Young Guns is a bombastic Western that has become a cult favorite, but given how eventful the movie is, not every detail of its bloody ending is clear. Based on real events of the Wild West, the 1988 movie follows Billy the Kid and his gang of Regulators, who fight the corrupt Lawrence Murphy in the Lincoln County War. Though Young Guns wasn’t critically acclaimed, it was a box office hit with a stacked cast, spawning a sequel and nearly leading to a third installment. These days, it’s even considered among the best Westerns of the 1980s.
Throughout Young Guns, the Regulators take out Murphy’s henchmen while they’re on the run from the law, but they’re called back to Lincoln County when their friend Alex’s life is threatened. When they arrive to protect Alex, a massive brawl breaks out between the remaining Regulators and Murphy’s massive group of henchmen, bringing all the tensions between the two groups to a head. Despite the odds being against them, the Regulators manage to come out on top, although their path to victory isn’t always a clear one.
Why Murphy Wanted To Kill Alex
Despite having already killed the Regulators’ original leader, John Tunstall, the villainous Lawrence Murphy sets his sights on taking out the man’s lawyer, Alexander McSween, as well. Murphy’s plot against Alex becomes a major focus of the end of Young Guns, leading the Regulators to return to Lincoln County, New Mexico, despite being wanted men as a result of Billy’s antics. It initially seems confusing that Murphy has such a vested interest in Alex, who seems unrelated to Tunstall and Murphy’s feud. However, there are several reasons why Murphy would want Alex McSween out of the picture.
Prior to Tunstall’s murder, he had approached Alex about trying to expose the corruption of the Santa Fe Ring caused by Murphy. After Tunstall died, Alex was left as the only person with the knowledge of Murphy’s corruption who also had the power to do something about it due to his legal connections. Additionally, Alex voiced his intentions to take over Tunstall’s cattle ranch, which rivaled Murphy’s own cattle operation. Alex posed a huge threat to Murphy, who decided to kill the lawyer before he became a bigger problem.
The Regulators’ War With Murphy, Explained
At the center of Young Guns is the Regulators’ war with Lawrence Murphy, which has several complex reasons behind it. Initially, Murphy had a feud with John Tunstall over their rival cattle operations. This led to Tunstall’s attempts to expose Murphy’s corruption of the Lincoln government. When Tunstall died, his Regulators became Murphy’s next biggest threat, considering their knowledge of his corruption and intent to take down his ring. The fact that the Regulators take down several of Murphy’s henchmen over the course of Young Guns only makes the war more intense.
While the Regulators do detest Murphy’s corruption of Lincoln, they also have more personal reasons for their fight with Murphy. A large reason that the Regulators desire to take down Murphy is because they want to avenge John Tunstall. This combination of altruistic and emotional motivations drives the Regulators’ actions throughout Young Guns, leading to many bloody battles with Murphy and his men throughout the movie.
The Real Reason Behind Billy the Kid’s Killing Spree
Although the Regulators were deputized toward the beginning of Young Guns, Billy the Kid decided to kill as many of Murphy’s men as he could rather than going through legal channels. This leads to the other Regulators speculating that Billy “ain’t all there,” but in actuality, Billy has clear reasoning behind his killing spree. According to Billy, he is trying to get the attention of President Hayes through his murderous actions, whom he hopes would bring an end to Murphy’s reign. Whether his reasons are valid, Billy’s intentions behind killing so many people in Young Guns are ultimately good.
Why Billy Killed McCloskey
At the beginning of 1988’s Young Guns, one of Murphy’s former men, McCloskey, decides to join Tunstall’s outfit. While the others accept McCloskey with open arms, Billy is suspicious of his intentions. During an early encounter with several other henchmen of Murphy’s, McCloskey tries to direct the Regulators to a different location than they were originally headed for. This heightens Billy’s suspicions, as he now believes that McCloskey is a spy trying to lead them to Murphy’s grasp. Although it is never confirmed or denied if McCloskey was indeed a spy for Murphy, Billy decided to nip the issue in the bud and kill his fellow Regulator.
Why Pat Garrett Doesn’t Take Billy Into Custody
Toward the end of Young Guns, Pat Garrett finds Billy the Kid, but strangely, he doesn’t take any of them into custody for their crimes. Pat mentions that he’s in line to become the new sheriff, which puts Billy on edge and makes him think that Pat has come to arrest him. However, Pat states that he hasn’t come to take Billy since he’s not yet the sheriff. Rather, Pat comes to warn Billy and the Regulators about Murphy’s intent to kill Alex. It’s later revealed that Pat is the one to kill Billy, implying that not being sheriff was the only boundary between him and taking in Billy.
How The Regulators Get The Upper Hand In The Shoot Out Against Murphy
Murphy and the Regulators’ feud reaches a climax at the end of Young Guns when they get into a bloody shootout back in Lincoln at the McSweens’ house. The Regulators are holed up in the house along with Alex and his wife while Murphy and his men fire at them from the outside. Matters get even worse when the house is set on fire, adding even greater stakes to the battle. Given the threat of the fire and the fact that the Regulators are greatly outnumbered by the opposition, it seems unlikely that they will be able to triumph, but the movie’s main characters manage to get the upper hand.
After Alex’s wife Susan is allowed to leave the house, the Regulators begin tossing trunks and boxes out of the window, which Murphy’s men assume are Susan’s possessions she requested. Unbeknownst to them, though, Billy was hiding in one of the trunks, which he bursts out of to mount a sneak attack. Billy’s surprise catches Murphy’s men off guard, and the attack perfectly coincides with Chavez’s return with horses in tow. The timing of these events gives the Regulators the upper hand in the shootout, allowing Billy to kill Murphy and Charlie to shoot Kinney, thus bringing down the two major kingpins involved in Lincoln’s corruption.
The Regulators’ Fates After Young Guns, Explained
After the resolution of the shootout between the Regulators and Murphy’s men, Kiefer Sutherland’s Doc gives a voiceover that reveals the fates of the Regulators after the plot of Young Guns. According to Doc, he and Yen Sun married and left Lincoln for the East Coast, while Chavez changed his name and left for California, finding work on a fruit farm. Billy the Kid continued to ride as an outlaw, eventually being killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Doc states that Billy is buried near Charlie and that someone snuck into the cemetery and engraved the tombstone with “Pals,” a final testament to the Regulators’ brotherhood in Young Guns.
