The Hunting Party Season 2, Episode 6 “Lou Kaplan” points out the dangers of trusting people on social media. While also reminding us that most influencers and users create fake allusions of themselves that’s harmful for the public. Lou Kaplan (Jefferson White) was one of the season’s scariest killers so far because he felt relevant to our current society.
His use of AI to create a girl who gained thousands of followers by posting baking content was how he stalked his victims. It was terrifying, if we’re honest, because this hour served as a stark reminder that technology is advancing further than we realize. And it’s always nerve-wrecking to think of its dangerous potential.
On the other hand, this episode gave us more of Colonel Lazarus which is something we’d been waiting for. In stepping out from the shadows, Lazarus set her sights set on disrupting the team. She placed the blame of the security breach behind last week’s cliffhanger of Cyrus being killed in transport on Hassani. While it wasn’t his fault, this showed just how easy it is for her to pull strings above the team’s heads like dolls.
As of right now, Lazarus has the upper hand on the team even if they already suspect her of being a corrupt boss. She knows Bex found out her identity after lurking in her apartment. And it’s just as terrifying as Kaplan’s storyline. Because now the games can really begin. The last scene of The Hunting Party Season 2, Episode 6 “Lou Kaplan” just further proves that this hour was the calm before the impending storm.
MORE: Did you miss when we spoke to showrunner J.J Bailey about Season 2? Read our interview HERE!
The Calm Before the Storm
“Lou Kaplan” gave us more of Kari Matchett’s Lazarus, which is what we wanted because her character is important to the overall plot, and we’re left feeling anxious. Because she was stirring trouble from the very beginning of the hour when telling the team about the security breach and Cyrus’s death. Instead of trying to throw the team on someone else’s (or her own) scent, she immediately pointed the blame on one of them. Even if it wasn’t true.
Her actions were deliberate. She wanted them to start doubting each other. And if it worked, they’d be too busy tiptoeing around each other to suspect her.
The team was too busy chasing after Kaplan to dive into their suspicions of her involvement in Cyrus’s death. Which naturally placed Lazarus one step ahead of them in their search to take her down. The team (excluding Shane) knowing she’s lying about her identity as a manipulative killer doesn’t hold leverage over her anymore. Because now she knows they know she is the teenage killer, Caitlin Taylor. Lazarus may be apathetic and cold, but it doesn’t mean she isn’t smart. She would have to target the team one by one to rattle them. And that’s exactly what she did in this hour.
She may have failed in getting them to distrust the other using Cyrus as they grew suspicious of her instead. But it didn’t stop her from wanting to get close to Shane in The Hunting Party Season 2, Episode 6 “Lou Kaplan.”
Hassani Didn’t Do It
While unconfirmed, we’re helpless to believe that Lazarus was the one to pin Hassani’s name to the order that altered Cyrus’s route in transport which got him killed by a masked person.
He behaves as a picture-perfect follower of rules as a CIA agent. So doing something so reckless and suspicious like changing Cyrus’s route for someone to take note of would change how people see him. This would be something he couldn’t explain, and if Lazarus fans the flames, he’d be the one accused of betrayal. Not her. We trust Hassani deeply and seeing just how stricken he was to learn that it was his signature that signed off on the change was hard to watch. Because we know he would never do it. However, there is someone who we know is capable of sneaking around and calling orders. And it’s Lazarus.
Breaking into Bex’s apartment told us that she’s caught onto the team’s suspicion of her. And it’s not surprising at all because although her overall plans are unknown, we know Lazarus has secrets to protect. She’ll always be hyper aware of how people view her and finding her files on Bex’s coffee table told her that Bex is actively looking for Lazarus’s truth.
It may be unclear if Lazarus knows that she’s Shane’s mother. But one thing is for sure, seeing her confront him at the end of “Lou Kaplan” means she’s got big plans. She can’t get to Bex directly right now. Therefore, she had to go for Shane, her friend who she has late night dinner phone calls with to shake her up. And that choice means trouble for one of our favorite dynamics.
MORE: Miss our Season 2, Episode 5 ‘Noah Cyrus’ review of The Hunting Party? Catch up and read HERE!
Trouble Incoming For ShaneBex
Admittingly, we can’t tell just yet if Lazarus knows that Shane is her son. It’s hard to say as she hasn’t said Shane’s name to Dulles or to anyone else in passing. All we know as viewers is that she wanted to keep the boy from the tapes away from her. Those were her last words to Dulles before killing him at the beginning of the season.
Which makes talking about the last scene of “Lou Kaplan” so interesting. Lazarus had showed up to Shane’s apartment in the middle of the night asking to talk. After seeing the vulnerability in her question, it’s impossible to think she doesn’t know their connection exists. Why else would she be there to talk if not to cause a drift or change the narrative about her? If she does know who Shane is to her then she knows exactly what she’s doing going after the guy with the big heart.
If she knows Shane is her son and has plans to explain herself to him thinking he knows, nothing good will come out of it. Even if Lazarus, in the slightest chance she feels something for Shane as his mother, doesn’t want to hurt him. Knowing his friends kept this secret from him will be the one to shake him up if Lazarus’s talk doesn’t do it for him.
MORE: Did you miss when we spoke to Patrick Sabongui about Hassani in Season 2? Read our interview HERE!
Other Thoughts
- I’m sorry to this girl but I’d also be annoyed if I were this barista
- Oh great. The killer was right there
- She did not deserve to die like that. Wow.
- MORE LAZARUS PLEASE! I know she’s evil, but we need more of her to advance the plot. C’mon.
- So, we’re in agreement she called the hit on Cyrus and is trying to blame the team? Ok.
- Shane literally doesn’t know he’s in front of his mom right now. That’s a little crazy to me.
- Because of course Hassani is a no social media household.
- The concept of being killed on livestream is so freaky. Reason number fifty as to why I don’t want to be an influencer.
- The team is suspicious of Lazarus!
- She died getting smothered with some muffins? Absolutely nuts.
- I kind of hate that Kaplan makes sense. Social media is a dangerous place and he’s right!
- She wanted a fling and got a serial killer. That’s tragic.
- THE PUBLIC IS BECOMING AWARE THAT THEY’RE SEEING “DEAD” KILLERS GET CAUGHT AGAIN! This cannot be good in the long run.
- So…..Peck and Morales are going on a date. We ship.
- ShaneBex dinner date? Over the phone? You already know we ship.
- LAZARUS IS AT HIS DOOR.
- Oh my god. No way.
- You’re going to leave it off THERE? Is it Thursday yet?
NBC‘s The Hunting Party airs on Thursdays at 10 pm EST.
