Marshals: Tate Dutton's Yellowstone Kidnapping Storyline, Explained

Contains Spoilers for "Marshals" Season 1 Episode 4 — "The Gathering Storm"

Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) is in administrative hot water during "The Gathering Storm." Accused of killing rancher Randall Clegg's (Michael Cudlitz) son, Carson (played by a thus-far unbilled actor) after the marshals became involved in a dispute between the local cowpokes and the Broken Rock Reservation, Kayce is now under investigation by the Department of Justice. Clegg has filed a complaint with the organization in the hope of taking down Kayce in revenge — the latest step in a centuries-long family feud between the Duttons and Cleggs.

The majority of Kayce's team is assigned to investigate him, and they immediately take a deep dive into his history. There are many rattling skeletons in Kayce's closet — the biggest of which happens to be what Kayce did when his son Tate (Brecken Merrill) was kidnapped.

That happened during the final episodes of Season 2 of "Yellowstone," "Enemies by Monday" and "Sins of the Father." Tate is snatched by a group of white supremacists who are operating under the orders of the Beck brothers, who are themselves fighting with Tate's grandfather, John (Kevin Costner). In response, Kayce goes on a tear against the Becks, leading to some of his most jaw-droppingly violent moments on the drama.

Kayce then delivers what "Marshals" calls "frontier justice" to the Beck brothers. He goes about tracking down Teal Beck (Terry Serpico) and torturing him until he gives up the location of the militia holding his son. Kayce shoots Teal in the stomach for his troubles. All of this takes place while Teal is sitting on the toilet, leading to a most ignominious death. It's arguably the darkest thing Kayce does in "Yellowstone," and the character's worst moment, yet he did it in the name of his kid.

Coordinates in hand, Kayce takes down the militia and saves Tate while his dad kills Malcolm (Neal McDonough), Teal's brother. It's an incident that thoroughly sets Kayce apart from other CBS heroes. Tate has his head shaved and is wildly traumatized by the incident, but is otherwise unharmed.

While his old behavior during Tate's disappearance threatens Kayce's new place among the marshals, he's ultimately reinstated to his position. Footage from a trail camera saves the day, revealing that Carson was armed when Kayce shot him, making his past actions a moot point. Everything might be back to normal once more, but how long can Kayce go on escaping the consequences of his actions?