Jensen Ackles Returns to Tracker Season 2, Unveiling the Harsh Reality of Colter Shaw, Played by Justin Hartley
Jensen Ackles returns for Tracker Season 2, revealing the harsh reality of Justin Hartley’s action/drama series and its protagonist Colter Shaw. Tracker premieres in early 2024, starring Hartley as the protagonist, Colter Shaw. Tracker Season 1 tells the story of Colter’s childhood, including his father’s mysterious death when he was a child. Colter suspects his brother, Russell, played by Jensen Ackles, of being responsible for their father’s death. However, when Ackles makes his debut in the penultimate episode of Season 1, he clears his name and forms an alliance with Colter, which continues in Tracker Season 2. A closer bond is forming between the two brothers in Tracker Season 2, and it mirrors the real-life relationship between Ackles and Hartley. The two actors have been friends for 20 years and have worked together on The CW. Ackles played Dean Winchester on Supernatural, and Hartley played Oliver Queen on Smallville for five seasons. Hartley has commented that despite their friendship spanning two decades, dating back to their time on The CW, they never had the chance to work together until Tracker. However, there is still the harsh reality that members of the Tracker cast play brothers.
In Tracker season 2, episode 2, Ackles returns to Tracker season 2 as Russell Shaw. Now that the brothers have seemingly moved past the possibility that Russell was the one who killed Colter’s father on Tracker, the brothers are able to establish a relationship in their adult lives. In Tracker season 1, Ackles’ character tells his story, but he also asserts that he is just as capable of being a rewarder as his brother. In “Ontological Shock,” Reenie (Fiona Rene) calls Russell to find Colter when he goes missing at a Department of Defense (DOD) site.
Colter is lucky to have someone in his life who can do the same job as him.
Thanks to his military background and contract work with Horizon Group, Russell quickly locates Colter and takes him off the DOD property with incredible ease. Colter is lucky to have someone in his life who can do the same job as him, and even luckier that Reenie knows both of them and can connect them. However, the two brothers appearing side by side highlights the harsh reality of the series, and not only does Season 2 prove that Tracker needs a Jensen Ackles black ops spinoff that could expand the series with Russell’s story.
Ackles’ return to Tracker is a reminder of how much the Supernatural actor has contributed to the series. Colter is portrayed on the show as a gifted rewarder based on his childhood experiences of his father training him to survive anything in the wild. However, Russell has the same upbringing and brings those qualities to the small screen. Side by side, Russell is also more entertaining than Colter. In addition to his quest for reward, Ackles creates an entertaining on-screen presence without losing the seriousness of his work.
Ackles’ appearance in season 1, episode 12, “Off the Books,” helped make the show the most popular episode of the first season, earning the highest Tracker rating on IMDb. This proves that Ackles is one of the show’s most important assets despite his limited guest appearances. Ackles’ appearance as Russell, a fun character, highlights the choice to make Colter more serious without the same quirks as Russell. While Colter isn’t a fun character, appearing alongside Russell makes it clear that the protagonist lacks a more charismatic quality to balance his serious quest for reward, making the character boring.
