Editor’s Note: The summary below contains spoilers for Tracker Season 2 Episode 1. Tracker Season 2 begins with a compelling new mystery and one of the deadliest cases ever. “Out of the Past” returns us to “reward” Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley), his lawyer friend Reenie (Fiona Rene), his handler Velma (Abby McEnany), and hacker Bobby (Eric Graise) as they race against time to find the missing family of a man named Craig King (Erik Gow) in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The CBS and Paramount+ drama also begins its second season with a new character relationship between its two leads and a new love interest for Colter.
There are warning signs throughout this case that Colter, despite his skills, doesn’t connect right away. To be fair, it’s not every day that four people get out of a pickup truck and go missing. When Colter arrives at the scene to find Craig’s brother, wife, and two children, he encounters U.S. Marshal Jenny Martinez (Enuka Okuma). She warns him not to interfere with the crime scene and the ongoing grid search. It’s no wonder law enforcement is uncomfortable with Colter doing his job. And at least that makes him realize that this isn’t your average missing person’s case. But something’s not right.
Colter doesn’t listen to Martinez’s advice. He continues to investigate the area. A mysterious man (Matt Long) wearing an identical U.S. Marshal’s jacket stumbles out of the woods. Colter notices that he’s wearing the wrong kind of shoes for a grid search. But his curiosity about the man ends there. He simply assumes the guy is Martinez’s partner, Jeremy Boyd. Unfortunately, everything about “Boyd” and Colter’s encounter is suspicious. He’s careful not to answer any questions and lets Colter talk. The sheriff easily manipulates Colter into telling him everything he knows about the case and where the family might be. Anyone who’s seen Columbo can tell you that the person trying to get information out of the investigator is the suspect.
Meanwhile, Bobby investigates his father’s recent lottery win and gambling problem but hits a dead end. He’s paid off his debts. There’s no reason for the lone wolf to be after them. He also discovers that his wife, Connie (Lindy Booth), has no internet trace after a certain date. That suggests the mother is in witness protection and is a target. Colter hangs up and finds the couple’s two children. They tell him that their father went to throw away an iPad, and their mother left them alone to look for him shortly after. Martinez arrives and takes the kids to safety.
Colter traces the tablet to a gas station, where the father is wounded. He pulls a gun when he enters and fights off some scary-looking Mafia men. (He must know every state’s concealed-carry laws.) He then finds Connie and promises to take her to her kids. She had indeed been living under a protected identity after testifying against her ex-husband and the Garner crime family—but then her new husband won the lottery and their picture appeared in the newspaper. A moment of carelessness brought her past to her doorstep. (Didn’t you realize that someone took a picture of you after years of avoiding them? Never mind. Everyone makes mistakes. She still didn’t deserve what happened to her.) But as Colter drives Connie to his brother-in-law’s house, a dangerous incident occurs during the otherwise successful surveillance. Reenie calls to report that U.S. Marshal Frank Boyd was found dead in the woods hours before he arrived on the scene. Little did she know, the man posing as Boyd was actually Connie’s ex-husband and dangerous killer, Kirk Garner. Kirk shows up at Craig’s house, stabs him, and takes two children hostage—the oldest of whom is his biological son. After a few tense moments, the U.S. Marshals rush in, take Kirk down after Colter tells him to let the kids go, and the missing family is finally reunited. And Martinez, like every woman who meets the show’s handsome hero, is eventually charmed by Colter’s efficiency and altruism. Colter turns down the bonus, and Reenie convinces the family to set up a charity instead. She’s so proud of herself that she happily asks Colter to raise his fees. For what amount, Reenie? As you just determined, he didn’t get paid in this episode!
Colter’s former caretaker, Teddi (Robin Weigert), is out of town to help her mother and thus isn’t working this season. (Weigert left the show after Season 1.) Her wife and Colter’s other caretaker, Velma, hints at some potential marital trouble. She says she helped Teddi take care of her mother but felt like she was “in the way” and became
