Tracker Season 1 Ending Explained: What Happens & How It Sets Up Season 2
New reveals about Colter’s father in the Tracker season 1 finale has laid the groundwork for the show’s next chapter. In the final episode of the season, Colter Shaw actor Justin Hartley reunited with his This Is Us costar Jennifer Morrison. Morrison joins the cast of Tracker characters as Colter’s childhood friend, Lizzy Hawking, whose daughter went missing while storm chasing with her boyfriend. Katie Hawking (Jenna Burgess) has been missing for two days, and although the local police are on the case, Lizzy calls Colter to track her daughter and bring her home.
Colter discovers that the local sheriff tried to silence Katie after she found out that he was covering up a murder – Katie’s boyfriend is killed, leaving her stranded. When Colter brings Katie home safely, Lizzy reveals her mother and Colter’s father had an affair before Ashton Shaw died. She tells Colter that she found a box of Ashton’s research papers and journals under her mom’s bed after her mom died and that she sent it to Colter’s sister. The shocking reveal creates huge implications for Tracker season 2.
Lizzy’s Mom & Colter’s Dad Were Having An Affair
The reveal that Colter’s dad was having an affair adds to the mystery surrounding his death. When Colter and his siblings Russell and Dory were just kids, Colter’s father trained them to track people and animals and to be able to survive in the wild. When Ashton believes that he’s being chased one night, he urges his kids to escape with him, but they refuse because they don’t want to leave without their mother. When Ashton leaves by himself, Russell goes looking for him, and Colter later goes searching for him as well when his mother returns.
When Colter tracks down his father, he finds him at the bottom of a steep cliff with Russell standing at the top. For years, Colter had believed that Russell pushed their father to his death, but Russell insisted that there was someone else with them that night. All Colter knows is that his father had to leave his job at Berkeley, went through a series of legal altercations, and had some involvement with the government. Ashton’s affair provides new leads into why someone would want to kill him, likely giving him plenty to ponder over in Tracker season 2.
Ashton Shaw Visited Lizzy’s Home Right Before He Died (But It’s Not Said When)
Lizzy reveals to Colter that she has a memory of Ashton right before he died. She remembers that he came to the house, and she saw him with her mother because her room overlooked the driveway. She could hear him shouting, seeing that they were having an argument. Then they hugged, and Ashton handed Lizzy’s mom a box of files. Lizzy found the box of files under her mother’s bed after she died and sent them to Colter’s sister. Lizzy doesn’t specify the timeline, so it’s unclear how the meeting factors into the night Ashton died.
The box of files could be a huge development in the upcoming season. Whatever is in the box could be something that Ashton didn’t want his family to know about, hence why it was left with a family friend. The box could contain the secrets to his mysterious involvement with the United States government. While the conversation began casually (with Lizzy joking about how she used to beat up Russell), it evolved into one of the most important conversations of the series. Hartley revealed that Morrison’s Lizzy is “definitely coming back” in Tracker season 2 to continue the story.
Can Colter Trust Dory? What His Sister Is Hiding Explained
Regardless of the file box’s contents, Colter’s sister Dory (Melissa Roxburgh) now has access to it. The revelation posed new concerns for Colter, especially since she didn’t mention the box when he asked her about their father. Instead, Dory told Colter that it was time to let it go and move on. It serves as a clear warning for Colter, because it’s exactly what Lizzy told him when he began to wonder about the box’s significance. Whatever is in the files has caused those implicated to want to look the other way and forget about it.
Reenie Quit Her Job. Why Did She Do It, And What Will She Do Next?
At the beginning of the episode, Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene) is packing up her office. It’s clear that she and Colter have had a conversation about what’s happening, because he asks her if she’s really going through with it. It isn’t revealed why she left her job, but it’s confirmed when she catches up with Tracker at the end, telling him that she “told her jerk boss off,” quit her job, and now she’s going to “pour a big glass of wine” and “watch some trashy TV under her weighted blanket.”
It’s likely that Reenie will officially join Colter’s team in some capacity. Reenie has made it clear in the past that she doesn’t get enough action at her office job, and that she likes to help. The show has been teasing this development for a while now; when Reenie was called in to bail Colter out of jail in episode 1, she remarked that she had better be his first call next time he was in trouble. It would feel natural for Greenie’s next step to be permanently joining the team and helping Colter investigate, which she already has proven she can do quite well.
Russel Surfaces In Argentina, Forms Connections With The Team
Reenie also tells Colter that Russell has surfaced. She tells Colter that Russell contacted her, sending her a selfie from a bar at the beach in Argentina and asking her if she wanted to join him for dinner in Buenos Aires. It’s a small exchange between the characters, but it reveals something huge: Russell is being incorporated into the group. This signals that Colter believes Russell that he didn’t kill their father, especially after finding out that their father was having an affair and that means someone else could have had a motive to kill him.
The connection signals an interesting potential love-triangle between Greenie, Russell, and Colter. It’s implied in episode 1 that Colter and Greenie have a history. Then, in episode 12, “Off the Books,” it’s implied that Russell is interested in Greenie. Coincidentally, they both invite her to their moment of relaxation, hoping she will join them. At the end of season 1, Greenie calls Colter to tell him their criminal has been picked up, and that it’s been “a really long couple days.” He invites Reenie to come up and join him to relax for a few days, but she politely refuses.
How The Tracker Season 1 Ending Sets Up Season 2
All things considered, the finale does quite a lot to set the stage for Tracker season 2. It was revealed in episode 11, “Beyond the Campus Walls,” that Colter’s dad was employed by the government, working on various projects with his role evolving from “Contractor” to “Head of Project.” Whatever the job is, it’s redacted. When he asks Lizzy if she knew about it, she doesn’t confirm or deny it, but just wonders what he was doing (which implies that she didn’t know). Lizzy thinks that keeping Colter and his siblings in the dark about their family was maybe an effort to protect them.
It’s clear that Colter has reasons to reevaluate everything his mother told him about his father’s death. He’s opened up to the idea that someone other than Russell could have killed their father. Colter reveals that he may finally believe his brother in his conversation with Lizzy, saying, “She had me believe that my brother was behind my father’s death, kept us apart.” They don’t explain exactly how the family dealt with the fallout, but it’s clear that Colter’s mother kept information from him. Whether she is protecting him, or herself, will surely be explored in Tracker season 2.
The Real Meaning Of Tracker’s Season 1 Ending Explained
For a moment, it looked like Greenie and Colter were going to have that fishing trip on the lake that they were promised by Greenie’s family friend, Gus McMillion (Gil Birmingham), in episode 10, “Into the Wild.” The two were decompressing and catching up on the phone after the case’s conclusion and Colter invited Greenie to join him, but she turned him down for some self-care time. Greenie needs to decompress while experiencing major life changes, and for the first time since the audience has met him, Colter decides that he’s going to do “nothing.”
Colter ends the season on a high note: sitting in solitude as he stares off into the sunset before grabbing his surfboard and hitting the water as Rolling Stone’s “Gimme Shelter” sends off the episode. The moment implies that, despite the harrowing events of season 1, Colter is in an uplifted state of mind. And at least for now, he has to go it alone while he unravels the mystery surrounding his father’s death. Professionally, it’s clear that Greenie is there for Colter, but for now, the Tracker characters may need some sense of tranquility before season 2.
