Kayce Dutton’s work for his father at the livestock commission and Dutton Ranch caused conflict between him and his wife, Monica Long (Kelsey Asbille). After Tate was kidnapped in Yellowstone season 2, Kayce backed off his ranching duties, eventually moving away and renting a house. However, Kayce maintains his role as Livestock Commissioner until Yellowstone season 5’s finale, when he seemingly chooses a different path. That said, Kayce Dutton will be back in the line of fire in his Yellowstone spinoff.

In Yellowstone‘s series finale, “Life Is a Promise,” Kayce Dutton finally discards his role as Livestock Commissioner after selling the Yellowstone Ranch to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and the Broken Rock Tribe. Dutton throws his badge into a field, signaling that he is leaving a life of danger and violence behind him. Later, the father buys livestock with Tate, and we see the whole clan saddle up. The ending suggests a simple lifestyle for Kayce, giving the impression that Dutton will stick to his small ranching operation at East Camp.

With the Yellowstone Ranch behind him, Dutton joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence.

According to the official logline for Y: Marshals, Dutton will serve as “the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence.” Kayce will return to an elite team, utilizing his Navy SEAL background, and balance his family life with the psychological cost of his work. Notwithstanding his Yellowstone season 5 ending, it sounds like Kayce’s new job is just as dangerous as Livestock Commissioner, a position he had freed himself from to ensure that he could live in harmony with the duty he felt to protect Tate and Monica.

Kayce’s Y: Marshals Role Sounds Like Exactly What He Wanted To Avoid

To make Kayce’s Y: Marshals continuation cohesive with his Yellowstone ending, the spinoff needs to reverse Dutton’s decision from the season 5 finale. When we last saw him, Kayce said he was free from the brutality that came with protecting the Dutton Ranch, the largest ranch in the US. By signing up to be on the front lines in the region’s war on violence, Kayce is reversing his decision by putting his life on the line, so the continuation needs to explain what compelled Dutton to do so.

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Perhaps Dutton was primarily opposed to putting his life on the line for his family, engaging in a battle that he never signed up for, one that took his brother, Lee’s (Dave Annable) life. Kayce needing to be free solely from the burden of protecting the Yellowstone Ranch, not danger in general, makes his continuation make sense. That said, perhaps Kayce did intend to leave his dangerous career behind, but something called him back to it. Regardless, Kayce’s choice will strain his family life again, and the Yellowstone continuation must justify why.