Written by John Edward Betancourt THE HUNTING PARTY -- "Doctor Ezekiel Malak" Episode 104 -- Pictured: (l-r) Madeleine Kelders as Doctor, Josh McKenzie as Shane Florence , Patrick Sabongui as Jacob Hassani, Melissa Roxburgh as Rebecca 'Bex' Henderson -- (Photo by: James Dittiger/NBC)
Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘The Hunting Party’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
One particular question that has haunted humanity for the entirety of its existence… is what happens to our consciousness when we die? And well, that question has been around forever because… we simply don’t know. Obviously, there are theories. Some of which are metaphysical in nature and relate to religious beliefs and concepts of reward and punishment for our souls, and some of those theories relate to the close encounters we sometimes have with death but avoid thanks to science. Wherein people tell us there is a bright light in the darkness or glimpses of lost loved ones, and science further informs us… that could be related to something quite unique that happens when the body expires. For there is a surge of brain activity in our final moments, the kind where the neurons light up akin to a Christmas tree and that could explain a surge of memories and moments and colors blasting before us before… the unknown embraces us. Which still leaves us with that eternal question and well, it’s not exactly one we will be able to solve anytime soon. Simply because, no one comes back from death when it truly takes hold, and to try and experiment to find out, would likely be disturbing. But that does beg another important question. What would happen if someone unethical and unrestrained, opted to explore that question scientifically? Well, it just so happens that this week’s episode of The Hunting Party on NBC answers that question, in a supremely unsettling manner. For this episode made it clear it would be cruel, and hideous and everything we would want such research not to be. And it came to that conclusion by way of one ‘Dr. Ezekiel Malak’. A Dr. Death type physician that loved to play God and be the center of attention back in the day, but eventually his horrors caught up with him and he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. But of course, he came back to life in the Pit, and felt he was a changed man for it and of course… he survived the explosion and returned to his hunting grounds. Which brought Bex and the team his way to see if they could stop him before he could start killing again, only to learn… he was active and up to something new and awful. For he was pumping victims full of narcotics for reasons that were unclear, and somehow singeing the flesh before they died as well, and thanks to a prompt intervention with his latest victim, it became clear what he was doing.  THE HUNTING PARTY -- "Doctor Ezekiel Malak" Episode 104 -- Pictured: Kevin Corrigan as Doctor Ezekiel Malak -- (Photo by: James Dittiger/NBC)
In that, he was killing his victims and letting them sit cool for four minutes before bringing them back from death with a defibrillator. So, he could learn about what they saw when they died. What lie beyond. Since he had his own unique experiences in the void, in the time between his passing and resurrection at the Pit, and that gave him a new goal. Which brought about an intense manhunt to stop him from doing this again, one that unfortunately brought Bex into Malak’s tangled web of madness, and in turn… she became his next experiment. But thankfully, quick thinking from Shane and Jacob, put an end to this madness and saved Bex from prolonged exposure to death, and ensured that Malek would never have his answers. But that certainly was a powerful way to explore, why perhaps we should never really try to answer that question since it would cause such harm and offer little in the way of answers.
However, while that made for a dark and powerful tale, there were other important moments to be found in this story. After all, Bex used her experience and her guile to do something bold with Odell. Since she helped Jacob use a little technology to see where Odell has been going and learn who he has been talking to, and that revealed a secret storage facility where he spent a lot of his days poking about the schematics for the Pit, and that raises even more concerns about him. Plus, we came to learn, that Shane knows more about the Pit than he’s led on. Since one of the doctors from the photo he encountered last week, Dr. Dulles, not only helped create the modern Malak, but happened to help create Shane. Who we learned has gone to great lengths to protect his poppa and keep him away from this madness. Which is of course, problematic since despite some obvious health issues, anything in his stead could help. That adds a new wrinkle to the story, one that makes Shane more than just a good soul that worked there and it sets the stage for some unique conflicts down the line. But while we wait to see how that plays out, we can celebrate, one unique tale. Because this was just, wild, and dark and philosophical all at once. Thanks to an age old question and a genuine monster eager to answer it, and that allowed for a near horror story to play out, one slightly reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs, and truly… it just goes to show this series knows no bounds and will gladly experiment with this genre and it will be interesting to see, what other surprises lie ahead as season one continues along. Until next time. Watch ‘The Hunting Party’
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