Colter answers a call for help from Randy, whose ex, Megan (Khamisa Wilsher) has no memory of the last night and no idea where her best friend Sonia (Ivana Rojas) is. And there’s blood on her knuckles…

Tracker revisits its fondness for excellent side characters this week with John Lacey and April Telek both doing excellent work. Lacy plays a Shaw family friend and gunsmith who has what feels like a significant conversation with Colter about the family rifle he’s having restored. Telek meanwhile is incredibly good fun as a male revue owner who has a minor lead in the case. Her sweet, good natured flirting with Colter, and Shaw’s paternal dimension, give the two scenes and the character fun dimensions we don’t often see.

They’re not alone either. Rojas and Wilsher are excellent as the two ‘victims’ who get a surprising and welcome amount of screen time. Wilsher has excellent chemistry with Chris Lee too whose Randy steps all the way up to the plate this episode as Colter’s field partner. This is a fantastic episode for Randy, and Lee gives the big amiable hacker a fast-talking, relaxed energy that’s just fun to see. Randy’s an open book and an absolute sweetheart and again, he loosens Colter up as a result. I’m a little worried about what’s happening to the newly returned Bobby, but if we get Lee as a part-time hacker/part-time field agent next season that would be just fine. Eric Graise and Chris Lee are a great double act and it’d be nice to expand the cast a little.

It’s an intriguing script too, one that makes Megan an active participant in her own case and throws some nice twists in. An abusive boyfriend set up to be the lead villain is just a road bump and the eventual villain reveal happens with so much time left you know something else is on the way. When it hits you get one of the moments Tracker has excelled at this season: action sequences that feel real, untidy and have dramatic weight. On the one hand this is the second episode in a row where Colter’s straight up murdered someone, but on the other, like last time, it was a last resort. It’s an interesting note though and seems to be where the show’s dialogue with being harder edged is starting to solidify.

Verdict: If there’s a problem here it’s that the villains themselves aren’t given quite enough room to develop.  It’s always nice to see Owain Yeoman, best known for The Mentalist, show up in something but neither he or Max Deacon get very much to do. it’s a shame, but it’s also the one slightly bum note in another very strong episode. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart