Varun Patel
As mentioned in the review of the third episode of ‘Hunters,’ the show had been getting slightly frustrating, primarily due to the protagonist’s conscience and its slow resolution. Modern television shows have dumped the idea of being good in favor of grey characters so harshly that goodness has become boring.
Despite the tired moral conflict, the fourth episode of ‘Hunters’ provides a more-than-satisfactory payoff. The Amazon show about a team of Nazi hunters in 1977 USA finally provides some relief to patient viewers. The team, consisting of Logan Lerman and Al Pacino finally undertakes a well-planned mission, filled with excitement: a heist!
Hunters Episode 4 Recap:
The episode begins with a flashback sequence. Berlin, 1938: a Jewish man named Jacob is separated from his bed-ridden mother by Nazi guards, seconds after she gave him her ring. Auschwitz, 1942: Jacob swallows the ring when the prisoners are being strip-searched to keep it safe. As he starts to adjust to his life of servitude in the German camp, Jacob starts exchanging glances, sketches and gifts with a Jewish woman named Helen.
Offerman meets with the highest official of a Swiss Bank. Meanwhile, at the police station, Jonah tells the police that he did not see Arthur’s killer because it was dark. Morris goes to Jonah’s house looking for him, but Leich is at Jonah’s house. Jonah isn’t, so she returns.
The team plans to rob the treasure of the American Nazis from the Swiss bank. They had retrieved keys to safe from Heinz and Holstedder. However, when Mindy goes to find the safe number 630, she finds out that there are only lockers till the number 600 at the Swiss bank. Sister Harriet bribes a man to gain a map of the building. They deduce a secret safe’s location from the map. Lonny tries to woo the woman who holds the key to the secret locker room. However, he fails to impress her. He finds out that the woman’s husband is a big fan of him and woos him instead for the key.
Morris visits Offerman’s house to speak to Jonah. She inquires about the jacket that she found at Heinz’s toy store. Jonah refuses to admit that it was his. She tells him that there is a right way to get justice and a wrong one. Then, Offerman interrupts their conversation telling Morris that Jonah will only speak to her in the presence of an attorney.
Cutting back to Berlin, Jacob and Helen have an escape plan to flee the camp. However, a guard sees him, Helen and another prisoner about to escape. Jacob sacrifices himself to block the guard so that Helen can leave. Jacob gets shot. Helen manages to leave. Biff meets the Secretary of Commerce and convinces her to postpone the bill surrounding the sanctions on South American goods. He does this to prove to The Colonel that he is a valuable asset.
Now, the heist! Sister Harriet takes disguise as a maid to take care of the security system. The rest of the team enters the building while Lonny pretends to hold Sister Harriet (in the maid’s disguise) hostage to distract the guards. After taking care of the guards (we have purposely not revealed how they do that to avoid spoiling a great moment), the team goes to a secret room. Locker no. 630 is empty! Jonah realizes that the room has a fake wall and they find the entrance to an underground basement behind the wall. In the basement, they find a long row of treasure. It’s a sentimental moment since most of the items were stolen from Jewish families. Mindy takes pictures. Jonah finds Jacob’s ring.
Meyer shows the Swiss bank official, Frederic Hausser the photos that Mindy took. He threatens to expose them if he does not comply and return the treasure to those who it blogs it to. Towards the end of the episode, Frederic Hausser shoots himself in the head…
Hunters Episode 4 Review:
The fourth episode of ‘Hunters’ is undoubtedly the best episode of the series so far. It successfully manages to combine all the aspects of the series: action, a sympathetic message and ethical dilemma. While the previous episodes felt quite direction-less, this one felt like a breath of fresh air.
Jonah finally manages to gain some confidence and now viewers will actually start to be invested in his characters with interest. Moreover, the heist feels fresh (perhaps due to the period setting or Nazi connection). Plus, this is by far the only episode of the series that managed to shock me on multiple occasions.
Additionally, the sub-plot set during the Second World War was heart-touching and extremely effective. It ties into the overall plot of the episode well, even if both the characters appear for the first time. If this episode were to be an indication of the quality of the show, one would position ‘Hunters’ at the very top of currently streaming shows.
Read More: Hunters Episode 3 Review
