Deputy Billy Kitka: You know, Beau's not so bad. Why'd you bother writing him up?
Sheriff Eben Oleson: He lives all alone out there on the south ridge. A little citation now and then lets him know he's a part of this town.
Stella Oleson: I should have fought harder, kept Wilson here.
Sheriff Eben Oleson: It's hard to stop someone when their family's at stake. The things you'll do to save your own.
Stella Oleson: We were like that once... weren't we?
Sheriff Eben Oleson: They're burning down the town.
Denise: Nobody will know what happened. They'll just think it was some horrible accident.
Lucy Ikos: Next time they'll take out Point Hope, Wainwright.
Doug Hertz: They don't fall down when they're shot.
Beau Brower: Hell, neither do I.
The Stranger: Mr. And Mrs. Sheriff. So sweet. So helpless against what is coming.
Stella Oleson: He's just trying to freak us out.
Jake Oleson: It's working.
Sheriff Eben Oleson: We have more important things to think about. I'll check on Gus.
The Stranger: Check on Gus. Board the windows. Try to hide. They're coming. This time they're gonna take me with them... honor me. Yeah. For all that I have done.
Sheriff Eben Oleson: They? Who are they?
Jake Oleson: I saw them feeding on Grandma Helen. They're like, vampires, you know?
Stella Oleson: Vampires don't exist, Jake.
Answer: Perhaps Billy was not a competent law officer. Or maybe you were right he chickened out. Billy could have killed himself in other ways. Other ways more quiet than gunshot.
Alan Keddie
Exactly. How could he go on living after killing his whole family? A minor problem such as a gun jam shouldn't have prevented him from committing suicide. In fact, he couldn't become a law enforcement officer without demonstrating a proficiency with firearms, including the ability to field-service his weapon quickly in an emergency. The simple procedure for fixing a jammed firearm is at the top of the list of required skills.
Charles Austin Miller
Are we ignoring that he was obviously extremely distraught at this time? My take on this has always been that he pulled the trigger, the gun jammed, and he just gave up on everything. He literally didn't care enough about anything at that point to even bother taking his own life anymore. Let the vampires take him; or not. His family is gone, by his hand no less, nothing at all matters anymore. I didn't see it as an inability to clear the jam, I saw it as a psychological breakdown that resulted in complete and total apathy. The jam was nothing more than the straw that broke the camel's back.
Phixius ★
If he gave up on everything, why did he covertly signal Eben with a flashlight? If Billy had truly given up, why not just walk out into the street and be slaughtered by the vampires, rather than continuing to hide?
Charles Austin Miller