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Let’s dive right into the heart of the matter with Chief Deputy US Marshal Harry Gifford, whose penchant for oversized Stetsons seems to grow with each of his appearances on Marshals. In Episode 4, aptly titled “The Gathering Storm,” Gifford seizes on a complaint lodged by Randall Clegg against Kayce Dutton as a pretext to target the entire Dutton family. Clegg, who has a history marred by violence against innocents during protests, and whose sons have attacked federal agents with IEDs, seems an unlikely source of credible grievances. The only thing more absurd than Gifford’s obsessive vendetta against Kayce is Marshals‘ attempt to recycle drama from Yellowstone‘s archives.
In a move reminiscent of last week, this episode meanders into the distant past of the Sheridan-O-Verse, harking back to Season 2 of Yellowstone, when John and Kayce Dutton clashed with a developer who hired a militia to kidnap Tate Dutton. This historical tidbit is dredged up as Gifford pressures Cruz, Belle, and Miles to investigate Kayce, suggesting that past events justify his brand of “frontier justice.” Meanwhile, Tate Dutton’s current storyline is largely absent, as the series has conveniently placed him off-camera at his grandfather’s Broken Rock reservation, supposedly due to a mysterious shell casing found on Kayce’s porch. However, it feels more like Marshals is uncertain about how to integrate Tate or Kayce’s slice of Yellowstone into the narrative.
Despite Gifford’s attempts to sideline Kayce, he still teams up with Pete Calvin for a search and rescue mission in Montana’s rugged Bridger Range. Tom Weaver, a prosperous local rancher, has crashed his helicopter, and naturally, Kayce and Cal are the only ones up to the task. They quickly locate the wreckage and prepare to rescue the injured Weaver when a grizzly bear appears. For Kayce Dutton, this is just another day on the job. A few strategic shots are enough to send the bear packing.
This brings us back to Weaver and the inescapable Dutton legacy, even at 8,500 feet above sea level. As Kayce tends to Weaver’s broken leg, they discuss the challenges of ranching, with Weaver expressing his respect for John Dutton. Initially, Kayce was ready to dislike Weaver, whom he assumed was just another affluent transplant from the coasts eager to fly in bad weather. However, as they prepare to use a horse-assisted tandem belay to extricate Weaver, an understanding develops between them.
Meanwhile, Gifford pressures Cruz to dig up dirt to support Clegg’s claims. “Are you asking me to fabricate evidence?” Cruz questions, unhappy with the task but even more displeased by Gifford’s veiled threats to her career. Cruz and Belle head into town to interrogate a lawyer aligned with Clegg. While the investigation might seem futile, Michael Cudlitz shines as Randall Clegg. His portrayal of Clegg is so intense, it’s akin to delivering a fiery sermon on vengeance. Despite Clegg’s sporadic appearances, Cudlitz’s performance is compelling, making us hope this villain’s grudge endures.
And are you ready for this? Marshals name-checked a random chunk of Yellowstone stuff and then…did absolutely nothing with it. Gifford’s latest gambit to catch the Duttons in his big net fizzles when previously unavailable trail camera footage from the forest firefight in Episode 3 proves Clegg’s complaint false. His sons were always gunning for Kayce and the marshals, not the other way around. And while Cruz angrily tells Gifford that she doesn’t like being used as a pawn in his power games, the big boss otherwise just walks out. He’ll go off and plan his next trap for Kayce, after pushing for starting a federal case based on less than a theory. Isn’t that the real frontier justice? Where’s the accountability?
The other thing about having part of the team investigate their own? It kills chemistry. With all its superficial Yellowstone integration, Marshals is nowhere closer to building its core group into a cohesive team. Kayce’s still an outlier, Cruz keeps making noise about going “back to civilization,” and Belle’s personal connections to the area are still on a back burner. We wonder when this series will trust itself enough to fully integrate Kayce Dutton into the new situation it has built around him.
Kayce Taykes for Marshals Episode 4 (“The Gathering Storm”):
- We’re back at the Bar & Barrel, where it is revealed that the bartender, Maddie (Morgan Lindholm), is Pete Calvin’s estranged daughter. Cal tells Belle he took the marshals posting in Montana to be closer to her. But Maddie doesn’t seem to want him in her life, “or her bar.”
- Is Channing Wilson the house entertainment? He’s back at the Bar this episode, performing “Gettin’ Outta My MInd.”
- Rich guy rancher Tom Weaver also has a daughter, Dolly Weaver (Elly Jameson), who seems to have taken a liking to Kayce. It’s hard to tell how reciprocal this is – Luke Grimes plays Kayce with a practiced bent toward unreadability – but Dolly is definitely laying it on thick. She wants a “guide” to the local “hot spots.” Whaddya say, cowboy?
Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.