Fans still can't forgive Marshals for killing off Yellowstone's Monica

When Marshals premiered on CBS on March 1, viewers expected Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) and his wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) to pick up where Yellowstone left them: walking away from the ranch with their son to build a quieter life. Instead, the premiere revealed that Monica had already died of cancer, which showrunner Spencer Hudnut later tied to a mining operation polluting the river. Episode 1 ends with Kayce at her grave, telling her he's changing paths.

Asbille played Monica in 53 episodes over five seasons. She didn't appear in Marshals at all, and the reaction split the way these things do. Some viewers were furious, some never warmed to the character, and plenty landed somewhere in between:

"Marshals was good; it sucks that Monica was killed off, but it's entertaining."

— a viewer on X, via Newswav

For a lot of fans, it was also the second time. Yellowstone had already sent John Dutton off between seasons after Kevin Costner's exit, and that one had at least come out of a contract fight.

Don't miss: Who died in Marshals? Every death so far, from a Yellowstone character killed off-screen to the season 2 premiere crash

Why Monica died

The behind-the-scenes explanations came in several pieces:

• Scheduling: Asbille was reportedly committed to other projects.
• Rights: A March report cited by /Film said the death helped set Marshals apart from Yellowstone, whose streaming rights belong to NBC, and that this helped Paramount avoid a potential lawsuit.
• The phone call: Grimes was the one who told Asbille. "I worked up the courage to call," he told TV Insider.

"In true Kelsey fashion, she handled it like a pro and totally understood."

— Luke Grimes, to TV Insider

Asbille herself still hasn't commented. When she posted from Paris Fashion Week days after the premiere, her comments filled up with fans upset about the death, and one telling her to move on, that she didn't need Yellowstone to be great.

Beth weighs in

The most direct criticism so far comes from inside the franchise. Kelly Reilly, whose Dutton Ranch premiered in May with Cole Hauser back as Rip, was asked why Beth and Rip never checked on her grieving brother. She placed the death before their show's timeline: "I imagine Beth and Rip had gone to Monica's [funeral]." Then she told TV Insider:

"I think it's something that was a missed opportunity quite honestly."

— Kelly Reilly, to TV Insider

She also pointed to Dutton Ranch season 2 as a chance to fix it: "I think we already have our list of things in all our individual minds."

Monica Dutton was in 53 episodes of Yellowstone. Her death happened between shows, and the person who finally called it a missed opportunity on the record plays her sister-in-law.

The numbers didn't care

Whatever fans thought, they watched. The Marshals premiere drew 9.52 million viewers live and 20.6 million across platforms in a week, became CBS's most-streamed episode ever on Paramount+, and got a season 2 renewal after two episodes. CBS then moved season 2 up to the fall.

Kayce has since started moving on: his relationship with Ash Santos' Dre is developing. That's part of why Monica's goodbye still stings for some viewers, and why the most likely place it finally happens is Dutton Ranch, now renewed with Benjamin Cavell running its writers' room, where Beth has been saying out loud that she misses her brother.

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