Marshals Episode 10 Introduces A Dark Yellowstone Twist That Changes Everything For Kayce Dutton

Spoilers for "Marshals" Episode 10 to follow.

With its 10th episode, "Marshals" introduced a former Yellowstone ranch hand who knows the Dutton family's dark secrets. Though we've never actually met this onetime Dutton associate before, it turns out he's pretty important since he knows all about the family's misdeeds and, as such, could become Kayce's undoing.

"Marshals" Episode 10 channels classic "Yellowstone," and it's one heck of a ride. In what might be the show's most ridiculous chapter yet, we get a hostage situation inside a drug store, an explosion on Kayce's (Luke Grimes) ranch that imperils the life of Riley Green's Garrett, and a prisoner transfer gone wrong that results in three dangerous criminals escaping. That's not to mention some major revelations about Belle Skinner's (Arielle Kebbel) past and the usual attempt to progress the multiple other storylines this series has set up. It's bewildering, to say the least, and you'd be forgiven for getting whiplash when the show ultimately reveals that one of the escaped criminals was actually a former ranch hand from the Yellowstone Dutton ranch.

Not only was Sterling Jones' Neil Lamb an ex-ranch hand, he was a branded member of the Dutton clan, which means he was one of the most trusted members of the team and effectively owned by Kevin Costner's John Dutton. Of course, Lamb and his "owner" never actually met because the former was created by the "Marshals" writers and ret-conned back into the "Yellowstone" timeline. But while Lamb is never mentioned on this franchise's mothership series, he's suddenly become very important as he threatens to reveal secrets that could destroy everything Kayce has worked for.

"Marshals" Episode 3 proved this show has no idea what it's about, and that's been the case ever since. What's so frustrating about it is that there is a good series underneath all the confusion. Specifically, "Marshals" could simply be about a man with a dark history who suddenly finds himself working for law enforcement while simultaneously trying to keep his past a secret. That would be a solid premise with a great central tension, but thus far, "Marshals" has burdened itself with so much other nonsense that this promising "Yellowstone" spin-off hasn't been allowed to flourish. With its 10th episode, however, we briefly return to that unrealized Kayce Dutton crime thriller show.

Like with the central villain of the show, Michael Cudlitz's Randall Clegg, "Marshals" has once again rewritten the history of the "Yellowstone" universe. Neil Lamb is a prisoner who escapes when a bus carrying him and several other inmates is hit by a rock slide. It's highly convenient that Lamb has a connection to Kayce, is one of the three criminals who manages to flee, and that Kayce happens to catch a news broadcast featuring Lamb's face — but that's what happens.

As it turns out, Lamb was a Dutton ranch hand before he was locked up, and when Kayce catches up to him in the Montana wilderness (again, a very convenient development), Lamb reveals that he was branded with the "Y" — something reserved only for the most trusted members of the Dutton circle. Suddenly, we realize why Kayce looked so worried when he saw Lamb's picture on the news. The Duttons did some terrible things on "Yellowstone," and Lamb know all about them.

When Kayce Dutton finds Neil Lamb, he's immediately put in a tough position. As Kayce holds Lamb at gunpoint, he says, "Word is you're trying to cut a deal with the prosecutors. Makes me wonder what you're offering in return." While Lamb acknowledges the controversial death of John Dutton when he replies, "The only one I could drop a dime on is gone," he also adds, "I probably got enough on the Duttons to keep me from doing hard time."

Why he would say that when Kayce has a gun pointed at his head is a mystery, but this is "Marshals," after all. What's more, Kayce was clearly aware that Lamb knew too much and that he was trying to make a deal with the government. Wouldn't that be one of his biggest concerns? Considering Kayce was intimately involved with his family's shady dealings and literally knows where the bodies are buried (i.e. the infamous Train Station from "Yellowstone"), you'd have thought that the majority of this show thus far would have revolved around Kayce trying to solve the Lamb problem. Again, "Marshals."

After Kayce and Lamb's back and forth, the former is left with one choice: kill Lamb and make sure his family's past stays hidden. "Even as a boy, you were a different sort of man than your father," Lamb pleads. "You don't have to solve this problem the way he would." But just as it seems as though Lamb is done for, Logan Marshall-Green's Pete Calvin arrives to witness Kayce holding the escaped criminal at gunpoint before the episode cuts to black. How's he going to explain this one? We'll just have to wait and see what unlikely plot twist "Marshals" resorts to this time.