The episode unfolds with Scott Palmer (portrayed by Steven Culp), dashing through a dense forest while filming a chilling, found-footage-style video. He vows to uncover a hidden, unmapped Department of Defense (DOD) site. Abruptly, his camera malfunctions, and a blinding flash illuminates the surroundings. Cut to Colter Shaw, now cruising up to a Pennsylvania home. Scott's daughter, Patty (Brooke Nevin), has entrusted Colter with the mission to unravel the mystery behind her father's disappearance.
Colter delves into Scott's background: a retired hiking enthusiast who recently became ensnared in governmental conspiracy theories. Scott believed he was being shadowed due to his burgeoning knowledge and had been pestering Dr. Iris Blair (April Parker Jones), an astrophysics professor. Blair's husband had to obtain a restraining order against him. Though Colter initially suspects Scott simply vanished off the radar, he notices intriguing details in the phone logs between Blair and Scott, obtained by Reenie (Fiona Rene) via the restraining order. Their conversations were frequent and lengthy, suggesting a possibly non-hostile rapport. During his discussion with Dr. Blair, she exhibits no fear or concern upon mentioning Scott's name.
In truth, Scott and Blair were in deep communication about extraterrestrial beings and flying objects—albeit under euphemisms like UAPs (Unidentified Anonymous Phenomena) and NHIs (Non-Human Intelligence), steering clear of the common UFO and alien terminology. While Colter remains a skeptic, his retained hacker Bobby (Eric Graise) is a staunch believer in UAPs and other governmental conspiracy theories, citing real-life figures such as Dr. Jacques F. Vallee, Josef Allen Hynek, David Grusch, Luis "Lue" Elizondo, and the infamous Kumburgaz video.
Colter and Bobby trace Scott's last known whereabouts, but their phone call is abruptly severed. Soon, Colter's electronics start malfunctioning, mirroring Scott's experience, culminating in the same dazzling flash of light.
Hours after Colter's check-in, the team springs into urgent action, and Reenie promptly summons their backup plan—Russell Shaw. Meanwhile, Colter awakens in a stark, clinical room, his arms bound and groggy from a tranquilizer injection. He finds himself transported to an enigmatic base, confronted by a crisp, unnamed government agent (Matt Passmore) who grills him about Scott's whereabouts. The tracker pierces through the interrogation's veil, realizing they're equally clueless about Scott's location. As soon as the agent steps away, Colter manages to slip out of his bonds almost too effortlessly, a detail that will later raise his suspicions. His thoughts are momentarily diverted by the unexpected arrival of his brother, Russell, who busts him out with an air of urgency.
Colter is momentarily perplexed by the revelation of Russell and Reenie's "phone buddy" status and their conversations with Velma, an emotion that slips into jealousy, albeit subtly. As the Shaw brothers hit the road once again, a dawning realization strikes Colter: escaping from such a fortified facility with his mere cellphone should have been an uphill task. He recalls the black site's quest for Scott and deduces that the government agents allowed their escape solely to harness Colter's tracking prowess. Russell, swift in action, smashes Colter's phone and discovers a tracking device embedded in his brother's neck, expertly extracting it. (A tracker with a tracking device? One wonders what ingenious tricks they'll conjure next.)
Returning to the professor's abode, they verify that Scott had been covertly assisting Dr. Blair in her research on UAPs, safeguarding her reputation from scandal. They uncover a signal that might harbor extraterrestrial communication or some unknown entity's whisper. Colter and Blair decipher it as coordinates, potentially unveiling Scott's last known location after his phone communication cut out. With renewed determination, the brothers embark on a mission to find Scott, once and for all. But hardly had they departed when the agents descend upon Dr. Blair!
They say never to trail a hippie to a secondary locale, but in the climactic scenes of "Tracker," pursuing a conspiracy theorist to another destination unexpectedly pays off. At this second, clandestine black site, the atmosphere is electric with activity. A countdown to "the surge" echoes through the intercom, creating an air of anticipation. Trailers brim with samples and sophisticated equipment, much to Colter's skeptical dismay, while Russell insists it's a landing spot for a UAP. As Colter squares off against an anonymous government agent, he eventually discovers Scott hiding in a lab, reluctant to leave. Scott believes a "vessel is approaching" and is determined to witness it, driven by the conviction that proving its existence would fulfill his wife's dying wish. He's not疯狂; he's merely沉浸在悲痛中.
In the episode's denouement, a British man arrives at the Shaw brothers' location and hands Colter a phone. Rene had hired him to track them down after Russell ceased responding to her calls and messages. Unbeknownst to the team, Colter was safe with Russell, and Russell had destroyed Colter's phone. It's a pity we weren't privy to the group's debriefing session following this bizarre and unprecedented case. Fortunately, Patty compensates Colter for his efforts in returning her father, enabling him to reimburse Reenie for the two men she employed and the van she purchased to search for them.
The stakes here are unmistakably lofty and somewhat unsettling. This doesn't resemble a case that could or should be neatly tied up in a single episode. Russell and Colter might believe they're in the clear now that the operation is concluded and Scott lacks concrete evidence. Yet, they possess crucial evidence. Russell collected an unidentified fragment at the black site and intends to present it to his "alloy expert" for examination. Moreover, those government agents callously dispatched Dr. Blair off-screen due to her perilous knowledge. That's genuinely terrifying! Also, Russell casually mentions that the agents are aware of something concerning the deceased Shaw patriarch, noting that Ashton Shaw asked too many probing questions. This ensnares the Shaw family mystery within an even more intriguing enigma! At least this prompts Colter to reveal to Russell about the box of their father's belongings that their sister has been keeping from them.
