Marshals Season 2 opened with a shocking twist involving Dolly. Showrunner Spencer Hudnut has now explained the creative reasoning behind the character’s fate.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Spencer Hudnut explains Dolly’s fate and what it means for Kayce
The Season 2 premiere ends tragically for Dolly. While helping Kayce rescue Tate, she proves she can be trusted. However, Tom Weaver crashes his car while trying to escape the Marshals, with Dolly inside.
Tom survives the crash, but Dolly dies at the scene. Later, Tom begs Kayce to kill him. Kayce refuses and believes Tom should live with the guilt of causing Dolly’s death. This makes Dolly’s death another painful consequence surrounding Kayce.
Speaking with TVLine, showrunner Spencer Hudnut admitted the decision was difficult. He joked that it was “hard” not to name the episode “Goodbye, Dolly.” Hudnut was also asked why Dolly had to die instead of simply leaving town after her father’s arrest.
“We went back and forth about it a lot,” Hudnut explained. The team wanted to find the best direction for Dolly’s character, “trying to figure out the best trajectory for her.” He added, “In some ways, this is a reminder that people who grow close to Kayce Dutton tend to have tragic outcomes.”
According to Hudnut, this can make Kayce feel that he “brings chaos” into other people’s lives. “In the back of Kayce’s mind, he brings chaos to other people’s lives, even though it was really her own father. “
The decision makes Dolly’s fate especially painful for Kayce. She had helped him rescue Tate and proved herself trustworthy. However, her tragic fate was caused by her own father. Tom’s desperate escape ultimately put Dolly in danger and led to her death.
It also leaves Tom facing the guilt of knowing his actions caused his daughter’s death. Her death therefore adds another emotional burden to Kayce as Season 2 continues.
