In 2002, CBS aired a new police procedural called Without a Trace, that was about a squad in the FBI that focused on finding missing people. Every episode dealt with the team racing against the clock to find the missing person of the week, along the way you get to know each member of the squad better. The squad consists of Jack Malone played by Anthony LaPaglia, Samantha Spade played by Poppy Montgomery, Vivian Johnson played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Danny Taylor played by Enrique Murciano, and Martin Fitzgerald played by Eric Close.

One of the ways the writers were able to introduce the characters and develop them is by the introduction of Martin’s character who was transferred over from the White Collar unit in the first episode. Martin’s character is new to the squad so by him getting to know his coworkers, we as the viewers also get to know them. We see early on that Danny has some animosity towards Martin because his father is the Deputy Director of the FBI and Danny doesn’t believe he got this position because of his skills, but instead because of who his dad is. So in the first season Martin has to prove himself to his coworkers and also to himself.
The first season also does a good job of establishing the fact that Jack and Samantha have a romantic history, even though Jack is married. I think out of the whole cast, Jack and Martin get the best development and Vivian and Danny get the least. There were hints of stuff, but not enough that when I finished the first season that I felt I knew and understood their characters when compared to Jack, Martin, and Samantha.

There were 23 episodes in the first season and while there were some great episodes, there were also some duds. Below I have listed some of the episodes I thought were the best and the worst, and my opinion of why they are the best or the worst.

Best Episodes: Maple Street, Hang On To Me, There Goes the Bride, Clare de Lune, No Mas, Are You Now, or Have you Ever Been…., Fallout Pt. 1 & 2

Each of these episodes were memorable for their performances or the case, or even both elements. My favorites of these ones were “Are You Now, or Have you Ever Been….” and the two part finale “Fallout”. “Are You Now, or Have you Ever Been….” was in a way a clip show that had the squad, specifically Jack, face two cases that were investigated earlier in the season. The cases were from the episodes “Suspect” and “In Extremis”.
The performance from Anthony LaPaglia was amazing in this episode and the development of his previous and current relationship with Samantha is explored so well in this one. The same actually can be said when it comes to my reasons for loving the two part finale, “Fallout”. Anthony, Poppy Montgomery, and the actor who plays Barry, performances in this finale perfectly capture the tension and emotion in these episodes.
I also want to give a shoutout to the episode “Hang On To Me” which concludes a cold case of Jacks that we learn about in the first episode. It’s just an amazing episode with some very emotionally charged performances. The focus of this episode is the disappearance of a father who has been looking for his missing son for years and who keeps coming to Jack with new leads or new ideas of what could have happened to his son. It’s just an amazing episode and I remember being surprised that it was a case that was concluded so early on in the season.

Worst Episodes: Between the Cracks, The Friendly Skies, Kam Li, Victory for Humanity

Now when it comes to these episodes it honestly comes down to forgettability. They are the episodes that I actually had to look up and remind myself what happened. Nothing interesting happened in them, which is kind of ironic since one of the episodes on this list, “Between the Cracks”, is about a missing girl who no one remembers or notices.
The rest of the episodes not included here weren’t bad, but weren’t amazing either. They were solid episodes that did their job of telling the story of the week while progressing the characters development in the season.

Although, I will admit, the episode “In Extremis” did leave me extremely angry. The premise of this episode is that a man of middle eastern descent going missing and as they investigate the squad starts to believe that he’s a terrorist. They come to learn that he is actually trying to stop a terrorist attack and in trying to save people he is killed by police.
This episode angered me and while I understand the time that this was made, it still doesn’t excuse the way this episode went. I actually cried at the end of this episode from sadness and anger. That’s one of the negatives of watching this show is that it touches on topics or ideas that were prevalent in 2002, but in 2021 it’s a shock and adjustment to watch. Now, I know this country isn’t much better compared to what it used to be, but it still angered me to watch this episode and realize that we haven’t grown as much as you would hope in the span of 19 years.

Overall, I really enjoyed getting to rewatch the first season of a show I adored and watched religiously when I was younger. While some things tackled in episodes upset me, I still think it’s a good cop show that everyone should check out.
Right now, it’s on HBO MAX if you wanna watch it.