A new character was introduced in Tracker season 2, episode 2, which had significant consequences for the Russell Shaw exoneration storyline. In the penultimate episode of Tracker season 1, Jensen Ackles debuted as Shaw’s brother. When Russell appeared in Tracker, little was known about the character other than that Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) believed that Russell killed their father. However, when Ackles came forward with Russell’s story. What Russell told Colter in Tracker season 1 began to clear him of his father’s murder, and season 2 continued this trend.
Russell is a good theoretical choice for who killed Colter’s father in Tracker, as Colter saw him standing at the top of a cliff with a dead Ashton below. However, Russell told Colter that there was someone else in the woods the night their father died. While Colter never officially confirmed his change of heart, he seemed to believe his brother’s story. Ackles eventually returned as Russell in Tracker season 2, and the brothers discovered a connection that could prove Russell was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time the night their father died.
In season 2, episode 2, Tracker established a connection between Lee Tergesen’s Ashton Shaw and the Department of Defense. Colter investigates a top-secret government site while searching for a missing person for evidence of aliens and UAPs. While Colter is at the mysterious DOD site, his phone loses connection and starts flashing strange patterns, and suddenly, a loud ringing sound knocks him unconscious. Colter’s team assumes he’s missing when he doesn’t answer their calls and recruits Russell to find his brother. Thankfully, Russell quickly finds Colter thanks to his military connections.
After discovering the trespassing bounty hunter, an unnamed man holds Colter at the DOD site in a concrete room. It is unclear when Colter might have left. That is when Russell shows up at the perfect moment. Russell frees Colter, who escapes with his brother and the missing person he is searching for. While the DOD location has an odd connection to aliens, it is even more odd that the DOD agent knows Colter’s father, mentioning it to Russell in a brief conversation. This implies that Ashton has a connection to the DOD, which correlates with Colter’s intelligence that his father works for the government.
Ashton’s connection to the Department of Defense suggests that he has top-secret connections, which could potentially motivate others to kill him. This theory seems especially likely given the DOD agent’s comments, including his reference to the Shaws having a history of “obstructing the government.” This quip suggests that the government feels contempt for Ashton. Tracker season 2 thus introduces a group of people with a much greater motive for taking Ashton out than his son, who was likely just caught up in the events of that night in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ashton [Shaw] eventually becomes the head of a government project that was erased as he rises through the ranks of his professorship at Berkeley.
Any information the unnamed man has about the Shaw patriarch could help clear Russell, proving the nature of his father’s murder. This development fits with Ashton’s claim at the time of his death that someone was out to assassinate him. While Colter always interpreted his father’s reaction as paranoia, it’s possible that Ashton was irrationally worried that someone from the government was trying to eliminate him and prevent him from sharing what he knew.
Ashton’s connection to the DOD could begin to shed light on what’s in the box of files that Lizzy Hawking (Jennifer Morrison) gave Colter in the Tracker season 1 finale. Colter mentions the files when Russell talks about Ashton’s connection to the DOD. He reveals to Ackles’ character that Lizzy gave the files to Dory (Melissa Roxburgh). Russell suggests that the box of files might be old, but Colter has other evidence that proves otherwise. The unnamed man in Tracker season 2, episode 2, proves that Ashton’s government ties are legitimate and that he was once a problem for the government.
