Many agree thatTrackerseason 2 couldn’t live up to the high expectations set by season 1, and accordingly,Colter Shaw couldn’t live up to his “skilled survivalist and tracker” name in the latter episodes.The CBS action drama centers around Justin Hartley’s Colter, who, as I alluded to before, is considered an expert in his profession.Trackerseason 1 certainly proved that Colter has many skills. However, over the course of season 2 (which had a bigger episode count), one couldn’t help but notice that the protagonist fell short of expectations.
According toTVLine,Trackerseason 3 will premiere in the fall of 2025, reclaiming its Sundays at 8 pm ET timeslot on CBS.
The good news is that CBS has alreadyrenewedTrackerfor a third season.Colter now has the chance to prove that our impression of him from season 1 is correct(as opposed to his disappointing performance in season 2). He should be the very best in his field, after all. The main characters of most TV shows have to be the greatest at what they do. Otherwise, the story will inevitably grow dull, andTrackercan’t risk making that error with Colter when heading into season 3.
Colter’s Season 2 Performance Is Much Less Impressive Than Season 1’s
As opposed to his work inTrackerseason 1,Colter had a lot of help and luck to solve his cases in season 2(and it happened almost from the jump). For example, Jensen Ackles' Russell was called in to save Colter after he was kidnappedinTrackerseason 2, episode 2. It allowed the two brothers to bond and somewhat drove the Shaw family mystery story forward. However, it still displayed how Colter sometimes needs to be saved instead of doing the saving. And just a few episodes later, a “witch” had to heal Colter after he got shot in the stomach with an arrow.
Pej Vahdat
Leo Sharf
Other trackers like Billie and Keaton also consistently assistedColter inTrackerseason 2’s episodes. Meanwhile, luck came into play quite a few times in the show’s second season. In episode 10, “Nightingale,” Colter got very lucky when dealing with a biker gang that he knew was dangerous, and he should’ve been able to predict their movements. Innocent people could’ve died, but Colter was fortunate that the criminals didn’t jump the gun (literally). Ultimately,with how much help and luck Colter got inTrackerseason 2, he’s not looking like the expert rewardist he was in season 1.
Tracker Season 3 Needs To Highlight Colter’s Unique Skills Again
Season 3 Should Look To Season 1 For Inspiration
Trackerseason 3must get the CBS action drama back on track, especially when it comes to Colter’s profession. Season 2 had other shortcomings outside of Colter’s mistakes, butfixing how the show utilizes the main character’s skillset should be a priority.Thankfully, the writers can look to season 1 for inspiration.
Colter took a step back to look at the big picture many more times inTrackerseason 1than in season 2. In the show’s early days, he used all his tracking knowledge to his advantage to solve cases and save innocent people. However, Colter rarely came up with plans in season 2, frequently choosing to wing it instead when taking on a job. TheTrackermain charactercannot rely on his charms, improvisation abilities, outside help, and luck going forward, though. Something needs to change in season 3 so that Colter can return to his season 1 self.
Tracker Is Only As Good As Colter Is
Justin Hartley Is The Show’s Lead
Of course,Colter can’t and shouldn’t be Superman.He needs to have flaws, as does every well-rounded fictional character, so that the audience can believe he is a real person who makes mistakes. However, Colter had one too many blunders inTrackerseason 2. He was much more boring in the latter episodes as a result, making one wonder if he should change careers. For a TV series about tracking, Colter has to be the best tracker there is. If not, Colter becomes much less interesting, which in turn makesTrackermuch duller.
