Spoiler Alert: This post contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 1 of “Marshals,” “Piya Wiconi,” which premiered Sunday, March 1 on CBS.
“Marshalls” is the first new show in the “Yellowstone” series since the flagship series aired in 2024. Luke Grimes plays Casey Dutton in this action procedural. He was the closest approximation to the good guy from “Yellowstone.” The show also underwent a genre change, going from a soapy family drama to a police procedural. But they also bring in some old “Yellowstone” friends, including Casey’s son Tate (Brecken Merrill) and the Dutton family’s adversaries, Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and Moe (Moe Brings Plenty). Here are our biggest burning questions about the future of “Marshalls” after its debut episode aired in primetime on CBS rather than on “Yellowstone” home Paramount Network+.
Wait…why did they kill Monica?
I should have understood more about her absence in the promotional materials, but I still couldn’t accept that not only was Casey’s wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) not on the show, but she died of cancer before the show even started. It’s not that “Yellowstone” had any qualms about killing off important characters, but Casey’s story was so defined by his relationship with Monica that…what is he without her? Indeed, that’s the central point of “The Marshalls,” and it gave the writers an idea of his inner self. This may be a catalyst for Mensei to appear more of a blank canvas, but this is narratively shocking considering his life on Yellowstone revolved around her and her character was a long-awaited entry point into the Native American stories often explored on the show. We’ll eventually find out if it was money, a contract dispute, or some other reason that led Asbir away, but this is a real stumbling block that would plague the first season.
Will this drama be able to develop Casey into a more appealing character?
Casey was the archetypal character known from “Yellowstone.” He was a stoic man of few words and always did the morally right thing. That’s all well and good, but “Yellowstone” fans loved Beth. They loved Rip. Because he literally throws a snake in a man’s face and kills him. They loved John. Because John tries to crush his enemies like bugs. After all, how interesting is it to watch a good guy trying to do the right thing? Early indications suggest the central battle will be between what’s legal and what’s right in Casey’s moral code, so we’ll see how his quest for justice shakes out each week.
Would the show be in trouble without Taylor Sheridan writing every episode?
Every episode of “Yellowstone” was written, or at least co-written, by series co-creator Sheridan, creating a specific tone and flow. Although he is an EP on “Marshals,” he did not write or direct the first three episodes, and the show itself was created by Spencer Hudnut. He most recently served as a writer and executive producer on the long-running show “Seal Team.” That makes sense for the procedural structure of The Marshalls, but could the writing team conjure up the kind of soapy Westerns that made people fall in love with Sheridan’s show in the first place?
Could every incident be this exciting?
The pilot bombing was an interesting mix of Native American politics, the most interesting part of “Yellowstone,” with characters we know, solid action, a solid sense of geography, and interesting twists and turns. It was a smart introduction to the world of Marshall, but will the average case of the week maintain this much interest?
Will we grow to love the secondary characters?
With the exception of a few Yellowstone alums and Logan Marshall-Green as Casey’s tortured Navy SEAL friend Pete, the new characters are all a bit generic and could have been substituted for any NCIS or Law & Order clone, especially in the office scenes where evidence is gathered and theories are discussed. Hopefully, “Marshalls” can break out of this rhythm and stick to engaging with the people in their communities and the amazing landscapes, rather than looking at computer screens and asking technicians to “enhance” what they’re seeing.
Watch the trailer for “Marshals” below.
