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Tracker season 2 finale revelation about who killed Colter's dad Ashton. The hit action drama debuted on CBS in February 2024, and stars Justin Hartley as lone wolf survivalist and 'rewardist' Colter Shaw, who helps find missing people, and is haunted by the death of his father as a child. While the show has played with the strained Shaw family dynamics, the season 2 finale took things up a notch, revealing who killed his father, whilst also adding further questions to the tragedy.

Per TV Line, Reid clarifies that the episode's revelation — that Otto Waldron pushed Ashton to his death, seemingly at the behest of Colter's mother Mary — does not mean that Mary ordered the death of Ashton, but that it does signify a degree of involvement in what happened. He reveals that there is plenty to mine with this storyline, especially with regard to Mary. He also reveals that season 3 will dig into Ashton's past, and possible government links. Check out Reid's comments below:

TVLINE | We know now that Mary played a role in Ashton’s death. We also know that Otto pushed Ashton off that cliff. Given how Season 2 ends, is the plan to pick back up almost immediately where we left off in Season 3, Episode 1?

I want to make one clarification: He doesn’t say that Mom ordered the murder of his father. He said, “she asked me to be up there,” so there’s much more to that story to unpack. We’ve talked a lot about this — that life is messy — and I think that Colter’s life is messier than most other people’s lives.

I don’t think this is something Colter is ever going to let go of, and I don’t think there’s an easy answer to it. Even though the finale gives you the next big piece of the puzzle, there’s still more out there to mine in that storyline, particularly when it comes to his mother.

TVLINE | Otto denies working for the feds, but we know quite a bit about Ashton’s past — namely, that he worked as a government contractor for a number of years. How big of a role will this larger government conspiracy have in the show moving forward?

It’s funny you should ask that, because that’s one of the little, weird threads that I’m hoping to pull in Season 3. I mean, there’s the stuff that happened with Colter’s family — with his father. There have been a couple mentions, mostly through Russell, about the father not being who he seems.

We saw in Episode 19, when he gets the little book and he finds the phone number in there and asks Randy to look up that number, that it’s going towards a larger thing. We’re going to start to unravel that a little bit as far as the Ashton character goes, and I think that will bring in a fun cast of characters.

I don’t know if there’s an easy answer, and I’m hoping in the third season, as you picked up on, to have a storyline that [reveals] a little bit of what his father may have been involved in. There was an episode — a couple of episodes — where some of that stuff was alluded to in Season 2 that kind of flew by people, but it’s there. It’s something that [series lead/executive producer] Justin [Hartley] and I have talked about quite a bit.

What This Means For The Future Of Tracker

Colter's Entire World View Has Been Flipped On Its Head

Reid's comments reveal that, while Otto doesn't explicitly state that Mary ordered Ashton's death, he does confirm her involvement in the incident. This is bound to have a profound impact on Colter. The revelation presents more questions, and ensures that Colter's obsession with his father's death is unlikely to ever be fully gone. Ashton's backstory is bound to present more revelations as this storyline continues to evolve and develop.

...Russell has always held the belief that Ashton and Mary had their secrets, and this most recent revelation could drive a wedge between the brothers once again.

Of all three Shaw siblings, Colter seems to be the one who has been the most impacted by Ashton's murder. In fact, in many ways, his entire way of life has been shaped by his father, and what happened to his father. Having spent years wrongly assuming older brother Russell (played by Tracker cast member Jensen Ackles) was responsible for his father's death, the strained relationship between the two has been slowly healing. However, as Reid's comments show, Russell has always held the belief that Ashton and Mary had their secrets, and this most recent revelation could drive a wedge between the brothers once again.

Our Take On How This Will Impact Tracker Season 3

Expect An Ashton Backstory Deep Dive & More Of Colter's Fractured Interpersonal Relationships

As Reid's comments show, the season 2 finale episode puts the pieces in place to explore a lot more of Ashton's backstory in Tracker season 3. There have been allusions throughout the show that Ashton was working for the government, and this could well have led to his death. Mary should also now play a more prominent role in season 3 of the show, which I would imagine will explore Colter's interpersonal relationships in even greater detail, and how the revelation of Ashton's death is going to shape the future direction that Tracker may take.

Source: TV Line