Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
You and your parent’s favorite action-drama series has finally returned for a new season of reward-seeking, family secrets, and Justin Hartley beating some up. And it may (?) be better than ever.
Tracker Season 2 Episode 1 returns with a new case and sets us up for a potential seasons-long mystery from Colter’s past, and I don’t mean the Shaw Family drama!
They’re bringing out the big guns for this second season and are off to a terrific start.
When we last saw Colter during Tracker Season 1 Episode 13, he was reeling after his case had him re-examining his family and reigniting the perpetual cloud of deceit and the questions that always arise when he starts to investigate them.
But where last season immediately dove into everything Shaw, they went a different way, choosing something else from Colter’s past that he’s never gotten over, even if we’re just now hearing about it.
But before we dive into that, Colter’s case of the week was an intriguing one that took him out to Arkansas to find a missing family seemingly taken while they were vibing out to Steely Dan.
I’m here for another season of Colter stepping on the toes of law enforcement and almost immediately doing a better job than them. The police may not have Reenie and Bobby in their back pocket, but it still amazes me how much better Colter can sometimes be at their job.
It didn’t take him long to realize that whatever scene he had stumbled upon was not exactly what it seemed. As the information started to present itself, it became evident that this was more than just a kidnapping.
Tracker loves a misdirect, and the missing father, a gambler who won the lottery, was such an obvious one. And don’t get me wrong, $50,000 is A LOT of money, but do we think people are putting together elaborate kidnapping schemes for that?
Maybe I watch TOO much television.
Marshall Martinez was the law enforcement officer we get every now and then on the series. She’s the one who does not respect what Colter does and doesn’t want him getting in the way.
But Marshall Boyd was the opposite, and when he came tripping through the woods, I immediately knew something was amiss but could not figure out what it was.
And it was easier to put things together once we learned about Connie’s past or lack thereof.
There’s always a point in the story where Bobby, Velma, or Reenie must assist Colter. With the Marshalls’ limited help, Colter may not have put it all together if he hadn’t made the connection to Connie being in witness protection.
Poor Connie must have finally reached a point in her life where she could breathe a LITTLE easier. After nine years, she could be a mother and wife and exist relatively safely without having to look over her shoulder all the time, and suddenly, a scratch-off lottery ticket blew her life up.
It’s courageous and scary to testify and then change your whole life, but Connie was smart and had plans in place should the worst-case scenario occur, which it did.
Even with a plan, she needed some luck, like Colter stumbling upon the kids before “Boyd” did and him getting to Ted before that man.
A few things go in a different direction, or Colter stops to get a sandwich instead of investigating, and everything could have gone very wrong.
At what point in the story did you realize Boyd was actually ex-hubby Kirk? I had a feeling he was shady from the start, and that silhouette of him walking into the gas station behind Colter made me hold my breath because that slow walk had ambush written all over it.
But it didn’t hit me until it was spelled out for me.
The conversation between Connie and Colter in the car that led to the reveal felt like a variation of a conversation we’ve heard Colter have ten times over. But I’ll forgive the repetitiveness if only because it’s been a while since we’ve listened to it.
The idea that the past does not dictate your future is a beautiful sentiment, but unfortunately, it’s not true for everyone, and those two are the literal embodiment of that.
Connie’s past will always stick with her as long as she’s living under a new identity with the protection of law enforcement. After many years, she must have felt okay but never truly safe. Perhaps the day she no longer has a threat out there constantly looking for her, she can be at peace with her past.
And Colter? We know that his past drives his entire existence. His childhood had everything to do with his lone wolf status, struggles to trust, and wanting to live his life on the road.
Again, leaving the past in the past is a great thing to say but much harder to put into practice.
Once Colter was hip to Kirk, it was a matter of finding him, and he was obviously going to go right for the children because this is a network television series, after all.
Perhaps the biggest tragedy in this whole hour was the death of Craig, who was a kind-hearted brother and uncle who did not deserve what happened to him. Seriously, for some reason, his death hit me very hard because he just wanted to bake cookies and protect his family, and now he’s just gone.
I wondered if the eldest son was Kirk’s son because that crime family was going through a lot of trouble to track Connie down for a revenge killing. She had to have had something else they wanted.
And Kirk wanted Brett.
I love when Colter tells people he’s just met to trust him in life-or-death situations, like that’s such an easy thing to do. Yes, Justin Hartley clearly looks like he can protect someone in times of distress, but he’s still a stranger!
A very buff stranger, but still!
Marshall Martinez came in clutch with that sniper to get Kirk before things got ugly, but I couldn’t help but think that killing him might only enrage the rest of that family more.
Of course, that was not to be because Tracker does have a way of wrapping things up in an overall satisfying manner, so it looks like Ted, Connie, and the kids will wind up getting out from under everything.
But nothing will bring Craig back, and that’s just too sad.
Elsewhere during this opening hour, Velma was teaming up with Reenie to help Colter where necessary, and it looks like there may be trouble in paradise for Velma and Teddi if Reenie’s side-eye during her chat with Colter was anything to go by.
With news that Robin Weigert would not return for Tracker Season 2, the obvious question became how they would write her character out. It appears she will be “helping her mom get settled” and probably eventually decide not to return home.
Putting Velma and Reenie together helps to fix one of the issues that happened throughout Tracker Season, which was how scattered everyone was. Given Reenie’s tendency to pop into many of the towns Colter goes to, if she’s there with Velma, that will do wonders to make the show more cohesive.
Outside of that, Colter began the hour threatening a man named Frank and asking him about a woman named Gina Pickett. After Colter dumped some backstory, it became clear that Gina’s case was one of the few Colter could never solve.
We’re so used to seeing Colter save the day, it’s interesting to see him, well, not.
Gina’s been missing for ten years, and keeping tabs on presumably the man most likely to have done it is something Colter has been doing in the decade Gina’s been gone.
And that very much feels like a Colter thing to do. He makes a lot of promises when he sets out to find someone and doesn’t take rewards if he doesn’t find success, but he also doesn’t just give up either, apparently.
Gina’s case has stuck with him, and it may have something to do with Camille, with whom he also has a past.
The tension between them was crackling, even if there was a lot of vulnerability and just a need for comfort radiating from both of them.
I’m very into following this case, on top of the Shaw Family drama and the usual cases of the week! They did a decent job of teasing me just enough to perk my interest and start this second season on a solid note.
Tracker Notes
- My favorite Bobby nickname for Colter this week: C-Shizzle! I hope that one sticks.
- I love Reenie getting out on her own to start a practice!
- Bringing Jensen Ackles back quickly in the next hour was the right call. Give the people what they want whenever you can.
This was an excellent start to what should be a tremendous second effort for the series! There was a lot of work to be done coming into this one, and they’ve already made some improvements.
How did you feel about the episode?
What are you looking forward to seeing this season?
Drop all your comments down below so we can talk it out!
You can watch Tracker on Sundays at 8/7c on CBS.
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