Lawmen: Bass Reeves continues with the Old West lawman taking the unlikely Billy Crow under his wing as a mentor in the field of law enforcement. Through four episodes of the eight-part miniseries, Bass Reeves has quickly established himself as one of the most efficient and intelligent law enforcement officers. within the jurisdiction of western Arkansas and Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). After turning Billy Crow over to the law in episode 3, the series jumps forward in time to the year 1877, when Bass appointed the former outlaw as his official posseman.
Lawmen: Bass Reeves Episode 4 features Billy Crow having a change of heart following his alleged prison sentence for helping the Underwood gang carry out a violent stagecoach robbery. At the end of Lawmen: Bass Reeves In episode 3, Bass had kindly asked the famous hanging judge Parker, who had sworn Bass in as one of the first black deputy sheriffs in the southern United States, to sympathize with Billy Crow’s circumstances and see him as a product of desperation and confusion. opposed to true evil or criminality. Bass must have used his infallible reputation to convince Judge Parker to give Billy a second chance at life.
Billy Crow makes it easier for Bass Reeves to be separated from his family
As a young man given a new chance at life, Billy Crow is indebted to Bass Reeves for seeing the potential in him to live life on the straight and narrow path. Billy Crow and Bass Reeves’ Pairing Is Actually Mutually Beneficialas Bass can teach and mentor the young outlaw-turned-cop as if he were one of his own children. Lawmen: Bass Reeves Episode 4 contains a powerful scene in which Bass is saddened by how little time he spends with his several children and his wife, Jennie, while he is at work for days and weeks at a time.
In this way, Billy Crow is especially useful to Bass as a kind of stand-in for his own children and the amount of family time he misses out on. It also works in Bass’ favor, as having Billy as a son, but not actually one, makes him less stressful and worrying about his safety. He is able to offer Billy perspective and experience through the eyes of a law enforcement officer. without the anguishing anxiety of fearing losing one of his true children in the line of duty. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to one of Bass Reeves’ real sons, Robert, who died while working with his father.
Is Bass Reeves’ Lawmen: Billy Crow based on a real person?
Billy Crow is not based on any individual person and is a completely fictional character in Lawmen: Bass Reeves. While Billy Crow is representative of the indigenous people Bass used to travel and work with, the actual character was created for the sake of the Paramount+ series. As it is shown in Lawmen: Bass Reeves episode 1, Bass lived among many indigenous people after escaping slavery in the mid-1860s and lost a young indigenous friend who was murdered. by Confederate soldier Esau Pierce (Barry Pepper). Billy Crow’s indigenous background probably puts Bass at ease and reminds him of the young friend he lost at the beginning of Lawmen: Bass Reeves.