A lot has happened in the first season of Marshals. As we head toward the season finale next week, all our main characters seem to be cruising toward big decisions or big consequences. This week’s episode, “The Devil at Home,” puts all those potential changes right at the forefront by episode’s end. Let’s dive in. SPOILERS BELOW.
The future of East Camp
As we open, Kayce (Luke Grimes) is working on cleanup from the barn fire. Cal (Logan Marshall-Green) is helping, as are Dolly Weaver (Ellyn Jameson) and her father Tom (Chris Mulkey). Tom offers to help rebuild, but Kayce wonders if it’s just improving a piece of property he wants to acquire. Tom is still interested in East Camp, but he’s not there for the hard sell.
The question is what Kayce wants. He originally saw East Camp as his future, but in the wake of Monica’s death, it has changed. Tate (Brecken Merrill) seems fine with letting it go. There are now painful memories here, and he doesn’t want the life of a rancher. As Dolly puts it, the question is what Kayce wants. What future does Kayce see?
As we close the episode, Kayce still doesn’t totally have an answer for that question. But he’s open to the possibilities. He invites Tom and Dolly to return and invites Tom to make an offer. Would Kayce really sell off the last piece of land he had connecting to his family? It seems that’s a very real possibility on the table as the episode draws to a close.
Drugs on Broken Rock
Early on Miles (Tatanaka Means) gets a message that a friend from the reservation has overdosed. He’s distressed and heads to talk to Chairman Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) about it and about what’s being done to combat addiction on the reservation. Drugs are a problem, and tracking down their source hasn’t been easy. Fortunately, a new assignment for the Marshals leads to a hidden store of drugs on a property on Broken Rock.
The team is now in position to make a dent. Turns out a cartel foot soldier recently married into the reservation, allowing the cartel a foothold. The Marshals are in position to break it up, but the DEA steps in. They take over the investigation and tell the team to butt out. Miles doesn’t take it well, especially when it’s confirmed the drugs they found were the ones that killed his friend. He’s supposed to be on a date, but instead he decides to do some off-the-books recon.
The following day, realizing Miles is missing, Cal rallies the team to find him. They reach Miles just in time as he’s pinned down in a firefight with the cartel. The team is able to diffuse the situation and bring down everyone involved. It’s a win, of sorts, but it wasn’t done the right way. Cal has no choice but to suspend Miles pending investigation. We’ve seen Miles push it before, but could this be the end of his time as a Marshal?
Teammate challenges
As noted above, Kayce and Miles are only a part of the team facing big questions. For Cruz (Ash Santos), it’s a big opportunity. Marshal Gifford (Brett Cullen) uses her star power to his advantage in trying to push for state-of-the-art equipment. Cruz doesn’t appreciate being used, nor being asked to relive her kidnapping. But Gifford responds with a carrot, offering her a slot back with her original unit and out of Montana. She has wanted to leave practically from the jump, but has this team become her family? Will she take this out or will she stay and commit to the team in Montana?
For Belle (Arielle Kebbell), the stress is financial. We know she owes money to the casino—a lot of money. And early in the episode, they make it clear they want to collect. She tries for a cash advance against her credit, but it doesn’t work. As part of their mission, the team uncovers a large stash of cash. It’s left for Belle to count it and seal it up for the DEA. Could that have been the answer to her problems? It’s unclear that anything inappropriate happened, but we don’t get resolution to the story in this week’s episode, either. It’s enough to raise some questions heading into the finale.
And, finally, for Cal, it’s a question of the pain that’s troubled him for weeks. Is it a simple injury, or something more? Turns out the pain is just a symptom of a deeper condition—cancer. As we end, Cal finally reveals his struggle to Belle. This is certainly going to be a huge challenge moving forward.
The penultimate episode of a season is often a dramatic exercise. That was the case here, as all five of our team members are facing big offers, big challenges, or potential big changes. It’s a lot to consider as we come into the finale, though something tells me it’s going to work out OK for most if not all of them. Still, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out next week.
Marshals airs Sunday nights on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.
Add us as a preferred source on Google