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‘Tracker’ Finally Moves the Needle on the Mystery of Colter Shaw’s Father
Well, folks, for those waiting patiently for Tracker to juggle every one of its plotlines and characters in a single episode this season, “Struck” is here to seal the deal. As Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) tackles a new case involving a missing husband, he also takes some important steps forward in the investigation into his father, Ashton Shaw (Lee Tergesen), and the strange work he did before his death. Meanwhile, Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene) continues to wrestle with her PTSD, deciding that the best way to move on is with someone else by her side — and it’s not who you think.
“Struck” Begins With Colter Shaw Investigating Two Fathers — His and One Gone Missing
In Buffalo, New York, “Struck” begins with a wounded man, later identified as a local electrician named Finn Helms (Chad Michael Collins), running from an unknown gunman. Falling to the ground, he begs for mercy as he stares down the barrel of a gun. The next day, Colter gets a call from Randy (Chris Lee), who informs him about the job, which was posted almost instantly by Finn’s wife, Grace (Natalie Jane). Only a few hours out, he takes the job then and there, but not before he asks Randy for a favor. After calling around and diving deeper into this “David Pearson” character, Colter learned that his father and Pearson were working for an organization called the Chronos Stasis Institute. He hopes that Randy can track down some intel about the organization — and considering that the show could easily just be called Tracker in reference to Randy’s digital sleuthing, he’s on the case. Upon arriving in Buffalo, Colter meets with Grace, who is eight months pregnant with their baby girl. She insists that Finn would never just leave them and that he was so excited about the baby. After looking around in the nursery, Colter finds a bloody rag in her husband’s jacket pocket.
Deciding that the best move is to visit Finn’s job site, Colter speaks with the supervisor, Kelly (Paul du Toit), who is in the middle of dealing with a younger electrician named Doyle (Sean Savoy). But according to Kelly, he fired Finn two months back for stealing equipment on the job — though Doyle later insists that Finn wasn’t a thief, that he was only borrowing the equipment. It turns out that after he was let go, Finn began taking jobs on an app called Power Up, though that method of employment can be a bit sketchy. Doyle reveals that he heard from Finn the night before when he asked him to help out with a job, but he was too busy and didn’t end up going. He hasn’t heard from Finn since. Tracking Finn’s work van to the job site, he finds two pairs of tools and other equipment left behind. Calling Randy, Colter believes that they were cutting into the fiber to steal information before someone was electrocuted. This is confirmed when Randy hacks into a neighboring security camera to find two guys carrying a body. Randy tracks the truck to another side of the city.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, at Reenie’s Denver-based law office, Tracker‘s resident legal counsel receives a visit from Mark (Cesare Scarpone). Now, if you don’t remember Mark but feel like you’re supposed to, that’s because he was introduced earlier this season as Reenie’s random one-night stand in “Eat the Rich.” It’s kind of strange that the show is bringing him back after all this time (especially since he gave Reenie his number way back when), but he explains that he found himself in town, remembered she was from here, and looked her up. When asked if she’s free for dinner, Reenie appears to accept. Back in New York, Colter finds the truck in question in the woods. Hearing something in the distance, he happens upon two men throwing a body into a hole. Confronting them at gunpoint, they reveal that the man they’re burying is not Finn, but rather some “tweaker” who got too high on the job. Apparently, Finn was hired by their boss, Paolo (Robert Daprocida), but after the man in question was electrocuted, he freaked out. Paolo left with Finn to talk him down, but, as Colter notes, he never made it home.
‘Tracker’ Puts Colter Up Against One of His Most Unbalanced Threats Yet
Colter heads downtown to a building owned by Paolo and finds stains of blood outside and the door ajar. Upon entering the warehouse, he finds Paolo, wounded and propped up against some pallets. The ringleader admits to trying to scare Finn before he fought back. He was the one who shot Finn, but Finn wasn’t responsible for his injuries. Just before Paolo was to pull the trigger on Finn, he was hit by a car driven by a woman who he thought was his wife. The problem was that this woman wasn’t pregnant, leading Colter to suspect that Finn may have been having an affair.
As Randy looks into it, he discovers that Finn was hired by a woman named Adelle Mucino (Lyndon Smith) for a job on the Power Up app a few weeks back. Upon some further digging, they learn that Finn had previously met Adelle on a dating app a few years back while he and Grace were on a break. However, once Finn and Grace got back together, he immediately ended things, only for her to take an interest in his life after all this time. Although this goes far beyond a casual interest. Elsewhere, Finn wakes up to Adelle, who has cuffed him to her bed and is holding him captive, believing that they can be together after all.
The film also features ‘Peaky Blinders’ favorite Annabelle Wallis.
That night, Colter breaks into Adelle’s home and takes a look around — and boy, is it frightening. Not only has she drawn up mock wedding invitations for her and Finn, but she has been obsessively writing about him in her journal. On her calendar, Colter discovers that she has been actively tracking his work schedule, and clearly, this has been her plan for quite some time. She’s even cut Grace out of their wedding photos to put herself in her place. So, when Reenie calls and tells Colter that Adelle isn’t who she says she is, we can see what she means. Our favorite rewardist believes that she may have been stalking him for some time, only to intervene the moment she thought he was in danger from Paolo. Finding a luxury home rental brochure, Colter believes that she may have taken him there.
On the other side of town, Finn tries to escape but is caught by Adelle. She recalls their first date and believes that whatever they had was ruined when he went back to Grace. When Adelle slips up and tells Finn that she’s been in his house, things get really weird. But she justifies it by saving his life, believing that they can still start over. When he tells her that he can’t just leave his wife and child, she threatens to cause an “accident” that will get them out of the way, revealing a gun.
Back in Denver, Tracker makes its very best use of Mel Day (Cassady McClincy Zhang) yet, as she oversteps her employer-employee relationship just a bit to try to convince Reenie to meet up with Mark. Mel tells this whole story about how she used to run track in high school, using it to outrun the grief in her life. For a while, it worked, but then she tore her ACL and everything changed. She was forced to actually deal with how she felt. Of course, Reenie sees right through this and notes her, Randy, and Colter’s concern, but believes it’s unwarranted. According to Reenie, it’s her mother and sister who are the “feelers,” and that temperament keeps them from getting things done. On the other hand, she’s like her late father, a “doer.” As she explains, “Someone’s gotta keep the ship running.” Of course, Mel pushes just a little more, and Reenie seems to finally budge.
This Week’s ‘Tracker’ Ends With a New Heading For Colter’s Investigation Into His Father
Meanwhile, Colter arrives at the rental home to find Finn tied to the bed. Unfortunately, Adelle is already on her way to his house to kill Grace and the baby. At her home, the unsuspecting wife answers the door and is deceived by Adelle into thinking that her husband had had an accident. Adelle uses Finn’s bloody clothes to “prove” that she’s telling the truth, and it works. Everything is so urgent that Grace leaves her phone behind. From Colter’s truck, Finn logs into their security camera to see that Adelle has already taken his wife. But hope is not all lost. Colter believes that she would have taken Grace to a place that would mean something significant to her, something that connects her and Finn. With no better lead than the bridge where they were trapped on their first date, Colter and Finn arrive just in time as Adelle marches Grace toward the ledge.
‘Tracker’ Season 3 Finally Reunites Colter With His Two Best Allies | Review
Colter and Randy together again? How could we refuse?
Colter jumps into the line of fire, and Adelle holds Grace firmly at gunpoint. When Finn arrives to try and convince her to leave his wife and unborn child alone, things only change for Adelle when she sees that the police are on their way. Watching the wheels turning in her head as she climbs on top of the bridge, Colter tries to stop her from ending her life. But before he can convince her otherwise, she steps off the platform. Yet, at the very last second, Colter catches her just in time, pulling her up to face justice for her crimes. Elsewhere, Reenie goes to meet Mark, but instead of starting with dinner, she seduces him to bed. However, unlike their last sexual encounter, it appears that she wants things to go further this time around.
The next day, Colter stops by the Helms household on his way out of town, this time bringing gifts. Following in his father’s footsteps, he gives them a wood-carved owl for the baby, but ultimately refuses to take their money. “I’m just glad everyone’s okay,” he says. Leaving their home, Randy calls Colter with more information about the Chronos Stasis Institute. According to his research, about four months before Ashton Shaw was murdered, he and David Pearson were going up to Alaska on some work-related trip. At the same time, the government was using a subcontractor named TIC to lease a large plot of land up in the Great North. “Thanks, Randy, I know what I have to do,” Colter says as this week’s Tracker comes to a close.
Tracker airs Sundays on CBS and is available the next day for streaming on Paramount+.
- Release Date
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February 11, 2024
- Showrunner
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Elwood Reid
- Writers
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Ben H. Winters, Hilary Weisman Graham
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Justin Hartley
Colter Shaw
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- Every plotline moved forward this week, which is a serious win!
- Adelle Mucino was a solid antagonist who could easily come back
- Mark was so many episodes ago I totally forgot he existed.
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