'Marshals' Episode 2 Recap: Why Did Kayce Kill A Member Of The Aryan Brethren?

The second episode of Marshals marks the first day of Kayce Dutton’s new beginning. In the previous episode, Kayce realized that his son, Tate, didn’t want to become a rancher like his old man or his grandfather, so Kayce should stop worrying about East Camp and instead do the things he really wanted to. Luckily, his old pal from the Navy Seals, Pete “Cal” Calvin, had formed an elite Marshals team to investigate high-level threats in the area, and Cal wanted Kayce to be a part of it. He had deputized Kayce for a day, but after spending time knocking down doors and catching criminals, Kayce realized that law enforcement could be his calling, and he accepted Cal’s offer to join the team. Now, as you might already be aware, this show’s going to be a procedural drama, so we’ll have a new case each week, but what sets Marshals apart is its connection to the Yellowstone universe, and the show doesn’t shy away from dropping those Easter eggs and references in every episode. So with that said, let’s find out what all went down in the second episode.

Spoiler Alert

New Beginnings Aren’t Always New

On multiple occasions, the second episode pointed out that even though Kayce had decided to move on towards a new beginning, the ghosts of the past are going to haunt him forever. In the second episode, the team received intel on a fugitive, Raul Garza, a member of the 406 Royals, who had been in Montana for some shady business. The Marshals arrested Garza and found out that the Royals have been colluding with the Aryan Brethren of Idaho to plan something really sinister. Turns out, the Aryans were selling the Royals fentanyl in exchange for a bomb, and Garza had come to Montana to test the product and had greenlit the final exchange. However, Kayce was a bit taken aback when he heard the name of the location where these gangsters were meeting. It was the Zone of Death, a place near the Wyoming border with no citizens or law enforcement. If you remember, in Yellowstone, the Dutton family used this land as a dumping ground for their enemies, the people they didn’t want anyone to ever find. In the Season 5 finale, Kayce had disposed of his brother, Jamie Dutton’s body there, after Beth killed him with a knife. Kayce feared that if the team went to the Zone of Death to surveil the deal, they might end up finding Jamie’s body in the “trash can,” but thankfully none of that actually happened. He was just paranoid. However, the Marshals’ head, Harry Gifford, and Kayce’s teammate, Andrea Cruz, noticed that Kayce was quite spooked by the mention of the Zone of Death, as if he were hiding something. Andrea even brought up Jamie’s disappearance while they were on their way towards the border, but Kayce didn’t respond.

At the Zone of Death, Belle Skinner, another teammate, spotted something shimmering in the ravine, which is the show’s way of telling us that it could be Jamie, but we all know it’s just a red herring. However, this information petrified Kayce further, who quickly reminded the team of their mission. Okay, so the operation didn’t go as planned. Cal wanted Belle to put a tracker on the Aryan’s car so that the authorities could bust their safehouse and take them by surprise, but unfortunately, Belle couldn’t escape, leaving the team no other option but to engage with the gangsters. The Marshals took down almost everyone except for the Aryans carrying the bomb. They were on their way to blow up the federal courthouse, but were arrested by the Idaho State Police. In short, neither the fentanyl reached Bozeman nor did the bomb do any damage. The Marshals stopped the domestic terrorist attack and saved the day, giving Harry Gifford his first big win.

Kayce Is A Flawed Protagonist

With Kayce’s character, the show once again repeated the philosophy that the Duttons are neither the good guys nor the bad guys. Through the generations, the family has been bending the law for their survival, self-interest, or beliefs, and apparently, Kayce’s following the same lead. After the shooting started, Kayce went after the Aryans trying to escape in black vans, and during the chase, he shot down one of the vehicles. When he reached the location where the van had exploded, he found out that one of the Aryans was still alive, but instead of arresting him or taking him to the hospital, Kayce decided to shoot him dead. Now, this could be interpreted in many ways. But we know that Kayce isn’t some cold-blooded killer, so it’s likely that he shot him because he knew that the man wouldn’t survive, and he didn’t want him to suffer. But because he had shot him with his service pistol, he decided to throw him in the ravine so no one would find out the truth. Over the years, the Dutton family had frequently used the Zone of Death to bury their secrets, and it seems like Kayce’s continuing the tradition. Later in the episode, Cal even pointed out that there were five Aryans on the site, but they only found 4, leading him to wonder what happened to the 5th one, to which Kayce replied he might have been lost in the Zone of Death. I guess Cal grasped the meaning of Kayce’s words. But that’s not all. There was something else Cal wanted to talk to Kayce about.

At the beginning of the episode, Andrea told Cal that she didn’t want Cal and Kayce’s shared past to step on their toes in the present, and Cal assured her that nothing of that sort was going to happen, but unfortunately, he overpromised. We know that both Cal and Kayce are troubled by their past. During their time in the Navy SEALs, they committed acts they weren’t proud of, and lost friends whose memories still haunt them. Kayce was lucky to find Monica, who helped him overcome those demons, but Cal hit rock bottom after getting separated from his daughter. This was the reason Cal complimented Belle for being able to balance the work and her family, something he himself had failed to during his time in the SEALs. And it’s likely that after his family left him, he took refuge in drugs until he finally decided to turn his life around and joined the Marshals. In short, both Kayce and Cal know each other’s vulnerabilities, but it was Kayce who decided to bring it up during the operation. When Belle got trapped under fire, Kayce told Cal that they needed to move or else it would become a total mess. Here, Roner was the name of one of their comrades whom they likely lost in the war zone because they were waiting for orders instead of engaging with the enemy. And as soon as Kayce brought it up, Cal got paranoid. He couldn’t risk losing another teammate on his watch and therefore let Kayce take the lead. After the mission, Cal confronted Kayce and called it a cheap shot, but Kayce assured him it was necessary. If he hadn’t taken the lead, history might have repeated itself.

Gifford Doesn’t Trust Kayce

From the very first day, Harry Gifford, Cal’s boss, has raised concerns about a “Dutton” joining the team. Not only because he has some history with John Dutton (likely an unsolved conflict that has not yet been revealed) but also because he believes that Kayce has joined the Marshals to fulfill his ulterior motives. In the Yellowstone Season 5 finale, the authorities never found out who shot John Dutton or where Jamie disappeared, and Kayce might try to mislead the authorities on these cold cases. Well, he isn’t exactly wrong. Kayce did try to stop the team from investigating what’s buried in the ravines, so he’s been trying his best to keep the Duttons’ skeletons hidden in the closet, but we all know his family’s past will keep turning up from time to time, making things difficult for Kayce and his son. The thing is, if it was up to Gifford, he would have never let Kayce step into his unit, but with Cal vouching for him, Gifford has little say in the matter. I guess Kayce will sooner or later win Gifford’s trust if he keeps bagging him big trophies in the game. And it isn’t just Gifford, even Kayce’s teammate Andrea Cruz feels something’s off with the new guy. Well, they will eventually accept Kayce the way he is. By the end of the episode, Miles Kittle already got comfortable with Kayce and started opening up to him about the fears that had been troubling him lately. So one teammate at a time, Kayce is going to befriend them all.

Kayce Lied to Tate

In episode 2’s ending, Kayce finally returned home, where Tate told him that he saw Grandpa Long, who wanted to honor Monica at the remembrance ceremony the next month. Grandpa Long wanted Monica’s favorite necklace for the ceremony, and Tate couldn’t find it, so he asked if Kayce had seen it. But even though Kayce had it with him, he lied to Tate, telling him that he would look for it tomorrow. The thing is, this necklace could be the last belonging of Monica’s Kayce still had with him, and after such a long day, he didn’t want to part with the only thing that has been keeping him afloat. He’ll likely give it to Long for the ceremony, but for the time being, he just wants to spend some time with his memories of Monica. Also, if you are wondering who’s going to look after East Camp now that Kayce has joined law enforcement full time, at the beginning of the episode, he mentioned Rip, his brother-in-law, who has found some hands to look after the cattle until he comes up with a permanent solution. The information hints that Rip is still in the ranching business, and he may have either started his own brand or started working for Four Six (6666), whose logo you may have noticed inside Bullet ’n Barrels, where Cal and he are regulars. It’s possible that Rip may make an appearance in the show, but that’s just me doing some wistful thinking here. Well, these are my thoughts on the episode, but if you have anything to add, please drop a comment below.

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