“Billy the Kid” Episode 5 takes Billy from Lincoln County to Chihuahua, Mexico, where he finds a friend in Melquiades Segura. Together, they take on Don Ortiz and his poker shop. The episode is fast-paced and is directed more towards Billy’s experiences as a wanted man than his inner and personal conflicts. And it is episode 5 that completes Billy’s transformation arc from a lad to finally an outlaw, for which the world remembers him.
Billy and Jesse
At the end of “Billy the Kid” Episode 4, we saw Billy and Jesse staring at each other. But Jesse is glad to see Billy and introduces him to the Seven Rivers gang. But the gang isn’t really happy to see him due to his notoriety and his posters all around the country. However, Jesse’s decision is final, and Billy will ride with them. That night, during dinner, Jesse notices Billy and Barbara exchanging looks and realizes that something is going on between them. The next day, he asks Barbara, in front of Billy, whether she loves Billy. Barbara clearly states that she joined the Seven River gang because she wanted freedom, and she is free to love as well. After this, she walks away, followed by Billy. Billy catches up to her and tells her that he loves her. She replies that she doesn’t belong to either Billy or Jesse.
Billy then decides to leave for good and asks Jesse for a horse. For Jesse, this is just Billy looking for a way out after betraying him with Barbara. Billy remains stern. Jesse asks him to stay the day to show the Seven River gang his shooting skills, which ultimately ends in a mock Mexican stand-off between Jesse and Billy. Jesse draws quicker and warns Billy that unless he learns to draw quicker, he is a “dead man.” As Billy sets up his horse before leaving, Barbara walks up to him to bid the last goodbye. Jesse watches this whole thing, and as Barbara returns, he aims his double-barrel rifle at Billy as he rides away. Barbara’s words hit Jesse, as well as us, hard when she tells him that he will never be able to shoot Billy because he loves him.
See More: ‘Billy the Kid’ Episode 4: Recap And Ending, Explained – Does Billy Join the Seven River Gang?
Chronicles of Chihuahua
On the way to Chihuahua, Billy notices a horse-drawn carriage with two kids, a mother, and a father, going in the opposite direction. Time slows down as Billy thinks about his mother and brother, both of whom are now dead. But he has to move on, and so he does.
Billy rents a room in Chihuahua. He is staring out of the window when a little boy limping on one leg arrives at his doorstep and offers to clean his boots for money. Smiling, Billy gives him his boots as well as some money and tells him that he will pay more once the boy returns the boots in an hour. But when Billy comes out of his room after an hour to check, the boots aren’t there. This is when he realizes that it was all a plan to steal them. He goes out to find out more about the place in an old, torn pair of boots, taking in the new surroundings that appear to be a feel-good place with happy people. This is when he notices the kid who had come to his room, but now there he has no limp. He runs to catch the kid, following him wherever he leads, and ultimately ends up surrounded by three guys who attack him, intending to steal from him. He is about to be beaten to death when another guy interrupts with a gun. The three guys run away, but they have already taken all of Billy’s money as well as his gun.
Billy’s savior is Melquiades Segura, a gambler. According to him, many people in Chihuahua do not like Americans, aka “gringos,” who have been trying to grab the lands of the natives, especially recently. He takes Billy to a gun shop because, apparently, the first thing he would need to survive in Chihuahua is a gun. After buying a new gun, Billy and Melquiades practice, where Melquiades is surprised by Billy’s skills.
A Game with Ortiz
Melquiades tells Billy about Don Ortiz, who runs his own poker place and makes money by cheating. He also has a lot of Melquiades’ money, and Melquiades wants Billy, who tells him that he is good at it, to help him get his money back. Billy realizes that it has money in it for himself as well and agrees. That night, they arrive at Don Ortiz’s place and sit down to play poker. Sure enough, Billy and Melquiades make a lot of money, something that Don Ortiz clearly doesn’t like. This is evident to both Billy and Melquiades, who notice two of Ortiz’s men standing right behind them with their hands on their holsters. Sensing danger, they decide to leave. Ortiz also lets them go, knowing that they will come back. Billy tells Melquiades that he is never going back there, now that Melquiades has his money back.
The Buendia Sisters
Later that night, Billy and Melquiades arrive at a gathering where they meet Maria and Juliana, who introduce themselves as the Buendia sisters. They are attractive and seem interested in the two men, inviting them for dinner the following night. They arrive at the Buendias’ the following night and are having dinner. A lady is also present, along with the girls, who is apparently their mother. However, contrary to what the girls had told them the previous night about their father being dead, the lady reveals that he is alive and will be returning soon. Upon being questioned by Melquiades, the sisters say that their mother “lives in another world.” Billy and Melquiades disregard their doubts after the girls give them the offer to stay at their place for the night. They are drunk and fall asleep waiting for the girls, only to wake up the next day and find out that all their money is gone. They ask the lady about the girls, and she tells them that they are not her daughters but nieces and that they have left for Sacramento early in the morning. So basically, both the guys have been robbed, and there is no way for them to get their money back.
I’m Not a Criminal
With no other way to make money, Billy and Melquiades decide to rob a bank. But all it takes for Billy is one look at a little boy with his mother inside the bank to change his mind. It reminds him of what he is about to do: rob people of their lives’ savings. This Melquiades doesn’t like it and gets really angry. However, he knows he needs Billy, and that night, they both end up at the same place where they made their first fortune together, i.e., Don Ortiz’s.
‘Billy The Kid’ Episode 5: Ending Explained – Will Billy Follow Melquiades to New Mexico?
At Ortiz’s, Billy and Melquiades make some more money, but this time Billy catches Ortiz cheating. After winning what would be ample for them, Billy and Melquiades leave. Don Ortiz sends his two goons after them, who know what they “have to do.” The next day, Billy and Melquiades part ways, with Billy going to Texas and Melquiades to New Mexico.
That night, Billy is shot at by Ortiz’s goons while he is resting for the night in the woods. He manages to kill two of them and rushes towards the third one, who is trying to escape. Upon catching up to him, Billy discovers that it is Don Ortiz. A scared-to-death Ortiz offers him to be his business partner. He also tries to trick Billy by saying that if he lets Ortiz go, his men will spare Melquiades. But Billy, with that familiar dead stare in his eyes, shoots Ortiz dead.
It seems that Billy will now travel to New Mexico to save Melquiades from Ortiz’s men. This is also historically accurate since it is in New Mexico (Fort Sumner) that Billy the Kid spent his last days.
See More: ‘Billy The Kid’ Episode 6: Recap And Ending, Explained – Who Is Pat Garret? Does Billy Save Segura?
