SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Tracker Season 3, Episode 1.

Just after Tracker provided some answers about what happened to Colter Shaw’s father, the CBS show returns with another ongoing plotline for viewers to follow. Tracker Season 3, Episode 1, “The Process” introduces an evil organization that manipulates people into committing crimes. How long this plot will go on is anybody’s guess, but it might leave fans with a little deja vu.

Tracker has proven to like its recurring mysteries, most notably the backstory of the Shaw family. That came to a head in the Season 2 finale “Echo Ridge,” and Season 3 opens with Colter having “ghosted” everyone in reaction to what he learned. This would be an opportunity for the show to move on from the serialized element, yet the creative team sticks to their guns by coming up with the nefarious Process. Some fans might not like having a new puzzle to put together right after solving the old one, but there’s no denying that this storyline is a dramatic way to start the season.

There are moments where the script does lag behind the audience, which slows the plot down. For example, as soon as viewers see that Kurt Foster is missing a hand, anyone who’s watched enough crime dramas knows that’s because the perpetrator needs his fingerprints. It takes Colter’s brother Russell (a returning Jensen Ackles) a bit longer to catch onto that idea. And once Raymond Ockman is identified as the person who killed Kurt, it’s not that hard for viewers to realize that this schoolteacher with no criminal record is also a pawn in the game. Yet that’s the big fourth-act reveal.

But what the Tracker Season 3 premiere lacks in surprise, it makes up for in drama. Moments like Kurt’s girlfriend Lisa being hit by a passing car while trying to flee from Colter keep the audience interested, even if they are making predictions along the way. Supernatural alum Ackles also leans completely into Russell’s being the more brash and flippant of the Shaw brothers. He and Justin Hartley have perfected their double act at this point, while the script gives Ackles plenty of one-liners, even if a few of them aren’t funny (such as the “skillz with a Z” quip).

“The Process” also makes evident how much Tracker has slimmed down its supporting cast. Audiences do find out what happened to Bobby, as Randy explains that he got a very lucrative job at a startup someplace. But this episode is heavily centered on Colter and Russell, with Randy and Reenie Greene only having a little to add to the main plot. The guest characters, meanwhile, aren’t developed enough for the audience to invest that much in any of them beyond wanting Colter to rescue Lisa and her daughter Hailey from the as yet unseen villains. The episode is more focused on hitting specific plot points to get to the reveal of the Process than it is getting to know the people caught up in it.

This may not be the most emotional or most surprising episode of Tracker, but the Season 3 premiere keeps its plot moving and builds up high enough stakes to be satisfying. How much it pays off will be determined by how the Process story is resolved, and how long it goes on. Is this a mini-story arc to start the season, or a new Big Bad for Colter to deal with? Hartley is still an excellent fit for the role of Colter Shaw, and the writers are still giving him enough to keep busy. This is a solid starting point for Colter’s next adventure.

Tracker airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.