Before you decide this article isn’t worth your time and you jump to the comments based on the title alone, I urge you to hear me out.
As someone who loves the supporting cast of Tracker immensely, I am not against Colter eventually having a partner. They don’t necessarily need to be involved in every case, but if the known lone wolf shed his status and had someone by his side more often than not, I’d welcome it.
But that person shouldn’t be Billie Matalon.
When Billie was first introduced during Tracker Season 1 Episode 6, I loved the flirty banter between her and Colter and how they helped each other but also had to learn to trust each other again.
Their relationship did feel lived in (perhaps due to the star’s real-life marriage), and I was perfectly okay with her being someone who would pop into Colter’s life now and then to spice things up.
Tracker is the kind of show that works well for guest stars who find their way into a random episode when the need arises.
We’ve seen that twice now with Jensen Ackles’ Russell Shaw and Billie herself.
Billie showed up on Tracker Season 2 Episode 3 on her home turf, and she and Colter were dropped into an odd case about a missing teen and bio-hacking company that buys and sells blood.
Aside from the case being a dud, the hour had a heavy focus on Billie in a way that we never see for nearly any other character not named Colter. The hour served as a Billie Begins installment, whereas long-term characters like Reenie, Velma, and Bobby haven’t had near the exploration.
The second pairing of Colter and Billie didn’t have the same bite as the first one. The two quickly went from long-standing rivals to allies after their first rendezvous, muting their chemistry.
Things between them worked better when there was an element of angst, and Billie’s motives weren’t entirely clear.
They took away the best parts of their dynamic when they dropped those pretenses and had Billie become just another tracker, with no real reason for him to doubt her or them to want to one-up each other.
If Colter and Billie were to team up permanently, it would be much more like Billie’s second appearance, which was bland at best, and less like her first, which was fun and much more captivating.
For Colter to want to partner with someone permanently, he’d need to find someone like himself.
He gets along with people similar to him, which isn’t abnormal, but considering how much he loves to be alone, he won’t be keen to partner with someone he doesn’t trust.
Part of Colter and Billie’s initial lure was that they didn’t trust one another. Now, they’ve sacrificed that to make their relationship more about understanding each other—with more romantic undertones.
This was predictable and would make a longer-term partnership between them lackluster.
The best parts of their dynamic have involved them toying with one another and figuring out who the other is. You lose much of that if you make them pair up and essentially turn Billie into Colter’s shadow instead of her own person.
Because make no mistake about it; this is the Colter Shaw show.
If Colter ever got a partner, they would play second fiddle because that’s the show’s design.
Billie should have popped up every now and then, and the two should play a cat-and-mouse game as they chase the same rewards and see if they can ever overcome the events of the past.
Instead, they had Colter and Billie let bygones be bygones after one successful job together, making their relationship about twenty times less enjoyable.
Colter Shaw can get a partner if the stars align, and he decides he’s willing to split those paychecks and trust someone enough to embark on his dangerous line of work with him, but will they move into the Airstream with him?
How would a permanent partner really work with the way things are presently constructed?
That may be an essay for another time, but I’m crossing one partner’s name off the list right now: Billie.
Alright, Tracker fanatics! What do you think about the possibility of Colter getting a partner?
Would you like to see him team up with Billie?
Is there someone else you think would make a better fit?
Let me know in the comments if you agree with my thoughts or have a totally different viewpoint. I’d love to hear from you!
You can watch Tracker Season on CBS at 8/7c on Sundays.
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