Hunters Episodes 6-10 Reviews: You Do Not Want To Get On The Wrong Side Of The Hunters

Despite the critics panning "Hunters", I'm still having a good time. Is it the best sci fi show on television? Nope. That honor goes to "12 Monkeys". But "Hunters" is entertaining enough to keep me coming back for more. It also raises some interesting questions. Neither the humans nor the aliens are the "good guys". Each side does despicable acts to get what they want. It also raises interesting questions about torture, morality and how far the government should go to protect us.

"Bunker Soldier" begins in Romania in 1980. A spacecraft crashes (cool ship!). The alien inside kills a local via the now familiar spinal tap method. Musa finds a radio and starts clicking away to anyone/anything that might be listening. Over the following years he collects newspaper articles from around the world that discuss aliens, family members being taken, etc. Musa is contemplating suicide but finally hears clicking. Other Hunters out there. They meet to discuss how to take over the world. Mental note; disagrees with Musa is dangerous to your health.

We learn that Truss was a CIA operative who recruited and armed Musa all those years ago. Oops. I'm reminded of the US/Afghani relationship (but there are other examples of our arming groups who later try to kill us). Heavy stuff.

Fast forward to present day. The team learns that Brother Number Four (Musa) is in a Turkish prison. But he's not a prisoner. He's paying for protection. Regan, Flynn and Dylan head to Turkey. Things dont go as planned. There's a riot. Flynn and Dylan make it outside. Flynn says he wont leave without Allison. Just then they see her and Musa in a helicopter. Is she a prisoner or did she go willingly? Briggs says she's the mole inside the ETU. Hmmm. I'm not sure what to think.

In episode 7 "Kissing The Machine" we learn a LOT of surprising info about the Hunters. Here's the highlights in no particular order:

Abby has been tasked with helping Regan get in touch with her alien side. This apparently involves drowning her in the silvery stuff that is Hunter blood. Regan tries to win over Abby by reminding her of her love for Flynn and Emme. Will Abby turn on the other Hunters?
Hunters apparently have no gender or race. After a "breakthrough" where Regan decides she no longer wants to be in human skin, they head down the hall for a Hunter orgy. Side Note: Shouldn't they be in alien form when having group sex? I guess watching humans is more enticing than some ugly aliens rolling around on the floor.
The aliens are apparently trying to build a nuclear weapon. They have ties to several lithium mines.
The mole inside the ETU is not Regan after all. We then think it's Briggs but nope. More on that later.
We get a Hunter history lesson. Their planet was in a constant state of war. Some Hunters left to find a better home but there was a fight aboard the ship. It was led by a group called the "Exalted". A few Hunters escaped in pods (ala "The 100") and plummeted to different parts of Earth. Brother Number Four says all the Exalted are dead. Is that true?
At the end of the episode, Regan appears on Truss's front porch. Did she really escape (as she says) or did the Hunters sent her back to gather more intel?
The TRUE mole in the ETU is Jules. He is killed in a strange ceremony. Those Hunters are a scary bunch.

In "The More I See Of You" the aliens are after some scientist that treats badly disfigured children. Abby and the Quins hunt Sterling down. They want the doc's research to help them revert to their Hunter forms (since their previous attempts have had mixed results) The ETU is trying to find Martinez before the aliens do. When the ETU arrives, the Quins emit a loud sound from those weird tendrils in their chest. This incapacitates the humans. The aliens escape with Sterling.

Finnerman reluctantly tells Allison what happened to her father. He's alive but has been kept at a secret government facility all this time. She conveniently leaves out the part where they've continually tortured him. Regan and Pops share touching reunion. We learn that Ted and Allison's mother had a falling out. She left him to work for Musa. That's all he knows.

Meanwhile Truss finds a badly beaten Lionel McCarthy. He allows him to escape. Jackson is having a harder and harder time reconciling the government's treatment of the Hunters. McCarthy reunites with Brother Number Four and repledges his allegiance.

The Hunters continue to plan for something called "the Purge". I have no idea what it is but it doesnt sound good. We do know that have to be in their alien form in order for it to commence.

"In Promise" Allison finds out that her mother is alive and currently hiding in Mexico. She's the top solder for Musa. Allison is captured and later meets Victor Karp (an arms dealer). She a huge missile readying for transport. Do the Hunters plan to destroy the world?

Meanwhile poor Sterling is forced to help an alien revert. If he doesnt, they will kill him. Abby gets Martinez to talk about his kids. Sterling succeeds in his efforts but the Hunters planned to kill him all along. Abby reluctantly snaps his neck. You can tell she has feels. When is Abby going to run far away from the rest of the Hunters?

Regan and Liana have it out. I'm starting to think Hunters dont have any maternal instincts. Luckily Allison has a plan up her sleeve (so to speak). Remember that hole in their backs that aliens give birth out of? Allison has stashed a gun in hers. Let's not discuss the fact that this is the equivalent of putting a weapon in your vi-jayjay. Eeek! The two continue the fight outside. Just when Liana is about to drop the bead on Regan with a big ass gun, she escapes behind a semi. I guess Hunter mother/daughter relationships are no less volatile than their human counterpart.

Back at ETU, Finnerman still wont release Ted. Regan's father has had enough. He knows they'll always use him against his daughter. He stabs himself in the side and dies but not before saying "protect the innocent ones". Regan is obviously distraught. Her father has committed suicide and her mother tried to kill her. Life is rough for a Hunter.

"Our System" focuses mainly on Flynn. He goes to visit an old army buddy. There are lots of flashbacks to Afghanistan. What's up with everything being in red? Anyway, the soldiers were captured and thrown in a pit.

Regan is still reeling from her father's suicide. He killed himself because he knew he was a liability as long as he was alive. She at least wants his body back for burial. Finnerman, being the jerk that she is, wont release it until Allison gets more intel on the Hunters. Otherwise it's a full autopsy for Pops.

There are other tensions at the ETU. It appears that Briggs is working for Finnerman (instead of Truss). Regan wants to beat Briggs for capturing her father. The group could really use some team building exercises.

Regan goes to Emme. Emme eventually shows her the secret files she found in the garage. Emme tries to escape and shoots Regan (but it doesnt have much of an effect). Allison later pulls out the gun and calls Emme a "stupid girl". She wouldnt shot the kid... would she?

Meanwhile over at the Brecke residence, Flynn finally figures out that Robert is a Hunter. Rob violently kills his wife (in front of their kids no less) and then chases Flynn through the woods. That was a great fight scene. At one point Brecke cuts around his ears in order to release the organs that help him track prey by using that clicking thing they do. It looks like Flynn might be a goner but luckily Robert is impaled on something sharp. We still dont know why Musa let Flynn live while all the other soldiers were eaten during the "Great Hunt". What's so special about him? And yep Flynn is some serious need of therapy (and possibly rehab).

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). Despite the critic's review, I'm still enjoying the show and will continue watching till the end of the season. I assume it wont be renewed for a second. I dont think "Hunters" gets enough credit for some of it's funner sci fi elements. Here's just a few: the alien spinal cord tap (yes the human is killed), the freaky Quins (I need to know more about them), Hunter births and vijayjay's (dont put stuff in there!) and alien communication (clicking) and ears (apparently are behind our own).