Tracker Season 2, Episode 5 Continues the Strange Narrative Shift for Justin Hartley’s Hit Series
Tracker season 2, episode 5, “Preternatural,” continues a strange trend that began earlier in the season. In the fifth episode of Tracker season 2, Velma Bruin takes on a new case for Colter Shaw involving a teenager, Emmaline, who has been reported missing by her brother and guardian. Colter quickly gets to work, and the case turns out to be bigger than he expected. People drop dead animals on the road to Emmaline’s house to scare her and her brother away, and rumors circulate that Emmaline has an unhealthy obsession with magic.
“Preternatural” raises the stakes even further when Colter discovers that the Drell Family, a group of people who run a drug factory, have kidnapped Emmaline. Colter almost loses his life trying to save her, but he miraculously survives. The latest episode focuses primarily on Colter, leaving most of the Tracker characters aside. More surprisingly, it includes supernatural elements, something that season 2 delved into in episode 2’s UFO storyline. The expansion of the supernatural in Tracker season 2 is a strange narrative choice and doesn’t quite fit the story.
In Tracker season 2, episode 2, “Ontological Shock,” Colter Shaw’s case involves UFOs. A character named Scott believes UFOs are real, but despite his insistence, the case turns out to be fake. However, Tracker season 2, episode 5, “Preternatural,” takes the impossible to a whole new level as Colter searches for a missing girl named Emmaline, who turns out to be a healer steeped in witchcraft. Colter learns that Emmaline heals a woman with cancer and an elderly man.
While the two instances of Emmaline healing people with magic legitimize the supernatural element in Tracker, they are not inherently problematic. Emmaline’s magic only affected Colter when a member of the Drell clan stabbed him, causing Colter to bleed out rapidly. Doctors who later arrived on the scene were surprised to find Colter in good condition, especially since he had lost so much blood. It turns out that Emmaline healed Colter with her magic—a strange plot decision that could have major consequences for Tracker later on.
Colter Shaw’s resourcefulness and survival skills are what make Tracker interesting, and adding a supernatural element undermines these qualities. Having a teenage girl heal Colter with her magic legitimizes the supernatural element and thus diminishes the impact of Colter’s skills and experience. The introduction of supernatural elements into Tracker season 2 could have consequences for the mystery surrounding Colter’s father, as it opens the door for more bizarre explanations for his death.
Now that the storyline has officially introduced supernatural elements, this could affect Colter’s personal arc moving forward.
It’s disappointing that Tracker took this unexpected turn. It was fun to watch Colter solve cases week after week using only his resources and skills. Now that the storyline has officially introduced supernatural elements, this could affect Colter’s personal arc moving forward, especially since “Preternatural” suggests that he would have died without supernatural intervention. Hopefully Tracker will keep the magical elements to a minimum so that Colter’s character can continue to shine without outside influence.
