Tracker Season 3 Episode 3 Review: First Fire

Tracker Season 3 Episode 2, “First Fire,” is the show’s first attempt at a Halloween-themed narrative, and it’s entertaining while including the perfect amount of spookiness.

“First Fire” follows Colter to Massachusetts as he travels outside his comfort zone to find a dangerous patient, Heston Koontz, who escaped from a psychiatric facility, which is something Colter has never done before.

It is intriguing to watch Colter push himself to new heights and tackle cases he has never tackled before. It deepens his character while highlighting some of his critical characteristics, including resourcefulness, acumen, and strength.

Tracker effectively incorporates Halloween themes on “First Fire,” by introducing a cult that believes in demons. The show does not overdo it to cringeworthy levels. However, it also has the right amount of spookiness because of the mystery behind Heston’s escape.

Every time Colter uncovers something, it adds another dimension to Heston Koontz’s life and current whereabouts. The twists and turns remain exciting throughout the episode—a refreshing change from Tracker Season 3 Episode 2, “Leverage.”

Colter does not share many scenes with Reenie and Randy beyond a few phone calls, and their interactions are sincerely missed during this episode. However, the mystery surrounding Heston Koontz makes up for the lack of Tracker‘s best dynamics.

Reenie continues to have her own storyline as she expands her firm. Tracker introduces a new recurring character, Melanie Day, a new employee whom Reenie hires to assist at her firm.

So far, Melanie seems promising. She is an outgoing, overeager character with a traumatic past that Tracker can expand on and relate to a potential future storyline.

Melanie and Reenie’s dynamic is fun so far, and it will be intriguing to see how Tracker develops their relationship. Melanie also briefly interacts with Randy, but it is too soon to comment on their dynamic.

Melanie Day: It just felt like the systems that were supposed to be there to support her were more interested in protecting themselves.

“First Fire” also heavily suggests that Reenie is still struggling with the aftermath of her traumatic kidnapping, as seen on Tracker Season 2 Episode 19, “Rules of the Game.”

While Tracker has dived into Reenie’s trauma somewhat, the show must do more, especially if the narrative continues to drop hints about Reenie’s mental health since Colter rescued her.

Tracker needs to give more than just a faraway, painful look in Reenie’s eyes when someone—in this case, Melanie—casually mentions her past work. Fiona Rene is a terrific actress, but there is only so much she can do without a substantial storyline to close this arc.

Colter meeting new characters during his cases can be fascinating, but nothing beats storylines that focus on the main characters, and Tracker would do well to remember that.

Despite the narrative focus on Heston Koontz and one-time characters that relate to his escape, watching Colter navigate this newfound territory is eye-opening for his character.

Colter’s cases more often than not succeed. He might track the people he looks for into dangerous situations, but he usually manages to save them.

Unfortunately, Colter fails to find Heston in time. On “First Fire,” members of the cult murder Heston Koontz, who dies trying to save Emily. 

Colter refusing the reward money from Heston’s parents, insisting they give it to Emily instead, is an unexpectedly heartbreaking moment that illustrates how everyone, regardless of who they are and what they have done, carries great complexities.

Heston burned Emily’s family alive in a horrific event. However, it is clear how much he has struggled before and after this tragedy, something Colter grapples with understanding on “First Fire.”

Colter Shaw: They think they’re doing something righteous. It makes them more dangerous.

This experience will force Colter to approach cases differently in the future. There is a lot of potential for Tracker to illustrate Colter’s mindset when taking on new cases, and there are numerous opportunities to create compelling narratives as a result.

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Tracker airs Sundays at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.

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