“Solitude can be a little dangerous. So can being a Dutton. Violence has a way of finding the Duttons.”
Hit television shows have a way of finding Taylor Sheridan, and Yellowstone became one of the biggest in recent years. He has an ability to attract major talent, and getting Kevin Costner for Yellowstone was a huge get and cemented Sheridan’s hold on the modern drama by adding a little bit of the old frontier. Of course, his relationship with Costner soured over Costner’s attempt to create the ultimate western epic four-part film series. He threw Sheridan under the bus to do it, and the result was a half season of Yellowstone that was rushed and built around the fallout and ultimately unfulfilling to the audience. But one relationship that hasn’t soured is Sheridan’s relationship with Paramount. He was ready to walk away until he set his sights on a huge ranch that was going to cost him $300 million. That love affair means that he’s in for the long haul with Paramount, and we can continue to expect these shows for some time to come. The latest is Marshals, which gives Luke Grimes’ character of Kayce Dutton a chance to carry a show of his own. After 13 episodes the first season is in the can, and now Paramount and Alliance Entertainment have released the 13-episode first season on Blu-ray, and it’s now yours for the taking.
“Don’t you ever apologize for standing up for your mother. I’m the one who should apologize. I fought so hard to get out from under the weight of the Yellowstone, and here I am, forcing you to live like my family’s lived for a hundred years.”
In the aftermath of Yellowstone, Kaycee (Grimes) and his son, Tate (Merrill) are dealing with the loss of most of what was once Yellowstone Ranch and the loss of his wife/Tate’s mother. Just when it feels like it might be too much to carry, his old SEAL Team leader Pete “Cal” Calvin (Marshall-Green) shows up looking for help. He runs the local U.S. Marshal’s office, and he needs help tracking down some bad guys, and no one knows the area like Kayce. He deputizes him, and the bad guys are soon found and taken down. Cal offers him the gig full time. He believes that it will help Kayce to adjust to his new life and give him time away from East Camp, the small piece of Yellowstone remaining in the family. It’s important to him to keep it, but there are also some ghosts there that still haunt him. Cal is correct, and Kayce joins the local Marshal’s office.
There he joins Cal’s elite unit. Belle Skinner (Kebbel) has been there quite some time. She’s a tough agent trying to balance her home life with the job. She’s the only member who is married, and they have a son. But she’s got a few demons of her own. She’s a gambling addict, and she’s into the Tribe Casino for $20,000 she doesn’t have. She’s also struggling with her relationship. The job is the one place she finds solace from her problems.
The newest member of the team, excepting Kayce, is Andrea Cruz (Santos). She’s a big city girl who was transferred from the D.C. office to cool her heels a little. She sees her assignment as a placeholder and hopes to get back to her big-city environment. But she goes through hell and back in this season with the team, and she’s getting more attached than she’s willing to admit. The season finale sees her getting the chance to go back, but will she really do it?
Miles Kittle (Means) used to be a reservation cop, but he’s also gotten his share of trouble and was pretty much run out. He feels like he let the “Rez” down, and his focus might be too much more on helping them than his job. Add to this a boss in Harry Gifford (Cullen) who doesn’t like it one bit that Cal has brought Kayce into the fold. He obviously has unresolved issues with the Dutton family, and he’s not the only one.
“Retribution is a form of justice. But don’t confuse vengeance for closure. Only one brings peace.”
That’s really where a ton of the drama here comes from. It’s not necessary that you watch Yellowstone, but it sure helps to fill in the blanks, because old Dutton family business is going to drive a lot of violence and story in this first season. The truth is that the ghost of Yellowstone is everywhere to be found here. The brand is part of the show’s logo, and many of those threads are going to open wounds and get folks killed in this first season of Marshals.
Another connection to Yellowstone is the Confederated Tribes Indian Reservation and two of the characters that cross over from Yellowstone. Mo Brings Plenty is back as Mo, who is the Chairman’s right hand. Of course, that means that Gil Birmingham returns as Chairman Rainwater, and there are folks out to kill him, and that story is going to bring Kayce and his new teammates directly into the fire. The season ends with a full-on assault on Rainwater, and Kayce’s place gets pretty shot up. The season teases who might be behind the attacks. You see, there is a rare-earth mine being proposed, and Rainwater is fighting it all the way to the halls of Congress in D.C., and there are elements both within and outside the tribe that wish to stop him. They want the mine, but Rainwater thinks it will poison the water supply for the Rez, and Kayce gets sucked into that fight. The final moments of the season the real threat is revealed. I won’t even hint at that revelation here, but I can tell you it sets up one hell of a second season, and I can’t wait for it to get here.
While Marshals leans heavily into Yellowstone, it does have its own tone and pace. In flashbacks we get to see Kayce’s old SEAL unit and learn why he’s carrying so much weight because of it. Also, Sheridan is not the showrunner here. He’s an executive producer, but the show was created and is run by Spencer Hudnut. If that name rings a bell and/or these SEAL Team scenes appear to be extremely well done, it’s because Hudnut also created SEAL Team with David Boreanaz. He’s had a few years of putting that stuff on, and that show absolutely has an impact on the pace and atmosphere of this show, perhaps even more than Yellowstone. I’ll leave that up to you to decide. But you might want to check out that series, and you’ll see where I’m coming from.
Luke Grimes never got to get much of the spotlight on Yellowstone. I always thought he was an underused character who did become more front-and-center as the seasons came on. I was more than a little curious to see if he could carry a series as number one on the call sheet. The short answer in he absolutely nails it. There were moments when I was beginning to like this show more than I did the earlier series. There’s a really strong teamwork going on here, and there’s not a weak link in the bunch. Hudnut certainly adds his own dimension, and that means the writing is actually better here. Sheridan isn’t a great writer. His skills are in creating authenticity and wonderful characters. And then he picks the very best person to fill that character’s skin. Here I think the writing is a bit smarter, and the execution retains that atmosphere but creates some of its own. There’s great promise here, and you should absolutely check it out. And let’s count the days to season two together. “This rally could get violent.”
