Even with focus shifted on Colter and what he can do on his own, Tracker has to also explain why he all of a sudden doesn’t need them. This will likely be because he’ll be preoccupied with the family mystery in Season 3. There was a major break in that case in the explosive Season 2 finale when Colter discovered who killed his father and that his mother, Mary, had something to do with it.
Now, the question becomes why, and Colter will have to confront both Mary as well as his siblings Russell and Dory to see what they might know. With Colter’s obsessive nature, not willing to let go of a case until he solves it, and with this case being so personal, he likely won’t rest until he uncovers the truth. The season, then, must focus heavily on this case as Colter shifts the way he works to accommodate spending as much time as he can on figuring out what happened to his father. How Reenie and Randy play into this will be interesting to see, since this isn’t the type of case where Colter might need legal or technical help. That may also be why there was no more room for Bobby and Velma.
Given what viewers have already learned about the situation with Colter’s family, this case alone will inevitably lead to plenty of danger as Colter starts to look into something that may have larger implications than he realizes, and that his mother had clearly been trying to protect him from.
Already, details have been teased about his father Ashton’s work with the university prior to his death, potential government cover-ups, and dangerous people who were after him. Ashton moved his family off the grid because he felt he was being hunted. While the family believed he was just paranoid and suffering from a mental break, it seems there might have been some truth to his beliefs.
The good news for fans is this means we’ll probably see a lot more of the Shaw family guest characters on Tracker Season 3, including Mary (played by Wendy Crewson), Russell (Jensen Ackles), and Dory (Melissa Roxburgh), as well as Colter’s childhood family friend Lizzy (Jennifer Morrison), who confirmed to him that his father and her mother were having an affair.
But it could also mean that Colter works alone more than ever before, and Reenie and Randy take over other cases, or do double duty to help him, knowing how important this case is to him. It could also mean a split focus, whereby Reenie and Randy get their own storylines outside of working with Colter. These may end up intertwining with his family investigation, or they could be completely separate, giving Colter a screen time break while allowing Reenie and Randy to have their moments, too, outside of working with Colter.
Tracker Won’t Fall Into the Procedural Trap. It’s evident that Tracker creators want to ensure the series doesn’t fall into the procedural trap whereby every episode is a lather, rinse, repeat format. This requires not only that the show takes a different tone as Colter focuses on his family mystery, but that he readjusts to handling more cases on his own, with less help, or at least less of the same type of help. The concept, after all, is supposed to suggest that Colter has incredible tracking skills. If he always has to rely on others, his own talents become less impressive.
How this will translate on screen remains to be seen. Season 2 already had some weak points with episodes that got dark and disturbing, even one that ended abruptly with weak writing that left fans confused, like episode 16, “The Mercy Seat.” There’s no doubt that Bobby and Velma will be missed, even though fans saw the writing on the wall for Bobby once he was written out of so many Season 2 episodes.
The spotlight will shine more brightly on Colter, and less on the team dynamic. What’s especially sad about the change, however, is that both Bobby and Velma were considered personal friends, too. Though Colter was always guarded and didn’t spend much time with others, it’s clear he valued them as friends. How the show explains their sudden departure will be crucial to the believability of the change.
Considering how flippantly Teddi’s departure was handled, without even a clear confirmation that she and Velma separated, and how the show glossed over Bobby’s absence, the handling of this major cast change in a different way will be important. Colter might be a lone wolf, but he still cares about people. The only logical choice would be to suggest that Colter is now so caught up in his family mystery that it’s all he can focus on. Bobby and Velma leaving are unfortunate, but it’s necessary to eliminate any distractions for Colter as he embarks on a journey to learn the truth about his father.
