Tracker is Forgetting Season 2’s Biggest Mystery and Making It Worse
Tracker season 2 is ignoring its best mystery, making things worse for everyone involved. The season begins by introducing another long-running case for Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley), the mysterious murder of a girl named Gina Pickett. This brings Colter to a new love interest named Camille, Gina’s younger sister, who he connects with on the anniversary of the case. Things pick up in Tracker season 2, episode 2, when Jensen Ackles returns as Russell Shaw, and the case brings the brothers dangerously close to a Department of Defense site that provides an unexpected connection to their father, Ashton Shaw.
Colter continues to reunite with other Tracker characters, as Sofia Pernas returns as Billie Matalon in season 3. The episode shows the difference between Colter and Billie’s reward-seeking ethics, with Billie wanting to give up on the case when the reward is paid. Colter reunites with an even better partner in episode 4, connecting with Reenie Green (Fiona Rene) at a luxury wellness resort to find a missing CEO. However, after four episodes, Tracker has forgotten its most important mystery for season 2, and it’s not about who killed Colter’s father in Tracker.
Tracker’s most intriguing mystery in its current run is what happened to Teddi and Velma. Before season 2, the show announced that Robin Weigert would not be returning as Teddi Bruin in Tracker. She was one of Colter’s handlers, married to Velma Bruin (Abby McEnany), who also helped Colter in his bounty hunt. Tracker needed to address the breakup immediately in season 2, and Colter and Velma briefly discussed the breakup in the season 2 premiere. However, Velma said that her breakup with Teddi was temporary, which didn’t resolve the issue.
Velma appeared briefly on screen a few times, but not long enough to address everything that was going on in her personal life.
Tracker season 2, episode 4 continued this trend. Velma appeared briefly on screen a few times, but not long enough to address everything that was going on in her personal life. By choosing to show Velma without representing the character’s experience, Tracker only delayed the resolution of Velma and Teddi’s permanent separation, which the series did not benefit from. Weigert has no plans to return to Tracker, so the show doesn’t need to leave the relationship a mystery. For now, it’s implied that Teddi and Velma are taking some time to figure that out, even though viewers know their separation is final.
Tracker season 2 choosing not to address the longer-term romance makes the problems in Velma and Teddi’s story worse. In Tracker season 1, the characters had an intriguing premise but were given less screen time as the season went on, reducing them to interests and brief phone calls with Colter. Tracker season 2 had the opportunity to really develop the women’s relationship, flesh out what happened between them, and add that to the series. By pushing Velma and Teddi’s story aside, Tracker only exacerbates the problems of season 1 and wastes one of the season’s best stories.
