A Dutton man would apparently rather flee from his father as a young man, endure the burden of living and working in his shadow, battle relatives and corporate killers plotting his murder, and promise to protect a historic stretch of family land as both a memorial to the dead and a future home for new generations than sit down in therapy.
That seems to be Kayce Dutton’s mindset as he saddles up and heads toward the cemetery at East Camp, where Tate Dutton has been spending time. One reason Kayce joined Pete Calvin’s marshals team was to get away from the demons that have followed him for years. Yet since beginning this new chapter—serving as the land’s caretaker and raising his son alone after Monica’s death—he has brought Tate into a world where those demons never seem far behind. Tate helped distribute weapons when East Camp was attacked, and in Season 2, Episode 2 of Marshals on Paramount+, Kayce finds him sitting beside John Dutton’s grave. The boy is crushed and embarrassed that he ever mistook the fraudulent Tom Weaver, with his empty cowboy-hat act, for anything like his grandfather. For a Dutton, even a lowered gun hand can become an accusation aimed at his own regrets.
Tate, however, has something to tell his father: “I don’t need rescuing anymore.” Kayce never directly asks whether he does, but he can read the answer in the boy’s troubled expression. While Kayce sees only the damage caused by a life of violence, Tate insists that the lessons have taken hold. He will become a Dutton man because he chooses to, because honor demands it here, and because that is how one generation has raised the next. “It’s the Dutton way.”
The newest assignment for Team Jock Up mirrors Kayce’s struggle to be a father. A rogue police officer is hunting current and former colleagues he believes betrayed him, and his list of targets keeps expanding. He even fires at Harry Gifford (Brett Cullen), the senior U.S. Marshal, outside headquarters. When the team finally corners him, they discover they are dealing with two gunmen: the officer has drawn his son into a conspiracy built on grievances and manipulation. Kayce is the one who must pull the boy back from the extremist path his father created. “He was flawed, but you loved him anyway.”
Pete Calvin and Belle Turek-Skinner are flawed as well, and they love each other despite it. For now, though, their relationship appears destined to remain a workplace romance. The chemistry is clear, but the circumstances are anything but simple. Belle misses Cal’s cancer appointment in Salt Lake City because her five-year-old son, Braxton, is struggling to sleep. His mother has been out getting shot at for work, and the experience is haunting him. Belle says her marriage to Jared (Eddie Aguirre) is essentially over, but she cannot abandon her son to his nightmares. A mother might prefer developing a destructive gambling habit, joining a new marshals unit far from everyone who knows her secrets, and starting a risky romance with its commander over going to therapy. At least Belle can put Braxton first.
Belle also gives Pete the push he needs, telling him that hiding his diagnosis from the team has to end. Pete finally gathers everyone at headquarters and explains that he has a Pancoast tumor, outlines his treatment plan, and insists he intends to keep working. “It’s not gonna affect work,” Cal says in his familiar blunt tone. Still, uncertainty flickers across his face. “Until I have surgery. Once the tumor shrinks.”
The team immediately rallies around Pete, but accepting their support may take him longer. He becomes defensive when Belle urges him to follow through with treatment, then takes a long drink from his enormous water jug. The former SEAL and hard-edged marshal seems to believe sheer toughness—and perhaps enough water—can somehow wash the cancer away.
Kayce Takes for Marshals Season 2 Episode 2 (“End of Watch”):
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.