S02.E05: Preternatural

[AnimeMania]

Colter takes a job locating a missing teen with a unique spiritual gift in an inhospitable mining town.

Premiere Date: November 10, 2024         CBS     9pm 

Cameron Fuller as Travis McCannis 

Steve Bacic as Gideon

Grayson Wells as Barn Guard

[Quickbeam]

I liked it. It was a little different than the typical and I don’t mind supernatural elements. Gorgeous locale. They really are sure to get Justin’s shirt off 1-2 times an episode, aren’t they? He still has no bad angles. 

Edited Monday at 05:18 AM by Quickbeam
Typo

[possibilities]

Yes, this was more to my taste, as well. I like the scenery, the daylight, and actual tracking. And I, too, was fine with the supernatural element. At first, I thought she was going to get bitten by the snake, and it was going to totally be a story about tracking, without a crime aspect-- I think I'd like that, but I guess it's not that much of a story because he finds her, he brings her to the hosppital for anti-venom, and... that's it. 

I was a little bothered at first by the intense and nasty stereotyping of the locals as hostile, suspicious, filthy, cowards, lawless, etc. I live in a rural area and folks here are friendly and not like that at all. But then, there are shitty people everywhere: city, country, suburbs, small towns, everywhere. Sometimes you run into them. And when someone has been abducted, you're more likely to deal with shitty people than not. So I got over my resistance. It's not like the show ONLY shows shitty people in rural places. Last week we had a gruesome situation at a wealthy snooty retreat center. So, they spread the nastiness around all strata.

Still next to nothing for the rest of the ensemble, but I guess they've decided this is a one man show with everybody else just kind of there in the background. It disappoints me, but that's not looking like anything they plan to change.

I am reeling from "we'll barely break even for only $5000" when the job only took a day and he was already in the area. What are his expenses?

I'm not a gun owner, so I just wonder: is it typical that, if you carry a gun for protection, you don't also carry bullets so you can reload?

Edited Monday at 03:44 AM by possibilities

[ahrtee]

44 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I am reeling from "we'll barely break even for only $5000" when the job only took a day and he was already in the area. What are his expenses?

Well, he must have damn good health insurance, and that (considering his risk factor) must cost a fortune.

At least he didn't fix this with a tea bag.

Edited Monday at 04:26 AM by ahrtee

[Quickbeam]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

 

I'm not a gun owner, so I just wonder: is it typical that, if you carry a gun for protection, you don't also carry bullets so you can reload?

I’m married to a gun enthusiast and this really bugged him. He said he should at least be carrying an extra magazine. I kind of hand waved that away. 

[Dowel Jones]

Last week Colter was in Napa County.  This week he's in Kentucky.  No wonder he only broke even on this case.

He has cell service at Emmeline's old cabin, but not at the drug house or the huge store nearby.

Those miners must have a shitty union local if they're helping to chase the mine inspector away.  Wages, benefits, and working conditions, remember?

I'm surprised that the writers actually had him get shot this week.  He takes untold amounts of physical abuse every week and walks away unscathed.  I guess it was just a ploy to get him some homemade grape jelly/cure-all salve. 

Oh, and Colter?  You think it's really a good idea to break into a guy's house and threaten him with a gun in this anti-outsider hamlet?  How would you explain to the local cops why you shot him, if you did?

[possibilities]

I know he was in NAPA during the previous episode, but I thought I heard him tell the dispatcher (Velma?) that he was in the area anyway, so he'd take the job.

[rr2911]

So now that the show has introduced the supernatural element to the show, I guess it is out there and anything goes.  We may see other unexplainable episodes in the future.  I'm ok with that!

[Snazzy Daisy]

Colter gets injured for a less rewarding  job, monetarily. Then he heals like a unicorn. 😱

I like this COTW except for the snake part. People in this mining town definitely have behavior issues but Emmaline and Jasper are likeable. I hope the lady who spits in Colter’s coffee will be haunted for life. Anyway, Steve Bacic is handsome as usual. 😘

Five episodes into season 2 and this show still doesn’t know what to do with Velma. 🤦🏻‍♀️

 

[MissLucas]

Well, not a shoulder/upper arm injury this time. But still strategically enough to get Colter out of his shirt. Still waiting for a knee or hip injury 😁 He's probably related to Hawaii Five-0's McGarrett who had similar Wolverine like healing powers.

Is it just me or have they ramped up the landscape porn this season? Hartley looked particularly good in that autumnal forest light.

As long as the supernatural is contained within the particular context of an episode and kept to a minimum I don't mind. Given the autumn setting and the witchy vibes I wonder if this was supposed to be the Halloween episode.

I was a bit upset that the kids just left 5000 Dollars on a fence post. But they probably trusted that nobody was gone steal from the er... gingerbread house. As for the money and Colter's expenses (apart from medical bills) I never understood how team tracker is organized financially. Were Velma and Teddi employees of Colter or were they just getting a cut of his rewards? And if so, had they other incomes? Same goes for Bobby. And is Velma now working for Reenie and is scouting jobs for Colter as a side-hustle? So many questions, better just stare at the pretty landscapes.

 

[TheCathedral]

That was interesting! Way better than the alien episode and Colter seems more likable this season. I don't mind the supernatural angle if it's well done and the writers did a good job not trying to explain anything.

The weird part about Colter not having extra clips was the way he just wasting ammo but that's not a big deal.

I wonder how many members of the crazy redneck army died and irl Colter wouldn't be driving away that easily. Colter's stealth seems to be better than last season but still not great, he's a big guy wearing dark clothes but still managed to infiltrate the compound! B

[KaveDweller]

3 hours ago, MissLucas said:

As for the money and Colter's expenses (apart from medical bills) I never understood how team tracker is organized financially. Were Velma and Teddi employees of Colter or were they just getting a cut of his rewards? And if so, had they other incomes? Same goes for Bobby. And is Velma now working for Reenie and is scouting jobs for Colter as a side-hustle? So many questions, better just stare at the pretty landscapes.

It is not clear to me either, probably because the writers don't know.

Colter said last week that Bobby has his own fees. So they probably pay him based on what he does. Reenie seems to get a percentage, although it's not clear if that includes cases where she didn't provide any legal services? It would make more sense for a lawyer to be fee based, but maybe they give her something so she is willing to drop what she is doing to help. Velma makes sense to get a percentage, almost like an agent.

Can anyone tell me the name of the actress who played the missing girl? She looked so familiar and I can't figure out why.

 

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, KaveDweller said:

Can anyone tell me the name of the actress who played the missing girl? She looked so familiar and I can't figure out why.

 Alison Thornton as Emmaline Trace

[mythoughtis]

Actress is 25, playing a high school student. 

[AnimeMania]

3 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

Actress is 25, playing a high school student. 

She was so skinny, I thought Colter should have just picked her up and carried her after she got injured. I thought he was in a hurry.

[peeayebee]

Gideon (Steve Bacic) looked familiar to me. I guess I know him from Virgin River.

I enjoyed this one. I was really surprised when Colter got shot with the arrow. Didn't expect that. I also loved when Emmaline made the guys think she could curse them and their family. 

Man, their father looked dead in that bed. I figured the show got a skinny old actor and had him take his dentures out. Good casting!

[KaveDweller]

57 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

 Alison Thornton as Emmaline Trace

Thank you! I haven't seen her in much, she must just have one of those faces.

 

44 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Man, their father looked dead in that bed. I figured the show got a skinny old actor and had him take his dentures out. Good casting!

Their father looked OLD. Not sure what he was dying of, but how much time could Emmaline give him?

[Xarquol]

On 11/11/2024 at 9:29 AM, possibilities said:

I know he was in NAPA during the previous episode, but I thought I heard him tell the dispatcher (Velma?) that he was in the area anyway, so he'd take the job.

They really ought to come up with better explanations as to how Colter can casually drive to a job hauling his nomad trailer. Last week in Napa, they made a thing of how the woman had gone missing 10 hours before he arrived, and they often emphasize that time is everything when someone is missing. Unless he was already in the right bit of California, he'd have had no chance of getting there that quickly. According to Google Maps, Napa is 9 hours drive even from Vegas.

Would it not make sense that occasionally, to save time, he flies in, and leaves behind his shiny truck? I suppose the sponsors need their vehicles on screen as much as possible.

23 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Five episodes into season 2 and this show still doesn’t know what to do with Velma. 🤦🏻‍♀️

There is no need for Velma (and Teddi if we ever see her again) to be the exclusive handler for Colter. They could have several trackers they manage. They could team Colter up with these other trackers from time to time. Billie could have been one of them. Team Tracker could look like some sort of sophisticated network. Reenie could be the lawyer help for all of them. But instead it's just a handful of people on the end of phones, where the lawyer magically appears at seemingly (by now) every job.

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, Xarquol said:

Would it not make sense that occasionally, to save time, he flies in, and leaves behind his shiny truck? I suppose the sponsors need their vehicles on screen as much as possible.

I am not sure that would work since he only gets paid when he finds the person. He should keep initial expenses to a minimum in case he doesn't complete the job.

[MarylandGirl]

3 hours ago, Xarquol said:

They really ought to come up with better explanations as to how Colter can casually drive to a job hauling his nomad trailer. Last week in Napa, they made a thing of how the woman had gone missing 10 hours before he arrived, and they often emphasize that time is everything when someone is missing. Unless he was already in the right bit of California, he'd have had no chance of getting there that quickly. According to Google Maps, Napa is 9 hours drive even from Vegas.

Would it not make sense that occasionally, to save time, he flies in, and leaves behind his shiny truck? I suppose the sponsors need their vehicles on screen as much as possible.

There is no need for Velma (and Teddi if we ever see her again) to be the exclusive handler for Colter. They could have several trackers they manage. They could team Colter up with these other trackers from time to time. Billie could have been one of them. Team Tracker could look like some sort of sophisticated network. Reenie could be the lawyer help for all of them. But instead it's just a handful of people on the end of phones, where the lawyer magically appears at seemingly (by now) every job.

Yes, it would be interesting if there were other trackers, especially if they sometimes assisted him. It seems ridiculous at times that he goes into these places all by himself. Also, the fact that he doesn't seem to tell people where he's going or what he's doing. Like if he'd told, say, Reenie and Velma that he was going into the compound, that if he doesn't check back in within the hour, to send help (though I guess in this case, the police wouldn't have helped).

I did like this case (including the supernatural part) and the missing girl.

[edhopper]

I am not a fan of the supernatural stuff for this show.  Especially faith healing, which causes a lot of damage. It just stops the show from being grounded. Maybe they can make it a one off and drop it.

Other than that, it was a tight episode.

[proserpina65]

On 11/11/2024 at 9:06 PM, mythoughtis said:

Actress is 25, playing a high school student. 

She looked young enough to be in high school, though.

I'm not generally big on faith healing/herbal magic stuff in general, but in the context of the story it was fine.  Overall this episode worked better for me than anything else in season 2 so far.

Anyone know who did the version of Poor Wayfaring Stranger that played at the end?

On 11/11/2024 at 2:29 PM, Snazzy Daisy said:

Five episodes into season 2 and this show still doesn’t know what to do with Velma. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I never cared about Velma.  Or Reenie either, so they could eliminate both of them and I'd be just fine.  Bobby I like, though, so more of him would be great.

 

[rr2911]

On 11/11/2024 at 1:29 PM, Snazzy Daisy said:

Colter gets injured for a less rewarding  job, monetarily. Then he heals like a unicorn. 😱

I like this COTW except for the snake part. People in this mining town definitely have behavior issues but Emmaline and Jasper are likeable. I hope the lady who spits in Colter’s coffee will be haunted for life. Anyway, Steve Bacic is handsome as usual. 😘

Five episodes into season 2 and this show still doesn’t know what to do with Velma. 🤦🏻‍♀️

 

They should've written her off the show.  She really doesn't add anything to the show.  Let the hacker (don't remember his name) find cases for Colter.  Or bring back the Colter’s sister and brother and have them work for him. 

[MissLucas]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Anyone know who did the version of Poor Wayfaring Stranger that played at the end?

According to tunefind.com the cover was by Lola Colette.

[emma675]

Am I the only one who didn't realize Colter's sister Dory is younger than him? I thought it was Russell, Dory, and then Colter. When Colter referred to his little sister, it threw me. 

Edited 14 hours ago by emma675

[ahrtee]

41 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Am I the only one who didn't realize Colter's sister Dory is younger than him? I thought it was Russell, Dory, and then Colter. When Colter referred to his little sister, it threw me. 

I read the first two books, which have a little more background.  Yes, Colter was the middle child.  His father referred to Dory as "the clever one," Colter was "the restless one" and Russell was "the reclusive one."  I think they changed those two around a bit for the show. 😊

[emma675]

23 minutes ago, ahrtee said:

I read the first two books, which have a little more background.  Yes, Colter was the middle child.  His father referred to Dory as "the clever one," Colter was "the restless one" and Russell was "the reclusive one."  I think they changed those two around a bit for the show. 😊

I also didn't realize there were books! I'm learning so much, lol.

[possibilities]

Colter certainly seems restless, to me. And Dory seems smart. 

[ahrtee]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

Colter certainly seems restless, to me. And Dory seems smart. 

Not to say they're not.  Just Colter wasn't such a lone wolf, finish the job and leave kind of guy.  Yes, restless to keep moving, but not avoiding people. He actually had friends that he saw.  (And an investment income that he could live on between rewards!)  😊