Marshals: Wolves at the Door

Tonight will be another example of heavily-armed cowboys working with the Reservation. Way back in the pilot, Kayce Dutton and his future-fellow Deputy Marshals protected Thomas Rainwater, the Chairman of Broken Rock Reservation, from a would-be assassin. Since then, they received little credit from Broken Rock residents, but tons of grief from locals supporting the rare earths mine Rainwater wants to block. Like everyone in the Yellowstone universe, Rainwater is not inclined to back down, which leads to more work for Dutton and his colleagues in “Wolves at the Door,” the season finale of Marshals, premiering tonight on CBS.

Given his suspension, Miles Kittle is too politically radioactive to testify in Washington. Fortunately, he wanted to change the Chairman’s mind, so he was there to help Mo Brings Plenty fend off a pair of killers. Dutton offers to secretly host the Chairman at East Camp while the Marshal Service investigates. That would be the same East Camp he suddenly decided not to sell industrialist-turned-rancher Tom Weaver.

Of course, it won’t be long before another larger hit squad launches a siege on East Camp. However, Chief Deputy Marshal Pete Calvin intends to ride in like the cavalry. He even restores Kittle’s badge, which might even endear him to his estranged daughter Maddie, assuming everyone survives the shootout.

Not surprisingly, this episode offers little sense of resolution. Instead, it clearly hopes to hook viewers for a second season (which presumably will be coming, given Marshals’ consistently strong ratings). Yet, it is also one of the episodes Yellowstone fans skeptical of the procedural format might appreciate, because the Dutton-Rainwater relationship takes center stage.

Perhaps more importantly, this is still an action-driven episode. Showrunner Hudnut and the battery of directors (Christopher Chulack this week, who previously helmed the third and fourth installments) clearly understand how to stage gunplay and explosions at the broadcast network level. This episode maintains the professional level of stunt-work. However, the big revelation won’t be very shocking, especially since one of the henchmen in question practically has the words “bad guy” tattooed across his forehead.

Regardless, Hudnut and company keep following the formula that has worked well for them so far. They serve up a lot of professional cop business, with a western flavor, while adding in just enough Dutton drama to keep fans interested, but not too much to risk litigation from stakeholders with an interest in a “direct sequel” to Yellowstone, rather than a “spin-off,” (as Marshals proclaims itself to be). Recommended for fans of SWAT and NCIS, the season finale of Marshals airs tonight (5/24) on CBS.