Episode 4 of the Kayce Dutton-focused Yellowstone spinoff Marshals did not land well with viewers.
The Kayce Dutton-focused Yellowstone spinoff has already begun airing on CBS. There are four episodes out as of right now, and much of the early storyline revolved around Luke Grimes’ character moving on after the death of his wife, Monica. Many fans have expressed that they were happy that Kayce’s wife was killed off… but some of those same fans are now complaining that the show’s writers are making Kayce move on a little too fast.
In Season 1’s fourth episode, titled “The Gathering Storm,” the U.S. Marshals find themselves helping a rancher who got into an accident up in the mountains. Through that rescue mission, they meet the rancher’s daughter – named Dolly (played by Ellyn Jameson). Immediately, the series implies that there’s some chemistry between Kayce and the woman he’s met.
Just a reminder, in Marshals, it’s only been a couple of months since the passing of Kayce’s wife, Monica.
Kayce and the team help out, and then later, when the U.S. Marshals are winding down at their favorite bar, Dolly shows back up and buys drinks for everyone as a thank you. Kayce’s colleague Andrea (played by Ash Santos) eventually tells him that Dolly clearly has a thing for him.
That all culminates with the rancher’s daughter asking Kayce Dutton if he could give her a tour of the surrounding area. Luke Grimes’ character is hesitant to commit, and responds with a very open-ended “Maybe.” All in all, it sure seems like Marshals is ready to get Kayce back out there after he lost his wife… and fans are hating pretty much everything about it.
On a reddit page dedicated to Marshals episode discussions, disgusted viewers left comments like these:
“Oh, please for the love of God do not start Kayce off with love interest this soon after Monica’s death. I may not have liked Monica much at all because all she did was cry, but for real both Kayce and Tate are still grieving… her shoes are still by the damn door.”
“Oh yeah, drive a bigger wedge between Kayce and his son by forcing a love interest.”
“Too soon to introduce a love interest for Kayce! Too soon after Monica’s death – and too soon in the series storyline.”
“Introducing a love interest for Kayce is so unnecessary at this early stage.”
“It’s only Episode 4. We’re just getting started. Too soon.”
As you can see, there are a whole lot of Marshals fans out there unhappy with the decision. They definitely won’t like hearing that Ellyn Jameson, who plays Dolly, has already been confirmed to have a recurring role on the Yellowstone spinoff.
If the romance heats up between Dolly and Kayce, I’ve got a feeling the audience score for Marshals will continue to nosedive. It’s already at a 28%, which is the worst of any show that has Taylor Sheridan’s name attached to it.
The good news (?) is that Marshals has already been picked up for a second season. But if they keep upsetting the Yellowstone fanbase that came over to the series, that might be all that they end up getting.
