Luke Grimes' Marshals Delivered its Best Episode Yet, But I Still Have Holes To Poke In It

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched the latest episode of Marshals on CBS or via Paramount+ subscription, so be warned!

Throughout its first season so far, Marshals has felt like the exact opposite of its dramatic predecessor, Yellowstone, with Luke Grimes’ Kayce Dutton & Co. facing weekly procedural challenges that are balanced with short bursts of character development. That said, Season 1’s eighth episode, “Blowback,” arguably feels like the most cohesive episode yet, with several overarching story strands brought together for a bullet-heavy cliffhanger ending. Oh, and did I mention country superstar Riley Green made his acting debut here as well?

All that said, just because this was possibly Marshals’ best episode to hit the 2026 TV schedule yet, that doesn't mean it was completely free from issues. No, definitely not that. Let’s discuss.

Kidnapping A Federal Agent Is Maybe The Worst Way For A TV Villain To Make A Point

Marshals finally brought back Michael Cudlitz's villainous Randall Clegg after he popped in earlier in Season 1 to make it clear he had a vendetta against the Duttons and anyone else with even slightly skewed opinions about the worth of Montana land. But the manner in which Clegg returned was…perhaps not the smartest way to make a statement.

Clearly driven by a sense of desperation, the antagonistic rancher set up a wildly dangerous car crash in order to kidnap Ash Santos’ Marshal Andrea Cruz and holder he captive. Which is a good way to get attention from the rest of her squad, but I’m not sure what Clegg expected this act to provoke, if not all-out warfare. It’s not like one can just take a federal agent hostage and then go on to live free and clear.

Clegg doesn’t seem to have a death wish to fall prey to Kayce’s bullets, and also doesn’t seem to think that the other Marshals will soft-toe their rescue attempts. So is this all just an attempt to cull the herd, or is there another step in the rancher’s plans that I’m just blind to at this point?

Cal Does Not Have The Mental Capacity To Lead His Team Or Strategize Rescue Attempts

Name any problem, and chances are strong that Logan Marshall-Green's Cal is currently suffering from it. For one, he seems to be lightly infatuated with Arielle Kebbel's Belle, but their big kiss has only caused things to get more awkward between them, causing Cal to get all the more defensive and impersonal around her.

Second, Cal unwittingly discovered that one of his team members, Miles, is currently in the early days of dating his daughter Maddie. Normally, that might not be so big of an issue, but Maddie has yet to fully allow Cal back into her life. And combined with Cal's own romantic foibles with Belle, seeing someone else in bliss isn't so easy.

Third, Cal is also dealing with some kind of serious medical issue that audiences have yet to learn specifics about. He was told that support groups could help, making it possible that he's been diagnosed with some form of cancer, or possibly a degenerative disease like ALS or Parkinson's. Whatever the case may be, it's looking more likely that Cal will not be in an ideal position to continue leading his team in the most effective manner.

Which brings us to the team's haphazard attempt to rescue Cruz from Clegg's compound. Cal's call was to quit everything else being done around the offices in order to put all attention on saving their fellow Marshal. Not a terrible idea, but the actual rescue plan left much to be desired.

Cal, Kayce, and the rest of the team approached Clegg's property in the worst way possible: from higher ground, and through wide-open spaces in broad daylight that basically eliminated any form of surprise. Case in point: Clegg's henchmen were very much set up and waiting for the Marshals. Which means they fully anticipated the good guys making such a dumb move, which is an issue in and of itself.

If the antagonists' accuracy wasn't just shy of Stormtroopers' skills in Star Wars, they could have easily cratered the Marshals' efforts. Which then would have just brought a lot more goverment heat onto everyone involved, but if this is truly a personal vendetta, then I guess Clegg would be fine with it.

Kayce Should Easily Be Able To Help Garrett Out

This week's episode marked the arrival of country musician Riley Green, who's portraying another surviving member of Cal and Kayce's SEAL Team, though one whose survival has been fraught with PTSD and horrifying memories of what went down, including the death of the fourth member, Roner. The implication here is that Cal was in some way responsible, or that his decision-making is what led to Roner's death.

As such, Garrett probably shouldn't make himself at home in a place where Cal is always around as a trauma-stoker. But also, if his entire safety net is the adrenaline he gets from playing country music on stage, then Kayce is already in a perfect position to help him, and somehow didn't bring any of it up.

Yellowstone fans will recall that one of the Duttons' more loyal hands was Ryan Bingham's Walker, whose main character trait was that he played sad country songs. He was set on keeping that part of his lifestyle going, so Kayce should have fairly quickly thought about that when Garrett spoke about music being a mental oasis.

But even if Walker maybe wasn't popular enough to justify a reach-out, what about Lainey Wilson's Abby, who debuted in Season 5 as a romantic interest for Ryan (Ian Bohen). I get that Kayce probably wasn't extremely close with her or anything, but his instinct still should have been, "Oh, let me call Ryan and see if he still has Abby's number." Instead of just telling Garrett that he could hang out and sleep over for as long as he needs. This guy needs more than just a bed in such close proximity to the crux of his problems.

Who knows? Maybe Kayce will remember his other country music-performing friends and acquaintainces in future episodes. Here's hoping Garrett survives long enough to make use of the advice if so.

Marshals airs Sunday nights on CBS at 9:00 p.m. ET.