BILLY THE KID

CHARACTERS GEAR UP FOR THE LINCOLN COUNTY WAR

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

The wild west was run by business people, cattle ranchers and gunslingers for the longest time.

And when times are tough and life is hard, the anti-heroes live among us, as well.

Tom Blyth is cast as Billy the Kid (aka William H. Bonney) born Henry McCarty in New York City on September 17, 1859.

The eight episodes, directed by Otto Bathurst, David Frazee, Rachel Leiterman and Michael Nankin, show the transition of the family as they relocate from New York for better opportunities in places like Kansas and then later New Mexico.

Jonah Collier plays the young Henry McCarty (Billy) making the journey with his parents and a hired wagon driver. But the American Old West is still an untamed tinderbox which makes the journey filled with unexpected dangers.

Script creator Michael Hirst transitions the Young Billy through the first episodes until the gun slinger Billy the Kid begins to develop character.

Blyth shows that Billy the Kid reluctantly takes on the moniker at first but then begins to notice how people respect him and treat him much better as a result.

Billy the Kid is shown as kind of pushed cajoled and influenced into becoming an outlaw as he still wears his inner moral character on his shirt sleeve.

Billy the Kid initially is quite happy winning money playing poker, but the vagaries of life are such that his art with the six shooter soon becomes noticed and much more profitable.

Daniel Weber plays outlaw Jesse Evans who befriends Billy the Kid and introduces him to the benefits of a life of crime.

The episodes have about a 45 minute runtime that spins by rather quickly as several characters are introduced and the killing is actually kept to a minimum.

The script tries to humanize the notorious wild west outlaw by showing how difficult life is while at the same time drawing him through various relationships in an early attempt to normalize his life and support himself with an honest living.

Billy the Kid crosses paths with Jesse Evans several times through the series until they finally begin to work together for an established business owner in Lincoln County.

This business dynamic begins to carry the series just as the novelty of introducing new characters begins to wane, with some of the characters leaving the series on ‘not so good terms’ as the gunslinger gangs form and begin working as hired help.

The scenes are lit well with dark shadowy cinematography emphasizing the natural lighting by lanterns in the age prior to electricity and light bulbs.

A score is present but what becomes increasingly more compelling is the character development of Billy the Kid, portrayed by Blyth, as the reluctant anti-hero must eventually make a moral decision to fight for a cause regardless of the consequences.

Season 1 draws to an end as the two competing business owners begin to gear up for the legendary Lincoln County War, with each side enlisting hired gangs and gunslingers, public officials and community members.

Billy the Kid is streaming in Canada on Paramount+.