This was a great start to season four of Tracker. It gave us back the show we all love but added some bits in that we haven’t seen before, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
I really loved the central storyline of this episode. We’ve only seen Colter take a job from a kid once before, and this time it was to actually find a person (rather than a dog). It was quite cool to see Colter in more of that parental role, trying to keep Charlie going to school. For someone who has never had the responsibility of being a dad, he is incredibly good at the parental aspects of dealing with a kid.
We started the episode with a bit of domestic life for Colter, which we really haven’t seen any of in the first three seasons, and it was so nice to see. It also let us know that he has a brown book with every single one of his jobs, and whether they were completed or not. Clearly, there is at least one in that book that haunts him a little bit, and I am sure this will not be the only time that we see something related to that case this season.
We also got to see Colter being a little bit more relaxed during the job. Even his whole conversation with Darlene was something we haven’t seen before. It was very funny to watch him slowly push the mints towards her whilst she was playing with her phone, and his demeanour was very jokey when she asked for 50 bucks from him.
I really liked the levity that we saw in Colter this episode despite the stakes still being incredibly high. I don’t doubt that a lot of weight has been lifted off Colter’s shoulders since he found out ( or believes) that his dad was doing the right thing. It’s nice to be able to see that physical transformation in him this season, especially since we have seen stressed-out Colter since the show started.
There was a little glimpse into what life has been like for the tracking crew since we last saw them. A GMC Service book on Colter’s side showed he is still working on the car at the garage that we saw at the end of last season. The whole crew has moved out of the previous office and are slowly trying to adjust, knowing that eventually they hope to have their own space back again.
Reenie has been dating a doctor, and that seems to be over now; however, not only did we get that, we also got a little glimpse into what Reenie’s past might have been like with the mention of Adam Shevlin. I really hope we get to see more about her past come up, as much as I love Colter and his past, I do want to explore the other characters that have been on the show over the last couple of seasons.
Even the end of this episode was a little bit different to all the previous ones, with an extended final shot of the harbour; often we finish quite abruptly or still focusing on Colter. It seems like a breath of fresh air has been added to the show, not that it necessarily needed to change its previous format, but I do like the new added levity. It allows you to have a little bit more fun with everything, just like Colter is, but we still have those moments that are tense and meaningful that keep you on the edge of your seat.
I truly cannot wait to see what the rest of this season is going to bring; for now, this was an immensely strong start to the season.