I feel like “Hunters” needs a real disclaimer to explain while the show itself is fictional, the U.S. government really did import a bunch of Nazis to the United States and turned them into citizens and paid to keep them quiet and happy and fat just so we could beat the Russians to the moon or whatever. There’s this “they brought in thousands of Nazis” moment and it’s like… yeah. They did. Think about that.
The episode’s got a great monologue about it, then a funny PSA about how Huntsville, Alabama is full of Nazis who work in the space program.
There are two targets this episode. Raphael Sbarge plays one, Barbara Sukowa the other. Sukowa’s a Leni Riefenstahl stand-in, Sbarge’s just a Nazi who knows other Nazis. Kind of weird casting—Sukowa’s a renowned West German actor from the eighties, Sbarge’s… Raphael Sbarge. The episode’s also got a cameo from Josh Mostel, though his voice is more recognizable than Mostel himself.
Logan Lerman, Louis Ozawa, and Kate Mulvany go after Sbarge. Josh Radnor, Tiffany Boone, and Al Pacino go after Sukowa. The Sukowa side leads up to a confrontation with Nazi hitman Greg Austin—the Nazis have figured out Pacino’s up to something and he… isn’t prepared for the Nazis to find out about him. It’s concerning.
Ozawa gets an inconvenient PTSD flashback, which is the first time he’s gotten much backstory. Mulvany’s got a big twist too. But while there’s more action on their target, more busyness, Pacino’s one has the bigger “heroes in danger” moment. Not to mention Pacino’s got some kind of secret we’re not supposed to know about yet, just know there’s something he wants to hide from the team.
Meanwhile Dylan Baker gets to meet with Lena Olin and get back into the big Nazi plot. It’s not a great showdown… Olin’s… fine. But she’s not some great villain. She’s an adequate Nazi mastermind.
Jerrika Hinton’s still investigating, this episode meeting up with reporter Miles G. Jackson, who tried to get the word out about the Nazis in the United States and the New York Times fired him for his trouble.
“Hunters” is settling in… it’s good, well-executed, well-plotted. Not what I was expecting (didn’t think Pacino or Lerman would headline with this little spotlight), but it’s good.
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