Marshals Season 2 Teases Yellowstone Fans With A Major Character Name-drop

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"Marshals" continues to tease a crossover with "Dutton Ranch," with Luke Grimes' Kayce Dutton name-dropping his sister in the latest episode. By this point, however, fans are surely tired of the references and eager to see the "Yellowstone" cast reunited.

With its Season 1 finale, "Dutton Ranch" gave itself the perfect excuse for a "Marshals" crossover. Meanwhile, "Marshals" did the same, ending its debut season by having Brecken Merrill's Tate Dutton kidnapped and taken to Texas, where, it just so happens, Kelly Reilly's Beth Dutton and Cole Hauser's Rip Wheeler now live. Meanwhile, Hauser and Reilly spoke positively about a "Dutton Ranch"/"Marshals" crossover, suggesting that's exactly what fans would soon be getting — especially considering Reilly referred to the lack of such a thing as a missed opportunity.

Alas, when "Marshals" Season 2 arrived, not only was there no crossover, but Kayce didn't even have to go to Texas, as it turns out Tate was taken to a Wyoming ranch instead. Now, we have the latest example of "Marshals" referencing Beth, which more than anything else serves only to remind us that we're yet to receive the crossover we've been waiting for.

"Marshals" Season 2, Episode 5, "Secret Weapon" picks up in the aftermath of Rudy Carpenter (Braxton Hale) exploding a bomb and taking himself out in the process. After the Marshals track down his accomplice, Derek McCoy, Kayce chases Derek's brother, Will McCoy (Keean Johnson), into a barn that collapses, trapping the pair below ground. It's here that Kayce decides to bring up his family and once again tease audiences with a crossover that is yet to materialize.

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In "Secret Weapon," after the barn floor collapses, Will McCoy's leg is badly injured. While trying to find a way out of their predicament, Kayce tries to convince Will to give up details about his brother, who evidently treats Will like a "punching bag." Kayce takes the opportunity to talk about his own brother, Jamie Dutton (played by Wes Bentley on "Yellowstone), and his sister, Beth Dutton, who also treated Jamie like a punching bag. Of course, Beth ultimately kills Jamie Dutton in the final season of "Yellowstone," but Kayce stops short of mentioning that still buried crime.

"You remind me of my middle brother," he tells Will. "Never quite fit in, always on the bad end of a beatdown. My sister made his life hell." Will replies with antagonism. "Picked on by his sister? I'm not that pathetic." But as Kayce quite rightfully points out, "She'd eat you for lunch," adding, "Meaner than any of your brothers, guaranteed."

It's true that Beth Dutton is a force of nature, and that only makes it even more frustrating that she hasn't shown up in "Marshals," which could do with a jolt of energy at this point. Beth and Rip are too busy setting up shop in Rio Paloma, Texas, in the far superior "Dutton Ranch." But this brief mention of Kayce's sister and how she'd eat Will for lunch is a reminder of just how good we once had it with "Yellowstone," and how much "Marshals" is struggling to match the excitement of its predecessor. Of course, "Yellowstone" lost its way at one point, but Beth was never anything less than electrifying, and "Marshals" would benefit from having anyone in its cast with half as much charisma.

Paramount

For now, these brief references in "Marshals" to beloved "Yellowstone" characters aren't doing the CBS procedural any favors. In "Secret Weapon," Kayce Dutton recalls how fighting wasn't in Jamie Dutton's nature. "He had to be smarter, more cunning," he says, "And eventually he broke from the family, forged his own path." Of course, that path ultimately ended in his death, with Beth taking a knife to the middle Dutton brother's stomach and exacting revenge for the controversial death of Kevin Costner's John Dutton earlier in "Yellowstone" Season 5.

The thing is, being reminded of the "Yellowstone" years is bad enough on a show that clearly struggles to match the quality of Taylor Sheridan's original neo-Western. But when you take into account the anticipation for a "Dutton Ranch"/"Marshals" crossover, it's just downright frustrating.

The "Marshals" Season 1 finale seemed to set up a perfect crossover with "Dutton Ranch," but in the end we got nothing of the sort. We could still see Beth show up later in the season, but for now all we know is that another "Yellowstone" fan-favorite character will be appearing in "Marshals" when Jefferson White's Jimmy Hurdstrom makes his return to the Montana plains. In the meantime, let's hope the show finds a way to keep the "Yellowstone" connection alive without reminding us of what we're missing out on.