‘Marshals’ star Ash Santos breaks down “heartbreaking” Season 2, Episode 3 ending, teases “Andrea reconciling with her past” and a trip to New York

The final minutes of Marshals Season 2, Episode 3, “Sky Falling,” packed an emotional punch for several core characters. But while Kayce (Luke Grimes) was at home with Tate (Brecken Merrill), and Belle (Arielle Kebbel) was comforting Cal (Logan Marshall-Green), Andrea Cruz (Ash Santos) was left to face her trauma alone.

Marshals Season 2, Episode 3 spoilers ahead.

When we last left Dre, she was sleeping at the office, cowering in fear on the couch, and tearfully reading the case file on her father’s murder. In an interview at Decider’s Manhattan studio, Santos explained that this is just the start of a “very introspective” journey for her character.

“It’s not until she’s at work in Episode 3 that she’s seeing the effects of the Cleggs, the kidnapping, and Garrett, too. There’s just been a lot of trauma in such a short amount of time for her that she’s forced to now process and deal with,” Santos reflected. “She’s not comfortable going back to her own place. She doesn’t feel safe even sleeping there by herself, so she sleeps in the team room at the Marshals’ offices, and showers there, and nobody knows. It’s so sad. When Spencer [Hudnut, showrunner] told me that, I was like, ‘Wait, what? Oh my gosh, that’s heartbreaking.’”

In honor of Marshals‘ highly anticipated Season 2 return, Santos spoke with Decider about Season 1’s success, Dre and Belle’s friendship, how Cal’s cancer will impact the team, the investigation into Dre’s past leading her to New York, her thoughts on a Dutton Ranch crossover episode, and more.

Read on for Part 1 of our interview, and stay tuned for Part 2, which is packed with exciting Season 2 teases.

DECIDER: Though Sheridan-verse is such a success, I feel like Marshals took a bit of a risk as the first post-Yellowstone spinoff, especially killing Monica right out of the gate and introducing this new family to Kayce. But you guys had huge ratings, and Dre in particular really won people over. What was your reaction to the warm response the show received? 

ASH SANTOS: You hope for it, but you spend long enough in this business that you just don’t know. It was nerve-racking, because Yellowstone was a drama, and Marshals is more of an action show and technically a procedural. But we didn’t realize how hungry people were for this type of show set in this world. We get a lot of people who tell us, “Oh my gosh, this is our favorite show. On Sunday night we put it on. A husband and wife can sit down and watch it, and you don’t have to change the channel when the kids come in the room.” It’s got enough of everything you need. So it’s crazy. Very surreal.

Three episodes in, it’s clear that Season 2 is digging much deeper into these characters. We get the sense when Dre freezes in front of that basement that she’s still wrestling with the traumas of Season 1. How has that experience with the Cleggs changed her in Season 2?

I don’t think she realized how much it affected her until Season 2. With Garrett passing away, then all the drama with Tate, and helping Kayce, and deciding if she’s gonna leave or stay — I think now that the dust has settled, she is realizing. It’s not until she’s at work in Episode 3 that she’s seeing the effects of the Cleggs, the kidnapping, and Garrett, too. There’s just been a lot of trauma in such a short amount of time for her that she’s forced to now process and deal with. And she’s not comfortable going back to her own place. She doesn’t feel safe even sleeping there by herself, so she sleeps in the team room at the Marshals’ offices, and showers there, and nobody knows. It’s so sad. When Spencer told me that, I was like, “Wait, what? Oh my gosh, that’s heartbreaking.” So it’s been very introspective this season. 

Belle goes apartment hunting with Andrea. She calls her out on sleeping in the office, looking into her dad’s death, and freezing in front of the basement. How will their friendship deepen in Season 2? And what do they get from each other in this male-dominated field that’s so essential?

It’s a really unique type of friendship, because they very quickly in Season 1 learned that they could lean on each other and they could trust each other. Dre knows that Belle will always have her back, and vice versa. It’s almost like a sisterly bond. Belle also ends up being the one who catches on to the way that Dre is feeling and what she’s struggling with, and she becomes defensive and protective over her in a really beautiful way. I love when there are women on screen, and it’s beautiful and copacetic, because that’s been my experience with women my whole life. It’s never been catty; it’s always been just the most warm, beautiful energy that we’re so lucky to have. So I love that dynamic on-screen between both of our characters. 

Dre has also started looking into her dad’s murder. What do you think she’s hoping to get from that investigation? And can you tease the role it will play in her arc this season? 

Someone comes up to her at a certain point and says something because they knew the precinct that her father worked in, and it unearths all of this information that she didn’t know before. As she starts digging into her father’s murder, she finds that there was an entire situation she had no idea about. He was almost leading a double life. It ends up taking her to New York, where she really feels a desperate need to try and get answers and uncover this part of her life that has affected her so much. I think for the fans, it’ll be really cool for them to see Dre go back to New York.

I can’t wait for those episodes. I know your dad was also in law enforcement. Has this role in particular brought you two closer or helped you understand better understand the character? 

Yeah. My dad was NYPD, and he also spent the bulk of his career as an SVU detective in Manhattan, so he spent over 25 years fighting for justice for victims of sexual assault. Once he was retired, he helped train other detectives around the country on the interrogation tactics when we approach a victim of assault, because you can’t treat it like any other crime. The brain doesn’t process it the same way. He spent so much time in the world of helping people with the law, so when I got the audition, I was like, “Oh my god, we’re so similar, her and I.” Our fathers were the same, and she’s from the Bronx. I think for me, being able to play this character gives me so much to work with. I just have so much material. The other day we were filming this scene on the water, and we were looking at the Manhattan skyline in Dumbo under the Brooklyn Bridge, and it’s so beautiful. It was an emotional scene. Then afterwards, Luke [Grimes]’s assistant was like, “Is it hard for you to cry?” I was like, “With this? No, because I almost feel like there are parts of me where I just am her.” The separation isn’t really there. It’s interesting. 

Speaking of emotional scenes, I did like a standing ovation in my living room when Kayce booked Tate a therapy appointment to break the horrible pattern of Dutton men not processing their trauma. I’m curious, what do you think Dre’s version of therapy will look like this season? Is there an outlet she’ll pour her emotions into or someone she’ll share some especially vulnerable scenes with? 

Yeah, she ends up having a moment of deep vulnerability where she finally allows herself to cry and process the death of her father. We didn’t see her cry at his funeral, so we finally see her cry, and it’s in the arms of a certain person. It’s really beautiful that she was able to lean on them and feel so safe and seen in that moment to even open up in that way, so I think the fans will really love that. 

Episode 3 also ends with Cal’s first chemo treatment. He’s really standing strong and reluctant to accept help at this stage. But how will his cancer journey affect the team and Andrea as the season progresses? 

It affects each of us in different ways. Cal turns to me. He’s reluctant to have to put me in that position — such an intense leadership position. He kind of feels a nudge from Gifford to do that, a little pressure. Andrea is also reluctant, because she doesn’t want everybody else to know what she’s currently struggling with. I think if this had happened in Season 1, she would have been like, “Yes, please!” and thought she was so capable and there would be no problem. But now in Season 2, with everything that she’s dealing with, with her dad, it just very much feels like the wrong timing. And the only person she lets into that is Kayce, which then causes a whole issue in their dynamic. So it affects everyone in a different way, and that’s what I think is so fun about the writing: seeing all the little chess pieces. It’s so juicy. 

Fans have been begging for a crossover between Marshals and Dutton Ranch. I’m curious, have you seen the show at all? And if a crossover does happen, would you want Dre and the team to get in on that too? I feel like we have to have Beth meet the team — Kayce’s found family. 

I know. How iconic would that be? It’s funny, I have seen Dutton Ranch, and I think the world of Kelly and Cole as actors. Beth and Rip are some of, at this point, the most iconic characters in television. I think they’re written so wonderfully, and there’s so much depth in their partnership on screen that people really resonate with. So hopefully. It would be cool. I agree with the fans. It’s hard not to want that, especially because Kayce was so close with Beth, and they had such an interesting brother-sister dynamic. I’m like, “Who wouldn’t want to see that?”

Andrea Cruz is such a physically and mentally strong, capable character, but I love that she never shies away from vulnerability. What do you hope that young girls who are watching Marshals take away from Dre and seeing you in this role? 

That’s such a beautiful question. When I was a little girl, I would have loved seeing a woman like this on screen. I think little girls today, though, what I’m finding and what I am learning through the eyes of my own daughter, they’re so much stronger than we give them credit for. We really come to the world ready, capable, and bold, and it’s the world that tells us that we aren’t those things. But my daughter is the most ambitious, hard-working person I know, and she’s so confident. So I hope that if a little girl watches me in Marshals, she doesn’t feel like she’s learning something. I hope she just recognizes herself in that and almost thinks, “Oh, that’s how I am already. Great. I’m glad that women are like that now as well.” Do you know what I mean? We really come into the world so strong.

Before we wrap, any final Season 2 teases? What are you most excited for the audience to see? 

I’m really excited for the audience to see Andrea reconciling with her past and growing more into herself. She really grows up in Season 2 in a beautiful way, so I’m excited for fans to see that. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Decider’s interview with Ash Santos for more juicy Season 2 teases.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

New episodes of Marshals Season 2 premiere Sundays on CBS with streaming on Paramount+.