Billy the Kid season 2, episode 1 features the brief return of Old Moss (Timothy Webber) in a mystical closing scene. Old Moss appears out from the darkness as Billy sits by the fire at his campsite by himself at night. At first, Billy believes that it truly is Moss, greeting him with a smile and genuine appreciation to see him again. Billy hadn’t seen Moss since he was only a kid, making the reacquaintance between the two characters noteworthy for viewers who can recall the impact that Moss had on a young Billy before his rise as an infamous Old West outlaw.
Old Moss is one of the multiple Billy the Kid characters who returned from Billy the Kid season 1 and is considered one of the most influential characters on young Billy. Moss returned to provide a word of caution to Billy at the end of season 2, episode 1, reminding the confident young gunslinger that “things don’t always turn out the way you want ’em to.” Billy, who had faced great hardship in his life after becoming an orphan at age 15, was likely aware of Moss’s point but was not living with this sentiment in mind when Moss came to visit him.
Old Moss Taught Billy How To Shoot A Gun & Brought His Family To Kansas
Few characters in Billy the Kid would have been successful in convincing Billy of anything other than Moss and his mother Kathleen. Moss first appeared in one of the initial scenes of Billy the Kid season 1 living in New York City, offering a travel service to transport people out West in his wagon for a reasonable fee. A young Billy, whose real name is Henry McCarty, was able to convince Moss through sympathy to accept a discounted rate to bring his family out to Kansas. Moss even risked his own safety by agreeing to transport Henry, his parents, and his younger brother without the help of armed protectors.
While on their journey, Moss realized that Henry’s father Patrick was not much of a role model for him and decided one day to teach Henry how to shoot a gun. Moss allowed the young Henry to practice using his pistol so he would be able to protect himself and his family. Moss’s message at the end of Billy the Kid season 2, episode 1 is actually a direct callback to one of their first conversations. Henry asked Moss what his father was like, to which Moss responded, “Things don’t always end up the way we want ’em to.” This was one of the first tough lessons that young Billy had to learn in life.
Is Old Moss Based On A Real Person? Mysterious Mentor Explained
There is no record of Billy the Kid ever knowing a man named Moss, which makes sense considering so little is known about Henry McCarty’s early life. There is very limited recorded information about Henry McCarty before he became the legendary outlaw Billy the Kid. It is true that Henry was born in New York City and traveled with his mother and brother to Indiana and eventually Kansas after the ambiguous death of his father. It appears that Old Moss was created specifically for the MGM+ series in order to provide some creative themes and backstory for the sake of the Billy the Kid narrative.
