Spoilers for Marshals Season 1, Episode 11 are ahead! Read with caution, and stream the episode with a Paramount+ subscription.
Typically, in an episode of Marshals, we only see Rainwater get involved if Kayce has something personal going on or if the case of the week has something to do with Broken Rock. However, in the episode that just aired on the 2026 TV schedule, we got to see Gil Birmingham’s Yellowstone character acting on a plan to persuade Senator Connor to work with him on an issue regarding a mine. Interestingly, this plan also involved Miles, the marshal, and I was wondering why the chairman brought him in for this. So, I asked Birmingham about it.
In short, Rainwater wants this mine to go away, and he’s trying to get politicians to agree with him. However, persuading these people to side with him is a major challenge, so he’s having to get creative with his strategy. That’s where Miles comes in, and according to Birmingham, it was a “brilliant” move:
I think it's another brilliant stroke from Rainwater, because Rainwater is always strategizing.
That strategy is complex, too. As the Wind River actor explained, his character brought the senator and her husband, who is a gambler, to a casino to highlight a weakness, and say “there are weak spots in your administration and with you.” He’s showing that he can fight if needed, but he doesn’t want to; he wants to “find an amenable way to resolve [the] issue.”
And that’s why he brought Miles into this. The second the marshal walked into the room, Rainwater started boasting about the people Miles had just saved, and he made sure to note that Miles, who was born and raised on Broken Rock, “served in the Marine Corps before wearing the marshal badge.” All that made it so Birmingham’s character could prove Miles’ loyalty to the country and ask the senator:
...but does his country return that loyalty?
According to Gil Birmingham, Rainwater did this to appeal to a sense of patriotism he knew the senator had. The actor explained:
I think this is where he brought Miles in, because she seemed to be the kind of animal that would have a deep respect or an end in terms of the patriotism of what she feels this country represents. And it was a great reminder to bring Miles in, to reiterate that the level of enlistment and the armed services, her ratio is higher among Native Americans than any other group, and it always has been. So he was playing that button, and Miles was a great example to be able to bring that in and to hopefully find a connection, to have a meeting up there in Congress.
Well, the move worked; Miles being recruited for this meeting swayed the senator in Rainwater’s direction. However, I couldn’t help but notice the apprehension on Miles’ face the whole time this was happening. In fact, even though Miles clearly helped this senator realize it’d be good to help Broken Rock, he asked Rainwater if he was being used as a “prop.” In response, the chairman said he wasn’t a “prop” but instead a “weapon.”
Speaking about the significance of that moment and why Miles was feeling a bit uneasy about all this, Birmingham said:
Well, I think weapon is kind of maybe a general term, but it's a weapon of resource. I think that once Miles understands it – you know, Miles is a little bit of a rebel himself, you know, and he probably was confused about whether he was being used or not. But I think that's the trust that has to develop between Rainwater and Miles as well, because Rainwater is familiar with the difficulty we had with him when he was a tribal officer as well. He kind of goes rogue at times, and in his mind, it's all for good reason. You know, it's what morally speaks to him. And I think that's what he may have been confused about. You know, ‘As a chairman, are you really using me in a morally righteous way, or is this political strategy?’
Ultimately, the senator said she thought they could see some progress if Miles met some of the folks involved in the committee. So, in this case, I think the answer to that last question is potentially both.
It seems like Miles' involvement in Rainwater’s plan will continue, too, whether Miles wants that or not. Clearly, the chairman’s plan worked here, so it tracks that he’ll continue to use the marshal as he works toward getting his way with this mine.
So, to see how that all plays out, you can watch new episodes of Marshals (which has been renewed for Season 2 already) every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
