When Colter suddenly disappears while searching for Scott Palmer, a missing father who is tracking unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), Reenie enlists Russell to find her brother and bring him back to safety. He tracks Colter to a Department of Defense black site, where he is being held by an unnamed government official (played by The Glades’ Matt Passmore). After rescuing him, Russell tells Colter that he’s “got some closure, cleaned up a mess.” He’s back to working for “private contractors” — but that’s about all he’ll reveal about what he’s been doing since he first came into Colter’s life in Season 1. Despite all the evidence pointing to the existence of UAPs, Colter remains skeptical. Russell, on the other hand, thinks he is — and we learn that his beliefs are influenced by their father.
“Remember when we were kids, when Dad took us up to Eagle Head Rock to show us the lights in the sky?” he asked Colter. “Come on, I remember! I was wearing my little spaceship pajamas. You asked Dad what those lights were, and he pointed to the spaceship on your flimsy shirt.”
They eventually tracked Palmer to a UAP landing site, where Russell was confronted by the government official who had captured Colter. When Russell told the truth, the unnamed official told him, “You’re just like your father, Ashton Shaw. You have a long family history of obstructing the government.” (Something tells us this won’t be the last we see of this guy.) After rescuing Palmer and returning him to his daughter, Colter and Russell set off in Russell’s 1967 Chevrolet Impala and 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Convertible, at which point Colter confronts Russell about “Dad’s secret box of stuff.” He asks Russell if he knows anything about it—but instead of answering yes or no, Russell asks Colter if he knows what’s in the box. When Colter says he doesn’t know, Russell tells him it’s “probably a bunch of junk… who cares?” But Colter thinks it’s weird that their sister has a box that she hasn’t mentioned to either of them.
“Oh, you know what I think? I think she doesn’t want you to go down the rabbit hole like you’re probably going to,” Russell replied. (He totally knows something Colter doesn’t… right?) Eventually, Russell drops Colter off at the side of the road to retrieve his truck. When Colter asks why Russell isn’t driving him deeper into the woods, his brother replies, “this baby can’t drive on gravel.” Huh!
What did you think of Tracker Season 2, Episode 2: “Ontological Shock”? More specifically, do you have any theories about this unnamed government official and his possible connection to Ashton Shaw? And what do you think about Russell not giving Colter an immediate yes or no when asked about his dad’s box? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
