We got a rare glimpse into Billy the Philosopher.
Billy spent at least as much time pondering as gunslinging on Billy the Kid Season 2 Episode 2.
It was definitely a different approach to a man seen first and foremost as an outlaw.
First came Billy’s ode to gunplay while he and Charlie were attempting to teach Tom O’Folliard, still likely to be an early casualty in the upcoming Lincoln County War, how to shoot. He punctuated that with a show of marksmanship.
Next, Billy became a surprise early proponent of women’s rights. Then again, maybe that wasn’t so surprising, as he had a robust role model in his mother, Kathleen.
Billy felt Dulcinea had some ‘splainin’ to do after he spotted her being affectionate with a man on Billy the Kid Season 2 Episode 1.
He must have felt dumber than usual around Dulcinea when she explained that it had been her brother. Then she shocked him with word of her arranged marriage dating back to her childhood.
Then, as her chaperone turned away, Dulcinea gave Billy a passionate kiss that left little doubt about how she felt about him.
Billy showed no fear when she asked him to come home and meet her father.
By being brutally honest, Billy convinced her father to allow Dulcinea her choice regarding marriage.
This discussion with Dulcinea’s father showed he could think more deeply than simply deciding right and wrong.
Billy’s cunning allowed him to determine something was off about his boss, John Tunstall.
Besides, of course, his spending time in a smallpox ward and then rushing home before he was fully healed.
What Tunstall didn’t tell anybody until it was too late that he was running from a threat on his life.
Edgar Walz is turning out to be an enjoyable villain who is ever so civilized even when threatening to have someone killed.
Tunstall shouldn’t have devised a plan to avoid war between his organization and The House when he suffered from a severe illness.
Having defected from Murphy’s group and the Seven Rivers Gang, Billy knew the players involved and understood Tunstall’s plan had little chance of succeeding.
Tunstall’s insistence that Lincoln had enough business to support himself and The House had already proven wrong.
Tunstall moved in, and now The House was financially hanging on by a thread. Undoubtedly, the town was growing with settlers, but it still seemed like iffy logic.
Still, as Tunstall pointed out, Billy owed him. So Willia followed his ludicrous plan of breaking out the remainder of Jesse’s gang to make peace.
Not helping at all was the law in those parts, Sheriff Brady.
First, he shut down Tunstall’s bank for the corrupt Thomas Catron.
He would have ignored the theft of Tunstall’s horses by Jesse’s gang if Dick Brewer, a deputy, hadn’t demanded a posse be gathered to recover those horses.
Then, after accepting a fat wad of bills, he enabled the jailbreak of Jesse’s gang by just having one guard there.
Then, events went down as Billy had predicted, as Jesse and the other outlaws refused peace as there was so much more money to be made in wartime.
What was intriguing was how Jesse wouldn’t allow any gang member to shoot Billy in cold blood, even if such a maneuver would be a massive advantage in the upcoming war.
Underneath, some part of their longtime friendship must linger.
Let’s see what happens when they come face to face during the war.
Billy was right when he insisted that Tunstall name Brewer his second in command. Dick stepped into the spotlight in this episode.
First, he tried to prevent Brady from shutting down Tunstall’s bank based on an order from the corrupt Catron.
Then, he fought off Jesse’s gang when they came after Tunstall’s horses, which were stored on his land.
Finally, he pressed Brady to form a posse to go after the horses stored at Jesse’s hideout. The raid thinned the gang’s ranks, and the remainder were jailed until broken out.
You had to feel bad for Alexander McSwain. Thanks to the rustling charge, he finally had some legal way to imprison the gang’s leader and hurt The House. Then Tunstall, his boss, decided they should bust out Jesse and company instead.
In the end, as Billy noted, the good guys remained in charge, at least for a time.
And poor Charlie Bowdre has to be having second thoughts after the birth of his and Manuel’s baby boy, Billy.
As was evident when he sank to his knees, Charlie regrets ever signing up for the Lincoln County War.
In the end, after admitting that war was inevitable, Tunstall had the guts to confess to Billy why he had suddenly sought to work with the corrupt house.
His panicking appeared to be out of character for someone who had been so courageous throughout this ordeal.
But he was still recovering from a taxing disease, so he wasn’t entirely in his right mind.
What did you think of Tunstall’s plan?
Even with Billy on their side, can Tunstall’s forces win?
Will Dulcinea choose Billy if he lives long enough?
Comment below.
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Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
