In the third season of "Billy the Kid," the narrative arc finds our hero on a relentless treadmill of ambushes, a demoralizing predicament for anyone attempting to forge a resistance movement. Despite Billy's triumphant vengeance on Miguel for his betrayal, Episode 3, "Take Your Medicine," suggests that little ground has been gained. The title could just as easily apply to any of the characters, given the struggles even the House's current and former members face, but it underscores Billy's pressing realization of the cost of his mission.
He is also compelled to re-evaluate his allies, whose fickle loyalty makes them prone to betrayal. In this regard, the episode showcases its most intricate drama—Billy's relationship with Jesse—which, as predicted, reaches a turning point. The lack of historical precedent lends this development a genuine unpredictability, and their eventual team-up gives Billy a viable chance at retribution. As a result, "Take Your Medicine" emerges as the standout episode of the final season so far, a welcome boost for a narrative that had been flagging.
Riley's exit from the series is a poignant moment. After his unceremonious dismissal from the House by Thomas Catron, he finds himself adrift, drunk, and without purpose. He is forced to swallow his pride and beg for Emily's forgiveness, only to fall back on the bottle when that fails. Even the bartender seems tired of him and his unpaid tab. The irony of power is that those in positions of authority don't know how to live without it. Riley is not a sympathetic figure, but his symbolic act of eating his own gun in the shadow of the old Murphy Store serves as a powerful cautionary tale—there's always someone bigger, more sinister, who will go further and do more without complaining.
This sentiment ripples through Jesse's arc as well. Still grappling with the guilt of Ana's death, he rides with Sheriff Garrett's posse out of blackmail and perhaps a lingering sense of brotherhood with Billy. He believes the hunt for Billy will give him some sense of purpose, but it only serves as a mirror reflecting on himself. Is he truly the kind of man who would inflict a mortal wound on a young man and then blithely play cards while he noisily and painfully expires? Jesse has little humanity left to spare, and he doesn't want to spend it torturing Billy's few remaining loyalists. Tom pays a grim price for Billy's crusade, but he also awakens some sense of purpose in Jesse, who hands in his deputy badge and rides out to reunite with Billy.
It's a delicate dance of emotions, to be honest. Jesse has tarnished his reputation with numerous missteps, leaving Billy and Dulcinea with scant reasons to trust him or accept his claim of redemption. The argument spirals into a fierce fistfight, both men torn apart, panting and bleeding. Yet, in this moment of truth, it proves Jesse's sincerity. Perhaps he cannot undo all the harm he's caused, but he can at least try—at least, in his own words, strive for understanding. It's a fragile alliance, but an alliance it is. Undoubtedly, it's the standout scene of Episode 3, easily the best of Billy the Kid Season 3 thus far. It's the one that resonates with the most complex and genuine emotion.
It's easy to overlook that Jesse is a formidable gunslinger, not Billy himself, but his alliance with Billy is a game-changer for Garrett. This is evident in "Take Your Medicine," as they decide to send a message to Garrett that he can't ignore. So, they ride into Lincoln County and unleash a barrage of bullets on the Sheriff's office. Garrett and his minions dive for cover as Billy and Jesse zip by on horseback, followed by a hail of hidden gunfire that shreds the place to pieces. Garrett dodges the bullets but not their implication—the man responsible for keeping Lincoln County safe is now exposed as vulnerable.
This personalizes an already contentious situation, and for the first time, Billy has the law on the defensive.
