Spoilers ahead for the March 23 episode of Tracker Season 2 on CBS, called “Exodus” and available streaming now with a Paramount+ subscription.
Colter Shaw traveled to New Orleans for the latest episode of Tracker, joining forces with a dedicated local detective to track down a missing teen before he was killed like others before him. Fortunately, they found the boy in time to save his life, and Colter decided to donate the $10,000 reward to the church of the man who had given his life to save another. There wasn’t much time in this episode to dwell on Colter’s past, but he called back to his complicated childhood in Echo Ridge, California, just days after news broke that the Season 2 finale will do the same in the 2025 TV schedule.
After Colter got some information from Detective Veach about her childhood in a part of New Orleans said to contain darkness, she asked about where his came from, and his response definitely didn’t touch on all the baggage with his dad, siblings, or the bombshell reveal from the Season 1 finale. When she asked where home was for her, Justin Hartley’s character told her:
Small town in Northern California called Echo Ridge… No reason you would have heard of it. Nothing much goes on there.
The detective could tell that he was omitting some juicy details, but all he would say is that he did “not exactly” leave because nothing goes on there and “You could say that” there’s more to the story than he was letting on. Veach will likely never find out any of what Colter was trying to avoid saying since the case of “Exodus” was pretty open and shut, but I take the mention of Echo Ridge as an exciting sign as the weeks count down towards the Season 2 finale in May.
CBS released an episode description for the Season 2 finale shortly before “Exodus” took Colter down to The Big Easy, and it’s not hard to see why Colter’s short exposition drop in the March 23 episode made me recall the new info. Called “Echo Ridge,” this is what the finale will entail:
Colter returns to Echo Ridge to investigate a diner owner’s disappearance, only to uncover a decades-old kidnapping and a shocking family secret.
The Season 1 finale, which delivered a This Is Us reunion for Justin Hartley with former co-star Jennifer Morrison as a woman from Colter’s childhood, also touched on his complicated past, which Tracker hasn’t delved into too much so far in 2025. It remains to be seen if we’ll learn much more in the remaining five episodes before the Season 2 finale kicks off, but the episode was written by showrunner/executive producer Elwood Reid and directed by EP (and another This Is Us vet) Ken Olin.
I’m still holding out hope to see Melissa Roxburgh as Dorty Shaw and/or Jensen Ackles as Russell Shaw again before the end of the second season, but at least Tracker has already been renewed for Season 3 in case they don’t make it before the finale airs on May 11! For now, check out the promo for the new episode that will air on Sunday, March 30:
Apparently, the upcoming installment will at least mention Colter’s dad! Keep tuning in to CBS on Sundays for new episodes of Tracker Season 2. If you’ve missed any so far or just want a refresher on some of the Shaw family lore before the hit drama delves back into it, you can find the entire series so far streaming on Paramount+.