Tracker season 3 episode 9 ending explained: What “to be continued” means for Colter and Keaton’s life?

Tracker season 3 Episode 9 "Good Trouble" ends on a major cliffhanger with "To Be Continued," appearing before credit roll, leaving Colter Shaw and John Keaton's lives in massive danger after assassin Emile Lang shoots Keaton, wounds Colter and forces their car off the road in a dramatic crash.

This raises major concerns among fans regarding the character's survival.

Tracker is a CBS action-drama series starring Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a skilled survivalist and reward seeker who travels the country tracking missing persons. Based on Jeffery Deaver's novel The Never Game, the show premiered its third season in October 2025. 

Created by Ben H. Winters with Elwood Reid as showrunner, it follows Colter as he takes on high-stakes cases, often aided by his handler team including lawyer Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene) and tech expert Randy (Chris Lee). 

Guest stars in Season 3 have included returning favorites like Brent Sexton as retired detective John Keaton. The series blends standalone procedural elements with ongoing arcs about Colter's troubled family past. 

Episode 9, the midseason finale titled "Good Trouble," aired December 14, 2025, and reunited Colter with Keaton for a personal case that spirals into a larger conspiracy.

Tracker season 3 episode 9 ending explained: Emile Lang’s attack puts Colter and Keaton’s lives in danger (cliffhanger explored)

The episode opens in Tacoma, Washington, where dairy farmer Clive Sherman is shot dead after discovering something suspicious. Retired cop John Keaton contacts Colter Shaw for off-the-books help finding his missing former partner, Nat Dobbs.

Investigating Dobbs' home reveals signs of a struggle and a news clipping about Sherman's murder. Dobbs' phone last pinged at the farm, where Colter unearths a mass grave of execution-style victims buried over months.

Bank records tie payments to Sherman and Dobbs from a shell company linked to Armenian crime boss Zhan Menassian. Police Commissioner Ross Beaugard (Sasha Roiz) warns Keaton to back off.

Colter confronts Menassian's driver and finds the boss dead. Hacked security footage shows Dobbs apparently killing Menassian, but a reflection reveals contract killer Emile Lang, presumed dead after shooting a cop five years ago at the Vortex nightclub.

Lang has been tying up loose ends: torturing Dobbs for information, killing Sherman, Menassian and later, accountant Bradley Weitz after questioning him about "Cassie Lindstrom", possibly connected to the cop Lang killed.

Colter and Keaton locate the dying Dobbs in a crashed car; he confirms Lang's involvement before passing. Reenie uncovers evidence that Dobbs was on Menassian's payroll, hinting at broader corruption involving Detective Willa Simms (Jes Macallan) and the commissioner.

At Weitz's home, Lang escapes after shooting Keaton in the abdomen during a firefight. Colter prioritizes getting the bleeding Keaton to help over pursuit.

In the car, a weakened Keaton apologizes for pulling Colter in and mentions Lindstrom's name. Suddenly, gunfire- likely from pursuing Lang- riddles the vehicle. Colter loses control, the car veers off an embankment, flips, and lands upside down.

The screen fades to "To Be Continued."

This sequence leaves Keaton gravely wounded from the gunshot and crash, while Colter sustains an extreme injury, including being shot.

The explicit "To Be Continued" confirms this as the first half of a two-part story, pausing on maximum tension. Both characters are in immediate mortal danger: Keaton bleeding out from Lang's bullet, compounded by the violent wreck; Colter shot and battered, trapped in the overturned car with an active assassin nearby.

The cliffhanger amplifies the stakes from the uncovered conspiracy- corrupt officials may now target them as loose ends. Showrunner Elwood Reid noted the writers initially planned to kill Keaton but left his fate open for Episode 10.

 Elwood Reid told TVLine -

"When we pick up in Part 2, and I didn't tell anyone else this, he’s (Colter) in really bad shape. He’s the only one who crawls out of that car, and then he’s got bigger problems. Without giving too much away, he becomes a wanted man because he’s been at the scenes of these crimes, and people start wondering if he’s in cahoots with the killer.”

He added-

“There’s another plot that helps explain that, but the short answer is yes — he needs help. We’ve got a decent cast of characters, and you can probably guess who he calls.”

Part 2, the midseason premiere on March 1, 2026 at the new time of 9/8c on CBS picks up directly.

Expect Colter performing a desperate escape despite severe injuries, evading Lang, rallying Reenie and his team and unravelling twists in the corruption plot and Lindstrom connection. Returning guests like Macallan and Roiz suggest ongoing fallout.

Where to watch Tracker season 3

Tracker season 3 airs Sundays on CBS. Episodes stream the next day on Paramount+. New episodes resume March 1, 2026, at 9/8c.

Stay tuned for more such updates!