Questioning the ethical and moral grounds of preemptive intervention tactics and shady prisoner exploitation of the authorities in question, NBC’s latest crime thriller, The Hunting Party, presents a premise that functions partly as an investigation procedural and partly as a high-profile government cover-up exposé. They might sound like naturally interconnected strains of a plotline, but I can assure you, the narrative style of the series doesn’t make it seem so—creating a strange mix of grounded and exaggerated crime thriller elements. Still, a decent intrigue is set up as the pilot episode explores the troubling past ties and interpersonal dynamics between the characters while hinting at their probable connection with a large-scale conspiracy that might expose the extent of corruption in the authoritative hierarchy. It remains to be seen whether, going forward, The Hunting Party is able to keep viewers hooked, but there is undeniable potential for the creators to take the story in a bold new direction if the makers intend to do so.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Is Agent Henderson Brought Back?
The episode begins in Cheyenne, Wyoming—in an off-the-books, silo-like structure that is later revealed to be a federal supermax prison where the most notorious killers of the country are held captive. The Pit was strategically located in one of the most covert locations, where the country’s nuclear stockpile is kept inside other silos. Following an explosion, the origin of which remains unknown, a domino effect of detonations is triggered inside the Pit, which destroys the structure within seconds, resulting in the surviving inmates escaping from captivity.
Former FBI agent Rebecca ‘Bex’ Henderson is seen working in a security team of a casino in Portsmouth, Virginia—and her perceptive, quick-witted nature is highlighted in the way she manages to detect a cheating gambler simply from the body language cues seen in surveillance footage. Henderson is approached by a team of FBI agents, led by the Attorney General, who takes Bex to Wyoming to introduce her to CIA agent/White House advisor, Jacob Hassani. The reason why Bex left the agency remains a mystery still, just like the details of the reason for her being summoned in front of federal agents and intelligence agency officers all of a sudden. Bex is asked to profile Richard Harris—a psychopathic serial killer afflicted by troubling mental issues who had previously murdered seven women by injecting them with ammonium sulfide. Bex is vexed after being questioned about the culprit whom she nabbed in her first case as an FBI agent, given that, like the rest of the world, she too was under the impression that Richard Harris was executed for his crimes—oblivious to the truth that Harris, along with a number of other dreaded killers, was incarcerated in the secretive prison.
Hassani walks Bex through the details of the Pit, and its current predicament, and shares that the reason she’s been brought back as an agent is to recapture Harris. The CIA has to keep the entire ordeal a secret, which is why taking help from local authorities is not an option; furthermore, Bex has the necessary expertise and experience to ensure a successful manhunt. Harris has already been spotted outside a diner in Denver, kidnapping a girl in broad daylight—which prompts Hassani to fire up the agency’s jet to quickly reach the scene of the crime along with Bex before it’s too late. A former member of the armed forces and currently a guard at the Pit, Shane Florence appears to be really adamant about accompanying the duo as he tags along with them. Shane’s experience as a survivor during the prison destruction has left him with a sense of guilt, which he wants to absolve by doing his part—assisting them in recapturing the criminals.
Did Henderson learn the truth about Richard Harris?
Harris’ experience gives her a clear edge as, following the killer’s modus operandi—she is able to corner Harris before he takes down his latest victim. However, a delay in backup arriving results in Harris slipping from her grasp, but the girl gets a second chance at life. At this point the plot takes a ridiculous stretch as Bex is able to deduce who Harris’ next victim will be by reviewing one of his old psych sessions, connecting the dots, which leads the team to Nicole Westin, whom Harris couldn’t eliminate during his murder spree, and now he seeks to complete his unfinished business.
As the team travels to Durango, Colorado—to reach Nicole before Harris does—Bex and Shane share a moment together. By Bex’s own admission, she became interested in joining the FBI at an early age of 15, when she was able to deduce the identity of a serial killer who was the father of her best friend. She clearly loved her job while being an active federal agent, but at the same time it entailed a number of darker implications for which she wasn’t prepared—as shown later in the episode. Shane shares the shady nature of operations in the Pit with Bex, mentioning that the imprisoned killers are subjected to a number of experiments at the facility. Their conversation is cut short as Hassani interrupts and asks Shane to keep the secret of the Pit to himself.
Upon reaching Nicole, Bex and Hassani argue with each other as the latter wants to use Nicole as bait to lure Harris, much to Bex’s dismay. She can’t help but bring forth the issues about the Pit that Hassani is clearly sweeping under the rug, and the CIA operative mentions a strange procedure employed in the Pit to read the pattern of the crooked mind of psychopaths, which allows the authorities to take preemptive actions against possible serial killers. Not sure how this is done in a logical way, but I’m game for whatever the makers come up with as an explanation. Bex mentions the cost of doing such risky and unethical experiments is evident from their current situation—the authorities have lost a bunch of killers who are in worse mental shape than they were in their heyday. Anyway, Nicole cooperates with the team, and Harris expectedly takes the bait, but hilariously enough, the team isn’t able to nab him until he takes Nicole hostage. As a result, Hassani has no other option than to shoot the killer dead on the first chance he gets.
However, following a clean-up job, Bex is able to deduce that Nicole wasn’t a victim at all—instead she was the one who manipulated Harris to start killing in the first place. Her assessment is supported by the fact that Harris had brought another victim to present to his muse—Nicole, as a gift. A desperate Nicole tries to attack Bex once she realizes that her ruse has been uncovered, only to get shot in the hand and put into custody.
Who is the Warden of the Pit?
After successfully solving the Richard Harris case, Bex and Hassani are able to trust each other a bit more, as Bex’s past memories come flooding back to her. In flashback sequences, the focus shifts to Bex’s mentor, Oliver Odell, whose extremist ways created a rift between the duo. On one occasion, Oliver had killed a serial killer by burning him to death in order to pry out information about his latest victim—a 13-year-old girl named Samantha, whom Bex was able to rescue in time thanks to the information extracted by Oliver. But Oliver’s decision to take a life, saying the ends justify the means, proved to be the reason for his undoing, and his partnership with Bex was terminated along with his job at the agency. Bex adopted Samantha, and during the initial moments of the episode, Bex is seen speaking with her to inform her of her return to the agency. Hassani is revealed to be a family man as well, and he is able to relate with Bex’s trouble with dealing with psychopathic killers like Harris while raising her daughter. Hassani informs Bex that she needs to take center stage once again, as a number of killers are still roaming scot-free.
In the final moments of the first episode of The Hunting Party, Bex meets with the injured prison warden of the Pit, who is revealed to be none other than Oliver Odell, who shares that he requested the authorities to employ Bex in this case. Clearly, they don’t see eye to eye, as Bex is still furious with Oliver for his past actions; Oliver, too, doesn’t think he did anything wrong by killing the scoundrel, as it led to Samantha being rescued in time. Putting the past behind them, Oliver wants Bex to help him to uncover the conspiracy regarding the Pit destruction, which he believes to be a carefully orchestrated plan by someone who had access to the secretive prison.