After a tense Season 2 finale that left followers reeling, Tracker returned with its Season 3 premiere, “The Course of,” and the collection wasted no time diving again into its emotional depths. The episode delivered every part viewers have come to anticipate from Tracker: intense motion, sharp brotherly banter, and that signature mixture of thriller and coronary heart. However this premiere additionally signalled a tonal shift — darker, extra introspective, and deeply private.
We open on Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) doing what Colter does finest — brooding over a drink whereas ignoring his cellphone. He’s sifting by means of paperwork from the field of his father’s belongings, a painful reminder of final season’s bombshell: that his mom requested a person to push his father off a cliff. The quiet second doesn’t final lengthy. A bar altercation breaks out and Colter, ever the reluctant hero, steps in. Inside seconds, fists fly, tables crash, and the state of affairs turns right into a trademark Tracker chilly open — tense however coolly choreographed.
Enter Russell (Jensen Ackles), Colter’s brother, swooping in with good timing to assist defuse the chaos. From the primary trade, Colter joking that he must seize Russell an ice pack “so he can’t look any uglier,” the chemistry between Hartley and Ackles is plain. Their sibling dynamic, all sarcasm and buried emotion, drives the center of the episode.
As soon as they retreat to Colter’s trailer, the true story begins. Russell confronts Colter about disappearing from Echo Ridge after studying the reality about their father’s demise. What follows is a uncooked, tense dialog that peels again the layers of grief, guilt, and betrayal which have lengthy outlined the Shaw household. Colter reveals that Otto confessed that their mom despatched him to “talk” to their father the evening he died, and that the confrontation went fatally mistaken. Russell struggles to course of this, torn between denial and anger.
| “The Process” – TRACKER, Pictured: Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw and Jensen Ackles as Russell Shaw. Picture: Sergei Bachlakov/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
Ackles delivers a quietly highly effective efficiency right here, grounding the emotional fallout whereas Hartley lets Colter’s ache spill by means of his stoic facade. Their scenes collectively are the strongest moments of the episode. The present has hung out rigorously creating its characters, however this episode really brings the brothers into sharper focus, revealing not simply their feelings, however their starkly alternative ways of coping. Russell is the sort who buries the previous and strikes on, whereas Colter can’t relaxation till he uncovers the reality. He doesn’t let go, he digs deeper.
Earlier than lengthy, responsibility calls. Reenie (Fiona Rene) reaches out with a brand new case for the brothers. A lacking lady, Lisa, and her younger daughter, Hailey. True to kind, Russell convinces Colter to put aside the thriller surrounding their father’s demise and tackle a brand new case. Their investigation leads them to Denver, the place the story pivots from intimate household stress to a gripping, high-stakes thriller.
The episode juggles its A-plot (the lacking household) with simply sufficient humor to stability the heaviness. Russell’s presence provides levity. His offhand attraction and questionable strategies (like choking out a landlord to get safety footage) make him the proper counterpart to Colter’s principled strategy. Their dynamic offers the present a playful rhythm even amid the darkness.
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| “The Process” – TRACKER, Pictured: Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw. Picture: Sergei Bachlakov/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
As Colter and Russell dig into the case, issues rapidly spiral into one thing way more sinister. The lacking boyfriend, Kurt, turns up useless along with his hand severed in a very grotesque twist. From there, the thriller unfolds with traditional Tracker pacing: clues unearthed, secrets and techniques uncovered, and stress that retains ratcheting increased.
Lisa, it seems, isn’t the sufferer everybody assumed she was. She’s on the run, terrified, and holding secrets and techniques of her personal. When Colter lastly corners her, she pleads for his assist earlier than an accident cuts their dialog brief. Her parting phrases earlier than being taken to the hospital, “save Hailey,” launch Colter into a desperate race against time.
Behind the scenes, Randy (Chris Lee) continues his tech wizardry from Reenie’s office, providing some much-needed continuity and humor. The show smartly addresses the absences of Velma and Bobby early on. Velma’s off “saving her marriage,” and Bobby has taken a new tech job, clearing the air for new storylines to take shape.
The episode’s pacing is relentless in its second half. From Lisa’s mysterious involvement, to squeaky clean man named Raymond being revealed to have taken Hailey, “The Process” lives up to its title, a procedural in motion, but also a metaphor for the emotional and moral reckoning Colter faces. When they finally locate Hailey, safe but traumatized, it seems like the case is closed. But in Tracker fashion, the ending drops a new, chilling twist: both Colter and Russell receive identical text messages, “You have interrupted the process and there will be consequences.”
It’s a perfect cliffhanger, teasing a deeper conspiracy that ties back to Lisa’s cryptic mention of “them” and Raymond’s continuous mentioning of “the method.” If the episode’s objective was to arrange this season’s overarching thriller, it succeeds with flying colours.
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| “The Process” – TRACKER, Pictured: Jensen Ackles as Russell, Fiona Rene as Reenie Greene and Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw. Photo: Sergei Bachlakov/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
What makes “The Process” work so well is its balance. It’s not just about solving the case, it’s about watching Colter try (and fail) to compartmentalize his pain while navigating an increasingly dangerous world. Justin Hartley continues to deliver an understated but compelling performance, making Colter’s stoicism feel earned rather than detached. Meanwhile, Jensen Ackles brings warmth, humor, and a moral complexity that deepens the show’s emotional core. Their shared screen time might just be the best thing to happen to Tracker yet.
By the time the episode fades to black, one thing is clear: Tracker Season 3 is operating on a higher level. It’s darker, bolder, and far more serialized than before, promising a mystery that stretches beyond the case of the week. If “The Process” is any indication, Colter Shaw’s personal demons and professional pursuits are about to collide in ways fans have been waiting for.
“The Process” is a gripping and emotional begin to Tracker’s third season. It’s an episode that deepens the present’s mythology whereas conserving its trademark stress and coronary heart intact. With stellar performances from Hartley and Ackles and a brand new overarching thriller already taking form, the collection feels reinvigorated and prepared for its most bold season but.
