Is a Major Marshals Character Next to Die? One Star Sets the Record Straight

So, yes — Marshals really did kill Monica off screen. And no — Thomas Rainwater was not shot in the premiere, despite the collective gasp online. Yellowstone alum Gil Birmingham is very aware the fandom is tense right now, and he is leaning into it with a grin.

Rainwater’s 'injury' and what it actually sets up

"I’m going to make sure they put that in my contract [that Thomas Rainwater can’t get hurt]."

Birmingham laughed about the premiere confusion, because a lot of viewers thought Rainwater took a bullet. He didn’t. He caught shrapnel from an explosion. That moment wasn’t just chaos for chaos’ sake — it was a pivot. The show is telegraphing that Rainwater’s responsibility has grown to where he is now a marked man, the way John Dutton was. In other words, anyone standing in the way of outside players who want to come in and strip the place for what it’s worth — people, land, minerals — is going to feel the heat. That’s the ugly frontier math: power, politics, and the violence that tags along. Rainwater lives, but he’s walking into a brand-new storyline with a target on his back.

About Monica’s death (and why the show did it)

Marshals premiered in March and quietly dropped its biggest gut punch: Monica died after a battle with cancer, off screen. Birmingham said the news 'crushed' him — and it is a choice that stings — but it also refocuses the series. Kayce is suddenly a single father, isolated in a way that mirrors his late dad. That kind of grief scrambles your compass, which is exactly where the show wants him: searching for purpose, reckoning with what he stands for, and, crucially, drawing Rainwater and Mo further into his orbit.

Quick refresher on where Yellowstone left everyone

• Yellowstone ran 2018–2024 on Paramount Network, introducing Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Monica (Kelsey Asbille) as the show’s emotional center.
• Monica started out teaching at a school on the Broken Rock Reservation, then became a professor at Montana State University.
• Kayce, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, moved the family back to the Yellowstone Ranch after years of friction with his father, John (Kevin Costner ).
• After John’s death, Kayce took over as the owner and operator of the ranch.
• When Yellowstone ended, Kayce and Monica were alive, together, and still standing — until Marshals revealed Monica’s cancer and off-screen passing.

New showrunner, new lens on Native stories

Birmingham also talked about how showrunner Spencer Hudnut is steering things post-Yellowstone. He’s not as steeped in reservation life as Taylor Sheridan, who actually lived in that world when he was younger — and Birmingham gives him credit for stepping in with care. The show’s depiction of Native communities isn’t just set dressing; it’s trying to be truthful about loss and grief, and how some of that pain ties back to very real issues like toxins being allowed to be dumped on reservations. That’s messy, grounded stuff — and, honestly, a surprising amount of it is making it into a primetime drama.

They’re trying to thread a needle: keep the series entertaining without turning it into a lecture, but still use the platform to educate with respect. Mo Brings Plenty serves as Native consultant, and he’s brought in his brother Joe, too, to help make sure the traditions — including how communities grieve and honor those who have passed — are portrayed with the right weight.

The bottom line

Rainwater isn’t dead, but he just inherited a much bigger war. Kayce is alone at the top of the ranch, mourning Monica and trying to figure out who he is now. And Marshals looks determined to balance the shootouts with the harder truths of the world it’s set in.

Marshals airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.