Episode 1: THE PASSAGE OF BILLY THE KID

Series Premiere.  July 14, 1881. Fort Sumner, New Mexico Territory. In the inaugural episode of The Passage, the Ferryman of souls, voiced by Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, The Walking Dead), encounters a spirit as wild and untamed as the land he once roamed. Billy The Kid, voiced by Scott Haze (Child of God / Jurassic World Dominion), the most notorious outlaw of the American West, mounts his own spectral horse for his journey to what comes next. His eyes are tired but still burn with the fire of youth and rebellion. Billy's tale begins in the dusty, sun-scorched plains of a nation finding its footing. America, in its own adolescence, is a land of unyielding contradictions—of sprawling beauty and brutal violence, of lofty ideals and base desires. It is within this crucible that Billy's story unfolds, a narrative etched into the very fabric of the American mythos. As the Ferryman guides Billy along, he recounts his life, a journey marked by abandonment and blazing guns; fleeting loyalties, and a relentless pursuit by the forces of law and order. Through his eyes, listeners are transported to a time where justice is a precarious, often elusive ideal, and power is seized by those bold enough to claim it. Was Billy the Kid a hero, a defender of the downtrodden, fighting against the corrupt and powerful elites that sought to tame the wild spirit of the West? Or was he a villain, a bloodthirsty outlaw emblematic of the lawlessness and moral decay that threatened to consume the frontier? As they ride through the mists of time and truth, the Ferryman listens, and Billy's story, like the man himself, is a paradox—a tapestry of courage and cruelty, freedom and fate, woven into the tumultuous tapestry of a nation coming of age. In this episode of The Passage, listeners will be compelled to confront these questions, to gaze into the abyss of America's soul and ponder the legacy of one of its most enigmatic figures. Join us for a journey into the heart of darkness and light, where history and legend collide, and the truth is as elusive as a ghost on the horizon. Written by Dan Bush and Nicholas Tecosky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.