Another season of Tracker, another jaw-dropping guest lineup.
Season 1 of Justin Hartley’s hit CBS drama, based on Jeffery Deaver’s best-selling novel The Never Game, featured some familiar faces—from Hartley’s wife Sofia Pernas to This Is Us co-star Jennifer Morrison. Two of the most interesting guest stars, however, were Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles and Manifest’s Melissa Roxburgh as Colter’s siblings Russell and Dory. When Tracker returns for Season 2 on October 13 and introduces some new faces, Manifest fans are in for another exciting show.
Episode 1 of Season 2 of Tracker, “Out of the Past,” welcomes Manifest’s Matt Long—who plays Zeke Landon, husband to Roxburgh’s Michaela Stone—to the screen! While Long has captivated audiences with Manifest, be warned, his role on the CBS drama is much darker… Spoilers ahead for Tracker Season 2 premiere.
In the Tracker Season 2 premiere, Colter investigates “the bizarre disappearance of a missing family whose car is found abandoned on the side of a backwoods Arkansas road” and “a shocking discovery about their mother’s past that leads him into the world of organized crime.” Wondering what that discovery is? Buckle up!
The missing family of four includes husband Ted, wife Connie, and two kids Brett (9) and Amy (6). A $35,000 reward has been posted for their recovery by Ted’s brother Craig (Erik Gow), who tells Colter that Ted has some gambling problems but just won the lottery. The family is the proud new owner of $50,000, which could have cleared his debts or given him a bigger goal. But in the end, the search never involved a lottery ticket.
As Colter begins his grid search, he meets Long’s Jeremy Boyd. The handsome man with kind eyes says he was a U.S. Marshal on the same case as Colter, but despite his claims, he’s wearing work-inappropriate shoes and doesn’t seem to know the details of the case. Still, Jeremy was in the right place and in the right uniform, so his story checks out. And while Long’s Tracker character messes things up with a different voice, he instantly charms Manifest fans like me with his sweet Zeke Landon nostalgia.
During Colter’s search, he discovers that there is no record of Connie, the missing mother, which means she may be in the process of defending a witness. This revelation raises further red flags, which are confirmed when Colter finds Ted knocked out at a gas station and says, “You have to save her. They’re after my wife.” Colter learns that Connie has been defending a witness for nine years after helping to capture several major criminals, including a man named Tommy Garner, who is also her father-in-law. Prior to defending a witness, Connie was married to Tommy’s son, Kirk, and since her family exposed themselves by winning the lottery, she may have run away from him.
When Colter finds Connie safe, she says Kirk is exactly like her violent, criminal father. Their marriage got so bad that she went to the FBI and helped arrest Kirk’s father, then when Kirk cheated on her, she divorced him and disappeared. Her story is interrupted by a call informing Colter that U.S. Marshal Boyd has been found dead in the woods, though only at a gas station. Suddenly, it all makes sense. Colter asks to see a picture of Connie’s ex-husband, and wouldn’t you know it, Long’s Jeremy Boyd was actually Kirk the whole time.
Colter rushes to Connie’s house, where the fake Boyd/real Kirk/Matt Long impersonator stabs Tom with an icy glare. The impostor goes upstairs to take the kids, and when Colter and Connie arrive, he releases Amy but holds Brett hostage with a gun in his hand. He curses Connie (aka Rachel) for breaking his heart and taking his son, telling her, “My family will hunt you down for sport.” While Kirk had shown a gentle side when talking to the kids earlier, the shift turned outward as his rage and pain were on full display—Matt Long territory! Perhaps his villain era had arrived.
When Kirk released Brett to say goodbye to his mother, he was shot dead from behind, but even as his body plummeted to the ground in defeat, Long delivered his best performance with palpable pain and masterful facial expressions. While he wasn’t able to show off his Manifest charm and heart this time around, and he almost certainly won’t be back for many more episodes, his cameo as Tracker was both a surprise and a success.
With the Season 2 premiere over and Jensen Ackles set to return in
