Marshals Season 1 Episode 11 Pushes Kayce Deeper Into the Darkness — Review

Critic’s Rating: 4.4 / 5.0

4.4

One of the best things about Marshals is how intentional everything feels.

The writing and acting do not take chances, because every detail leads to a planned outcome.

That is what makes it easy to engage with the story: everything matters in the end, and that makes all the difference in a landscape filled with rinse-and-repeat procedurals.

Since the pilot episode, Kayce and Pete’s relationship has been weirdly combative and aloof.

Kayce has had the upper hand, using memories of war to manipulate Pete into giving him a longer leash than he realistically should have.

It has shown up in rescues, in the office, and even at Kayce’s ranch. Every moment is unnecessarily tense as their shared past threatens the bonds they built.

I never thought the Renor issue would be addressed this early because I’m so used to procedurals dragging out the mystery until you don’t care anymore.

However, Marshals Season 1 Episode 11, “On Thin Ice,” did not pull any punches, forcing the wilderness to make them honest.

The hour concludes the two-parter that started in Marshals Season 1 Episode 10, and by the end, the tables have turned. Pete now has the upper hand to some extent.

The Neil Lamb situation is the world’s way of stress testing Kayce’s new resolve.

When there are so many skeletons in the Dutton closet, some will occasionally tumble out. And Neil is the latest one.

However, Kayce did not pass the test and disappointed me in the process.

I really wanted him to make the right choice and present Neil to the authorities. But the image we got was that of a man willing to kill to protect his family’s crimes and his own part in them.

Even with Pete’s disruption, one can almost see Kayce plotting how to get rid of this problem in the cleanest way possible.

It is an interesting turn of events that, while it makes for a compelling story going forward, still doesn’t justify the time taken with it.

I mean, if the goal was to say that Kayce hasn’t changed, then we should have found him the same on the Marshals series premiere.

In retrospect, he may have shown those Dutton qualities early on. But after his decision to sell the ranch in the Yellowstone series finale, I projected my desire onto him.

I wanted him to become a clean-cut hero that you want to root for. But this hour leaves him in an even messier place when Pete learns of the Train Station.

This is huge, and how the writers handle it is both intriguing and disappointing.

It should have taken more seasons for Pete or anyone else to learn about the Train Station, as it could serve as a moral benchmark for who Kayce is and will become.

Given that the hour proves he hasn’t changed that much, his consistent utilization of that space would have told us everything.

Bringing Pete into the fold robs the secret of its power because the best secrets are those carried by one person.

But it also adds another intriguing dimension to the whole thing based on what Pete decides to do.

He protected Garrett all these years, and I have a feeling he might protect Kayce after what happened to Neil.

The show is ambiguous about how the escaped con found himself frozen dead under the ice.

Was it self-defense on Pete’s part, or did he deliberately lure Neil there with the intent of eliminating another problem for Kayce?

He has made it his entire purpose to protect his Bravo Brothers. When do the limits kick in?

By the end, two people know about the Train Station, and one could lose everything if the secret were revealed.

Based on Pete’s response to Barbie and Belle, he can keep a secret. The question becomes: for how long?

It can’t be easy working with Kayce and not getting irritated or even livid at one point or another.

Between the two of them, they now have just as many suspects whose mortality can’t be accounted for. If they encounter another Gifford or the same works renew his interest, they’ll have a good place to start.

“On Thin Ice” is one of the strongest hours of Marshals because it continues to pay off the promises hinted at early in Marshals Season 1.

It would have been stronger as a bottle episode since the cuts to Belle and Barbie’s case were tonally jarring.

Even Rainwater’s return feels like a distraction despite this being an ongoing arc that has caused a lot of trouble for Brocken Rock and the Marshals.

The politician in Rainwater comes out at this hour, and that sly, calculated manipulation that made viewers confident he might end up with Yellowstone shines here.

Words are carefully chosen, sentences well constructed, depending on the target, and problems anticipated.

Miles doesn’t like it because it puts him in a precarious position once again.

The tribe loves him when he’s of use. What happens when he doesn’t want to participate in the less glamorous parts?

What if he fails and they turn on him? We’ll be left with the other version of him, that is, angry and selfish. 

The fact that his relationship with Pete’s daughter has been a constant source of trouble doesn’t help.

Gut Check

Three-quarters of “On Thin Ice” is great television. The story could have been elevated by focusing on Kayce and Pete’s arc, but shootouts must happen on procedurals.

I don’t know what comes next, but I’m excited.

Intrusive Thoughts

• Kayce, I’m so disappointed.

• Whatever happened to Tate Dutton?

• Damn it, Garrett’s dead, despite how much I wanted him to win.

• Logan-Marshall Green, you are an actor!

Over to you, Marshals fanatics. What did you think of this hour? Was Garret’s death anticlimactic? Rainwater’s back, and that always brings trouble. What do you see happening?

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
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