Tracker (2024) S01E05, the man with the loose lips…
This show is not necessarily bad. But the S01 episode “St. Louis” (S1.E5, airdate: Sun, Mar 17, 2024) is baffling.
There are times when witnesses need to be protected from intimidation or retaliation. This is especially important in cases involving dangerous criminals. Witness testimony is often crucial for putting away these criminals, but witnesses might be afraid to come forward and help with investigations and prosecutions if they think they’ll be harmed for doing so. Witness protection in various forms offers them a safe way to cooperate with law enforcement.
The expression “loose lips” means being careless or unrestrained in one’s speech, especially when it comes to confidential or private information. Someone who is “loose-lipped” tends to talk too much and might accidentally reveal sensitive information. Supposedly the expression “Loose lips sink ships” is a famous World War II slogan which aimed to remind people to be discreet about military plans to avoid giving away secrets to the enemy.
“Colter Shaw”, the main character of the TV series “Tracker”, doesn’t seem to be familiar with any of these concepts. It’s almost as if he is trying to get every ally killed in the episode. And he can’t help himself volunteering sensitive information to any living being in the vicinity. As soon as he learns new info he “spills”. (In informal settings, “spilling the tea” is a slang term that means sharing gossip or revealing interesting news).
Colter’s lawyer friend tries to help him get a private conference room to discuss a lead. This security routine is news to him. The dialog between him and his episode sidekick:
Colter:
- Hey. Got a lead on our mystery witness.
Reenie Green / (Fiona Rene):
- Name?
- Mallory. She went back inside the house, saw the murderer.
- Don’t suppose you have an address.
- No. I’m gonna talk to Clay, see if he remembers anything about this Mallory woman.
- Well, you’re going to need me for that, too.
- I am?
- Yeah, you’re gonna want a private conference room.
- Ahh… Attorney/client privilege.
- Bingo. Sometimes I think you’re actually learning something from me, Colter.
But as soon as they arrive to the private conference room, Colter bursts into the room and starts asking question even before the door has closed behind him and he has taken a seat, and while there are “ears” in the background. Not even a “hello”.
Colter Shaw:
- Who’s Mallory? From the poker game… night of the murder?
His lawyer-sidekick has to temper and guide some senses into him:
Reenie:
- Don’t speak yet. Give me a dollar.
- I don’t have a dollar.
(Reenie hands Colter a dollar)
- Colter, give him [the client] a dollar to give to me.
Colter, clueless:
- You really need all these legal theatrics?
- Half of law practice is theatrics. It’s called procedure.
(Reenie, after the procedure)
- Great. Now I’m officially your lawyer and this conversation is privileged.
But Colter Shaw’s cluelessness doesn’t stop there.
The client gets stabbed in prison. Colter Shaw visits him in the hospital. The wife of the client is there.
Dialog:
- One of the guards said you and a lawyer visited him. Did you find something?
(Colter Shaw, all too happy to spill details and put more targets on people’s backs, replies)
- Avery had a girlfriend, saw everything that happened that night, possibly in Kansas City, knows your husband is innocent.
The information of course leaks far and beyond. So when Colter Shaw’s episode-sidekick Reenie talks to someone, the person says:
- Are you referring to the magical witness in Kansas City?
- How did you know about that?
- Clay’s daughter, Stephanie, emails me incessantly. Thinks if we just look harder or pay for investigators, we’ll find new evidence. … I know about this, um, reward hunter she hired, Colter Shaw I believe his name is? … She says that he found this witness in Kansas City, told me to get the paperwork ready, because he’s on his way there now.
Shaw’s sidekick gets taken hostage.
Moreover, shaw puts the key witness in harms way, giving the “bad guy” the chance to empty a whole clip in the witnesses direction, and it is only thanks to the divine intervention of the story-writing gods (including the mandatory impossibly bad aim of villains in farcical shows like this one) that the key witness somehow doesn’t end up riddled with bullet holes during her escape while the “hero” is nowhere to be found.
Nothing about this guy instills confidence in this episode.
