Kayce Dutton has spent years losing people, surviving violence and trying to protect the family he has left. Luke Grimes thinks Marshals Season 2 may finally allow him to move toward something happier.
Grimes told Entertainment Weekly that Kayce will be more open to romance following the death of his wife, Monica. Asked whether the character could let someone new into his life, Grimes answered, “Yeah, I think so, obviously slowly and cautiously.”
Grimes and showrunner Spencer Hudnut have discussed how to move Kayce forward without brushing aside his marriage or the grief that followed Monica’s death. Even the question of when Kayce stops wearing his wedding ring has become part of those conversations.
Season 2 will give him plenty to deal with before romance becomes a priority. The first season ended with Tate in the hands of Tom Weaver, while Cal and Belle were ambushed by gunmen. The October premiere sends Kayce on a desperate attempt to get his son back as the Marshals investigate the criminal operation behind the East Camp land grab.
Kayce Is Starting to See How Lonely His Future Could Become
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One of the quieter changes in Season 2 involves Kayce spending more time with his fellow Marshals. Grimes said the character begins going to bars with the team and putting more effort into his relationships with Cal, Belle, Andrea and Miles instead of keeping everyone at a distance.
Tate is also getting older. With his son approaching adulthood, Kayce begins thinking about what his own life could look like when Tate no longer needs him in the same way.
Grimes said that realization pushes Kayce to seek more of a community among the people he works with. It is a significant adjustment for someone who has spent much of Yellowstone and Marshals carrying his problems largely on his own.
The actor has also been conscious of just how much tragedy the character has absorbed. Kayce has lost his father, brother and wife, while Tate has repeatedly been caught in the violence surrounding the Dutton family. Grimes joked that he does not want Kayce to become “Debbie Downer.”
Grimes and the Showrunner Have Discussed Kayce’s Wedding Ring
Romance was something Grimes wanted to avoid during the first season while Kayce was still grieving Monica. With more time having passed, he now believes there are circumstances in which viewers could understand Kayce wanting another relationship.
The process will not happen suddenly. Grimes said he and Hudnut have specifically discussed how to approach it without upsetting viewers who remain invested in Kayce and Monica’s marriage.
Grimes said he and Hudnut have even discussed when Kayce should stop wearing his wedding ring, including whether it should happen in a specific scene or simply change as the character moves forward.
After playing Kayce for eight years across Yellowstone and Marshals, Grimes said the character has been part of his life long enough that he sometimes stops thinking of him purely as fictional. “I want him to be happy,” he said.
Season 2 Begins With Kayce Racing to Save Tate
Kayce’s personal growth will have to compete with the immediate fallout from the Season 1 finale. Tate boarded Weaver’s plane believing he was being taken away from the violence at East Camp, only for Weaver’s role in the attacks against Kayce and his team to become clear.
The Season 2 trailer confirms that Tate eventually makes it back to his father. One scene shows the two visiting John Dutton’s grave, where Kayce tells Tate that thinking about everything his son has endured hurts him. Tate answers that he is strong because of the way Kayce raised him.
The trailer also makes clear that the danger surrounding Tate is not over, with one of Weaver’s men threatening his future as Kayce tries to keep his son from being pulled back into the violence that has followed the Dutton family.
CBS has titled the premiere “All Hat No Cattle.” According to the official episode synopsis, Kayce goes rogue after realizing Tate has been taken hostage while the Marshals uncover a criminal operation tied to the attempted East Camp land grab.
The Other Marshals Will Get More of Their Own Stories
Grimes said Season 2 will also spend more time developing the people around Kayce. While viewers already know years of his history from Yellowstone, Pete Calvin, Belle Skinner, Andrea Cruz and Miles Kittle entered Marshals with much less established background.
Andrea enters the season with a major decision still unresolved after accepting a position in Washington, D.C. Ash Santos previously said her character begins questioning whether she is actually prepared to leave Montana after realizing how much she has become attached to the people and life there.
Cal and Belle also return after the Season 1 finale left both of them under attack. Logan Marshall Green confirmed that Cal survived, though not necessarily without consequences, while Arielle Kebbel said Season 2 picks up directly from the ambush.
Marshals Season 2 premieres Sunday, October 4, at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Paramount+ Premium subscribers can stream it live and on demand, while Essential subscribers will get the episode on demand the following day.