Warning: this story contains spoilers from the Season 2 premiere of "Marshals," streaming now on Paramount+.
LAS VEGAS – Luke Grimes’ love life as Kayce Dutton on “Marshals” is failing miserably. But the fan love for the Taylor Sheridan-produced hit CBS series is exploding as Season 2 kicks off.
Grimes kicked off the new season in appropriately big fashion – with an NFL game, a Las Vegas tailgate and a premiere celebration all rolled into one – alongside co-stars Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos and Brecken Merrill on Sunday, Oct. 4, at Allegiant Stadium.
By the end of last year's Season 1, Kayce’s romantic life was finally starting to look up following the death of his beloved “Yellowstone” wife, Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille). Kayce had developed a budding
relationship with Dolly Weaver (Ellyn Jameson), the daughter of crooked rancher Tom Weaver (Chris Mulkey).
But for Kayce, happiness never lasts long.
"Clearly, Kayce has very bad luck in his life," Grimes, 42, tells USA TODAY. "He opened himself up a little bit, and he got hurt. Hopefully that doesn't deter him from opening up in the future."
A major contributor to Kayce’s romantic bad luck was the fact that Dolly's evil dad Tom kidnapped Kayce's son, Tate (Merrill). When Kayce uncovered Tom’s plot to use Tate to extort him out of his East Camp property, he left a trail of death in his effort to get his son back – even using Dolly as “leverage” against her loathsome father.
It all ended tragically at the end of the Season 2 premiere, when Tom and Dolly went careening out of control down a hill in their Jeep Cherokee – a classic TV stunt that wowed executive producer Spencer Hudnut, who saw a lot of pile up as the showrunner for "Seal Team" for seven seasons.
"That was one of those days where he hoped to get maybe 25 percent of that crash, but it all just worked perfectly," says Hudnut. "It was as violent a crash as I've been a part of. That had been a working Jeep Cherokee."
By the time Kayce reached the wreck, Dolly was dead, leaving Tom to face the fact that he had lost everything. Kayce even spared his life, deciding that for Tom, living with the consequences would be a harsher punishment than dying.
"Obviously we've seen Kayce take his vengeance out on people before," says Grimes. "But at the end of the day, the worst thing he could have done to Tom is have just sit around and think about what he's done for the rest of his life in prison."
Kayce Dutton still wears his wedding ring in Season 2, but love could Cruz back
Kayce had been "on the fence" about the relationship as it was, the first budding love after the passing of beloved Monica Dutton. The sensitive former Navy SEAL still wears the wedding ring of his past wife. That band is going to stay on during Season 2, says Grimes.
"That's another conversation we've had a lot," Grimes says about the wedding ring. "It's like, 'When do we take it off?' We just haven't felt like it's time. And I'm sure that we'll make a moment of that."
But there’s still hope for Kayce’s romantic future, as he and fellow U.S. Marshal Andrea Cruz (Ash Santos) continue to show signs of mutual attraction, and Kayce will head to Cruz's hometown of New York City later in this season.
"They are two polar opposites as people but very drawn to each other," says Hudnut. "In the first half of this season they're going to grow closer together. But there will be things that come up that make that relationship more complicated."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Marshals' Season 2 premiere ends in shocking death, star Luke Grimes explains | Exclusive
