Tracker stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a survivalist skilled in tracking down people and things. His estranged older brother, Russell, is played by Jensen Ackles. Russell is a former special forces operative and works for a private military contractor called Horizon Group.
Ackles and Hartley are long-time friends, which led to Ackles being cast as his on-screen brother. Russell brings a playful attitude, especially in his second appearance, and plenty of Supernatural nods, including Dean Winchester’s signature exclamation.
Dean Winchester’s Catchphrase Was “Son of a Bitch”
On Supernatural, Dean Winchester frequently uses “son of a bitch” as both an exclamation and an insult. He would call demons and other enemies an S.O.B. Dean would also utter the phrase in frustration, winning like when Bela stole his lotto scratchers in “Bad Day at Black Rock.” Ackles even took to improvising the ghost hunter’s signature phrase into scenes—like the instance from “Bad Day at Black Rock.” It wasn’t written in the script, but Ackles saw the perfect opportunity and added it. Jared Padalecki can even be seen trying not to laugh at the improvisation.
When Ackles made his first appearance on Tracker, he managed to work in Dean’s iconic catchphrase. When a severed finger is sent to the wife of a missing man, Colter goes low-tech, using graphite and tape, to pull a fingerprint off of the detached digit. Colter had Russell fill in a square with a pencil, then Colter pressed the finger to it and used tape to lift the print. Russell looks on, skeptical, but when Colter pulls a clean print off, Russell, impressed, mutters, “Son of a bitch.”
While Ackles didn’t get in a “son of bitch” in his second episode in Season 2, Reenie drops one near the end of “Ontological Shock.” When Reenie sent someone to pick up Colter and Russell, the man hands Colter a phone with her on the other end. Reenie starts yelling at Colter for not checking in and ignoring her calls when Russell says that it was all Colter’s fault. Reenie goes off on them and sneaks in Dean’s signature line, “Two dumb Shaw brothers together and neither of you can text one person back. Son of a bitch.”
Reenie Snuck in One of Bobby Singer’s Catchphrases
Another major character that’s referenced in Tracker is Supernatural’s Bobby Singer. Bobby was a surrogate father to Sam and Dean and keeper of every book and spell they could need. Bobby had two words that he was known for: idjit and balls. When Bobby Singer made a cameo in The Boys, they made sure he uttered his famous words. Bobby would call people, often Sam and Dean, idjits. When he gets frustrated or runs into an unexpected obstacle, Bobby will exclaim, “Balls.” It was so iconic of Bobby that other characters started to pick it up too. Dean would say it occasionally, and fellow hunter, Garth, adopted both words in honor of Bobby after Bobby’s tragic death.
In Tracker’s “Off the Books,” Reenie has lunch with Colter and Russell after getting the charges against the boys dropped. They eat at a food truck and discuss the case. While they’re eating, Reenie’s phone buzzes. She looks at the notifications and says, “Oh, balls.” Reenie gets up to leave then because there’s a lot going on at her work. Russell earns to ask for details about Reenie and Colter’s relationship, implying his interest in Reenie. Colter tells him that she’s “off limits.”
There Are Even More Supernatural References in Tracker
Another one of Dean’s most used words on Supernatural is “awesome.” Dean says the word so often that in season eight another character didn’t buy Sam and Dean as FBI agents, since Dean said “awesome” too much. It leads to Dean asking Sam, “Do I really say ‘awesome’ a lot?” Sam says no, and Dean replies appropriately with, “Awesome.” While the word is fairly popular, it is also characteristically Dean. Supernatural fans couldn’t help but notice when Russell said the word “awesome” more than once during his first appearance on Tracker. He used it to describe Reenie after she gets him and Colter out of jail and when talking about his dream of opening a brewery.
On Supernatural, Baby was the nickname of Dean’s 1967 Chevy Impala. He loved that car and never gave up on it—no matter how damaged it got. While Russell doesn’t drive the same car as Dean, he does drive a classic model Chevy. Russell lovingly pats his 1965 Chevelle convertible before hopping in Colter’s truck in Ackles’ first appearance on Tracker, reminding Supernatural fans of Dean’s bond with “Baby.” With Colter driving in that episode, viewers didn’t get to spend much time with the car. In Ackles’ second guest spot in season two, Russell’s car is their main mode of transport for a good chunk of the story.
Things get even more Supernatural-coded when Colter comments on the Chevelle, saying, “Sweet ride. Wouldn’t mind getting behind the wheel of this thing.” Russell replies in a very Dean-like manner when he says, “That’s never gonna happen.” It’s reminiscent of Sam and Dean’s dynamic in the early seasons of Supernatural. The line that really called back to the demon-hunting series was when Russell dropped Colter off some distance from his car and told Colter to walk the rest of the way, because, “This baby doesn’t drive on gravel.” Fans also noted that, despite the Sam-length hair and the beard, Russell was also styled similarly to Dean, wearing jeans, boots, and a military jacket. Russell even sports a T-shirt for Stevie Ray Vaughan—a famous guitarist from the 70s and 80s.
Russell’s Guest Spots on Tracker Are Supernatural-Coded
If Supernatural fans are looking for it, they can find even more nods and parallels to the iconic horror series in Ackles’ guest spots on Tracker. One of the more obvious ones is the dysfunctional nature of the Shaw family. They lived off the grid and had a secretive and enigmatic father. The mysteries behind Ashton Shaw’s life and death are an arcing plot point in Tracker. It’s reminiscent of the first season of Supernatural when the Winchester brothers are trying to figure out what their father has been up to and why he disappeared. Both Shaw boys lead a nomadic lifestyle, never settling down anywhere, similar to Sam and Dean Winchester—whose only real home was the Chevy Impala they drove from town to town. Colter drives his truck and RV around the country, setting up camp somewhere in the woods for the night. Russell indicated that he had been living out of a motel in “Off the Books.”
Dean Winchester was shameless when it came to the ladies, and like Dean, Russell is charismatic and flirtatious. He attempts to flirt his way into the morgue when he and Colter need to check out a dead body. Russell also shows an immediate interest in Colter’s beautiful lawyer—and ex-fling—Reenie. In “Off the Books,” Russell offers to “make it up” to Reenie if their investigation ruins her weekend. In the season one finale of Tracker, Russell sends Reenie a selfie and invites her to join him in Argentina. When he returned in “Ontological Shock,” Russell joked about how helping save Colter would score him a date with Reenie. When Ackles flashes his pearly whites in a playful smile, Dean Winchester flirting his way across the country might pop into the mind of a Supernatural fan.
“Off the Books” sees the Shaw boys investigating an old army buddy of Russell’s. It turns out the missing vet believed in the occult and had gone to practitioners of blood magick for a “blessing” to protect his wife. With Ackles laying out the exposition of blessings, curses, and magick, it’s hard not to think of Dean Winchester hunting witches and the like on Supernatural. The second episode reveals that Russell believes in aliens, and while the Winchesters never deal with aliens, Russell’s cheerful attitude about UAPs—even stealing a piece of alien metal—was akin to Dean’s childlike excitement over things, like getting to name a monster or a good slice of pie.
