Marshals episode 5 is the closest we've seen seen to Yellowstone yet — but it's for the most heatbreaking and disturbing reason

Marshals: A Yellowstone Story has been airing on CBS and Paramount+ for five weeks now, and it still feels a world away from the main Taylor Sheridan show.

As the first official Yellowstone spinoff after season 5 part 2, fans had their minds made up on what Marshals should look like (e.g. an extension of the beloved Western they didn't really want to give up).

The reality has been anything but, resembling a run-of-the-mill CBS police procedural at best. But as Marshals episode 5 dropped last night (March 29), something has changed.

Finally, the spinoff is beginning to feel like its mothership — except it's because of the most disturbing reason possible.

Before Marshals killed Kayce's (Luke Grimes) ex-wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) off, she dedicated her time to finding the area's missing indigenous girls... something Kayce is now taking over.

Kayce collides with Monica's spirit as Marshals episode 5 uncovers heartbreaking human trafficking case

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As suggested by the title Lost Girls, Marshals episode 5 focuses on the ongoing crisis of missing Indigenous women and girls, drawing direct parallels to Monica's advocacy in Yellowstone.

At Broken Rock, Kayce properly learns about Monica's advocacy, having arrived to solve a potential human trafficking case involving missing girls from the reservation. It's bone-chilling stuff, continually bringing viewers back to just how sobering the reality can be.

In fact, Monica's spirit is everywhere, from the wild horse we meet at the beginning of the episode all the way through to her Yellowstone work. It's almost as if Marshals regrets the decision to kill her off, keeping the remnants of her alive in every other possible way.

This is a two-part storyline, meaning the case won't be wrapped up until the end of episode 6. We're finally getting closer to the heart, soul and tenacity that Yellowstone once was, even if it has to exist in procedural tropes like a two-parter arc.

Frankly, I'll take it. I was so close to switching Marshals off after the first episode — and I wasn't alone in that, judging by social media — and it's moments like this that make me think I've made the right decision investing more time into it.

Marshals is never going to be Yellowstone, that much is true. But by tapping into the core of what made the latter special, not just surface-level horse and cowboy gimmicks, we can get something just as meaningful.

However, you need to be prepared for more harrowing moments ahead for this to be true... I'm certainly not ready to relive episode 5 just yet.

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