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‘Marshals’ Episode 2 Proves Kayce Can’t Keep the ‘Yellowstone’ Train Station a Secret for Long
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Marshals Episode 2.After Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) returned to television with last week’s series premiere of Marshals, fans everywhere — whether you started with Yellowstone or are new to the Taylor Sheridan-made universe — have been anxious to see where the series goes next. “Zone of Death” is an engaging follow-up that sheds light on the secrets that the Dutton family has been keeping since long before the Yellowstone days. Now, Kayce and his team of U.S. Marshals nearly stumble upon all the skeletons left in that closet.
“Zone of Death” Begins With Kayce’s First Official Day on the Job
The second episode opens with a heartfelt compilation of time spent between Kayce and his son, Tate (Brecken Merrill), as these two finally build the father-son relationship that they always should have had. After riding into the mountains, catching some fish, and camping together, Tate asks his father if he’s prepared to officially join the U.S. Marshals. Kayce doesn’t seem worried, but he’s (rightly) concerned about how Tate feels about it. “A new start would do us both good,” his son replies. As for who is going to run East Camp while Kayce is busy? Turns out, his brother-in-law Rip (Cole Hauser, who does not appear here) has set up some hands worthy of the job. Meanwhile, at the Bullet ‘n Barrel Saloon, Pete “Cal” Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green) shares some old war stories with his fellow Marshals, Miles Kittle (Tatanka Means) and Andrea Cruz (Ash Santos), though neither is too impressed. Cruz is worried that Cal’s friendship with Kayce will get in the way of the team, but they all end up drinking to a “new team, new dynamic” instead.
The next day, Kayce arrives at Marshals HQ for target practice, which he (of course) excels at. Afterward, Cal re-introduces him to the rest of the team, including Belle Skinner (Arielle Kebbel) — still sporting her combat injury from last week — only to leave Kayce alone with the rest of the group. Unfortunately, Cal has the displeasure of addressing Marshal Harry Gifford’s (Brett Cullen) concerns about Kayce’s employment. “A Dutton wearing a Marshal star, it just doesn’t sit right,” Gifford claims, but Cal won’t have any of it. He notes that Kayce is more qualified than most, adding that bringing the former SEAL onto the team turns them into an “elite unit.” But Gifford doesn’t agree. In fact, he doubles down on his opinion by reminding Cal that Kayce is directly connected to the two coldest cases in the state: the death of Governor John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and the disappearance of DA Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley). Cal chalks it up to being a “coincidence” as Gifford storms out.
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But the “easy first day” is soon interrupted when Cal gets word that fugitive Raul Garza of the 406 Royals is holding up in a trailer park in Belgrade. It isn’t long before the team arrives at the trailer park — an apparent breeding ground for meth dealers — and the team splits up. Cal leads Belle and Cruz to the front entrance while Kayce and Miles take the back. Breaking in, a fight ensues as Belle and Cruz get hold of the fugitive in question. Still, Kayce’s head remains on a swivel as he sees a suspicious character in a Chevy pickup across the street, revving his engine. Cal orders him to back down, reminding him that they’re “in Montana, not a war zone.” Back at HQ, the team debriefs as Belle reveals that Garza’s accomplice, Lenny Nelson, is a member of the Aryan Brethren of Idaho, connecting white nationalists with a Latin gang. But Kayce doesn’t have time to deal with that right now, because he gets a call that something is going on at East Camp — and Cal decides to join him.
‘Marshals’ Opens the Door to Questions About the Duttons’ Complicated Family History
Back at East Camp, Kayce and Cal come upon a stallion that has broken through a fence. “That’s not a horse,” Cal jokes. “That’s anger with legs.” But if you thought that Marshals would get all Yellowstone on us and pivot to the ranching life, you’d be mistaken. After Kayce performs a cowboy miracle (which doesn’t last long), the pair return to Marshals HQ, where Cruz reveals that there’s a fentanyl deal going down that afternoon between the Aryans and the Royals at a spot just over the Wyoming border called the “Zone of Death.” This is a place with no citizens or law enforcement, no judges or juries, and no real legal way to prosecute criminal activity. Sounds like the perfect place for a drug deal — or to hide a series of bodies. Yellowstone fans will recognize this “Zone of Death” as the “Train Station” that the Duttons once tossed their bodies into — and the whole thing puts Kayce immediately on edge. Despite Gifford’s prying, he claims it’s the first time he’s ever heard of it.
As the team prepares for war, Belle’s husband and son show up for a quick visit, proving that a balance can be struck between the Marshals and family. It’s a balance that Cal actively admires, though he encourages her to avoid building walls with her husband, noting that things may have been different with his own family had he been more open and available. In the other vehicle, Cruz questions whether Kayce really knows what became of his brother Jamie (who, as Yellowstone fans know, is likely at the bottom of the Train Station himself). It’s here that she reveals that, when her father was killed, there was no question about how it happened, and she had closure. “Family history like yours, I’m sure it’s hard to turn the page,” she tells him. Upon arriving at the deal site, the Marshals plan their op and get in position. It isn’t long before the Royals and the Aryans arrive, and Belle gets in position to place their tracker on the Royals’ vehicle. Since their goal is only to arrest the Aryans, they plan to capture the Royals at a later date to stop them from distributing on Broken Rock.
Things get hairy when Belle finds herself trapped beneath one of the trucks. Miles moves forward to cover her but is suddenly stopped by a rattlesnake, which threatens to give away his position. Kayce decides to get involved and goes to keep Miles safe. However, from their vantage point at the top of the hill, Cal and Cruz see that the drugs are being exchanged with the Aryans for a homemade bomb. “They’re not planning an attack, they’re about to execute one,” Cruz exclaims. It’s then that Kayce shoots the Royal on Miles’ tail, and a firefight erupts. Kayce covers Miles as the Aryans — and their new bomb — get away, leaving the Royals in combat against the Marshals. Although Miles denied being affected by his first kill earlier in the episode, Kayce has seen through him this entire time. In the heat of battle, he encourages his teammate to lock in and be there for Belle now. As Kayce goes after the bomb, Miles steps up alongside Cal and Cruz to cover Belle, taking out the Royals from afar.
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With Episode 2, ‘Marshals’ Is Closer To Finding Its Own Voice
Riding on horseback, Kayce goes after the bomb. After firing on the SUV from afar, he’s able to run it off the road by igniting the bomb, thus disarming the Aryan terrorist as well. But when the man calls for mercy, hoping to appeal to the Duttons’ good graces, Kayce executes the man without a second thought. “You’re already dead,” Kayce tells him. “Even if you were worth saving, there’s no help here.” True to his family name and the “Y” brand he’ll forever wear on his chest, Kayce tosses the body down the Train Station, err, Zone of Death, and leaves it behind. Back at HQ, the team rejoices that the fentanyl didn’t make it back to Bozeman and the bomb didn’t hit Idaho’s federal courthouse. Turns out, the Idaho State Police are on the case of rounding up the rest of the Aryan offenders. But when Cal asks about the fifth man whom Kayce was tracking down, all he responds with is “Zone of Death, I guess.” After “baptizing” Kayce with a NA beer, the group disbands for the night. However, Gifford quietly corners Cal and Cruz about Kayce, believing that he’s trying to keep the law off the scent of his fugitive (and missing) brother, who, as we all know, is actually dead.
In the locker room, Miles admits to Kayce that the man he killed is still in his head, though he didn’t freeze with the snake because he was afraid. According to his people, killing a rattler is a bad omen. Still, Kayce reminds him that he needs to be more dangerous than the snake — and if he can’t do that, maybe this job isn’t for him after all. When Miles leaves, Cal asks Kayce about his behavior on the op. While he could always count on Kayce to have his back in the teams, things were different this time around — and everybody knew it. It’s obvious that Kayce is trying to keep his family’s skeletons in the closet, but as Cal notes, “It’s kind of hard to operate when you’ve got ghosts hanging over you.” Even more interesting is that, while on the battlefield, Kayce used a name, “Roner,” when convincing Cal that his plan was the better one. Cal believes that it was a cheap shot that Kayce took to get into his head, but the Dutton heir maintains that it was actually a targeted approach to keep history from repeating itself. Hopefully, that’s something Marshals can dive deeper into.
As “Zone of Death” winds down, Cal and Cruz listen to country singer Ashley Cooke perform “Next to You” at the Bullet ‘n Barrel Saloon as they discuss Kayce’s behavior in the field. Cruz believes that the credit for the op should’ve been given to her because of her intel rather than Kayce, but their conversation is cut short by a handsome cowboy (played by Tyler Courtad) who, after being rejected by Cruz previously, sends her an apology drink. As sparks fly between them, Belle joins Cal for a drink after a hard day, not wanting to carry the weight home with her. As the episode ends, Kayce returns home to Tate, admitting that the landmines left behind by the Yellowstone have thrown him for a loop. While Tate hasn’t found his new beginning quite yet, he did see his maternal grandfather, who hopes to honor Monica (Kelsey Asbille) at a ceremony next month. When Tate asks Kayce about his mother’s favorite necklace, which he hopes to use in the ceremony, his father shrugs it off. But as he steps outside on the porch, he reveals that he’s been carrying it with him all along.
Marshals airs Sundays on CBS and is available for streaming the next day on Paramount+.
- Release Date
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2026 – 2026
- Showrunner
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Spencer Hudnut
- Writers
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Spencer Hudnut, Tom Mularz, Dana Greenblatt
- Kayce lends well to the new Marshals format
- Adding some SEAL backstory into the episode strengthens the dynamic between Kayce and Cal
- Marshals does well to lean into the regional issues of the American Northwest
- Will Marshals always live in Yellowstone’s shadow?
- No actual ramifications for the Train Station? Hopefully this will be revisited later on.