Tracker Season 2 Premiere Sets Up A Much Bigger Heartbreak For Colter’s Team
Tracker set up a heartbreaking plot for Colter’s team in the season 2 premiere. Justin Hartley’s show launched in 2024, introducing Hartley as Colter Shaw, a self-proclaimed “rewardist” who lives on the open road solving missing person cases. During its season 1 run, Tracker was the most popular series on CBS, even dethroning NCIS as the most popular show on network TV. As the Tracker narrative progresses into a second season, it grapples with the evolution of the Tracker cast, which is missing a familiar face.
The series announced ahead of Tracker season 2 that Robin Weigert would not return as Teddi Bruin. Teddi was a critical member of Colter Shaw’s team in Tracker, assisting her spouse, Abby McEnany’s Velma, as Colter’s handler. In the Tracker season 2 debut, the series avoided diving into the couples’ impending separation, inevitable now that Weigert won’t return. Instead, the Tracker season 2 premiere set the characters up for future heartbreak.
Tracker Season 2 Keeps Velma & Teddi Together Despite Robin Weigert’s Exit
Velma And Teddi Are Still Working Things Out
Despite Robin Weigert’s exit from the show, Tracker kept Velma and Teddi together in the series debut. When Velma called Colter to check in during the episode, she framed her separation from Teddi as temporary, saying that she had been getting in her way and was spending some time with Fiona Rene’s Reenie Green. Velma’s relationship was left open-ended, but unfortunately, we already know that Teddi isn’t returning. Tracker showrunner Elwood Reid confirmed their breakup, so the season 2 opener just delayed the inevitable.
[Tracker] viewers will grieve the loss of Teddi alongside Velma.
Tracker explained Teddi’s exit before season 2, confirming that the couple would separate. Therefore, the Tracker season 2 opener set the course for a heartbreaking tale rather than leaving it in the past. The series could have ripped the bandage off in the season premiere, but instead, Velma may slowly realize that her separation from Teddi is permanent. As such, viewers will grieve the loss of Teddi alongside Velma, making for a heartbreaking narrative indeed.
Sadly, There’s No Good Way To Explain Teddi’s Departure
There Were No Good Options For Teddi’s Exit
Unfortunately, there’s no good way to exit Weigert from the series since her character is married to Colter’s other handler. To keep the couple together in season 2, Tracker would have had to say goodbye to both characters to avoid explaining why one stayed without the other. In keeping McEnany on Tracker, the show had bleak options. Tracker could choose to kill Teddi or break up her relationship, and they were both horrible choices. Many series can provide feel-good exits for cast members as they depart, but Velma and Teddi’s relationship complicated the options.
Teddi’s death would mean she didn’t have to break up with Velma, which would preserve the memory of their love and relationship. However, it was good the series avoided killing Teddi, which would have played into Hollywood’s “bury your gays” trope. Having to break Velma and Teddi up is an unfortunate alternative, though, since it separates the series’ sweet LGBTQ+ couple. The characters needed more room to grow in Tracker season 2, and now, unfortunately, all they will do is grow apart.
