Again, seeing Bobby back in his chair was a much-needed sigh of relief for many of us who were worried that the show was going to slowly write him off and full-on replace the character with Randy. There’s a lot to love about Bobby, from his shorthand with Colter, to his loyalty and general upbeat demeanor. The aforementioned “Chicago” episode offered us a deeper glimpse into Bobby’s life that we hadn’t seen much of before (or since), and implies that there’s a lot more to his world than we can see from behind a computer screen. By adding Randy into the mix, giving Bobby some family to rely on in times of trouble, Tracker allows us to venture even further beyond said screen. The problem is, now that Bobby is back, something feels off.
There’s something undeniably exciting about seeing an old favorite return. When Bobby, a beloved character, made his comeback, fans were overjoyed. However, as time passes, there seems to be a nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right. Is it just us, or does Bobby seem… different? It’s as though the essence of who Bobby was has shifted, and not in the way we expected.
In this article, we’re going to dive into the potential reasons why Bobby’s return feels a bit off. We’ll explore the possible changes, the impact on the audience, and why his comeback might not be as perfect as we anticipated. So, let’s take a deeper look at what’s going on behind Bobby’s return!
It could just be that Bobby is still grieving the loss of his friend. In “The Grey Goose,” we learned that Bobby was attending a funeral for a friend of his who was more like a brother. We know very little about this friend or about Bobby’s general whereabouts since he helped Colter take down the Teacher (Nicholas Lea) in the mid-season premiere, but this whole thing rings a little suspicious. Whoever this friend was (if there was even a friend at all), Bobby is clearly defeated over whatever went on in the weeks or months he was away. Considering the way this show works, it’s sort of hard to tell how much time has passed. Either way, Bobby is colder now, not at all his usual, upbeat self, and hardly interacts with anyone on Colter’s team, including his cousin.
In this sense, bringing in Randy was a smart play, because he can act as an agent in Bobby’s life that may help Colter and Reenie (and us in the audience) uncover what is really going on with him. Does this have something to do with the mysterious U.S. government agent (Matt Passmore) who detained Colter back in “Ontological Shock?” Could Bobby somehow have been involved with Reenie’s new boss, Leonard Shar (Pej Vahdat)? Perhaps he was investigating something else entirely that has yet to be revealed? Of course, we could be reading too much into things. Maybe Bobby really is just grieving and needs a friend like Randy around to help him through it… Still, Tracker is a show that deals in secrets, and it seems that Bobby Exley may have one or two of his own.
Randy Wasn’t the Best Replacement, but Works Much Better With Bobby Around.If we’re being honest, we may not have been all too fair to Randy. Because he wasn’t Bobby, many of us (this author included) gave him a bit of a bad rap. Sure, he wasn’t as charismatic as Bobby, and he didn’t have quite the same on-screen chemistry with Colter as his predecessor, but “The Mercy Seat” proved that Randy working alongside Bobby may be the best way to utilize this new addition to the Tracker cast.
In conclusion, Bobby’s return has been a bittersweet experience for fans. While we’re thrilled to see him back, the changes to his character have left many questioning whether the Bobby we knew and loved is truly gone. It’s possible that the changes in Bobby are a result of the passage of time, the evolution of storytelling, or the desire to fit him into new narratives.
The real challenge is accepting that characters, like people, evolve over time – and sometimes, that evolution can feel jarring. Still, there’s hope that Bobby will find his way back to the heart of what made him great.
