St Louis
Episode 5 of Tracker Season 1 is set in St Louis, Missouri. Shaw is tasked with finding a missing witness in a murder trial.
Stephanie Porter, the 16-year-old daughter of Clay Porter, started a funding campaign online to take an interest in the case. Clay got 30 years for allegedly killing his business partner, Avery. Stephanie reveals that a comment on her fund page is what triggered this entire reaction. Shaw is paired once again with Reenie to solve the mystery of the missing witness. However, the lawyer is sceptical of Clay’s innocence.
She explains that Clay and Avery owned an asbestos removal business together. One night, Clay found out that Avery was running an illegal poker game inside the house. This infuriated Clay who had warned Avery about his misdealings. He threatened to kill Avery and was seen smashing him in the head.
Shaw visits Clay in jail. He learns that on the night of the murder, Clay and Avery had an argument. However, it never got out of hand and they talked things over.
Through Velma and Teddi’s help, Shaw is able to track down another illegal poker game set at a discreet location that night. The person who sent that message on Stephanie’s phone will be there at the game. Shaw cleverly gets into the game and sets up the police to arrest them. He finds out the identity of the person who sent the message, a girl named Leila Kent. She explains that Mallory is the secret witness. Her name is all Leila knows since she played a game of poker with her and learnt this secret.
Now, whoever killed Avery is after Mallory, forcing her to go into hiding. Clay reveals that she was Avery’s girlfriend, which is strange because she would have jumped to his defence. Mallory is hiding out in Kansas City, which becomes Shaw’s next destination.
Clay is mercilessly stabbed in prison, landing him in the hospital. Someone is trying to silence him to ensure that the case isn’t reopened.
The public defender isn’t too concerned with the case. He tells Reenie that the police tried hard to find this surprise witness but came up short.
Shaw finds out Mallory’s address using her car reseller but lands in trouble when her uncle knocks him unconscious. However, when she learns about Shaw’s true intentions, Mallory reveals the truth. Caesar Ashford, a shady ex-criminal, killed Avery over some money issue. Mallory agrees to testify against Ashford when Shaw promises to protect her. This opportunity also comes with the promise of Mallory finally being able to live her life without looking over her shoulder occasionally.
However, en route to St Louis, Ashford intercepts them. Shaw blows out the tyres of his car and learns from Reenie that Le Trou, the public defender in Clay’s case, is the one helping Ashford. She is then attacked by Le Trou, who kidnaps her. He tries to negotiate an exchange with Shaw, who has no option but to accept. But Shaw is determined to help both women.
Ashford reaches the meet location and threatens to kill Reenie irrespective of what happens, changing his mind at the last moment. They set a trap, working perfectly to neutralise the public defender. Shaw and Ashford combat each other with blows before the latter throws himself off the terrace to his death. Clay’s name is cleared and one more innocent man is set free.
The Episode Review
This week’s episode is subpar at best. While we have seen Tracker largely sticking to the accepted formula in the first four episodes, the execution is grossly lacking in Episode 5.
The casting of the two actors playing pivotal roles as antagonists is quite bad, considering their appeal on screen. That takes away all the intrigue and suspense from the storytelling, making it very bland. The staging of the climactic duel is also very basic, pushing the suspension of disbelief. I remained unimpressed by and disconnected from the whole plotline in this episode.
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