn't quite understand why Billy was so adamant about embracing the outlaw lifestyle and going to war, was also left hanging. By the end of "A Debt Collected," she sees his point.
This show has never been shy about reminding us of Billy's preternatural gift as an outlaw, but it also loves to highlight how difficult it is for all his enemies to believe. Remember, folks like Riley and Murphy have controlled Lincoln County with impunity for a long time, so they're used to getting what they want. It's almost inconceivable that one guy could cause them so much trouble. And yet, here we are. This theme is reiterated through Buckshot Roberts, a talented but arrogant marksman who promises Riley and Murphy he'll take care of Billy for them and then naively decides to go it alone, very stupidly and obviously. He manages to kill Brewer and Middleton, but he ultimately ends up dead at Billy's hands, and word gets back to Pat Garrett.
Part of me wonders if Billy the Kid will wield the power to nudge history a bit off its course. So far, the narrative has followed the historical record closely in broad strokes, but given how Pat has been portrayed, there's an outside chance he might let Billy live while taking credit for his death, giving Billy a chance to escape and the audience a potentially happy ending. I could be mistaken, but there's a history between these two characters. In the letter Billy sends to Pat in Episode 5, he lays out the obvious – that Riley and Murphy are the real bad guys here. Given that Pat has been depicted as anything but an idiot, he must know this to be true. Is he principled enough to do something about it?
The tragedy of this episode lies in the fate of the Del Tobosco family and the subsequent radicalization of Dulcinea, who suddenly sees Billy's point of view after witnessing her entire family massacred in front of her. Dulcinea's family becomes targets for two reasons: Catron wants to seize Mr. Del Tobosco's entire estate, and Jesse knows that attacking Dulcinea will lure Billy out of hiding. You can see how these two things fit together like pieces in a puzzle – a win-win for the bad guys. Thus, Jesse and his gang ride out to slaughter the Tobosco family. Dulcinea is able to escape, but everyone else is brutally killed. Through her description of the events, Billy is easily able to deduce who's responsible. This surely won't go unanswered, and now that Dulcinea is on his side, Billy will feel even less compunction than usual about getting his hands dirty. But is his fate already written in stone, or is there a curveball coming?
