Billy had a solid plan to take over Lincoln from the forces of the corrupt House.
It’s a shame he didn’t expect outside interference on Billy the Kid Season 2 Episode 6.
Otherwise, he and the Regulators would likely control the town.
Not that they’d had any actual plans about how to run Lincoln.
The fact that Billy’s forces have been growing was proof enough that Lincoln’s citizens have had enough of being bullied by Murphy’s House and its thugs.
However, Murphy, Riley, and Jesse, and his 7 River Gang are brutal in their tactics.
That’s why they needed Billy and his gunmen, most of whom were protecting their families and their land.
This episode proved that Pat Garrett, appointed Lincoln sheriff on Billy the Kid Season 1 Episode 5, is the wild card in this standoff.
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He’s been involved with all the key players: Billy, Jesse, Murphy. Now Pat has to decide on whose side he will stand.
Pat figures to become even more conflicted as the Lincoln County War continues.
He’s stuck in a very gray situation.
Pat is a rehabilitated gunslinger who has to prove that he’s been reborn.
Unfortunately, the law in New Mexico is on the side of the corrupt, from the governor and attorney general on down.
So, Pat is in a difficult position to support the law, which, as Billy pointed out, is quite different from justice, for which Billy is fighting, often violently.
Pat is doing his best with the hand that he’s been dealt. An example of this would be how he’s using Jesse’s gang, some of whom are being investigated for John Tunstall’s murder, as a search party trying to locate Billy and the Regulators.
This mission should have been a slam dunk for Billy’s forces. They had the numbers, and they had the element of surprise.
They rode into town and got set up for the upcoming conflict, totally unmolested.
Where were The House’s troops?
Jesse and his gang, along with a couple of deputies, were out hunting for Billy.
Murphy’s garden-variety thugs were hanging out protecting his store.
When Billy offered them a chance to leave town, one thug essentially said he had to ask Riley for permission.
Riley had to yell at them to start shooting. Not a quick-thinking bunch, were they?
So, it was little wonder when Billy’s men got an early edge in the skirmish.
Why they didn’t press their advantage then wasn’t clear.
Why hadn’t Pat restocked his deputies as soon as he got there?
Instead, he handed out badges and rifles to volunteers he knew nothing about in the middle of Billy’s invasion.
Billy had the edge in strategy over Pat, so it wasn’t surprising that his sharpshooters quickly dispatched Pat’s new deputies.
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Yet again, with Jesse’s gang still chasing the Regulators’ ghosts, Billy didn’t invade The House, despite its best gunsels being out of town.
Pat deserves credit for thinking outside the box when it became evident The House was outnumbered and outgunned.
The Army was at Fort Stanton for one reason: to protect the settlers from Indian attacks. Col. Dudley explained that the military shouldn’t interfere with local political or legal disagreements.
Pat’s specious trump card was some proclamation from the governor requesting the involvement of the Army in the Lincoln dispute.
Indeed, a post commander such as Dudley knows the politics of the territory where he was stationed.
He must have been aware of the corruption in New Mexico.
That being the case, why did Dudley give any credence to Pat’s request?
The Army’s interceding stole a sure victory away from Billy and the Regulators.
At least Dudley’s forces did the least damage they could.
Essentially, they were a neutral party separating the two hostile armies with the power to make everybody stand down.
Also, the Army isn’t there to arrest anybody, not Billy or the Regulators, not Jesse and the 7 Rivers Gang.
Instead, they’re just imposing martial law to allow life as usual during the day and to keep a lid on things with a curfew at night.
Based on past performance, it won’t be long until someone on The House’s side drunkenly squeezes off a round near the Army, and all hell breaks loose.
Also, after Murphy got on Riley for his lack of performance during the crisis, how long before Riley starts a hamhanded effort to go after Billy and his followers?
It also appeared that Jesse was being set up, following a pretty Mexican face out of the party.
Or was that Jesse just thinking with his little pistol yet again?
Billy shouldn’t have blamed himself for the Army giving The House an unlikely reprieve.
The Army wasn’t supposed to get involved in such civilian disputes so that he couldn’t have anticipated that.
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Also, with all those guns and all that animosity around the military, how long before Lincoln blows up?
Billy laid everything out for Pat. Pat conceivably has the power to make changes in Lincoln.
But what’s that badge from a corrupt attorney general worth?
It was telling that Pat contemplated using his handgun as Billy walked away.
Did Billy have a winning strategy before the Army showed up?
Will the Army be able to remain neutral?
What will be the next phase of the Lincoln County War?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.