The second episode of “Tracker’s” Season 3 was just as suspenseful and entertaining as part one – and I cannot wait to see where the rest of the season takes us!
Jensen Ackles was back as Russell Shaw and I am already addicted to having Russell as part of the show. His dynamic with real-life bud Justin Hartley, along with both actors’ talent, make the duo thoroughly believable as brothers.
Interestingly, it’s a totally different dynamic than Ackles had/has with his onscreen brother Jared Padalecki on “Supernatural.” Russell has similarities to Dean, but to me he seems very different. The characters share a troubled upbringing and a complicated dad, and both are invested in repressing their worries and pretending “it’s all good”, but they do that differently. Russell doesn’t feel the same about Ashton Shaw as Dean Winchester did about John, and he didn’t devote his life to watching out for his “little” brother either.
That makes the brotherly dynamic very different too. It’s clear Russell and Colter care about each other, but they’re both fiercely independent men who spent their adult lives separated and took different paths. Nobody followed “the family business” – which we still don’t know very much about, other than Ashton Shaw was involved in some pretty messed up stuff. They’re both highly skilled and competent, but they come together on equal footing, with very little big brother/little brother dynamics still in evidence after all those years (although Russell was protecting Colter by leaving and letting him believe he played a role in their father’s death). Now, Russell is as likely to defer to Colter as the opposite, and they’re adept at trading off responsibilities so each can play to their strengths. That makes them a formidable team indeed!
(We all expected Russell to get hurt at some point in the episode thanks to the stills released – the reality is a lot smarter. Like I said, a formidable team).
Russell is also both charming and an asshole but hanging out with Colter has already had an impact on him. In this episode, he confides to his brother that he wants to do something different with his life – he wants to use his (considerable) skills to do some good in the world. To make a difference. Like Colter’s done.
(Don’t change him too much, Elwood Reid, I kinda like that he’s a charming asshole.)
I don’t ship Russell and Reenie, but I do think it’s adorable that he’s got a bit of a thing for her. His disappointment whenever she doesn’t return his affections is just so cute – and those mannerisms are so very NOT Dean Winchester, by the way. Colter’s grudging affection for Russell’s crush is also adorable – though there’s the possibility of complications there eventually if they choose to go that way, since Colter’s got his own complicated feelings for Reenie.
Until then, I’m happy to watch Russell try to have serious conversation with her in the car (and get behind the wheel to do a tire-screeching 180 which…. Is there anything hotter? I think not.)
I’m also really happy to see Randy sharing the screen with the Shaw brothers and with Reenie, instead of on his own just on the phone. Chris Lee is also adorable, and a really nice guy in real life, and I was thrilled to see him share a scene with Ackles in this episode. (He’s the character who loves to eat, not Russell – that must be a great relief to Jensen Ackles!)
In addition to how much I’m enjoying Russell and Colter, the 2-part season opener was a great story – creepy, suspenseful, with twists and turns I didn’t see coming. The whole idea of “the process” being all-seeing and all-knowing and sickly twisted and ruthless was so disturbing, and I felt for all its victims – and their victims. The fact that it was all about an algorithm gone rogue – and that’s so disturbingly real life – just added to the tension.
No black and white good and bad, it was all shades of gray, which is often the story telling I appreciate the most. Russell and Colter navigated the challenge of that admirably, and we’re left with even MORE questions about their family. Why DID the algorithm identify Dory and their mom as people who have something to hide who wouldn’t go to the police if something bad happened?? I want to know more!!
Looking forward to the rest of the season – and very much hoping that when Ackles is done filming Vought Rising up in Toronto (cannot wait for more Soldier Boy!!!) that he can make a little time to reprise the role of Russell Shaw!
Lynn Zubernis, PhD is an expert on all things “Supernatural,” and has published numerous bestselling books on the subject. You can check them out here.