Tracker Season 2 Episode 19 Review: “Rules of the Game” Impresses and Sets the Stage for an Epic Finale Centered on a Key Character

Tracker‘s second season is almost finished, and the show continues its recent streak of great episodes with one that brings the situation with Reenie (Fiona Rene) and her client to a head. More excitingly, it finally brings Tracker back to the big mystery of what happened to Colter’s father! “Rules of the Game” primarily focuses on a situation with Reenie’s client, Leo (Pej Vahdat), whose assistant goes missing in what appears to be corporate kidnapping. However, Tracker has been doing a phenomenal job of writing particularly twisty storylines recently, so there is far more to it.

However, the show does start and end with Colter (Justin Hartley) in his Airstream, digging into what happened to his father. It’s nice to see the Airstream make an appearance, as it’s an important part of Colter’s character in a lot of ways, but what is far more important is that he’s there with his sister, and a box of his father’s paperwork.

After so many episodes without more than a nod toward the biggest case of his life, it’s reassuring to see that this hasn’t been forgotten. Now, my hope is that the finale will follow through on the new clue because it is past time that this is the focus again.

Reenie & Leo’s Story Comes To A Head – But It’s A Little Disappointing

Is Reenie Going To Continue Working For Him, After All This?

The biggest ongoing storyline of this season is with Reenie and her big client, Leo, who has been slowly working his way out of the shadows and into plain sight. Every time he shows up, it has been with more slightly dubious requests, and promises of more information to come, and this week, all that came out in the open. The twists and turns were, again, fantastic. This is one of multiple episodes in the second season of Tracker that manages to create a truly unpredictable story with multiple layers to be peeled away, and I definitely enjoyed the big reveals throughout.

That said, there was something a little disappointing about Leo’s big secret — that he had previously partnered with another company, and the original owner and creator had died by suicide, which Leo is blamed for. But Tracker doesn’t confirm this actually happened, only that Francie thinks it was Leo’s fault.

After half a season of build-up, and without a clear reveal as to what happened in that situation, Leo is left as neither hero nor villain. He seems genuinely upset and regretful about the situation, claims he didn’t do it, and he argues with Reenie about making sure that he tells Grimes that he has to leave in person. He could be a heartless corporate shark, but that’s not the obvious reaction to what happens.

It’s also left unclear if Reenie is going to continue working for him, or if he will even need her to, now that the new company is prepped for launch. Her final conversation with Colter shows that she thinks he is “complicated”, and Colter believes she wants to see the best in him, but none of that is a solid answer about his future on the show. This may be a door open for him to return, but it’s frustrating considering most cases reveal the truth of the situation.

Finally, Tracker Comes Back To The Big Shaw Family Mystery

There’s A New Clue To Colter’s Father’s Death – What Is It Setting Up?

Colter’s family mystery bookends the main case. This is a fantastic choice in terms of writing, as it keeps the tension of the main case building, without jumping back and forth between storylines, but also gives it importance in the episode. The episode begins with Colter picking up the box of his father’s stuff and doing some pointed speculating that his father was asking Lizzie’s (Jennifer Morrison) mother to do something with it. It’s pretty clear that this is leading somewhere, as one of the rules of Tracker is that Colter is always right about that kind of thing.

At the end of the episode, he finds a hidden phone number in the box; for some reason, he calls it directly rather than having his tech team research it. It’s a decision that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for someone who is increasingly convinced the FBI is involved in running his father down. But that may be important later, if they are still keeping tabs on that number. Clearly, this is setting up the next reveal in the hunt for his father’s killer, but something like a phone number could lead anywhere.

Up Next: Echo Ridge Promises More Shaw Family Drama

Is The Season 2 Finale Setting Up The Focus For Season 3?

Next week, the season finale is going to be a big one. The most exciting news is that Colter’s mother, Mary (Wendy Crewson) is going to return. Between that and the phone number, it’s clear that this is going to be an episode that moves the mystery forward. Read the full description below:

Colter returns to Echo Ridge to investigate a diner owner’s disappearance, only to uncover a decades-old kidnapping and a shocking family secret.

Given the number of “shocking family secrets” that Tracker has already laid out for the Shaw family (government involvement, a secret affair, an unsolved death on a stormy night), it’s difficult to imagine what might come next for them, but whatever it is, it will be juicy. Hopefully, the finale will also manage to strike the right balance between this and the kidnapping case, or even tie the two together.

The Shaw family mystery won’t (presumably) be solved in this episode, but it might become the focus of the (already confirmed) third season, which would be a fantastic direction to take the show. The most important thing for next week, though, is to end on a bang — and with so many great episodes recently, Tracker should be able to stick this landing.