Yellowstone's Kelsey Asbille on Monica's Season 2 Passions and Struggles

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We are only a week away from Yellowstone Season 2, and I can assure you it will outdo Yellowstone Season 1.

We had the chance to chat with a few of the cast members about the upcoming season.

Today we're featuring Kelsey Asbille who plays Monica, the disillusioned, if still very much in love, wife of John Dutton's youngest son, Kacey. 

Kelsey Asbille of Yellowstone - Tall

In Season two, how is Monica dealing with raising Tate and moving on from Kayce?

I think she's really trying to navigate her own independence, carve out her own life with Tate and outside of the influence of the Duttons. It's definitely a very empowering season for her.

Yellowstone Season 2: First Look!

What do you think the Kayce could do to make amends to Monica?

Well he's got to stop killing people, for one. I think his body count was pretty high last season.

Honestly, I think she really loves him, and I think she never doubts his love for her, but it's more of she needs Kayce to fight for them and fight for their future. Frankly, if that means leaving the Duttons behind, then doing that as well.

Kacey and Monica on Yellowstone

How invested does the show get in Monica's opportunity to teach off the reservation this season?

We definitely see a lot of it. Especially, you see a couple of her lectures, which was pretty daunting to shoot because we had about forty extras that played my students. I was breaking a sweat before those scenes for sure.

But they're so well written, and it's about being able to tell her history, the history of her people. To tell and envision this history through an indigenous voice and this idea of decolonization through education which is actually a really cool, poignant asset to this season.

I think her adamance about teaching in her own way reflecting and her people's history is very important. It seems like teaching might drive her and Kacey farther apart the more she advances her career while still discovering more about the Dutton family. What's your take on that?

Exactly. I think that it does serve as a reminder of that they come from two completely different worlds. She gets her taste of single life as well, which I'm not sure if that's for her either. I don't know, I guess the rest is ... you'll have to watch.

Kelsey Asbille at LA Press Day - Yellowstone

What kind of responsibility do you feel on representing Native Americans on a show like Yellowstone?

So much, and I think that that responsibility comes as an actor. Especially in Taylor's projects, a social message is behind all of his movies. I think that the most important thing to represent is just that the power comes from within the community.

Taylor wrote her with this incredible intelligence and sensitivity and sense of freedom, and the fact that the Duttons threaten that freedom she's hightailing it out of there.

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You mentioned that she might be exploring her single life. Are we going to get to see her with some friends, maybe, and dating and acting like a young single mother out on the prowl?

Yeah, it sounds kind of fun.

Kelsey Asbille at Yellowstone Premiere

What do you like best about Monica?

I have so much respect for her as a young mom. I think it's really her traits as a mother and fighting for her family that I have the utmost respect for.

The fact that she's teaching and she's being a wife, not to mention all of the chaos that ensues in season one, and she keeps her head up, she just keeps going. I think that strength is something I just totally look up to and would try to emulate when I become a mom.

What advice do you think she could use?

What advice? That's a good question.

I don't know, I'd tell her, especially at the beginning of this season, kind of what she does -- to just live her life and try to allow herself to have fun and enjoy those moments with your friends. Maybe depend on other people as well, a little bit more, because she's very stubborn in that way.

Kacey and Monica in a Field - Yellowstone

Is there anybody on the show that you wish you had a chance to interact with that you haven't so far?

I don't know if it's a spoiler, one interaction that you don't see is [between] Monica and Beth. I think that, as the two women on the show, it's just an interaction that I'm craving to see. Which may or may not happen.

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And finally, given the scope of Yellowstone is there anything that you would love for Monica to do? With all of the fun on the ranch and all of the Indian ceremonies. 

You know there are so many fun things that she could be out there doing as the person who's straddling both worlds; what would you love to do?

One thing that's really cool about this season too is that we incorporate rodeos and Indian relays specifically, and it's something that she's grown up around. I'd like to see her ride.

Yeah that would be great. How's her health in season two?

She's definitely recovering. When you see her in season two, it's been a bit of time, and she's getting back on her feet. I think her main issue was just that it affected her motor skills and her right leg.

You definitely see a bit of that recovery process as well. That's another thing that's on top of everything else that's going on.

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What are you most looking forward to on Yellowstone Season 2?

Yellowstone returns to Paramount Network Wednesday, June 19 at 10/9c.

The premiere episode will be simulcast on CMT.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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Yellowstone Quotes

Jimmy: They're fuckin' angry!
Rip: No shit they're angry, Jimmy. Their job's to fuck, and they ain't fucked in six months.

Lloyd: God damn, boss. That was awfully restless.
John: It's only restless if you can't see it through.