Last week’s episode of Tracker was the first part of the season finale and also the highly anticipated return of Colter’s brother Russell (Jensen Ackles). Ackles fans have been waiting not-so-patiently for Russell to return to the series, while enjoying his turn as Soldier Boy on ‘The Boys’. It’s been a good time to be an Ackles fan!
I enjoy Tracker all the time, but I especially love the episodes that are centered on the Shaw family mystery instead of the mystery-of-the-week. We’ve gotten bits of reveals about Ashton Shaw and what shady things he might have been up to every now and then throughout the seasons, but his sons still don’t have a clear idea exactly what that was. I kind of love that they’re playing the long game here!
What we have seen is a lot of progress in Colter and Russell’s relationship, which went from initial mistrust when Colter had been led to believe (by their mother) that Russell was the one that was responsible for their father’s death to the understanding that while he was there, he was not the one who pushed their dad. Now the two of them are working together to figure out exactly what their dad got up to in Alaska and what it did to him – their mother, in this episode, confides to Colter that Ashton came back a changed man, and apparently a rageful and even violent one. She tried to protect her children, but he wouldn’t let them leave, perhaps suffering from paranoia. Or maybe he had a reason to be paranoid??
Regardless, it’s Russell who encourages Colter to give their mother a chance to explain; he also sacrificed his own relationship with Colter for a long time by letting him believe Russell was to blame for their father’s death. At first glance, Russell seems like a selfish out-for-himself guy, but scratch the surface and he’s seeming less self absorbed and more self sacrificing, at least sometimes. Jensen Ackles just seems perfectly suited to playing the big brother, once again making the sibling relationship with his costar believable. It helps, I’m sure, that he’s real life friends with Justin Hartley just as he is with Jared Padalecki. (And also, as he’s jokingly complained, once again the ‘shorter’ brother!)
Interestingly, though, the Shaw brothers’ relationship seems very different than the Winchester brothers. They too had an unusual, isolated and sometimes pathological upbringing, but they also had another sibling and a mother who was trying to protect them from their father’s obsession. That has made a big difference in the dynamic between them and in the way they approach the world – while still somewhat insular, they are more integrated into the rest of the world than the Winchesters ever were.
In this episode, Russell shows up (without a text or a phone call, as is his habit) already cooking up a barbeque for them at Colter’s trailer.
They stop at their family cabin in a sort of pilgrimage to their childhood now that their mother plans to sell. While Colter has a long overdue talk with his mother, Russell visits his father’s grave in the woods. It’s reminiscent, for Supernatural fans, of a similar scene where Dean Winchester confronts his dead father at his gravestone, and once again Ackles makes it an emotional scene. Russell is angry at his father, calling him a sonofabitch (also Dean Winchester reminiscent) and accusing him of keeping him and his siblings stuck in trying to figure out the mystery of their father for all this time. He’s right; it’s left a mark on them both and for a long time kept them estranged. Russell rightly notes that the echo of their father is still having a significant impact on both brothers’ lives (and likely their sister’s too). Maybe, he muses, that’s why the place they lived is called Echo Ridge. There are no answers there for Russell, but at least he gets a few things off his chest.
Together Colter and Russell question Dr. Jukic (sci fi legend Jeri Ryan) about her time in Alaska working on the Chrono Stasis project with their dad, and we find out just how nefarious it probably was – gifted children essentially kidnapped and held captive as lab experiments on mindreading, astral projection, all kinds of scary stuff. It was a little bit like a temporary The Boys crossover, shades of young Homelander captive and experimented on in a lab too. Jukic became attached to one of the boys but was unable to ever find him and save him; the Shaw brothers agree to do just that. (Also I was happy to see Supernatural alum Jerry Trimble as Dr. Jukic’s partner – a little reunion for him and Jensen Ackles! Tracker moves to LA to film next season and I admit I’m going to miss the gorgeous Vancouver locations and the constant parade of Supernatural alums as guest stars).
I had the pleasure of chatting with Jerry after he guest-starred as ‘Ramiel’ on Supernatural. Here’s a link to that interview if you’d like to get to know the talented actor a bit better:
Of course the search for Danny puts the Shaw brothers in the crosshairs of the government baddies who are still protecting the shady project. But it also gives us this kind of casually breathtaking glimpse of Russell being sneaky which…. wow.
Russell meets with one of his old contacts (who he apparently saved at one time so you would have hoped the guy would be more loyal, but oh well). Things don’t go well when Colter finds Danny either – he’s either too afraid or too brainwashed not to push the alarm button to call the bad guys instead of letting himself be saved. We left Russell in a sticky situation, too, having been found by a guard, and being far too cheeky for his own good.
In between their adventures, I thoroughly enjoyed the little snippets of conversation and banter between Russell and Colter, who are acting more and more like brothers – both sharing happier moments from their childhood and also bonding over the not happy times they unfortunately shared. I also enjoyed their sibling rivalry, with Russell announcing that he’s the “smarter, better looking brother” when he says hi to Randy and being his usual flirtatious self when saying hi to Reenie, much to Colter’s internal eyeroll.
I’m looking forward to more of Russell and Colter and finding out more about the mystery of their father in the season finale coming up this weekend.
‘Tracker’ has created a believable and enjoyable pairing with the Shaw brothers, and Justin and Jensen seem to be thoroughly enjoying it too.
Stay tuned for the season finale of Tracker AND the season finale of The Boys coming up – it’s a big week!
Screencaps z_shanaz_, jensenacklesmybeloved
–Lynn
You can read chapters from Jensen Ackles
all about his roles on Supernatural and The Boys
in the books ‘Family Don’t End With Blood’ and
‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes’ – info at:
or at: https://smartpopbooks.com/book/supes-aint-always-heroes/
