Tracker‘s final two episodes of season 3 marked the end of an era, as well as the start of a brand new one. With Jensen Ackles joining Justin Hartley once more for the season 3 finale, Russell and Colter finally got answers about how their dad died. In true Shaw brothers form, they ended up promising to find a young man who had been kidnapped for their dad’s DARPA-funded program back in the day. Their brotherly bond fractured by the end, but there was one fun twist for fans to enjoy: Colter has had a secret life this whole time.
In the last few minutes of the season 3 finale, Colter drove his truck and trusty Airstream down a long road and arrived at what could really only be described as a home base. The building looked more like a fancy garage than a house, although there were personal touches on the property. It’s not clear where exactly this home base is or how often Colter gets back, but his fridge was stocked with beer, and everything appeared to be in order.
He revealed that the location is a secret from almost everybody, when Keaton arrived to drop off the beat-up pick-up that had belonged to Ashton Shaw. Colter told him that “no one who’s ever seen it has ever lived to talk about it,” which confirmed that he’s keeping a big secret from Reenie, Randy, and Russell. It also raised big questions about what has happened on that property, but viewers will have to wait for Tracker season 4 to get any answers. When the CBS complete fall 2026 schedule picks up, Colter’s story could be fundamentally different.
Tracker Needed A Change After Colter’s Main Mystery Was Solved
To Tracker‘s credit, the drama didn’t drag out the main mystery any longer than necessary. Colter got bits and pieces of the truth over the years before he and Russell finally found out what their dad was working on in Alaska. They also got confirmation in the finale that their mom didn’t ask Otto to kill Ashton. By the end, Colter was ready to say that his dad was a good man at his core, but far from perfect.
While that closure was satisfying to end the Vancouver era of Tracker, the finale also needed to tease a new direction for season 4. The aftermath of Russell’s decision to betray Colter likely depends on Jensen Ackles’ availability to return as a guest star. It remains to be seen when Colter will even find out that Ashton allegedly did something to him that was so bad that Russell gave up everything to keep it quiet. Russell didn’t give Reenie all the details, and Colter is used to his brother going radio silent on him for long stretches of time.
CBS Makes Last-Minute Change To Tracker Season 3 Ending
In an unexpected twist ahead of its last few episodes of the cycle, CBS changes who will be appearing at the end of Tracker season 3.
The season 3 finale twist that didn’t rely on Ackles’ availability in the fall was the reveal of Colter’s home base. Even though it’s secluded to the point that only Colter himself (and now Keaton) know about it, Hartley’s character having a place to go back to could open Tracker up to adding some new recurring characters. The show can explore new sides of the leading man, including how well he keeps secrets even from the people he trusts most. At least fans can probably guess now what Colter does with all of his reward money.
A show making a big change after three successful seasons would normally seem like a risky move, especially since Tracker‘s move to Los Angeles already means that making the show will be different moving forward. But Hartley’s show reinventing itself before the format got too stale is a positive sign for the show enjoying a long run. Hartley has confirmed that Tracker will still follow Colter on his travels, so season 4 won’t feel like a full reboot.
Jensen Ackles’ Supernatural Show Proved This Twist Works
In a fun twist, Hartley doesn’t have to look any further than his on-screen brother to see that the season 3 finale twist can successfully refresh a formulaic show. Jensen Ackles is still best known for spending a whopping 15 seasons playing Dean Winchester on Supernatural, opposite Jared Padalecki. The Winchester brothers spent the first half of the series traveling across the country, staying in cheap hotels, bickering, and killing all the monsters and demons they could get their hands on.
Supernatural stretched that format as thin as possible before making a change in season 8 with the introduction of the Men of Letters bunker. The lore to get them to that place is fairly convoluted, but the bunker gave the brothers a place to call home in between all the demons and monsters. The change was refreshing after nearly a decade of the Winchesters on the road, and Supernatural would last another seven seasons.
Tracker has included many Supernatural Easter eggs during Ackles’ episodes as Russell, and the end of the season 3 finale even felt like it could have been pulled from an episode of The CW show. Tracker‘s success on CBS does eclipse Supernatural, even at its height, but the parallels are fun to see. The season 3 finale giving Colter a home certainly qualifies as a parallel, and the change could keep Tracker on the air longer than it might have otherwise in the long run.
- 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