He doesn’t need backup. He needs tree bark, vibes, and emotional damage.
If you’re watching Tracker and expecting Colter Shaw to pull out a laptop or use high-tech FBI-style databases, think again.
This man doesn’t carry a gun. He carries… instincts.
While the average detective uses surveillance footage, Colter’s toolkit includes: dirt. A leaf. A single creaky floorboard.
And somehow? He’s never wrong.
Let’s take a hilarious deep dive into the most absurd, impressive, and straight-up chaotic things Colter Shaw has used to crack cases on Tracker. Because when everyone else is confused, he’s out here solving kidnappings with a shoelace and a half-remembered childhood trauma.
🧱 1. A Fence Post — Yes, Just a Piece of Wood
Episode 1. He walks up to a broken fence, looks at it, squints slightly, and suddenly has a full timeline:
“They ran through here. Male. Tall. Panicking. Turned east.”
We’re not kidding.
To you, it’s just a broken fence.
To Colter, it’s the emotional backstory of three people and a plot twist.
We don’t know whether to be impressed or worried.
🍂 2. A Fallen Leaf with Psychic Powers
At one point, he looks at a fallen leaf and immediately knows someone’s lying.
We checked.
It was just a leaf.
It didn’t have a confession written on it.
It wasn’t tied to a bloodstained tree.
It was just… leafy.
And yet? Colter’s eyes narrow. He says:
“Someone’s covering something.”
Sir. What species of tree is that? Because clearly it knows things.
🧢 3. A Crusty Old Baseball Cap
Colter picks up a hat off the ground. Smells it.
Finds lint.
Sniffs the sweatband.
Then calmly announces that the missing teenager was here two days ago, got in a fight, and has daddy issues.
Honestly, how??
We’re convinced Colter got bitten by a radioactive bloodhound.
🎯 4. A Thumbtack (Not Even a Sharp One)
Not a bullet. Not a fingerprint. A rusty thumbtack.
He picks it up like it’s Excalibur. Stares at it like it betrayed him. And says:
“This changes everything.”
We don’t know how.
We don’t even know what it changed.
All we know is the mystery was solved seven minutes later.
And the tack? Never mentioned again.
Colter, please. Teach us your ways. Or sell that thumbtack on eBay.
🎣 5. A Fishing Lure with an Emotional Arc
He finds a fishing lure. It’s stuck in a log.
It triggers a memory. A clue. A plot twist.
Suddenly the whole town’s involved in a conspiracy, and Colter’s already confronting the villain.
A fishing lure.
It just wanted to catch trout.
Instead, it exposed betrayal, identity theft, and a secret love affair from 1994.
Legend.
📍 6. A Trail of Crushed Grass
While most people see “just grass,” Colter sees… movement. Fear. Direction. Wind velocity.
You think you’re watching a crime show.
No.
You’re watching a man play Photoshop Enhance with nature.
“This patch of grass tells me she hesitated here. She almost turned back.”
Pauses dramatically.
“But something made her run.”
Sir, how?! Are you part plant whisperer?
🧭 7. A Compass That Works Better Than Google Maps
He doesn’t need GPS.
He has The Compass™.
You know the one: beat-up, scratched, probably from his mysterious childhood.
It points north… but also to plot twists, repressed memories, and occasionally… justice.
Sometimes we wonder if the compass is controlling him.
🍃 Bonus: Bark
Not “woof woof” bark. Tree bark.
He peels some off a tree and somehow knows that the suspect is left-handed and used to play Little League.
We give up.
Final Thought: Colter Shaw, Nature’s Forensic Medium
Colter Shaw doesn’t solve crimes the normal way.
He solves them through intuition, trauma, and random junk he finds on the ground.
It’s absurd.
It’s brilliant.
And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
So the next time someone says “We don’t have enough evidence,” remember:
Colter just needs one bent nail, a broken twig, and an intense squint to bring down a criminal empire.
📺 Watch Tracker Sundays on CBS or stream on Paramount+.
Bring snacks. And maybe a stick—he might need it.
