The stakes were higher than they’ve ever been for the third season finale of Tracker, but it wasn’t enough to trip up the Shaw brothers!
Episode 22, titled “The Best Ones,” picked up where the penultimate episode left off, with Colter trying to convince Danny to leave with them before the place is swarmed by armed guards.
Danny informed him he couldn’t leave, but it wasn’t due to some blind loyalty to the government or the Chrono Stasis project. Instead, he was concerned about his best friend, Lola, another gifted test subject, who was taken away to the “quiet place” due to resistance during her last training session.
From there, the mission went from saving Danny to finding Lola, who was a very valuable asset, as her gift was precognition, or seeing things before they happened. Even after Colter located her, it was immediately clear why the government wanted to exploit those talents, as Lola was able to give them crucial warnings that prepared them for what was to come. Colter wasn’t entirely convinced by Danny and Lola’s gift—he’s clearly a non-believer—but there was no denying that they both delivered on their capabilities, as a session with Dr. Yukic helped Danny pinpoint the remote location where they took Lola, as Randy was able to narrow it down using his specific set of skills based on the details Danny saw in his remote viewing.
Honestly, I didn’t expect Tracker to go down this route, but I don’t necessarily hate it. It borders on the supernatural while never fully going there, so there’s still a level of believability without taking us out of the genre that we’re used to.
Colter and Russell managed to stay ahead of the situation at every turn, leveraging their trained skills to beat their opponents, ambushing them first and outmaneuvering the maneuvers, despite being outnumbered. The only person who stood a chance against their combat skills was Damon Vickers, but he didn’t have the advantage of a brother lurking in the shadows with the ultimate killshot.
Not to mention, Russell did all of that with a gunshot wound that was slowing him down substantially, as he lost a lot of blood. Thankfully, Colter got there in time to patch his brother up because I couldn’t stand to see my sweet Russell suffering.
The more Russell becomes ingrained in this show, the less Colter’s lone-wolf schtick begins to make sense.
There’s no doubt about it—they make a good team, which is why Tracker fans have made it clear that they want Russell to become a permanent addition to the series. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case, especially as the storyline pivoted unexpectedly when Russell went to chop the head of the snake.
Russell was convinced he would take out the man in charge, putting an end to this whole thing, but honestly, it’s never that easy. After locating McIntyre using Reenie’s help, McIntyre tried to recruit Russell, telling him he could “use men like you,” but Russell was very much unfazed, brilliantly expressing, “hard pass.”
His whole demeanor switched up moments later, however, as McIntyre informed him that he had to see something first, showing him a file that involved top-secret information about his father, Ashton, regarding something he did to Colter. Was he a test subject? Was he abused? Is there more to why Colter’s mother got someone to take care of Ashton?
Russell didn’t want to believe it, but he definitely wanted to bury it, agreeing to take on a job for a man who cannot be trusted, so the documents never saw the light of day. And once the job is done, both Russell and Colter will be clear—or so McIntyre says. Something tells me it won’t be that easy to shake him.
This changes everything for Russell and Colter moving forward. And it’s a secret that will always hang over Russell, driving a wedge between the brothers and changing their dynamic.
And the mystery that we thought was over involving their father continues, with Russell now having no choice but to become a pawn in the game, as he puts on the black hat and steps foot inside a government vehicle to take care of a job, much like all the men Colter and Russell just dealt with to protect Danny and Lola in the first place.
Russell doesn’t say a word to Colter, instead calling Reenie to make sure she keeps Colter off his scent. She’s hesitant, but promises to follow through.
Colter, on the other hand, utilizes his connection to help Lola, Danny, Dr. Yukic and her husband start a new life with brand new identities. They’ll finally be able to have a shot at a normal life, without having to worry about the government coming for them, though, if I’m being honest, I’d imagine that the government could find them anywhere via facial recognition. I’ll just accept this outcome instead.
With the Lola and Danny storyline wrapped up, and Russell taking the mystery of Ashton Shaw with him on the road, Colter is moving on—and seemingly taking a summer break right along with us. I kind of loved seeing him in blue denim jeans for a change, and, in general, a lighter palette than what we’re used to seeing on him.
“The Best Ones” – Colter and Russell search for a victim of a nefarious research project, on the third season finale of the CBS Original series TRACKER, Sunday, May 24 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ Premium plan subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+. Pictured: Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw and Laurel Marsden as Lola. Photo: Darko Sikman/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The final moments of the episode saw him coming home to a place off-the-grid, as Keaton delivered his father’s truck, and the duo began to get their hands dirty to fix it up.
Colter seems more at peace than ever before, knowing that while he didn’t get the whole truth about his father, he did find out that he was a good man who wanted to do the right thing in the end, even if he paid the ultimate price for it. At least, that’s the narrative for now.
Though until Colter knows everything, I don’t think he’ll be able to let go or move on.
Russell may feel like he’s protecting his brother, but in a way, keeping things from him is doing him yet another disservice, especially if Colter has some repressed trauma he’s unaware of. We know that Colter inherited his father’s survivalist skills along with his obsession with pursuing the truth, so it’s only a matter of time before he clocks this and begins to poke the bear again. After all, he’s incredible at telling when Russell is lying—he does that blinking thing with his eyes.
But that’s something we’ll get to explore come Tracker Season 4! With the show’s production moving to Los Angeles from Vancouver, which I believe we saw a bit of in that final scene that had a different air to it, let’s hope they find new and exciting ways to incorporate Randy and Reenie. Sometimes, it seems like the characters are wasted when they should be more integral to the storyline. Though, admittedly, I love the flirtatious dynamic Reenie and Russell have, especially cause he loves to rub it in Colter’s face.
Also, there was something so comforting about ending the season with Colter and Russell kicking ass, before he took some time for himself with Keaton, a subtle confirmation that he’s still alive and well after their midseason ordeal.
In terms of season finales, Tracker delivered, wrapping up outstanding storylines while keeping the door open with a new cliffhanger to keep audiences invested again come fall.
What did you think of the Tracker Season 4 finale? What’s in those files?