Showdown
In the Old West, William "Billy" Quintane (Neil Giuntoli), a heartless gunslinger on the run, arrives in a small town pursued by Texas Ranger Thomas "Tracker Tom" McMurdo (David Morse) and his posse. Tom accosts Billy with the intention of taking him in, but Billy has no intention of going down without a fight, so he challenges Tom to a duel in the center of the town square, where Tom is gunned down. Billy victoriously enters the local saloon and orders a bottle of whiskey, but as he waits for the beverage, an old man calls to his attention and invites Billy to sit with him. The old man introduces himself as tries to sell a bottle of "Dr. Silver's Wonder Tonic" to Billy, who pulls his gun on him after suspecting him of being a Snake Oil Salesman. Not wishing to be shot, the old man introduces himself as Dr. Cornelius Bosch (Roderick Cook), and offers Billy the bottle for free. After Billy drinks the tonic, the ghosts of his previous victims start appearing before him one by one, each with a flashback of their dying moments at Billy's hands. Billy accuses Cornelius for his tonic making him hallucinate, only for Cornelius to pull his jacket back and reveal a gunshot wound at his own heart, produced by a stray bullet from Billy's gun. At this point, the ghosts start accosting Billy, surrounding him and muttering haunting pleas to accept that he belongs with them. Billy furiously shouts at what he thinks are demons wearing his victims' skins to leave him alone, to which they disappear.
The bewildered Billy then watches as a man he's never seen before, "Big Bart" (Tommy Townsend), leads a group of modern day tourists inside the saloon, none of whom can see Billy or interact with him. Bart gives a brief rundown of the events that unfolded in town, informing the tourists that Billy killed Tom in their duel, but Tom's posse managed to gun him down immediately afterwards, and it's rumored that the saloon is haunted by his ghost. Bart and his tourists leave Billy as they exit, which has suddenly become a gift shop. Confused by what he's just witnessed, Billy leaves the saloon, only to find that he's somehow been brought decades into the future, where the ghost town has now become a tourist attraction. Overwhelmed by everything that he's heard and seen, including the revelation that he's actually been long dead, Billy wanders back inside the empty saloon, breaking down and begging for someone to take him in. Tom's voice jolts Billy back to reality and seems to sober him up to his current state. The ghostly outlaw heads back outside for one last time, knowing now what he must do.
Once outside, Billy finds himself back in his duel with Tom, where he again kills the Ranger. Knowing now what actually happened in his final moments, Billy calls out to all those around him, allowing Tom's posse to make their move. The posse surround Billy and snipe at him from all sides, overpowering him despite losing a few of their own in the process. The scene switches to a photographer taking a picture of Billy's corpse with the surviving members of the posse, who hold a sign claiming the credit for taking him out, just as Billy saw in the gift shop. In the present day, some of the tourists visit Tom and Billy's graves. Billy's ghost, now at peace with himself and no longer feuding with Tom, examines the resting place of both himself and his nemesis, where the pair remark on Billy's fast-shooting skill and Tom's determination to bring him in. From there, they join the ghosts of Tom's posse in riding their horses into the sunset.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder: Cornelius Bosch, the old man who gives the Wonder Tonic to Billy, turns out to have died from a bullet to the heart, misfired from Billy's gun when he was robbing a bank.
- Agonizing Stomach Wound: Harley, Billy's partner, was shot in the gut three days after he and Billy outran Tom's posse. The wound gets so bad that Billy puts him out of his misery with a headshot, then buries him in a hastily-made grave.
- Artistic License – History: Doc Holliday is among the people who Billy killed. In real life, Doc Holliday died of tuberculosis
. - The Atoner: Billy admits that he was either wrong or in denial about being killed by Tom's posse, so he kills Tom again and dies as he was supposed to so he can join them in the afterlife.
- Barred from the Afterlife: This happens to Billy because he forgot or otherwise refused to accept that he's dead. He manages to gain entrance after he relives his death and goes down the way he was meant to.
- Bookends: The episode begins and ends with a shot of horses riding into the sunset.
- Bounty Hunter: Noted hunter Doc Holliday appears in the episode, and it's shown that he was one of Billy's victims.
- Break the Haughty: The reveal that he's a ghost, and that his victims were trying to get him to accept that fact and join them, makes Billy break down weeping, begging to be taken in. When he dies again and accepts it, he is shown to be at peace.
- Chromosome Casting: Every main character is male, since the episode is set in the Old West... at first.
- Cowboy Episode: The only episode of the series to put cowboys and the Old West as its central theme.
- Dead All Along: Every person inside the saloon is a ghost, having been killed by Billy's bullets. It's ultimately revealed that Billy himself has been dead for decades, as Bart claims that his ghost still haunts the saloon. It's also hinted that the events of the episode were set up by Tom's ghost to convince Billy that he's dead and he needs to accept it to move on. Case in point, after he relives his death, Billy's at peace with himself and makes a friend in Tom.
- Dead Guy on Display: The end of the episode has Billy's corpse having its picture taken by a photographer, the surviving members of Tom's posse surrounding it and holding up a sign as confirmation that they're the ones who killed him.
- Decapitated Army: Averted. Tom's death doesn't cause his posse to scatter like he thought they did. Instead, they surround Billy and kill him by shooting at him from all angles, though they lose a few men in the process.
- Defeat Means Friendship: As ghosts, Billy and Tom are shown to have made amends with one another, even sharing a friendly exchange where they compliment the other's skills in a duel.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Despite the many men he's killed in life, and after being bombarded both with the leering voices of said men's ghosts, and the reveal that he himself is a ghost who refuses to accept his death, Billy ends the episode at complete peace, making amends with his pursuer and surrounded by others like him, who ride off into the sunset with him.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Billy originally assumes that the spirits of his victims are actually demons wearing their skins that are after his soul. They turn out to be real ghosts, and they've been trying to tell Billy that he needs to accept the fact that he's dead to find peace.
- Everyone Has Standards: Billy has his own strict code of honor, like that of a typical Western outlaw:
- He takes his hat off in the presence of a lady.
- He refrains from killing unless he absolutely has to.
- He gives his dying partner Harley a mercy killing to save him from his painful death, then buries him in a hand-made grave.
- He doesn't have a lot of tolerance for scamsters, pulling his gun on Cornelius when he suspects him of being one.
- Face Death with Dignity: Billy learns that he's been dead for decades halfway through the episode. He's shown to have already begun accepting the news, though he still intends to go down fighting. Once he dies after learning the truth about himself, the ending shows that he's at peace.
- "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner: Billy shouts an impressively boastful one in the town square, just before Tom's posse does him in:Billy: "COME ON, YOU SORRY SONS OF BITCHES!!"
- Fastest Gun in the West: Billy is sharp and fast with a gun in his hand, having claimed many lives with his quick-draw skills. Big Bart even calls him the trope verbatim.
- Foreshadowing:
- There are frequent glimpses of horses galloping into the sunset throughout the episode. These same horses reappear at the end, where we learn that they're being ridden by the ghosts of their former riders into the afterlife.
- A picture of Billy's corpse is seen in the saloon once it's turned into a gift shop, and the end of the episode shows the surviving members of Tom's posse posing next to it as they originally took the photograph.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: One of three episodes produced for the failed "Two-Fisted Tales" series.
- Ghost Amnesia: Billy turns out to have completely forgotten that he died after killing Tom, instead thinking he went to the saloon for a celebratory drink. The ghosts of his victims, under Tom's guidance, end up reenacting Billy's death to get him to remember what actually happened so he can join them in the afterlife.
- Ghost Town: The town where the events of the episode take place turns out to be one of these. When it's revealed that the episode is actually set in the future, it's since become a popular tourist destination.
- The Gunslinger: Billy and Tom, along with many of Billy's victims.
- Hero Antagonist: Tom and his posse, dedicated to catching Billy and throwing him in the clink.
- Madness Mantra: "Accept it, Billy!", which the ghosts of his victims tell him over and over so he can join them in the hereafter.
- Meaningful Echo: Tom's claim to Billy that he's going to take him in. When the ending rolls around, it's revealed to have been a promise to let him know that he's dead so he can join him and the others in the afterlife.
- Mercy Kill: Billy is originally seen traveling with a partner named Harley, having been on the run together for three days after escaping Tom's posse. The latter was shot in the gut in their getaway and has begun hallucinating, so Billy puts him out of his misery, then whips up a makeshift grave for him.
- Mr. Exposition: Big Bart, the tour guide who reveals that Billy's been dead and haunting the town for decades.
- My Greatest Second Chance: Billy's first duel with Tom has him divert from his predestined path by heading off to the saloon for some whiskey, where he ultimately learns that he's a ghost who hasn't accepted that he's dead, and as such, is forbidden from joining his friends in the afterlife until he does. He manages to overcome this by re-dueling Tom's ghost and reliving his death in the way it was meant to be.
- No Animosity in the Afterlife: After Billy's and Tom's bodies are buried, their ghosts (as well as those of the rest of the posse) stop by their graves, where the former two have a cordial exchange about their dueling skills before they go Riding into the Sunset.
- Offscreen Afterlife: Billy's victims are pretty vague about what the afterlife is like. They tell Billy that they don't care whether he calls it Heaven or Hell, but it's said to be a warm and quiet place where everyone who lives and dies by the gun ends up.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Ghosts can't be seen or heard by anyone alive, and they apparently can't get into the afterlife until they learn and accept the fact that they're dead. As Billy shows, a ghost who either denies or just doesn't know that he's a ghost is subject to a state of shock, misery, and hysteria when they find out, resulting in them being Barred from the Afterlife. When the ghost does accept that they've died and reenacts the scenario in which they were killed, they manage to achieve total peace and are able to pass on.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Billy says to Tom as they prepare for their duel: "Tommy... make your move." The duel ends with Billy victorious... for a minute.
- Quick Draw: Billy's duel with Tom early in the episode, which ends with Billy being the winner. If the flashbacks are anything to go by, quite a few of Billy's victims seem to have died by challenging him to a duel as well.
- Redemption Equals Death: Billy is confronted by the spirits of his victims, and the reveal of what's happened to the town since he died, including In-Universe narration about how his own life ended, causing him to show remorse for the first time. After rationalizing everything, Billy goes outside and accepts his ghostly nature by reliving his death the right way, even if he goes down fighting. This is revealed to have been the right thing to do, since Billy's at peace with himself after learning the truth.
- The Reveal: Thanks to Big Bart's exposition, it's revealed that the setting of the episode isn't the real Old West, but a ghost town-turned tourist attraction decades into the future, haunted by a large number of ghosts that the tourists can't actually see or hear.
- Riddle for the Ages:
- How do Billy's victims, most of whom died before the start of the episode, end up in the saloon?
- Who, or what (if anything at all), allows him to see the future afterwards?
- If the Wonder Tonic was what allowed Billy to see all of this, what was in it to allow that to happen?
- Riding into the Sunset: The episode ends with the ghosts of Billy, Tom, and the latter's posse riding off into the sunset, having been reunited in death.
- Running Gag: As mentioned above, the repeated glimpses of horses galloping into the sunset.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Billy learns that he actually didn't survive his duel with Tom, being gunned down by the Ranger's posse seconds after Tom hit the dirt, and was spending the episode as a ghost haunting a derelict town without even knowing it. After making his decision about what to do, Billy goes out and dies the way he was supposed to, allowing himself to move on.
- Shout-Out: The Crypt Keeper quotes a famous line associated with The Lone Ranger in his closing segment.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Big Bart, who reveals that Billy's been dead for a century and has been haunting the saloon ever since, as well as how he actually died. It's the tour guide's exposition that finally clues Billy in that his victims were right about the fact that he's dead.
- Snake Oil Salesman: Billy suspects that Cornelius is one when he offers the Wonder Tonic. If only it were that simple...
- The Stoic: Billy is portrayed as a remorseless gunslinger, but events of the episode and the reveal of his true nature ultimately turns him Not So Stoic.
- Suddenly Shouting: Billy gets pretty shouty a few times in the episode. Big Bart himself even says that Billy's ghost can be heard "screaming like a banshee" nearly every night in the saloon's rafters.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: Billy still dies and ends up as a ghost, but the reveal of his true nature and the experience of reliving his death the right way have sobered him up, and he ends the episode at peace with himself, welcomed with open arms by his fellow ghostly gunslingers.
- Thriving Ghost Town: Even though the town featured in the episode is effectively deserted, it's not empty, since it's housing a large number of spirits and is a popular hotspot for tourists.
- Together in Death: Once Billy joins Tom and his posse into accepting the fact that he's dead, the former two are shown to have gained respect for each other. They celebrate their newfound friendship by joining the posse in riding into the sunset.
- Token Minority: A black man, included among the men in the photograph who surround Billy's corpse, is the only non-white character in this episode.
- Tomato in the Mirror: Billy's revealed to actually be a ghost, since he met his maker after he killed Tom, thanks to the ranger's posse.
- Twilight of the Old West: The episode paints itself as though it's set in the days of the Old West. Tour guide Big Bart leading a bunch of tourists into the saloon reveals that it's actually the present day, and the town where the episode is set is a tourist attraction unknowingly haunted by actual ghosts.
- Villain Protagonist: Billy, the gunslinger who's been struggling to escape the law.
- The Wild West: The setting of the episode, until The Reveal halfway through changes things.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Big Bart tells the tourists he leads into the saloon about how Billy was killed. Guess how Billy's life ends late in the episode?
- It's also hinted that Tom's ghost might've planned to reenact the day Billy killed him to get the ghostly outlaw to come to his senses and find peace.
