I’ve been so looking forward to the return of Russell Shaw on Tracker. I watch the show regularly and love it, but the addition of Jensen Ackles as big brother Russ to Justin Hartley’s “little” brother Colter made this week’s season premiere feel like old fashioned appointment TV. I put “little brother” in quotes because Jensen Ackles seems to constantly be playing shorter big brother to an unusually tall little brother, first to Jared Padalecki’s Sam and now to Justin’s Colter. However, as always, Ackles holds his own – and then some!
My local station, CBS Philly, decided to torment me and the two friends who joined me for the series premiere by delaying the broadcast of Tracker – which meant we happily turned on the TV with great anticipation at 8 pm only to find…. 60 Minutes. We also had no idea if that meant Tracker would be on soon or would be pre-empted or what, and there was no information for an annoying 20 minutes. I may have tweeted the local CBS affiliate a time or two…
Anyway, they did finally broadcast the episode in its entirety, thankfully.
And it was absolutely worth the wait!
Russ gets a memorable return in the middle of a bar fight that a despondent Colter sorta kinda picked with a bunch of assholes harassing the waitress. Russell gets a punch in the mouth for his trouble before Colter realizes who’s grabbing his shoulder from behind, which seems to delight Russell more than anything, and then the brothers are on the same side in the fight (and the remaining asshole wisely runs away).
Seems a worried Reenie sent his big bro after Colter when he disappeared after finding out there’s a lot more to his father’s death than his mother was letting on – and it wasn’t Russell’s fault after all. The discovery of Otto as the man who their mother sent to convince their dad to let her leave him (and who ended up instrumental in his falling to his death) has sent Colter spiraling, withdrawing from everyone in his trusty Airstream. Even Reenie!
We’re treated to a probably long overdue heart to heart talk between the brothers, with Colter especially letting his guard down and apologizing to Russell for blaming him for their father’s death. Russell wants Colter to follow his example and just repress all the bad childhood memories of how their father deteriorated and started to lose it, which are clearly very painful for both of them. Colter says he’s not built that way, and Russell grudgingly accepts that, a moment that I loved.
It’s clear Russell cares very much about Colter. He volunteers to stick around and keep him company – and help with the next case, which Russell is eager for them to take on. He’s a bit Dean Winchester coded in that, finding purpose and distraction in throwing himself into “the work”. He’s right, though – it seems to get Colter back on track and out of the withdrawal and isolation he’d sunk into.
(Sure, Russ is also offering to help because he just got fired from his job, but whatever).
Russ is a bit of a fuckup, but he’s a very endearing one. His heart seems to be in the right place just as much as Colter’s is, but his methods are even more unconventional. Both Shaw brothers were raised by a father who trained them to be survivors – perhaps even more than good old John Winchester – but Russell also learned to keep his feelings to himself more than Colter. He deflects, he makes jokes, he shrugs off anything that hurts – but you get the feeling that he also feels things more deeply than he lets on. His eyes are soft even when he’s insisting he just wants to get on with it, and his concern for Colter is very clear. Ackles, as always, is up to the challenge of showing us all those repressed emotions with just a facial expression or tone of voice. The real life long-term friendship between Hartley and Ackles make their emotional scenes together ring true, along with their acting talent.
Russell jokes about his interest in Reenie also, ribbing Colter for once “swerving” into her lane and having a short-lived thing, but he also seems genuinely disappointed that she’s got a lawyer boyfriend and that’s probably good for her.
(Though Reenie, are you sure, girl? I mean, look at him! All that long hair swept down over those soulful green eyes, I mean….)
Okay, anyway. Ackles is always attractive, but the long hair just works SO well.
We still don’t know very much about what their father was involved in or why it made him paranoid or made their mother want to leave him and take the kids – and I like that they’re leaving the mystery a mystery for now, spooling out information little by little. Russell admits that while he saw more than Colter did, and clearly tried to be the protector, he too was “just a kid” and not in control of what was happening. They were both victims, along with their sister Dory. We just don’t know yet exactly what happened, or how bad things got.
For now, the Shaw brothers take on a case that turns out to be way more dark and twisted than it seemed at first, which was intriguing.
The people murdering other people seem more terrified than murderous, asking if “you’re them” and desperate to follow “the process” and instructions before a loved one being held runs out of time. It’s confusing and disturbing and the sense of time running out was palpable. Twice the show threw a curveball that surprised me, which I always appreciate. (I did not see that car coming!)
The final scenes were especially disturbing, tragic and ultimately chilling, as “the process” becomes personal for Russell and Colter.
Luckily this is a two parter, because I can’t wait to watch next week and see what happens next!
Congrats on a stellar season premiere, Tracker – and kudos to Ackles, Hartley and Fiona Rene, and special shout out to Chris Lee, who joined the cast last year as Randy, Bobby’s tech genius cousin. Chris is a great guy in real life and brings humor and warmth to his role on the show. I miss Teddy and Velma and Bobby, but all were mentioned so maybe they’ll be reprising their roles at some point too.
Can’t wait for next week’s episode!
– Lynn
You can read Jensen Ackles’ thoughts on fandom,
Supernatural, and The Boys in his chapters in
Family Don’t End With Blood, There’ll Be Peace
When You Are Done, and Supes Ain’t Always Heroes.
Links on Amazon, on the home page or info at:
