Hunters Season 2 Review – An enjoyable but uneven final chapter

Episode Guide

Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 -|Review Score – 3/5
Episode 3 -|Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4 -|Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 -|Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 6 -|Review Score – 3/5
Episode 7 -|Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 8 -|Review Score – 2.5/5

Hunters is one of those shows that could be a runaway success. The premise is suitably bonkers, there’s a lot of stylistic set-pieces and there’s an abundance of drama throughout. And that’s before mentioning the talented cast with Al Pacino at its head.

The first season, when it dropped back in 2020, managed to nail that comic book tone but some of the episodes felt bloated and cumbersome, while other times the plot lacked the gravitas to pull off its premise in a way that felt closer to something like Preacher or Fargo. The ending though, opened things up for a bombastic second season to follow and in many ways, it does deliver.

At the same time, this season is haunted by the same issues it had the first time around, but now torn in two different directions that ultimately end up in a big game of tug of war. Eventually it fizzles out with a rushed and somewhat frustrating final episode.

Most of the run-time takes place across two different timelines. The first, sees us back several years before Meyer is discovered as The Wolf and killed. Al Pacino takes up the mantle again in his role and most of these flashes sees him trying to keep his identity a secret while offing all those who could oust him as the wolf in sheep’s clothing. This is stretched out across the 8 episodes and to be honest, there’s very little substance here beyond an excuse to see Al Pacino again, and a big reveal at the end of the finale. Basically his role is like that of Berlin in the later seasons of La Casa De Papel. It’s fun but it’s not really part of the overarching story.

No, that mantle falls to Jonah and his group of Nazi Hunters, who find themselves mixed up with unlikely allies as a new rumour surfaces of the ultimate Nazi still being alive – Adolf Hitler. Following that surprise cliffhanger at the end of season 1, most of this season sees our rabble of characters scrambling to track down clues and people closest to Hitler, eventually finding out where he may be hiding and taking him out before a potential Fourth Reich ascends.

Along the way the story see-saws between various different set pieces and shoot-outs, with lots of action peppered in between the bouts of drama. This works quite well in truth, although the pace is constantly undermining itself with these flashbacks. And that’s before mentioning episode 7, which decides to take the scenic route to the finale by jumping back and showing an artistically bizarre and tonally off-kilter episode featuring a German couple in 1942. I won’t spoil anything because the episode is actually very good but in the grand scheme of things, it’s pretty pointless.

The meat and potatoes of this plot though comes from the Nazi hunting and in that respect, Hunters slips up on more than one occasion. There are several plot threads that remain completely unanswered by the end while there’s a strange moral of justice and fairness that undermines itself on several occasions by illogical decisions for the sake of another twist or surprise. I’m being careful not to spoil anything here so apologies for the vagueness!

A show is only as strong as its ending and unfortunately Hunters doesn’t deliver the greatest final episode, despite being a little over an hour. After a fairly good set of episodes preceding it, Hunters stumbles at the final hurdle with a rushed and somewhat frustrating ending. The show doesn’t quite do its characters justice, although the ride to get there is enjoyable enough.

Hunters season 2 is far from perfect, and it’s nowhere near as engrossing as it was the first time around. Still, the abundance of action along with the twists and turns along the way, should be enough for fans of the show to sink their teeth into.

Hunters will air in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video 13th January 2023 worldwide!

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