Marshals returned to CBS for Season 2 on Sunday with a race against time to rescue Kayce’s son Tate from Tom Weaver’s land-hungry clutches, and not everyone made it out of the hour alive.
Kayce was unaware of his son’s kidnapping when the premiere picked up, but a visit from one of the Weavers’ associates hit him with a dose of reality. A hard one. Weaver still had his eye on East Camp, and if Kayce did not agree to sign it over, his son’s future would be at stake. It was a vague threat, but a threat nonetheless, prompting Kayce to kill both of Weaver’s armed guards as well as the lawyer he sent along.
En route to Weaver’s ranch, Kayce bonded with Dolly over being raised by controlling fathers, all the while wondering if he could really trust her. To her credit, she never double-crossed him. The same could not be said for Tom. Even after Kayce signed over the deed to East Camp, Tom still tried to shoot him. Fortunately, a convenient lack of bullets in Tom’s gun gave Kayce a chance to escape and chase after Tate.
Kayce caught up to Tate and rescued him before bludgeoning Weaver’s goon Jeb to death with a rock in the river. Meanwhile, the Marshals chased after Tom, who pulled a desperate move and ended up rolling his car down a hill with Dolly inside. He survived the crash. Dolly did not, dying right there on the scene. Tom begged for death, but Kayce determined that having to live with Dolly’s death on his conscience would be punishment enough.
It was really hard not to title the episode ‘Goodbye Dolly,’ showrunner Spencer Hudnut told TVLine with a laugh. When the dust settled, Andrea still had not rebooked her flight to D.C.; Bel promised Calle that she was tagging along for his next chemo appointment; and Kayce crumbled under the weight of this latest ordeal, triggered by the sight of an old family photo with Tate and Monica.
In an interview with TVLine, Hudnut defended the decision to kill off Dolly. Dolly could have simply left town after her father was arrested, but the show chose a different path. We went back and forth about it a lot, trying to figure out the best trajectory for her, Hudnut said. In some ways, this is a reminder that people who grow close to Kayce Dutton tend to have tragic outcomes. In the back of Kayce’s mind, he brings chaos to other people’s lives, even though it was really her own father.
Hudnut also acknowledged that fans never really warmed up to Dolly. Whether it was too soon after Monica, or they just did not want him with anyone else, Dolly would have had a long road ahead to earn the fans’ trust. Yeah, and that’s honestly part of it, Hudnut said. We knew that whomever we introduced first, no matter who it was, was going to be met with some scorn and would not be fully accepted by this community. We have to give proper distance to the grieving of Monica. Our poor fans find out in the first episode of the series that Monica’s gone, and then by Episode 4, this beautiful breath of fresh air shows up and is interested in Kayce. We always knew that this relationship would not have a long shelf life, only because it was going to be hard to get Kayce there, and also to get our fans there.
Asked whether he learned anything from introducing Dolly that will help with Kayce’s future love interests, Hudnut said he and Luke Grimes have talked about Kayce’s love life and progression. I think there are definitely some markers that we need to hit along the way, he said. We’re very mindful that this wasn’t just a husband-wife story in Yellowstone. This was the most important person in Kayce’s life, whom he lost, and he will always be grieving her. The question is, will he ever get in a relationship that’s anywhere near that? I don’t have the answer to that still.
Tom Weaver is behind bars, but Hudnut suggested he is not necessarily gone for good. Much like Randall Clegg, we are starting to collect some really interesting bad guys and villains, he said. We certainly will feel Tom Weaver’s impact later this season in some storylines. Chris Mulkey is so great, and I love having him around. So probably not in Season 2, but down the road I think he would be an interesting character for Kayce to have to cross again.
Hudnut called the ending an incredibly emotional moment for Kayce, especially with that photo of Monica. Is this the lowest we’ve seen him since her death? Yes. Kayce’s concern is that this isn’t Tate’s first time being kidnapped. The last time, he stayed under his bed for a few weeks, so Kayce is trying his best to step into the role that Monica played. With Monica, Kayce was more of the protector and provider, but now he has to be a parent. He really is trying to fill that void.
