Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
It’s nerve-wracking not knowing a show’s fate when it ends on action-packed and emotional cliffhangers.
The Hunting Party’s fate has still not been decided, so thankfully, the writers kept that in mind when crafting the Season 2 finale.
None of the main characters’ lives were left up in the air like Oliver Odell’s in The Hunting Party Season 1 finale.
The Hunting Party Season 2 Episode 13 kept us on our toes with an entertaining serial killer, Col. Lazarus’s secret plans, and some returning favorites.
I love our Hunting Party trio, but they got ahead of themselves after being told not to trust anything about the Pit.
As soon as they learned something, there would be many more questions, and that’s the theme of The Hunting Party.
Xander Wax Was a Different Type of Serial Killer
I had difficulty picturing John Corbett as a serial killer. I’ve only seen him as a fun-loving character.
Initially, his character, Xander Wax, cracked me up, since we’ve all had those roommates we’ve tuned out when they’ve had sex for hours.
Was it wrong to lace a condom with poisonous frog venom? Absolutely. But it was also ingenious.
He was one of the smartest serial killers, and he was spot on when he said that both humans and animals have a right to be on this planet.
Something refreshing about his honesty initially appealed to me.
This changed as he killed more people, sometimes by leaving venom on a soda bottle or a paper napkin.
He lusted for the randomness, hoping to catch an important person.
Have I Mentioned My Fear of Snakes and Scorpions?
Have I mentioned my phobia of snakes, spiders, and scorpions? I hate them, so this episode was difficult to watch as they crawled on the victims.
It was much easier to watch Xander’s murders before the Pit. They were random and typically involved placing the venom on an object for an unlikely victim.
Like most of the murderers, his kills changed after the Pit. They seemed more targeted and more violent.
I hated seeing the snake attack Bill Reese, but the scopians in Daphne’s car were even worse. Luckily, Bex arrived in time, but almost all of these creatures were so poisonous they didn’t have an antidote.
Naturally, Bill and Daphne had uncovered details about the Pit, and Daphne’s house had a humongous evidence wall, listing connections to people the trio didn’t even realize were involved.
It flipped their worlds upside down even more.
It All Leads Back to Lazarus, and She Has Spies Everywhere
Lazarus needed to be stopped. Bex swallowed her pride and went to AG Mallory to ask for help.
It’s not that AG Mallory didn’t believe them. She knew Lazarus was capable of evil, but she needed concrete proof because Lazarus had many connections.
Proving that she restarted the graduate program could be difficult.
Shane and Bex were entertaining by being tough with Xander. They finally linked the pieces between him and Lazarus, but they weren’t sure how Philip Beaumont fit in.
I love how Bex has evolved. Before, she always followed the rules, and now she had no issues threatening to inject Xander with venom to get them answers.
Bex acted as a fearless leader with Shane as her backup. It should have been a sign that Hassani barely agreed since he found something on that evidence board.
I hate that he’ll never get the closure he deserves thanks to the Pit.
Bex got some answers since Xander finally gave in, as she almost stuck him with venom.
Don’t mess with Lazarus. She had spies everywhere. Bex thought she had arranged a deal with AG Mallory, but Lazarus killed her and brought her dead body as a present for the trio.
Xander had tipped her off, but she no longer needed him either.
The bodies started to pile up, and I feared for the trio.
Morales Proved She’s a Badass Too
While Morales was helpful in The Hunting Party Season 1, she’s proven to be a bigger asset this season in helping the trio.
She suspected the command center was bugged, figured that working at Peck’s was safer, and that she might need his help.
She drove a hard bargain, but needed access to the lab’s servers, and boy, were they in for a surprise.
Morales figured the trio had been captured, but she hadn’t expected to see so many Pit prisoners, including Dr. Malak and Amanda Weiss.
Dr. Malak drove Hassani’s fears home by insinuating that he knew Hassani had trouble with his wife. Did they both lead secret lives?
Amanda Weiss seemed angry at Bex for lying at her still, so when Morales opened the cell doors to give the trio a chance, she also elicited the physical fights.
It was one of those entertaining, choreographed fight scenes between guards, prisoners, and the trio.
She at least gave them a fighting chance.
While Morales broke the rules to save her family, she knew there may be consequences. She’s a rule follower, which is why she’d never work with Peck.
I suspect that’s the last we’ll see of him, but I hope Ben Jones reappears next year. I liked the vibe he and Morales had in the command center.
DNA Does Not Make a Family – Shane Chooses His
Col. sensed that Shane wanted to fit in, and she thought he could do more than just be Shane Florence.
She wanted him to work for her. I applauded Shane for knowing that family wasn’t about DNA.
His adoptive parents were there for him and raised him to be an honorable man. His first concern wasn’t about himself, but for Bex and Hassani’s safety.
Part of me felt some sympathy for Col. Lazarus since the people at the Pit wanted to lock her up forever.
However, my sympathy waned as she began rehabbing killers into soldiers and referred to Shane as an experient.
Shane was so much more than one of her experients. He had the kindest heart and was the exact opposite of her.
He proved that when he couldn’t shoot her, even after she shot Bex and taunted him to kill her.
I hated that the series made us think that they killed Bex and made Shane suffer more, but ultimately, I suspect, Bex wanted Lazarus to think she was dead.
It gave Bex a shot to shoot Lazarus and gave Shane and Bex the emotional embrace fans have been longing for.
Nothing like a near-death experience to bring you closer together.
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With The Hunting Party Season 3 Uncertain, Will We See the Next Chapter of the Pit?
I’m relieved that all of the main characters survived, but so many questions remain, and there better be another season.
Morales made a drastic decision to save the trio with Peck’s help. She kept her word and freed him, but will she pay the price, or will there be leniency because of her heroic efforts?
Hassani saw his wife’s photo on the board at Daphne’s house. We haven’t dug into his past enough, but that would break his heart if she worked for the other side.
Hopefully, the series will explore that if it gets another season.
Of course, the biggest reveal was Philip Beaumont’s involvement in the Pit and his attempt to expose Col. Lazarus’s evil plans.
It’s always challenging to trust people from the Pit, but he seemed sincere when he offered to partner with the trio.
There’s nothing I’d like better than to see Bex in charge of the task force and be her own boss. If she were, she could lead their missions and give Morales more responsibility.
This is what we’ve dreamed of, and hopefully, we get to see it.
They deserve to catch all these serial killers who were being conditioned into soldiers. It’s such a scary thought that the Pit was creating killers.
No matter what, it’s been a fun ride. I hope we continue it.
Over to you, TV Fanatics. Were you surprised by who died? Would you like to see Bex in charge? How did you rate the finale?
Let us know in the comments below.
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