‘Hunters’ Review: Season One

Hunters’ first season was just released on Amazon Prime. It had both good and bad moments. Some that were predictable and some that took me by surprise. There were moments that I definitely cried in tears and outrage. I poured them out into this review for you. So, let’s go ahead and forge forward.

WARNING

I’m going to warn you now if you haven’t yet watched Hunters and are reading this review because you are curious, you may want to stop. There will be spoilers ahead that might ruin it for you. I also want to warn you that this series is full of violence, pain and very dark moments in our history. I feel like you should have that warning before you proceed with this review, or with the series.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

I haven’t seen a lot of promo for this series outside of promoted posts on Twitter. Hunters is about a group of people, called Hunters, that hunt Nazi war criminals who escaped justice during World War Two and were brought to America by the government. They use their own special brand of justice to round them up, and in the process uncover a plot for a Fourth Reich.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

I have mixed feelings. Hunters no doubt managed to draw me in. I was intrigued by the first episode, and it took 48 hours to finish the first season. Logan Lerman and Al Pacino were excellent at portraying their characters. There were a lot of lessons being taught in this series. About what is right and wrong. What it means to take the easy route vs. the hard one. Light vs. Dark. They explore those themes thoroughly throughout the season.

The story-line that there are high ranking Nazi Officials that got of scott free and living in 1970’s America is a fresh take to me. This was a production that didn’t seem overdone before. It feels fresh, new and exciting. If the first season does well, I could see this be a continuing series for Amazon. However, there were definitely things that I was not super comfortable with.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Now we get to what I didn’t like about Hunters. I feel like they glorified horror stories of Auschwitz. I get that this is entertainment, but there is a line to draw. I believe that creating horror stories of death regarding the atrocities of what happened at concentration camps is a road we should not be venturing down.

The L.A Times recently wrote an article about how The Auschwitz‑Birkenau Memorial criticized Amazon for creating fictionalized scenes of violence such as the human chess board scene. I happen to agree with them. It is a dangerous path to go down.

I also happen to believe in justice. I wish that they caught the Nazi’s themselves and partnered with Agent Morris to bring them in. I think that would make a great story-line. Maybe they will pursue that in a future season, if they are greenlit.

SUSPICIONS

Now, let’s talk about my suspicions. First we will start with Meyer. I clocked around episode two or three that he probably was The Wolf. His character just seemed…off. He acted so differently from his flashback memories to who he was in the future. If he was willing to kill innocent lives to save the woman he loved why would he just up and leave her after they are free? It didn’t make sense. Also, where did he make all his money and get his influence? It was off.

The Colonel. She was very obvious to me as well. Of course she was Eva. Who else would she be? A high ranking woman within the Nazi regime who held power had to have been somone important. Eva. The General wouldn’t just let any woman be in charge. No. It could have only been her.

Who else could the General have been besides Hitler? There has always been conspiracy theories that he is actually alive in South America. When the whole plot came to light about the South American sanctions needing to be passed and their testing, it made perfect sense. I feel like they failed in trying to keep their identities hidden. They could have tried a little harder.

TEARS

If you weren’t crying for the death of Murray or Aaron when he was reunited with Mindy, do you have a heart? I was balling my eyes out. They wanted their son and he was unjustly taken from them. He had dreams, hopes, aspirations and clearly a talent for painting.

Watching Murray as he willing gave his life to save everyone and to watch him reach out towards Aaron right before the bomb went off tore my heart to shreds. It was then set on fire after his funeral, when Mindy ventured into the afterlife for a minute with both of them to be briefly reunited. Hunters did a good job in making me cry, that’s for sure.

REMEMBRANCE

I think it would be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to think about the Holocaust and what it was. A horrid moment in history when a group of people thought that they were superior to everyone else. They willing imprisoned and were responsible for the mass murder of millions of Jews, Gypsies, disabled people, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and anyone else that didn’t fit into their ‘perfect’ race.

There are people today that deny such an event happened. Even though there is ample evidence and a world war was fought over it. Take the time to remember what happened. Take the time to care. If we are not careful it could easily happen again.

If you want to learn more here is somewhere you can start. I would also recommend reading Night by Elie Wiesel. It is about his experience being held at Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. It is a heartbreaking story, but an important one.

“For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” ― Elie Wiesel, Night

What did you think of the series? Share your thoughts with us below in the comments. You can also sign up for the Fangirlish Newsletter here!

Hunters is now streaming on Amazon Prime.