‘Tracker’ brings back Jensen Ackles for big Season 3 finale with Justin Hartley — here’s what to expect
Fans of ‘Tracker’ might want to circle a date on their calendars, because something big is brewing. Earlier, Justin Hartley casually mentioned to TV Insider that Jensen Ackles would be returning to the show. At the time, it felt like one of those “wait and watch” teases. Now, the wait has an end point. Ackles is officially set to appear in the Season 3 finale, scheduled to air on Sunday, May 24. Titled ‘The Best Ones’, the finale will see Colter (Hartley) and Russell (Ackles) teaming up again, this time tracking down someone related to a shady research operation. The official logline reads, “Colter and Russell search for a victim of a nefarious research project.”
The last time Russell showed up on-screen was during the two-part premiere of Season 3, where the brothers found themselves dealing with something called “the Process.” It wasn’t your everyday criminal setup. The storyline revolved around a disturbing system where individuals were forced into doing awful things after being blackmailed. And the twist? It all traced back to a group of graduate students who had taken their professor’s experiments way too far. While most of that thread seemed tied up, there was still one loose end floating around: a third student who didn’t appear directly involved at the time. That detail hasn’t been forgotten, and now fans are starting to connect the dots. Could this new case in the finale circle back to that same storyline? It’s not confirmed, but the possibility is definitely hanging in the air.
Meanwhile, Russell’s absence hasn’t gone unnoticed in recent episodes. In the midseason premiere, Colter found himself in serious trouble after being framed for murder. It was the kind of situation where you’d expect him to call in backup, especially someone like his brother. But instead, he made it clear to Reenie, played by Fiona Rene, that Russell should stay out of it. That choice raised a few eyebrows, and Hartley himself admitted he had questions when he first read the script. “I think that was important because when I was reading these scripts, it was one of the first things that I thought was, well, if he’s in this much danger, why are they not calling him? Of course, he could help. She’s done that in the past. She called him in the past when Colter’s in trouble, why wouldn’t she call him now?” Hartley said in an interview with TV Insider.
“And so I just thought it was important to address that. And he’s in trouble, and he’s in way deep, deeper than he’s ever been. And I think the least amount of people that he can involve that he really cares about, the better. And also, the way that Russell handles things might not be the best — he might not have the best temperament for this. He tends to come in with a sledgehammer; maybe this one needs more of a scalpel.” That explanation gives a bit of insight into how Colter thinks when things get messy. Before the final episode, though, there’s still more story to cover. The next episode, titled ‘Struck’, is set to air on April 12.
