Of Course Jensen Ackles' Tracker Return Would Be About Aliens

When "Tracker" fans learned that Jensen Ackles was slated to return as Russell Shaw for not just one, but at least two episodes on Season 2, they were overjoyed at the news. Ackles' appearance on Season 1's "Off the Books" is a major highlight of an already killer opening season, and offers a new family dynamic for Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) to digest. But with his Season 2 return on "Ontological Shock," we've begun to notice a peculiar pattern. Every time Russell shows up, some sort of high-strangeness follows him. This time around, Colter and Russell are caught in the middle of an "X-Files"-style government conspiracy involving potential contact with a real life UAP — aka a UFO — and it just feels right.

Here, we learn that Russell believes in aliens (unsurprisingly, Colter doesn't), and though the episode isn't explicit about whether the bright sky lights involved are man-made or extra-terrestrial, it doesn't come as a surprise that the otherworldly would be involved. On his Season 1 debut, Russell took Colter to a magic shop, all while throwing around dialogue about "curses" and "blessings" that felt like something straight out of Ackles' time on "Supernatural." Of course, "Supernatural" did its own UFO-themed episode back in the day (Season 6's "Clap Your Hand If You Believe"), revealing that although aliens aren't real, fairies are.

It seems that no matter where Jensen Ackles goes these days, his time as Dean Winchester on "Supernatural" follows him, but he doesn't seem to mind. During his time as Sheriff Beau Arlen on ABC's "Big Sky," the series threw around plenty of Winchester references. The same was true of his role as Soldier Boy on "The Boys," which was developed by "Supernatural" creator Eric Kripke. It's no wonder "Tracker" would follow suit.

While it's unlikely that "Tracker" is going to morph into a paranormal investigation-type of series any time soon, it would be fun to watch Russell ("the believer") and Colter ("the skeptic") run around hunting ghosts or demons. Though the show will probably never go that far, the Season 1 episode, "Aurora," involves Colter infiltrating the world of ghost hunting, even if just to help solve a missing person's case. This at least leaves the door open to the possibility that Russell's next appearance could likewise involve some strange happenings somewhere across the country. Ackles is best known for his work on "Supernatural," after all, and any excuse to revisit some of that familiar material is a delight for us fans.

Even still, it's just fun to have Jensen Ackles back on "Tracker," with the promise of yet another return sometime later this season. We're still holding out hope for a full Shaw family reunion, especially since their sister, Dory (Melissa Roxburgh, a "Supernatural" alumnus herself), and mother, Mary Dove Shaw (Wendy Crewson), are both set to return this season. After "Ontological Shock," we have even more questions about what happened to Colter and Russell's father than ever before, and with the Department of Defense now involved, it's beginning to feel like there's a lot more to the story. Still, not even the DOD are a match for the Winchesters Shaw brothers.