Spoilers ahead for Episode 12 of Tracker Season 1, called "Off the Books."
Just one week after Tracker expanded the Shaw family by introducing Melissa Roxburgh as Colter's younger sister Dory, "Off the Books" debuted his brother. None other than Jensen Ackles was cast to play Russell, and not many actors have as much experience playing one particular character as Ackles does after fifteen seasons of Supernatural. The penultimate episode of Tracker Season 1 shed some more light on the baggage between the Shaw brothers, and also packed in some Easter eggs for viewers who watched Supernatural.
On the whole, this episode makes me happy all over again that Tracker is available streaming with a Paramount+ subscription and I'll be able to rewatch "Off the Books" with ease.
In "Off the Books," Russell tracked down Colter despite previously blowing off a meeting, making Colter less than thrilled at the surprise visit. The two brothers hashed out some of their history over beers, with Russell denying that he'd caused their father's death back in the day, and then asking Colter for help tracking down an army buddy who had gone missing. The Shaws joined forces and were able to find Doug before the worst could happen, with some assists from Reenie, but they didn't end the episode on a nice dinner like Dory and Colter did last week.
And honestly, even if there weren't some any other parallels between Supernatural and Tracker in this episode, Colter and Russell having a complicated brotherly relationship with poor communication and dad issues would have been enough for me to flash back to the days of Dean and Sam on The CW. Jensen Ackles' first line of Tracker was even "Hi, little brother." Was I supposed to not flash back to his time as Dean?!
Admittedly, some of the Easter eggs are open to interpretation, but one immediately jumped out at me as impossible to overlook. When Colter dropped by to pick Russell up, Russell passed next to what looks an awful lot like a 1967 Chevy Impala and gave it a pat before climbing into his brother's truck. Take a look and tell me that doesn't look like Jensen Ackles brought Supernatural's Baby to the Tracker set!
The episode also included Russell living out of a shabby motel, attempting to fake his way into accessing a morgue, bonding with his bro over beers, reflecting on their childhood of bizarre survival lessons from their dad, and flirting up a storm with various ladies. Throw in the fact that Tracker films in Vancouver just like Supernatural did, and this almost felt like a reality in which Dean Winchester went in a different direction than hunting monsters. Then, there was this line of Russell speaking to Colter:
There were some guys in my unit that were pretty superstitious, Doug included. They were into that woo-woo stuff, the prayers and the rituals. Blood magick. Protection. In fact, I heard there was somebody you could go to to get blessings.
Other than the fact that I can't imagine even the most meta episode in Supernatural's 300+ episodes would feature Dean referring to "woo-woo stuff," that speech sounds like it could come straight out of Jensen Ackles' former show. This wasn't exactly the actor looking straight into the camera – although he in fact did do that in one of Supernatural's most meta installments – but this definitely stood out to me as somebody who watched the saga of the Winchester brothers.
And I'm not suggesting that Jensen Ackles playing a Dean-esque character means that he doesn't have range as an actor. Anybody can just look at him playing Soldier Boy on The Boys and in his Gen V cameo for proof that he can definitely play different kinds of roles. Plus, the actor hasn't tried to shy away from his Supernatural past in the years since the show ended in 2020. He was an executive producer on The Winchesters, as well as narrator with occasional appearances on camera as Dean.
At the time of writing, Jensen Ackles hasn't commented on whether that was indeed a Supernatural Impala on Tracker, but he did get to keep the iconic car at the end of the long-running series. Who knows? Perhaps Russell can return in Season 2 to shed a bit more light. The episode definitely left the story open to reunite Colter with his brother again, and Tracker was renewed for a second season months ago. For now, check out the promo for the upcoming Season 1 finale:
Tune in to CBS on Sunday, May 19 at 9 p.m. ET for the Season 1 finale of Tracker, between the finale of The Equalizer Season 4 at 8 p.m. ET and the series finale of the recently-cancelled CSI: Vegas at 10 p.m. ET. You'll also be able to revisit Jensen Ackles' episode of Tracker (or any of the earlier episodes of Season 1) streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.
