Tracker Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Springland

Coming off an installment heavy on relating the latest mystery to Colter’s personal life, this hour gave his family drama a rest in favor of an old-fashioned mystery.

Tracker Season 1 Episode 3 found Colter in a small lakeside town where everyone was VERY upset about the possibility of something terrible happening to someone when there are future timeshares to be sold!

It was bad luck for them that Colter found himself in the right place at the right time.

While the pilot posed the question about Colter’s job and whether or not he was merely just a mercenary or someone who cared about the cases he took, the first two hours have done a lot to show that Colter isn’t someone only taking cases for a paycheck.

He’s got a tremendous amount of knowledge and understanding, especially regarding the great outdoors, which aids him in his pursuit of missing people.

He’s also very persistent, which bodes well for the families of missing people who want someone who won’t be derailed easily to help them locate the person they love.

At the end of the day, Colter wants to help people, as he feels uniquely qualified to extend his gifts to others. The paychecks are nice, and he does take them, but he does want to help first and foremost.

And that’s a fact that’s plenty clear during this hour when Colter injects himself into a situation he knows nothing about when he sees Kira in trouble.

Kudos to Colter for stepping in when it was a situation that looked poised to escalate, but damn, the man just can not catch a break when it comes to steering clear of bodily harm.

He’s already been shot and stabbed, and the season just started!

Kira was doing everything within her power to find out what happened to her sister, and it was highly relatable. Especially when a town full of grown adults seemed desperate to stop her.

Springland was a very beautiful place, and one thing Tracker does exceptionally well is bring out the beauty of the various towns and cities Colter finds himself in.

The town was one of those places looking to be the next BIG tourist destination, with its picturesque views and small-town charm.

On television shows, there’s always that one mega-rich family in a town that controls everything. In Springland, that family was the Winslow’s.

You have to wield a lot of power and influence to get everyone in the town to do your bidding, and that’s precisely what was happening here. The Winslows wanted Kira to be quiet, and everyone tried to shut her up.

That was until Colter took on her case.

One thing we’re learning during Tracker Season 1 is that these cases can be convoluted. And it’s not as if you’d expect cookie-cutter stories; where’s the fun in that? But these cases rarely end up being anything like what you may first expect.

Mia was a bit of a drifter, and settling in Springland ended in her demise because she always wanted to do the right thing.

It didn’t help that she found herself in a Romeo and Juliet-like love affair with Gecko/Matt.

I couldn’t help but feel bad for Gecko/Matt because it seemed like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He fell for Mia, but his parents conditioned and raised him to do whatever he had to do to protect the Winslow name.

He disappointed me in his willingness to go along with the idea that Mia just ran away without thinking twice about it. He got a note, but he seemed to just accept that she was gone and didn’t think beyond that, even knowing what his family was capable of.

Hey, go, run away. Hide behind your parents like you have your whole entire life. That’s great. Of course, the only problem with that, Matt, is that sick feeling in your gut right now. It’s not going anywhere. Not until the truth comes out.

Colter [to Matt]

Maybe he didn’t want to think the worst of his parents. Maybe he was in denial. Either way, he let Mia down.

I lamented during Tracker Season 1 Episode 2 the lack of Reenie, but she was back here, and if they stick to using her like this, it will be best for the series in the long run.

Colter’s lone wolf thing is really at the heart of the series, but we see each week that he can’t do it alone. And while the change of scenery and new players each week is interesting, we need to form a better attachment to the consistent secondary players.

Even though our main interactions with them come over the phone, Velma, Teddi, and Bobby still get little moments to shine, but they’re still basically strangers. There are a lot of unknowns about the characters and their relationship with Colter, but hopefully that will be fleshed out over time.

And perhaps they’ll even throw us a bone and simultaneously have all the characters in the same space.

Reenie is the one person who gets to link up with Colter in the flesh, as her legal career luckily puts her near some of Colter’s cases. The power of television!

We don’t know much about Reenie either, but she has effortless chemistry with Colter, and while their past romantic relationship will likely rear its head at some point, their relationship also works as begrudging (but not really) allies.

Before Reenie showed up, Colter had hunches but didn’t have much proof of anything. Her intel about the man who dared to step up to the Winslows and the camera footage of the Winslows lackey driving Mia’s van off was the proof Colter needed to make his move.

Thus far, the endings have been wrapped up pretty neatly, and perhaps I was lured into a false sense of security because of it. I didn’t see Mia being dead, though I probably should have as the hour went on, and it became increasingly clear she didn’t leave town on her own.

Straight-up murdering people to preserve your power is sinister and something we’ve seen historically throughout time.

Charlotte Winslow took it upon herself to take Mia out so she could preserve her family’s influence. And she probably would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for that pesky Colter and him choosing that exact moment in time to find himself in Springland, Idaho.

There was little movement on the overarching Shaw family mystery, though we know Russell has yet to give up on his attempts to get to Colter.

I’m not sure whether we’re supposed to believe Russell is the one who broke into the Shaw cabin to scare Mary Dove or that he’s so desperately trying to get a hold of Colter because he wants to warn him about the threat to their family.

If he’d broken into the cabin, you’d think he’d have a better beat on where Colter is and wouldn’t need to keep creepily contacting his co-workers.

Hearing that Colter seemingly hasn’t talked to Russell since his father’s death makes for an even deeper mystery. Where has Russell been? Why make contact now? And if he’s not in jail, then where the hell has he been?

They’re committed to dragging this mystery out, and I don’t say that negatively. It’s a very absorbing story, and peeling back the layers of Colter’s traumatic childhood helps inform us of what we see from him in his everyday life.

So, while this may be a slow-burning affair, that only ups the intrigue factor, which will never be a bad thing.

Tracker Notes

• 
  I was dead wrong about the series having happy endings every week, as this one ended somberly. But at least Mia was able to be laid to rest peacefully.

• 
  The way the fight between Colter and Tom went from a verbal disagreement to a STABBING was so unnecessary.

• 
  And speaking of stabbing, everyone in that town was so quick to go to straight attempted murder! I was shocked when Colter and Kira were shot at.

• 
  Was anyone else expecting Beth and Colter to, at the very least, hang out at his airstream at some point? And how did he even find her at that restaurant?

• 
  I can already tell Velma Bruin is the funniest person on the planet, and we’re not seeing enough of it! Give me Velma!

This season is finding its grove and continuing to be a steady performer.

What did you guys think about the hour?

Please drop your comments below and let me know how you feel about the season overall!

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