Marshals Episode 12 Gives Kayce Something Yellowstone Fans Have Waited Years To See

This article contains spoilers for "Marshals" Season 1, Episode 12, "The Devil at Home."

Just as "Dutton Ranch" proves it can succeed where "Marshals" has failed, Luke Grimes' spin-off sees its hero finally move on from John Dutton's legacy. "Marshals" episode 12 was full of drama, but it ended on a relatively positive if bittersweet note when Kayce agreed to sell his East Camp land to neighboring rancher Tom Weaver (Chris Mulkey). It remains to be seen whether the deal will actually go through, but Kayce's decision to sell was the most important aspect, as it represents a moment "Yellowstone" fans have long been waiting for.

When "Yellowstone" began back in 2018, Kayce was living off the ranch on the Broken Rock Reservation with his wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and son Tate (Brecken Merrill). At that point, he had seen the toxicity of his father's ranch, and was resolved to live separately from his family. There was a scene in the pilot episode that demonstrated his clear-eyed perspective and which happens to be Grimes' favorite "Yellowstone" scene of all, which saw Kayce sit by a river with his two brothers, Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Lee (Dave Annable), and Tate. During the sit-down, Lee tries to convince Kayce to return to the ranch, and accuses him of "dreaming" by living on the reservation. "You're a 38-year-old bachelor living in your father's house," replies Kayce, "working 100-hour weeks for a nibble of his approval."

At that point, Kayce seemed to be one of the only Duttons who saw through his father's pernicious influence, and rightfully put distance between himself and the rest of the dynasty. But as the show went on, he was drawn back into the fray, to the point that even when he sold the ranch at the end of "Yellowstone," it remained unclear whether he'd left its influence behind.

When "Marshals" debuted, it proved that trouble was never far away from the Duttons. Despite Kayce receiving one of the happiest endings of any main character on "Yellowstone," his family's dark secrets threatened to undo his life of quietude. What's more, with Monica Dutton being killed off in the worst way possible, Kayce's idyllic life had been shattered. As the series went on, Kayce was haunted by the Duttons' misdeeds, most significantly his father's, who, as the Dutton patriarch, oversaw every violent and merciless act carried out in the name of Yellowstone Dutton ranch.

By Episode 8 of "Marshals," it seemed as though Kayce Dutton was the most haunted man in the "Yellowstone" universe, but Episode 12 seems to have been a real turning point for John Dutton's youngest son.

Tom Weaver has thus far existed on the periphery of "Marshals" after having been rescued by Kayce and Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green) back in Episode 4. We've seen him pop up sporadically since, mostly to try to convince Kayce to sell his East Camp property. It seems Weaver wants the land for his cattle ranching business, but up until now, it hasn't been clear how Kayce feels about the prospect of selling the land he and his wife settled post-"Yellowstone." At the end of Episode 12, however, he finally agrees to sell in a moment that sees Kayce reckon with the legacy of his father in arguably the most healthy way yet, bringing his story full circle.

It's taken five seasons of "Yellowstone" and almost an entire season of "Marshals" for Kayce Dutton to emphatically renounce not only his father's, but centuries of Dutton tradition. As showcased in the "Yellowstone" spin-offs "1883" and "1923," the family has held onto their land with everything they have for generations, fighting off all manner of encroachment and often paying a heavy toll for their dedication. This is something Kayce fully acknowledges in "Marshals" Episode 12.

While talking to Tom Weaver on the porch of his East Camp home, Kayce says, "The last few years of my father's life, he did whatever the Yellowstone needed. But it robbed him of so much. I just know I don't want to live like that." The truth is that every generation of his family has done whatever the Yellowstone needed, and in "Marshals" Episode 12, Kayce seems to have a much better perspective on how shortsighted that approach has been.

Initially, then, it seemed as though the "Yellowstone" finale was the point at which Kayce finally returned to the place he'd been at the beginning of the show — skeptical of the Dutton way and dedicated to his wife and son. But it's taken a little longer for him to truly leave the misguided legacy of John Dutton behind, and with Episode 12, he seems to have finally brought his story full circle. Of course, that raises the question of what the writers are going to do next in order to keep Kayce's arc interesting. But for the most part, "Marshals" seems to have no idea what it's actually about, so there are bigger problems to tend to.