Hired to find a lost racehorse, Colter finds himself working with the last person he expected, former partner turned nemesis Billie Matalon .

We’re about halfway through the season now and the pattern of the show is starting to become clear. Tracker has three primary strands: done in one mysteries of the week, the lightly sketched in plot about Colter’s dad and the odd circumstances of his death and Colter Shaw, Adventurer! This is the first and the third and it’s an interesting exercise which, appropriately for a racehorse story, is slow out of the blocks.

Nothing’s bad here, but the shift from the laser focus of the last couple of episodes takes a little getting used to. The fact it’s as smooth as it is is down in no small part to Sofia Pernas. Like Reenie, Billie rocks up looking like she’s stepped across from her own show and there’s an easy confidence to her which wrongfoots Colter in a very entertaining way. It’s also a good chance to see how other people do the work. Colter has a team. Billie has herself and a little more technical knowhow than Colter. The tension between their methods is fun as is the easy shorthand they fall into working together again.

But the best elements of this plot are the oddest. There’s clearly still a spark, or the memory of one between them, but there’s also real distrust. This is a waltz where no one breaks eye contact and while Bilie leaves on the right side, she also leaves with unfinished business. Writers Sharon Lee Watson & Amanda Mortlock also cleverly sketch in hints that Colter has been considerably more criminal in the past than he’s let on. It’ll be fun to see how and if those get picked up. They also continue the show’s run of tiny characters who hit way harder than you’d expect. Shawn Youngchief has a great cameo here as a thoroughly good-hearted rural cop, as does Joe Costa as a veterinarian who helps out. This could so easily have been the Heroic White Guy Lone Wolf Show it was sold as but with each episode it’s becoming something much more interesting.

The only real issue here is the core plot. Not that it’s badly written, acted or shot. It isn’t. But the show to date has done its best work drilling down onto personal problems of people in impossible situations. Shifting from that to ‘You have to get my racehorse back so I can make more money’ doesn’t play well in 2024, and certainly not in the UK. It’s well done, and the show even gives us that compassionate focus here on the horse itself. But after the last few episodes, this feels like a step up the social ladder that’s a little harder to care about.

Verdict: That being said, it’s another fun entry in a show turning in a really strong first season. Colter’s constantly travelling so it makes sense that every episode visit different ideas. For me, at least, this one doesn’t quite land. Although after that slow start, it does finish strong. 7/10

Alasdair Stuart