The upcoming Tracker finale is keeping Justin Hartley‘s Colter busy with a hometown case, a stack of pancakes and a surprise update on Jensen Ackles‘ whereabouts.
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip from the Sunday, May 11, episode of the hit CBS series, Colter is back in Echo Ridge to help his mother’s friend find her missing brother. This offers him plenty of time to catch up with his mom — over breakfast.
“Come on, I made pancakes. Your father did the same thing. Standing up, looking out the window and pacing. It drove me crazy,” Mary (Wendy Crewson) tells Colter. “I guess the only way to get you to come visit is a job.”
Colter apologizes to Mary for not coming home enough, which is when she brings up his sister, Dory (Melissa Roxburgh).
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“I wish Dory would come back and bring the kids so they could see where she is from,” she says, as Colter fires back, “It is probably hard for her, given what happened here.”
Mary doesn’t understand what Colter means since his dad’s death happened “a long time ago.” After Mary argues that she did “the best” she could, Colter notes that she could always call her daughter. Colter also offers an update on his brother, Russell (Ackles).
“Don’t ask me about Russell or how he is doing,” Colter adds. “I have absolutely no idea what he is up to. It is probably for the best.”
The topic changes to the case, which Mary warns is different from what Colter might expect. She specifically points out how Echo Ridge changed since Colter spent time there when he was a child.
“It is not the same place. Folks from the city are moving in. Echo Ridge is changing. This change is not good,” Mary explains. “The sheriff busted a meth cookout last month. Things used to be simpler here.”
Colter, however, disagrees with his mother, adding, “Sounds like you and I remember this place differently.”
According to the official synopsis, Colter “returns to Echo Ridge to investigate a diner owner’s disappearance, only to uncover a decades-old kidnapping and a shocking family secret.”
Sunday’s episode is expected to give fans some major answers — starting with what happened to Colter’s father. For those who need a refresher, Colter’s dad died when he was a teenager and the family assumed Russell was somehow responsible. The eldest Shaw son, however, has denied being involved and actually pointed to another man in the woods the night that their dad fell from a cliff.
Last month, Hartley hinted that the end of the season builds up to uncover what actually went down.
“You are going to get the last five episodes in a row. So, you’re getting five separate movies. We call them little movies. As we’re inching closer to the end of the season, we creep closer and closer to the mystery of what the hell happened to Colter’s father,” Hartley, 48, teased to The Hollywood Reporter. “How did he die? Was there in fact another man in the woods? Did he get pushed? Did he get killed? Was it an accident? What the hell is going on with that?”
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The actor promised “an incredible payoff” with “a lot of clues” being revealed as Tracker moves the story along.
“Of course, we have many more stories to tell. Now we’re in new territory,” he continued. “We have a couple of ideas. One of these is that Colter has all of these skills — he’s a survivalist and he knows how to be alone, and he knows how to find people and he’s gifted in that regard. He’s a great listener.”
He added: “But it would be interesting, I think, to see him be set up. In other words, to see him using all those skills to run from the authorities, because you’ve been set up for whatever reason.”
Hartley used the opportunity to remind viewers that Colter’s life could be in danger.
“I don’t want our audience to forget that this man is mortal, he’s not a superhero. He can die!” he concluded. “The things he is doing are very, very dangerous.”
Tracker airs on CBS Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.
