We’re only three weeks into the first season of “Marshals” and Kayce is already making some dangerous new enemies. He really is a Dutton, isn’t he?
The “Yellowstone” spin-off’s March 15 episode ended with Kayce finding a bullet on his front doorstep. Whatever you want to call it — a warning, a threat, a promise — it’s bad news for Kayce. The question is, who sent this ominous message?
The Duttons have no shortage of possible enemies in Montana, but our money’s on Randall Clegg (played by “The Walking Dead” vet Michael Cudlitz), who clashed with Kayce this week when the U.S. Marshals responded to a caravan of trucks trespassing on Broken Rock land.
“He represents a family similar to the Duttons in terms of being in Montana for a long time, going back many generations, causing some trouble in the area,” showrunner Spencer Hudnut tells TVLine of Cudlitz’s character. “But if the Duttons are sort of the upper crust of the ranching world, they’re on the other side of that.”
You don’t bring an actor like Cudlitz onto your show if you don’t plan on shaking things up, and that’s exactly what Hudnut intends to do with his character: “The Clegg family were thorns in the Duttons’ side in the past, and Randall Clegg is going to become a very large thorn in Kayce’s side this season,” Hudnut teases. “Those two go head to head a few times.”
Randall’s arrival may be bad news for Kayce, but it’s a dream come true for Hudnut, who happens to be a big fan of Cudlitz. “I’ve wanted to work with him forever,” Hudnut tells TVLine. “We tried to get him on ‘SEAL Team’ a whole bunch of times, so I was grateful that he came in to do this arc.”
What secret is Belle keeping from her teammates?
The March 15 episode of “Marshals” also gave viewers another hint about Belle’s complicated history, though we’re sure she’d rather forget the incident ever happened. While Kayce was butting heads with Randall at Broken Rock, Belle found herself face to face (or rather, spit to face) with a woman who isn’t exactly the biggest fan of her family.
When Luke addressed Belle as Isabel Turk in the “Marshals” series premiere, she politely corrected him, asking to be called Belle Skinner. So we already knew that Belle would prefer to distance herself from her infamous family, but now we know why — they may be just as despised as the Duttons.
“Belle wants everybody to think she has the most picture perfect life and everything is in order,” showrunner Spencer Hudnut tells TVLine. “She’s a little bit of a control freak, and there’s a reason for that, which we will unpack throughout the season. You will eventually learn what the secret is that she’s keeping from her teammates.”
How are you feeling about “Marshals” after Episode 3? Were you as happy to see Michael Cudlitz show up as we were? And whose bad side do you think Kayce has found himself on this time? Drop a comment with your thoughts below.