Tracker Is Setting Up Someone Other Than Russell as Ashton's Killer

After six seasons of making audiences cry their eyes out on This Is Us as Kevin Pearson, Justin Hartley is back with a completely different type of hit: Tracker. The new show, which has already been renewed for a second season by CBS, stars Hartley as Colter Shaw, a survivalist who takes on jobs as a reward seeker to help private citizens and law enforcement solve different kinds of mysteries.

The season premiere makes it obvious that Colter’s childhood was anything but normal — his father Ashton (Lee Tergesen) took the family to live off the grid in a compound. Colter explains how Ashton taught his children survivalist skills — like hunting and tracking — because there were people out to get him. But what really stands out is someone from Colter’s past is trying hard to reach him, even contacting those closest to him when Colter continually refuses to answer his calls and texts, which say that they need to talk and there is something he needs to know.

Colter clearly knows who’s trying to reach him throughout the episode, and the show shares more background to allow the audience to put the puzzle pieces together and find out who is behind the calls and texts: his brother Russell. A flashback reveals that one night, Ashton felt they were in danger and wanted to leave their home in the woods, but Dori (Aggie Bell), Colter’s little sister, insisted they wait for their mom Mary (Wendy Crewson).

When Ashton went to go after Dori for contradicting him, Russell (played in the flashback by Matthew Nelson-Mahood), the oldest sibling, got between the two of them to protect his sister. When their father left without them, Colter sent Russell after him, despite his brother not wanting to chase after Ashton because he believes they’d be better off if the man died. When Mary finally returned, Colter went in search of his father and brother, and he discovered Ashton on the ground and Russell at the top of the cliff, as if he’d pushed their father.

Back in the present day, Colter tells his mom about Russell’s desperate attempts to contact him, using the opportunity to ask if there’s something he needs to know about what happened that fateful night. But Mary just tells him to block his brother’s number. While Colter seemingly does not want to, she says to leave it be for everyone’s sake, using the fact that she never asks him for anything to guilt him into shutting his brother out. What mother would want her son to cut his brother off for over 20 years?

It looks like Mary knows more than she’s letting on, but she doesn’t want Colter to learn the truth. Aside from that conversation, there’s more evidence to support this theory: Someone broke into Mary’s property searching for something in Ashton’s office, leaving a mess of papers and a Post-It note with the words “I’m watching you” written on it. Was it Russell? Was he looking for some sort of proof that his mother had hidden away?

We later find out that the newspaper claimed Ashton’s death was an accidental fall, which means Russell was never charged and there was no real investigation to clear any of the family members, including Mary. It makes you wonder, where was she that night? Why wasn’t she home until after the incident? As for Russell specifically, he disappeared after that night, which fits the narrative that he never got to explain anything to Colter. Did he leave at the advice of his mother or to protect her? Could he have witnessed her killing Ashton and decided to take the fall?

It’s much too early to reveal who actually killed Ashton, but the bigger picture is starting to come into view. The series has already been renewed, so the truth could be revealed in the Season 1 finale, leaving the aftermath to be dealt with in Season 2. It would also mean plenty of family drama, along with the introductions of adult Russell and Dori into the story.

Shows like Tracker rely on a good twist, and what would be a bigger twist than Mary killing her husband and covering it up all these years, framing and exiling her oldest child, who took the blame for his mother’s sake? Just like their father’s death is haunting Colter, Russell is seemingly haunted by the truth of what happened and the role he played in hiding the truth from his sibling. If he did just want to confess what he did, there would be no reason for his mother to deny that. If anything, she should want an explanation as to why her son pushed his father. However, if she was the one who did it and was there, it would make sense that she already knows.

New episodes of Tracker air Sundays at 9:00 P.M. ET on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Sophia Soto is an entertainment writer and interviewer, who is currently a Senior Reporter for The Nerds of Color. Additionally, you can see her work on Den of Geek, What to Watch, Paste Magazine, Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, and more.