Warning! Spoilers ahead for Tracker season 2, episode 2.A new character introduced in Tracker season 2, episode 2, has significant consequences for Russell Shaw’s vindication plot. In the penultimate episode of Tracker season 1, Jensen Ackles debuted as the older Shaw brother. When Russell appeared in Tracker, little was known about the character other than Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) believed that Russell killed their father. However, when Ackles offered Russell’s side of the story. What Russell told Colter in Tracker season 1 began to clear his name for the murder of his father, and season 2 continues the trend.
Russell was a good theory option for who killed Colter’s father in Tracker, since Colter found him standing at the top of the cliff with Ashton dead at the bottom. That said, Russell told Colter that there was someone else in the woods the night their father died. While Colter never officially confirmed his changing opinion, he seems to believe his brother's side of the story. Ackles finally returned as Russell in Tracker season 2, and the brothers unearth a connection that can prove Russell was just in the wrong place at the wrong time the night their father died.
Tracker Season 2, Episode 2 Establishes Ashton Shaw's DOD Connection
Russell Returns In Tracker Season 2, Episode 2, “Ontological Shock”
In season 2, episode 2, Tracker established a connection between Lee Tergesen's Ashton Shaw and the Department of Defense. Colter investigates a top-secret government site while looking for a missing person seeking proof of aliens and UAPs. When Colter is on the mysterious DOD site, his phone loses connection and begins to flash weird patterns, and suddenly, a loud ringing knocks him unconscious. Colter’s team deems him missing when he doesn't return their calls and recruits Russell to find his younger brother. Thankfully, Russell quickly finds Colter due to his military connections.
After he finds the rewardist trespassing, an unnamed man holds Colter at the DOD site in a concrete room. It is unclear when Colter would be able to leave. That's when Russell comes in at the perfect time. Russell frees Colter, who escapes with his brother and the missing person he is searching for. While the DOD site has a bizarre extraterrestrial connection, it is even weirder that the DOD agent knows Colter's father, mentioning it to Russell in a brief interaction. This implies that Ashton had DOD connections, correlating with Colter’s intel that his father worked for the government.
Ashton's DOD Connection Can Help Clear Russell's Name In Tracker Season 2
Russell Now Has A Way To Prove His Innocence
Custom image by Yeider Chacon
Ashton’s connection to the Department of Defense suggests that he was involved in top-secret relations, potentially giving others the motive to kill him. The theory seems especially likely following the DOD agent’s comment, wherein he said the Shaws have a history of “getting in the government’s way.” This quip suggests that the government feels contemptuous of Ashton. As such, Tracker season 2 introduces a group of people with way more motive to take Ashton out than his son, who was likely just caught up in the events that night in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Whatever information the unnamed man has about the Shaw family patriarch could help clear Russell’s name, vindicating the character of his father’s murder. The development aligns with Ashton’s claims around the time of his death that someone was out to get him. While Colter always understood his father’s reaction as paranoia, it could be that Ashton was irrationally anxious because someone from the government was trying to take him out and keep him from sharing what he knew.
What Ashton's DOD Connection Could Mean For Tracker Season 2's Story
Russell And Colter Can Now Trace Their Father's Killer
Ashton’s DOD connection could begin to unravel what’s in the box of files that Lizzy Hawking (Jennifer Morrison) gave Colter in the Tracker season 1 finale. Colter mentions the files when Russell talks about Ashton’s DOD connection. He reveals to Ackles' character that Lizzy gave the files to Dory (Melissa Roxburgh). Russell suggests that the box of files could be old junk, but Colter has another piece of evidence proving it isn't. The unnamed man in Tracker season 2, episode 2, demonstrates that Ashton’s government connections are legitimate and that he had once been a problem for the government.
Colter learned that his dad worked for the United States government before his death when Positive Light founder Ryan Robbins' Seth interviewed Colter in Tracker season 1. The document Colter nabbed from Seth states that Ashton gradually rose to the head of a redacted government project as he advanced in his professorship at Berkeley. Jensen Ackles will be back as Russell Shaw in Tracker season 2, so the brothers may be able to trace who wanted Ashton dead. Russell could pull some strings again to find out precisely what his father was up to before he died.
