‘Marshals’ showrunner teases Monica Dutton’s possible return to ‘Yellowstone’ universe
'Marshals' brought a 'Yellowstone' fan favorite into focus again. This time, it was Monica (Kelsey Asbille), Kayce's beloved late wife. 'Falling Sky' shows Kayce (Luke Grimes) struggling to raise his son Tate (Brecken Merrill). While Kayce is horseback riding across East Camp with Cal (Logan Marshall-Green), they hear Tate practicing his shooting. Tate explains that he is preparing for any future threats. Kayce is shocked by his son's response, as he did not expect Tate to approach conflict this way. He urges Tate to open up, but the teenager would rather train himself than deal with his emotions.
Later, Kayce asks Tate about his plans for the future. Kayce gives the youngster a college brochure, reminding him that Monica wanted him to go to college. Tate responds by saying that Monica would never have wanted Kayce to kill people from her own tribe, yet he continues to do so. The conversation makes Kayce realize his recent approach to raising Tate is the opposite of what Monica would have wanted. Kayce decides to smooth things over with his son by asking him to come on a fishing trip over the weekend. Tate refuses, as he is now scared of water after nearly drowning. This revelation further saddens Kayce.
In the end, he decides to send Tate to a therapist. Tate is unhappy about the decision, as he has no interest in talking to a shrink about his feelings. However, Kayce is adamant. He wants to do things Monica's way and not his father's. "It's the last place my father would have taken me, and the last place I would have gone myself, so I'm hoping that makes it the right place for you," Kayce said. By bringing Monica into focus, the show gave fans hope that the fan favorite may return in some capacity in the CBS spin-off. Monica was killed offscreen before 'Marshal's premiere. Creator Spencer Hudnut shared that he would be open to bringing the character back. “I think you have to be very careful about the timing of doing that. The character of Monica will always be with Kayce. She’s, I think, guiding him still,” Hudnut shared with PEOPLE. “We’ve already made 33 episodes. We’ve got a lot of story to tell, so I think that would be interesting for people to see.”
The episode also featured Cal dealing with his cancer treatment, and Belle (Arielle Kebbel) refusing to let him do it alone. Andrea (Ash Santos) is also seen dealing with her past trauma. The case-of-the-week dealt with drones crashing in the area. Initially, a Native American terrorist cell was considered a suspect. However, the investigation revealed that the drone company’s security team was behind the destruction, and they aimed to pit members of the Broken Rock Tribe against each other. To find out whether Monica returns to Kayce's life in some way, fans can tune in to new episodes every Sunday on CBS.
