Written by John Edward Betancourt THE HUNTING PARTY -- "Roy Barber" Episode 105 -- Pictured: (l-r) Patrick Sabongui as Jacob Hassani, Melissa Roxburgh as Rebecca 'Bex' Henderson, Josh McKenzie as Shane Florence -- (Photo by: David Astorga/NBC)
Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘The Hunting Party’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
It really is quite amazing what the incredible new NBC series, The Hunting Party, is accomplishing from a storytelling standpoint in its first season. For not only is this show offering up a refreshing new concept at a time when original ideas are fighting for oxygen, but it is also basically, reinventing and updating the serial killer genre. All by taking the time to ask a simple question, often, with its stories… ‘what if?’ Because asking that question allowed for a prison filled with serial killers to exist, and it is allowing for us to see what could happen if by chance these monsters approached what they desired, in a slightly different manner, without breaking from the rules of psychology. If anything, the show is clearly not planning to stop toying about in this manner anytime soon, and that’s a wonderful thing. Because then we get amazing episodes like this week’s story. Which took the time to ponder upon, what if by chance, a serial killer was not only enabled by others, but leaned into murder, simply because they thought they could be a hero, by resorting to a good old-fashioned stabbing? Which is indeed something new and something fascinating, since so many of these monsters only act out because of trauma and the severe imbalance in their brains and well, that made ‘Roy Barber’ one magnificent episode that kept us on our toes, after of course… it outright fooled us. For this particular tale made Roy seem to be nothing more than a standard killer. Someone who in his past, chased after couples with impunity and murdered them because of what appeared to be trauma from his own family’s broken nature. Since his mother was subject to horrors from his father, and that would be the perfect formula to create a serial killer affixed on love and romance, and that made sense as to why he was suddenly going after couples now that he was free again. But there was a slight complication with his modus operandi. In that, he was somehow murdering women that were by all legal accounts, dead. Which made no sense in the slightest and forced Bex and the team to do their deepest dive yet into a case, and what they learned about Roy is what made this case and this episode so incredibly special.  THE HUNTING PARTY -- "Roy Barber" Episode 105 -- Pictured: Leif Gantvoort as Roy Barber -- (Photo by: David Astorga/NBC)
Because they came to learn that during his first active spree, Roy was a sketch artist at a police station and often came in contact with women that were trapped in broken and ugly relationships. Much like his mother was, and he got it into his mind, that he could perhaps… be their saint. By offering to kill their awful significant others, and in exchange for satisfying his bloodlust, he would give them new identities and a fresh start. And well, now that he was free, he was checking on all of them and their second chance and those who went back into relationships, in essence, thumbed their nose at the gift that Roy gave them and that brought about a desire for termination. All of which made for a supremely unique story. One that really did paint a serial killer as a vigilante in his own mind and explored what they could and would do different if in that mind set. Granted, Roy was still a monster, but what a fresh twist and what an exciting case as well. Since we simply didn’t know what to expect from this one once the truth was unfurled, and thankfully, it ended happy. Since the team really did make magic happen here, and Bex’s brilliance brought all of ‘Roy’s Angels’ to justice.
But while that alone could have carried this episode, it still had more to offer us. Mainly regarding the push to uncover knowledge about what happened at the Pit, and well… some wild stuff came to light in this story. Because Jacob continued his deep dive into the matter and managed to uncover some real surprises along the way. Such as the fact that the coordinates that Oliver was looking at, are other silos in the area, and some of them are outright hidden from satellite imagery, which implied that there are other secret sites being used for who knows what, and his decision to look at those areas, was enough… to bring about real concern from the AG and above. In fact, we came to learn that Oliver’s contact is a high-ranking official in the military, so clearly… there are military ties and secrets to this, and it does leave one to wonder what’s going on here, and it does alter the narrative a bit. Because military involvement may mean that Oliver is not the villain here and that he’s following orders to capture someone else. Because it just doesn’t make sense that the military would want to unleash this kind of hell upon the world, nor waste resources on bringing back what they’ve lost. But while we wait to learn more about this twist, and the Pit, and this whole mess in general, we can celebrate one amazing tale. One that really saw the team jell and work as one to bring down one wild killer, and truly Roy’s journey and past were the highlight of this tale. Because that was just something new and refreshing and at times, a thrill to enjoy, and that does indeed leave us eager to see what other surprises await us as season one of this brilliant and dynamic new series continues along. Until next time. Watch ‘The Hunting Party’
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