‘Marshals’ Season 1 Episode 1 Recap: What Happened?

Stoic son Kayce (Luke Grimes) is torn up by the offscreen death of his wife Monica, a Broken Rock native, but hides it because that’s his way. Meanwhile, Kayce and Monica’s son Tate is joining a protest on behalf of Broken Rock and its members who fell victim to the government’s toxic disposal on the reservation, as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior is set to visit. Kayce admits he can’t replace Tate’s mom, but he can try, and he does, in his own barely-talking, harshly-staring way.

Kayce wants normalcy. “Ranching’s in my blood,” he tells his visiting buddy and “brother” Pete “Cal” Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green, in a no-nonsense yet emotionally layered performance). Kayce is finally “at peace” on this land, he claims, though anyone who clocks his jitters knows otherwise. This rancher can’t even summon the courage to shoot a wolf.

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U.S. Marshals Service = Salvation

The two friends, Kayce and Cal, fought in the Navy SEALs together. The Dutton name, which might as well be emblazoned on the mountaintops of Montana, didn’t matter in military teams. Cal had his own post-military brushes with tragedy—he mentions crushing pills in “full gong show” mode—before joining the U.S. Marshals became his “salvation.” (Salvation is subjective here, since Cal shows up with a box of explosives he ripped off a meth head, but that’s another TV show.)

Cal and Kayce are shooting logs of wood, as homies do in rural Montana, when Cal brings up the possibility of Kayce joining the Marshals. Nope. Not for Kayce. “My days of running into fire are over,” he declares at one point, which is what every protagonist in a thriller says right before they sprint through giant flames.

Cal hooks Kayce with this nice line: “I’m guessing you have your own demons to conquer, and I could sure use another door kicker.” There’s more to grab the basically good Kayce: Cal and his Marshals team are pursuing two fugitives who have been “preying on Rez women.” (“Rez” is shorthand for reservation.) Those fugitives happen to be hiding in rough terrain not far from the old Dutton ranch. Kayce is determined to help the Marshals navigate the area on horseback and take down these baddies, but only this one time (says everyone in a premiere episode of a new series).

The Motley Montana Crew

The motley crew of Marshals is certainly memorable: a mix of men and women of various backgrounds, highly skilled, never condescended to by the show. The writing on the premiere, from creator and showrunner Spencer Hudnut (Sheridan is an executive producer), is punchy enough but doesn’t have the same offbeat poetry of Sheridan’s words, or the logic a big show like this should. I was baffled when Broken Rock leader Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) said, “Sun rarely shines on the Rez, but this is one of our darkest days.” Metaphorically fine, if a bit hokey, but the literal sun is shining constantly and piercingly on this Montana. It just doesn’t make sense. But it’s the first episode, and minor issues can be resolved.

Another line, as the Marshals drink beer at a dive bar post-capturing fugitives, seduced me: “Three things you don’t do in Montana,” the Latina badass from the Bronx is told when she puts a Spanish-language song on the jukebox. “Pet the buffalo, try to outdrink Canadians, and mess with cowboys’ music.” As someone with Canuck cousins, I can confirm the second rule in any Canada-bordering locale. The rest is beautifully articulated common sense.

The protest is where the real action happens. The federal Interior jerk is there for the pompous ceremonial factor; Broken Rock chairman Thomas Rainwater (what a name, played by the excellent returning Yellowstone star Gil Birmingham) obliges. But our warrior Kayce, offering an extra set of eyes, instantly spots a shady dude with a backpack. Which is filled with a homemade bomb that blasts the event, putting Rainwater in critical condition in the hospital.

Killer or Protector?

At this point, while the long-term narrative bones are solid, Marshals goes slightly Bones with its procedural formula. The Marshals have computer tricks Sandra Bullock in The Net couldn’t dream of: The suspect’s face is scanned, traced to Broken Rock member Jim Kane, who doesn’t seem like a killer. But his apparent nurse in scrubs is very much a killer. Kayce clocks this henchman immediately, and in a well-choreographed fight in the hospital bathroom (!), kills him without a problem.

Kane, a family man, seems an unlikely culprit. After coaxing, he admits his wife and daughter are being held captive by the vaguely white supremacy-coded and heavily armed Trail Keepers, who were behind the bombing. The tracking device tied to the kid takes the Marshals, including newly deputized Kayce (in case you had any doubt), to a house. A shootout ensues. The mom is unchained. A brutalized lackey gives Kayce and co. the intel on the daughter, who’s being held captive by another Trail Keeper. A single, perfectly executed rifle shot sets the girl free.

“It was nice to kill for someone rather than something,” Kayce reflects, in another iffy line. More profoundly, a wise Broken Rock leader advises that Kayce always has the power to change course: “You’re not a killer, Kayce. You’re a protector.”

Finally, Kayce shoots that damn haunting wolf. He visits the grave of his late wife. He tells his son that his life would be gone without him. He’s fiercely protective, without a doubt, and has the badge to prove it.

Notes from Montana

• The lovely title of the episode, “Piya Wiconi,” is a Lakota phrase that translates to “new beginning.”
• Though he didn’t write this episode, alas, the most Taylor Sheridan-y phrase (in a good way) is “radioactive colonialism.”
• Another line that sounds fine but just doesn’t track: “The only thing worse than losing a parent is losing the wrong one.” Certainly losing both parents would be worse? Maybe I’m getting nitpicky, but the scripts could use sharpening in future episodes.
• According to the highly skilled and handsome Cal (Logan Marshall-Green), being a Marshal means being a “tactical Swiss army knife.” But so far we’re getting a lot of knocking down doors and haphazard shooting of things and people.
• “Rez” is shortened slang for “reservation” used by Native Americans and others. It’s also hard not to feel like it’s a Gen Z cousin of “rizz” (possessing charisma) or a covert shoutout to Riz Ahmed. None of this is a bad thing.
• Set in Montana, Marshals was largely shot in Utah.
• Tune of the Week: “Haunted” by Luke Grimes, star of Marshals but also a credible musician.

Paul Schrodt is a freelance writer and editor covering pop culture and the entertainment industry. He has contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Men’s Health, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles magazine, and others.