After being introduced as reward seeker Billie Matalon in the newest episode of CBS’ Tracker, Sofia Pernas discussed the events of the episode with PopCulture.com. Billie has a previous history with Colter and is considered to be his nemesis, but that doesn’t stop them from teaming up when a racehorse goes missing.
There is a lot of tension between the two reward seekers, but it was actually Billie who wanted to work with Colter on the case, even despite their history together. Pernas said that Billie’s tactic was all part of her “cat-and-mouse game.” She continued, “I think she likes to toy with Colter every once in a while because, I mean, it’s a powerful tool that women have in their toolbox whenever they want to use it. It was Oscar Wilde who was it that said, ‘Women are born with powers of manipulation.’ Whether they want to use it for good or evil, I mean, that’s up to the woman. And I think it’s something that A, she can use it to move along the case, and B, she can use it to keep her friends close, so to speak, even though he’s like a frenemy. But I think that was her ultimate goal, to keep an eye on him.”
Although things were rocky between them throughout the episode, there is clearly still something between them. At one point in the episode, the duo were nearly trapped in a barn that went up in flames, but luckily, they made it out. After getting out and having a chance to take a breather, they were starting to come around to each other and almost kissed. While Sofia Pernas previously shared how fun it was to play her husband, Justin Hartley’s nemesis, she “loved” playing off the dynamic of their budding potential romance.
“I loved that the writers had that scene happen after the barn because I think life-threatening situations just alter everything, alter everything that you previously believed or thought before, because you realize just how evanescent life can be, just fly right out of your hands,” Pernas shared. “And it was like, ‘Why am I sitting on all this stuff?’ And so it was very believable for me, and it was so easy to play, transitioning all of that sort of pressure and that anxiety from almost dying in a burning barn to looking at this person who I probably used to love in the past and letting myself feel those feelings instead of cover them in pride or stubbornness. And I think it was the same for him as well. It allowed us that sliver, that moment to have that play out.”
With Season 2 of Tracker on the way, Pernas thinks Billie’s coming back, and she “can’t wait to see how she crash lands back into his life, but I think that’s what’s so fun to see. There’s so many possibilities because they both do the same thing. They just kind of have their own bag of skills. So it really is just, you can think of anything, and it would be fun with them.”
Since there is a potential of seeing much more of Billie Matalon, this will give the series the opportunity to not only dig deeper into her backstory but Colter’s as well as it hopefully explores their history and much more. Pernas said, “I think there’s really pivotal moments in her history with Colter that can sort of explain why she made the decisions she made, whether it would be to betray him in that time because their lives looked like they were heading towards maybe we like each other, maybe we should be a couple. And I think it would be interesting to see that side of her, and honestly, that side of Colter as well, because he’s always so self-assured and commanding every room. And he’s almost like, ‘I’m a man, I don’t feel anything.’ But underneath that, it’s like a little soft interior, and it’s always nice to see that, I think, as an audience viewer.”
It would certainly be interesting to see Billie return and her continuing relationship with Colter, whether as enemies, friends, partners, or something more. Since Season 2 was just announced, it’s likely not too much has been thought out, but it’s never too early to hope. Sofia Pernas definitely brought a lot to Tracker as Billie, and it would be a delight to see her again.