Marshals may have already closed the door on Monica Dutton’s story, but it sounds like the Yellowstone fan favorite could still have a place in the franchise.
Kelsey Asbille’s Monica was killed off before the beginning of Marshals, with the show’s season 1 premiere revealing that she died after being diagnosed with cancer. Now, two separate conversations surrounding the Yellowstone spinoff have fans wondering whether we’ve really seen the last of her.
Luke Grimes, who plays Monica’s husband Kayce Dutton, told The Hollywood Reporter that if Marshals were to revisit someone from Kayce’s past through a flashback, he’d rather it be Monica than his late father, John Dutton. Grimes said he thinks a scene with Monica would be more poignant for Kayce and made it clear that he’d love to work with Asbille again.
The comments came around the same time that Marshals showrunner Spencer Hudnut addressed Monica’s possible return. Speaking with People, Hudnut said he is “definitely open” to bringing Asbille back, adding that he would “love to work with her.”
That doesn’t mean Monica is secretly alive or that Asbille is returning to Marshals. Hudnut also acknowledged that any appearance would have to be handled carefully. But the fact that both the show’s star and its showrunner can envision a way to bring Monica back is enough to make the possibility worth considering.
Monica’s Death Left a Big Hole in ‘Marshals’
The strange thing about Monica’s death is that Marshals didn’t really give viewers the opportunity to say goodbye to her.
After spending five seasons watching Monica and Kayce build a life together, Yellowstone ended with the two of them finally getting something resembling the peaceful future they’d fought for. Kayce and Monica chose their own path, and their relationship was one of the few pieces of the Dutton family story that actually reached a satisfying conclusion.
Then Marshals began, and Monica was already gone.
Viewers weren’t given a final performance from Asbille or a traditional goodbye between Monica and Kayce. Instead, the premiere dropped the audience into the aftermath of her death and forced us to learn about it alongside Kayce’s new reality. The decision made sense for the story Marshals wanted to tell, since Monica’s death became the catalyst for Kayce leaving the ranch and returning to law enforcement.
But from a viewer’s perspective, it leaves a lot of unexplored territory.
We know Monica and Kayce’s relationship was important to both characters, but Marshals is telling a story about what happens to Kayce after losing her. A flashback could give viewers a glimpse of the life they had before her death, while a dream or memory could allow the series to explore the way Monica continues to affect Kayce in the present.
Hudnut essentially acknowledged as much when he told People that Monica “will always be with Kayce” and is still guiding him. He also said the show has already made 33 episodes and has plenty of story left to tell, suggesting there could be an opportunity to revisit that relationship if the timing is right.
‘Marshals’ Has Already Shown There Is More to Monica’s Story
Interestingly, the series has already started filling in some of the blanks surrounding Monica’s death.
Earlier in season 1, Marshals used a flashback to show the day Monica died, giving viewers a glimpse of the moment that had previously existed only in the characters’ memories. That episode also explored the anniversary of her death and showed just how much the loss continued to affect Kayce and Tate.
So the idea of using the past to expand Monica’s story isn’t exactly foreign to the show. If anything, it suggests there are still opportunities to revisit her without changing the outcome.
That’s why a Monica appearance in Marshals could be more interesting than simply bringing back another familiar Yellowstone character for the sake of nostalgia. It could fill in pieces of a relationship that viewers spent years watching while also giving Kayce another opportunity to confront the loss that fundamentally changed his life.
New episodes of Marshals air on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. EST on CBS and Paramount+.
