Marshals Episode 8 Proves Kayce Dutton Is The Most Tortured Man In The Yellowstone Universe

This article contains spoilers for "Marshals" Season 1, Episode 8, "Blowback."

Luke Grimes' Kayce Dutton just can't catch a break. This man has lost almost everybody close to him, and now episode 8 of "Marshals" has confirmed that his pre-"Yellowstone" years were no less tragic. "Blowback" introduces a new character from Kayce's past named Garrett, played by country songster Riley Green. This tortured soul has had a rough time, but when you consider what we learned this episode, it should be Kayce who's close to the breaking point, not Garrett.

For suffering through five seasons of non-stop drama and turmoil, Kayce seemed to get the happiest ending of any main character on "Yellowstone" when he sold the ranch and moved on with his wife, Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille), and son, Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill). But with "Marshals" killing off Monica in the worst way possible, Kayce once again found himself immersed in tragedy.

It's not as if he was new to it by that point, however. The youngest son of Kevin Costner's John Dutton has now lost his mother, his older brother Lee Dutton (Dave Annable), his older brother Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), his father, his wife, his unborn son, and now we've learned that his former Navy SEAL team lost one of their members while serving overseas in an event that still haunts them to this day. All of which raises the question of how Kayce is functioning at all, let alone "kicking doors," as his fellow marshals like to say.

"Yellowstone" was never afraid of killing its characters, with pretty much everybody on the show either perishing in some awful way or coming far too close for comfort. By the end, even the patriarch, John Dutton himself, had been killed off — though that had more to do with the behind-the-scenes clashes between Kevin Costner and creator Taylor Sheridan. Thus far, nobody from the main "Marshals" cast has been killed off, but the show did debut having dispatched Monica Dutton off-screen.

Even with "Marshals" preserving its central cast, however, the show is still finding ways to torment Kayce Dutton. "Yellowstone" started with Kayce being given a front-row seat to his brother Lee Dutton's death, and throughout the rest of the series, he endured consistent tragedy as other family members were slowly picked off. Now, we've learned that during a tour of Afghanistan, Kayce, Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green), and Garrett lost their Navy SEAL teammate Roner in a yet-to-be specified military operation.

This wasn't just a fellow soldier being killed in the line of duty, either. As episode 8 of "Marshals" goes to great lengths to emphasize, Kayce, Pete, Garrett, and Roner were incredibly close. When Kayce tells Garrett that he can stay at his cabin, he says, "We might not be teammates anymore, but we're still brothers." This is partly why Garrett has had such a rough time since leaving the military: He's haunted by the memory of Roner, and at one point even has to be shaken awake by Kayce during an intense nightmare about his former teammate. Kayce, meanwhile, has dealt with about 10 other major tragedies since losing Roner and seems to be holding it together pretty well.

At this point, Kayce Dutton should barely be able to function considering how much heartache he's had to endure. This man must be the most tortured character in the entire "Yellowstone" universe, and that's saying something, given how brutal and unforgiving Taylor Sheridan's sprawling franchise can be.

For now, "Marshals" is holding back on the details of what exactly happened to Roner and who carries the most guilt for his passing, though it seems Pete Calvin might have been most to "blame" as the leader of the crew. No doubt when those details come to light, they'll be just as horrific and unthinkably tragic as anything else that's occurred in this godforsaken on-screen universe.

While absurd, over-the-top melodrama is part of the charm of the "Yellowstone" franchise, "Marshals" is carrying on some depressing trends from "Yellowstone," and it's starting to become repetitive. Most obvious is the trend of killing off main characters' significant others, but piling on more tragedy from Kayce's past ultimately kind of devalues the currency. This accumulation of loss starts to seem less effective as a narrative device than if Luke Grimes' rancher had been allowed to enjoy at least a little peace. Alas, it seems the Dutton scion is doomed to remain the most beleaguered, haunted man in the Sheridan-verse, even if his laconic manner doesn't betray the weight on his shoulders.