As a self-described lone wolf survivalist, Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) has used his expert tracking skills to help crack all kinds of mysteries for private citizens and law enforcement across the United States. But for two seasons of the CBS drama “Tracker,” Colter has slowly begun to unravel the decades-long mystery surrounding the death of his own father, Ashton, whose paranoia about government surveillance had forced the rest of their family to live off the grid as survivalists. While he had long suspected that his estranged older brother, Russell (Jensen Ackles), was responsible for fatally pushing their father off a cliff on a rainy night in the woods, Colter could not shake the feeling that he wasn’t being told the full story.
Let’s be real — if you watched the “Tracker” Season 2 finale, you’re probably still picking your jaw off the floor. And if you haven’t watched it yet… what are you even doing here? Just kidding. But seriously, Justin Hartley, who plays the brooding yet brilliant Colter Shaw, has finally opened up about that shocking reveal and what’s next in Season 3.
After asking for Colter’s help on a case involving one of his missing Army friends in Season 1, Russell insisted that he wasn’t at fault and that there had been another man in the woods that night who was responsible for Ashton’s death — a theory that their college professor sister, Dory (Melissa Roxburgh), also posited. In the penultimate episode of Season 2, Dory finally delivered a box full of Ashton’s journals research papers which she had received from Lizzy (Jennifer Morrison), an old family friend whose late mother was revealed to be Ashton’s mistress.
Sunday’s season finale saw Colter returning to Echo Ridge, the California town where he grew up, to investigate the disappearance of a diner owner (Brian Keane), who Colter discovered had been murdered after stumbling upon a horrifying child trafficking ring. With the help of his childhood friend Joe Marsh (Drew Powell), Colter is able to stop the victims from being smuggled away from an old farm late one evening — but he has an even more personal reason for going after Carl Murphy (Shane Leydon), the registered sex offender who had presumably killed the diner owner.
During his investigation, Colter stumbled upon Carl’s trailer, which he had used to stash away his victims, and found a carving of wolf with the name “Ashton” scratched on the bottom. While he was held at gun and knifepoint, Carl revealed that he had gotten that figurine from his uncle, Otto Waldron (Alex Fernandez), who had worked as a lineman for the county and helped the Shaws install their wind turbines. In the final scene, after Colter drops by his home unannounced, Otto admits that he had pushed Ashton off that cliff — at the behest of Colter’s mother, Mary (Wendy Crewson).
Justin Hartley didn’t just deliver a performance — he delivered a punch to the gut. The “Tracker” Season 2 finale flipped the entire narrative, taking what we thought we knew and setting it on fire. Now, with Colter’s father’s murder out in the open and a bigger mystery emerging, Season 3 isn’t just a continuation — it’s a reckoning. Buckle up.
