‘Hunters’: 6 of the Craziest Things That Happened in Season 1
Hunters season 1 drew fans in right out the gate thanks to its wild plots and high-stakes action. Just when you thought things couldn’t get even more insane, they did, and fans loved every minute of it. In preparation for season 2, let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the craziest things that happened in season 1.
Warning: EXTREME spoilers ahead. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
6. Bank Heist
This was pretty crazy for a few reasons, one of them being the amount of planning that went into this. Moves and countermoves. From the audience really getting to see Lonny in action to Sister Harriet being… well, Sister Harriet, this high-stakes mission was a really impressive feat for the gang to pull off — not to mention just fun for the audience to watch. But the real reason that this heist was so insane was what the team found underneath the bank. In a heartbreaking scene showing all of the Nazi loot stolen from Jewish people in the camps, the viewers (and Jonah) really get hit with a visual sense of how much loss has resulted from the heinous actions of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Especially when the flashbacks from the camps that episode come full circle to the ring that Jonah steals as proof.
5. Murray’s death
If any of the team was going to die, never in a million years would I have guessed it would be Murray (yet another reason to hate Travis). This entire situation was rather unexpected to the audience, as the team thought that they were foiling the widespread distribution of the then-unknown pathogen that night. However, all they got was a distraction, and one that took its toll. In the process of following Travis to try and shut down the Nazis’ plan, they get trapped on the subway with a backpack Travis chained to one of the seats. And that backpack contained none other than a bomb. Murray heroically tries to diffuse the thing, but as soon as he saw visions of his son Aaron, who was killed in the camps, we knew it was over.
4. Biff’s Backyard BBQ Shootout
Considering this was the opening scene of the show, I for one instantly knew I was in for a wild ride. Seemingly charming southern politician Biff Simpson is hosting a nice backyard barbecue with his family when one of his colleagues’ wives suddenly begins screaming. Why, you ask? Well, Biff is a Nazi, you see, and a rather sadistic one if his nickname (The Butcher of Arlav) is anything to go by. The woman recognized him from the camps. Unfortunately, the revealing of his true identity leads him to pull out a gun and promptly slaughter everyone in the backyard… including his wife and three small kids. Absolutely nuts.
3. Santa Claus High Fructose Corn Syrup, Go Straight To The Ghetto
Did I already make this joke in my Hunters season 1 recap? Yes. Am I gonna make it again? Yes. If I had a nickel for every time a season’s main plot for of one of my favorite shows was to take over the world via high fructose corn syrup, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Bonus points if you can guess the show I’m talking about in the comments. All jokes aside, this plot point was insane. Insane because it seems implausible, but also in the way that you can see how it would be effective if someone actually managed it in real life? Like not to applaud Nazis or anything, but you have to give them credit because this is terrifying. Thankfully, our favorite team of Hunters managed to foil this plan that would have had devastating consequences… but not without some great losses.
2. Meyer Offerman, Saba Wilhelm Zuchs, The Wolf
Look, I pride myself on being pretty intuitive, and I often have at least an inkling of what directions storylines are going. Nothing could have prepared me for this. The reveal that Al Pacino’s Meyer Offerman was actually the one and only Wilhelm Zuchs (AKA The Wolf) that “Meyer” and Ruth had been hunting as their personal number one all those years truly blindsided viewers. The clues that something might have been off were so subtle, and Jonah never would have figured it out without those key pieces of info from his Safta’s belongings. Meyer definitely had his moments where you could see him whispering poison in Jonah’s ear and trying him to lead him over into the “dark side,” but he also exuded grandfatherly care for Jonah and a seemingly genuine passion for the hunt. He never showed that outside of the hunt he was anything other than a pillar of the Jewish community. He had adopted Jewish customs and language and knowledge so well. To this day, definitely one of the craziest twists I’ve experienced in television.
1. Hitler Is Alive
Just when you thought things quite literally could not get crazier after the Meyer reveal, we were confronted with this — in the last minute of the show no less. After Joe was kidnapped, we see him forced to sit down to lunch with none other than Adolf Hitler and The Colonel, revealed to be Eva Braun — as well as some freaky Aryan children that look like they’re all exact clones of each other. Pass. This not only has troubling implications for the plot in season 2, but also just that… Hitler’s death was a whole conspiracy??? Like literally what did you mean by that.
Honorable Mention
Travis. Literally anything having to do with Travis. That man scares me.
The second and final season of Hunters premieres January 13. The production stars Logan Lerman, Jerrika Hinton, Lena Olin, Carol Kane, Josh Radnor, Greg Austin, Tiffany Boone, Louis Ozawa, Kate Mulvany, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Al Pacino. Did any of these plot points sound unfamiliar? Check out our season 1 recap to refresh your memory of what went down before you dive into season 2. Stay tuned for our review of season 2 and any news/updates as they become available.