Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Tracker seasons 1 and 2.Trackerseason 2 features an odd paranormal case, and the history of Justin Hartley’s procedural show proves why the episode was so disappointing. InTrackerseason 2, episode 5, “Preternatural,” Colter’s reward-seeking operation takes a supernatural turn. In the outing, he helps Jasper (Connor Price) look for his missing sister, Emmaline (guest star Alison Thorton) and gets roped into more than he bargained for. Aware of Emmaline’s alleged supernatural abilities, a local family kidnapped her for her supposed healing powers, and the CBS show did little to quell the episode’s assumption that the girl is basically a witch.
Episode 5 continued a storytelling trend thatTrackerseason 2already established. When Jensen Ackles returned as Rusell Shaw, he found his brother after Colter went missing on a classified Department of Defense site. The brothers end up at the top-secret site together, searching for a missing person who sought out the location due to an alleged alien connection. Still,Trackerseason 2, episode 2, remains realistic,with Colter refusing to believe it was aliens. However, Tracker’s history with supernatural concepts before even this explains the disappointment of “Preternatural.”
Tracker Season 1, Episode 9 Has A Paranormal Premise But A Grounded Resolution
“Aurora” Teases The Harkwood Witch
InTrackerseason 1, episode 9, “Aurora,“Colter looks for a missing teenage girl, in a case with a supernatural premise. Lana Russo (Paolina van Kleef) and her friend Jamie go missing while investigating the Harkwood Witch. They believe in witchcraft, and their belief is involved in their disappearance. The girls would go to an abandoned mental health hospital in their area, where their friend, Toby (Nicco Del Rio), believes they encountered dark spirits. Ultimately, however, Colter discovers an older woman named Maeve Price (Bronwen Smith), whose brother is a serial killer, assaulted the girls.
How Tracker season 1 resolves the case in “Aurora” allows people to believe there was paranormal involvement but offers a pragmatic ending.
“Aurora” teases paranormal elements, but Colter provides a grounded conclusion as to why the friends went missing (while also proving the high schoolers didn’t take their own lives because they were depressed). Therefore, Lana Russo’s case successfully adds a bit of paranormal mystique to the series while staying tethered to reality. While Lana’s friend Toby has scratches from the apparent witch, Colter doesn’t take a stance on the kid’s experience, leaving things open-ended in a way that works. HowTrackerseason 1 resolves the case in “Aurora” allows people to believe there was paranormal involvement but offers a pragmatic ending.
Tracker Season 2’s Paranormal Story Left The Truth About Its Witchcraft Mystery Unresolved
Colter Teases A Bewitching Conclusion
In contrast,Colter somewhat validates that Emmaline is a witch inTrackerseason 2by leaving the conclusion open-ended. While similarly chronicling a teenage girl with paranormal encounters,Trackerseason 2, episode 5’s storytelling shiftstrays too far from the show’s premise. Colter leaves the mystery of Lana’s paranormal encounters unanswered enough not to shut anything down, but there’s an explanation for everything paranormal happening in “Aurora.” At one point, Colter even tells the detective that strange things happen at the mental hospital because it attracts odd people, not because there are dark spirits or ghosts.
Trackerseason 2 returns to CBS on Sunday, Jun 02, 2025.
Emmaline’s connection to witchcraft isn’t as dark-natured as Lana’s, but it takes the witch premise further. Emmaline is an intuitive healer who uses plant medicine to perform medical wonders. A local man tells Colter that Emmaline helped his wife, reversing her cancer and infertility. After Colter watches Emmaline perform a magical ceremony on the patriarch of the family who kidnapped her, Colter gets injured while they are escaping. Colter later reports that the paramedics say it’s a wonder he’s stable.Trackerheavily implies that Colter experienced a medical miraclewhen he asks the girl if she was involved.
Regardless Of The Case, Tracker Needs To Stay Grounded
Tracker Is Best When Based In Reality
Regardless of the story,Colter’s best moments inTrackerseason 1prove the show works when it builds upon its grounded foundation.Colter Shaw is a pragmatic reward-seeker who uses statisticsin the show’s first chapter to guide his decisions with logic. Up to season 2, episode 5, one of Colter’s strengths is that he is the most grounded, down-to-earth person in every experience he encounters. Colter always has an explanation for why something happened or looks for practical answers where others want to draw baseless conclusions. Therefore, “Preternatural” considerably departed from the established tone.
Tracker Established Colter’s Season 2 White Whale Case In Season 1 (But You Might Have Missed It)
Tracker sets up Colter’s Gina Picket case in season 1, but you might have missed it because Justin Hartley’s show doesn’t make the setup obvious.
While occasional paranormal genre shifts work for the show,Trackeris best within its established premise. The series should provide an explanation for those who want the show to stay grounded, which season 1, episode 9, expertly does while experimenting with a different tone. Season 1 laid out how Colter is the most level-headed person in the room and that we could count on Hartley’s character to consistently bring others back to reality.Trackerseason 2 compromises what we know about Colter, and the second half can either return to form or stray further from it.
Tracker
Cast
Tracker follows lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw as he navigates the country as a reward seeker. Utilizing his expert tracking skills, he aids private citizens and law enforcement in solving various mysteries while grappling with issues from his fractured family.
