'Billy the Kid' Episode 2 Review: Death, betrayal takes centerstage in riveting chapter
EPIX’s latest western drama ‘Billy the Kid’ started with an extraordinary episode filled with amazing sequences and brilliant writing. It also dived deeper into the world of the renowned American outlaw who suffered through most of his childhood. On the other hand, the second episode was all about the journey of how a child became an outlaw and although many people would just describe him as insane, whatever he went through in his life it doesn’t come as a shock that he turned out to be like that.
Not that that made him any less deadly. It definitely made him a somewhat sympathetic figure around which a series can be built. Billy and his family get to know that Kansas won’t bring happiness to them. Billy lost his father and they had nothing to live for in Kansas. So, they decide to move to New Mexico for new opportunities. In the process, Billy realized how cruel the world is when a man tried to impose himself on his mother. That’s the first time we see him holding a gun and not even blinking his eyes while threatening the man.
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Everything changes in New Mexico and that’s where we see an innocent child walking toward becoming a force to be reckoned with. His mother marries a man named Henry Antrim after a woman named Hattie told her that she would have to become a prostitute or marry someone to have a fulfilling wife. Billy doesn’t like Henry because he saw him hanging three Mexicans who were accused of thieving. Even marriage to Henry doesn’t provide happiness to Kathleen because she soon realizes that her husband is going to a brothel and spending time with other women.
Seeing his mother cry, Billy gets really agitated and beats the hell out of Henry. However, the incident that changed him was the death of his friend Carlos, who was shot dead by one of the men while playing poker, and when he got to know that laws only help the affluent people, his journey of becoming an outlaw started. He knew that if he wants to have justice, he would have to take matters into his hands.
The episode is mainly focused on betrayal and rule of law is not the same for everyone. One thing different from the first episode is the action sequences. We finally see the adult Billy showing his skills while using a gun. He’s not the same Billy anymore who would get frightened if someone threatened him.
The writing keeps you hooked and once again, the direction steals the show. Tom Blyth’s performance is undoubtedly magnificent, but Higgins’ portrayal of Kathleen takes the series to a whole new level. She is vulnerable and does what is best for her children, without even thinking of herself.
‘Billy the Kid’ has all the ingredients of becoming a superb show and we hope that it keeps on getting better with each episode.
