West and Gordon are in Mexico to deliver an Arabian horse, Jack O'Diamonds, to President Benito Juarez as a gift from President Grant. Bandits posing as soldiers steal the horse and a three-way battle for possession of the animal develops between the agents, the bandits and some Imperial soldiers who hope to sour Mexico's diplomatic relations. West manages to make an alliance of sorts with El Sordo (Frank Silvera), leader of the bandits, when they come under attack by the Emperor’s men, but just how far can the outlaw be trusted?
Disguises used by Artie: Pancho, Mexican Bandit
(22:50)
Tropes present in this episode:
- Anti-Hero: El Sordo. He steals the horse because of its beauty but is willing to return his prize once he learns it was meant as a gift for President Juarez - he's even willing to die to rectify the situation. Also, he and his gang are heroes to the locals. However, Sordo isn't above using torture or robbing Jim and Artie at gunpoint.
- Badass Boast: Several.
- After Jim takes Jack O'Diamonds from El Sordo:El Sordo: I am going to follow that gringo into Hell if I have to.
- While Artie is posing as Pancho:Isabel: It is true you have killed [a] hundred men?
Artie: One hundred so far this year. - When Jim and El Sordo are discussing which one will wind up with Jack O'Diamonds:El Sordo: I always win, amigo. It is a bad habit of mine.
- After Jim takes Jack O'Diamonds from El Sordo:
- Bandito: El Sordo and his gang are a stereotypical group of Mexican outlaws for the most part, but they're not entirely without principles.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: El Sordo punishes his most hated enemies by beating them, then stringing them up in the desert and leaving them to die.
- Continuity Snarl: When El Sordo asks if Jim's ever met President Juarez he replies "No, I've never had the pleasure." Except Jim did have the pleasure in "The Night of the Eccentrics."
- Cool Old Guy: El Sordo is in his fifties if not older (Frank Silvera was 53 at the time of filming), but he outfights and outwits all his opponents—even including our heroes!
- Dead Person Impersonation: Unwittingly done by Artie. He poses as Pancho, a wanted criminal, in order to dig up information on the bandits' whereabouts; he's unaware that Pancho's treacherous companions recently killed their leader. Things get sticky when the recently departed's "friends" show up.
- Enemy Mine: Jim and El Sordo are forced into this when the Imperialistas show up. El Sordo lampshades it.El Sordo: This is very funny.
Jim: Forgive me if I don't see the humor in it.
El Sordo: We would have killed each other because of this horse, and now for the same because, we must fight together to keep from being killed. - Evil Versus Evil: The banditos and the Imperialistas are two of the groups aiming to snag Jack O'Diamonds. Neither could be considered good, though El Sordo does show *some* sense of honor on occasion.
- Explosive Cigar: Jim pulls this trick on El Sordo so he can steal back Jack O'Diamonds in the subsequent confusion. Later, both men use them on the Imperialistas.
- Faking the Dead: After being wounded, Jim does this to get the drop on the Imperialistas. Soon afterwards, El Sordo pulls the same trick on Jim and Artie.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: When Artie sees the battered corpse of Enrique, who betrayed El Sordo and paid with his life, he says "I never could understand torturing a man."
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: El Sordo, who has a sense of honor but, as Jim and Artie learn, it's not safe to rely on that too far.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Triple-subverted by El Sordo. He's willing to make one, if necessary, but he's also more than willing to fake one for his own gain.
- Karma Houdini: The episode ends with El Sordo successfully robbing Jim and Artie and riding off into the desert (although he leaves them with Jack O'Diamonds). The two heroes agree that El Sordo will face justice eventually, "but not today."
- Motive Rant: El Sordo says he deserves Jack O'Diamonds more than "some rich pig of a patrón" because he lives a life of desperation, and having such a beautiful horse would be the only relief in a world of unrelenting ugliness. He changes his mind when Jim tells him the horse is going to Juarez instead.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: West and El Sordo enter a temporary alliance when the Imperialistas ambush them at an oasis. Sordo decides to stick with West after they escape when he learns the horse is a gift for President Juarez.
