As The Hunting Party was uncertain of its fate when developing its season 2 finale, “Xander Wax,” it delivered a conclusion that mutually prepares its characters and audience for a season 3 renewal or a final cancellation.
“Xander Wax” keeps its premise similar to the show’s main procedural episodic route, as Bex, Shane, and Hassani must track down the titular serial killer while the show’s main subplot hangs in the balance. This comes after the major reveal that Colonel Lazarus’ graduate program was not moving on from psychopathic tendencies, as was suggested, but was actually about being a perfectly trained weapon. The Hunting Party uses its season 2 finale to close the door on its main subplot while still keeping the door open for the future.
Lazarus has been the main antagonist throughout season 2, even though she was never the serial killer of the week. Her motive to build an army comes to a final conclusion in “Xander Wax,” when a final confrontation with Shane and Bex results in Lazarus’ death, a decision that simultaneously ends the graduate program. This plot thread also puts an end to Shane’s questioning about a potential relationship with his biological mother. This was one of the only main personal plot threads of the series that had the opportunity to take center stage, and while it may be unfortunate to see it cut short, this decision worked well to avoid drawing out the storyline longer than necessary.
Colonel Lazarus was not going to be redeemed, and rather than keep her around with the hope of turning a villain into a hero, The Hunting Party chooses to remove the character altogether. While Shane may still have emotional repercussions to claims she makes about how Shane finds killing easy, his refusal to take her life also speaks heavily to his character, given that he may have more than enough reasons to pull the trigger when they are face-to-face.
“Xander Wax,” in its decision to officially connect the dots and confirm Lazarus’ nature as a villain, prevents The Hunting Party from questioning if the story would ever be resolved for several seasons. Ending it is fast and efficient. It played its role, and now the characters can move on to doing the work that matters: catching the rest of the Pit’s escaped convicts. This is where “Xander Wax” also simultaneously plants seeds for season 3. Hassani’s teasing realization that his late wife may have been involved somehow in the creation of the Pit, or in an attempt to bring about its downfall could play a role in a more personal story for Hassani in the future.
This would broaden his character arc and allow The Hunting Party to continue to slowly peel back the layers of its main characters. After all, Shane’s family backstory got two seasons of build-up, and while Bex’s daughter has not made an appearance since season 1, she still played a narratively integral role when the show first began. Taking the opportunity to develop Hassani beyond being an agent can help flesh out the character and give a greater understanding of his point of view.
The other main plot thread that season 2’s finale sets up is Bex stepping up as the leader of their team. No more secrets. No more guessing. Bex getting access to everything there is to know about the Pit could finally unlock all the information there is to know about what was really going on, who was involved, who the inmates were, and, as revealed, who the people being trained to become killers were.
For a long time, the main question surrounding the Pit was about who blew it up. But, as Lazarus revealed herself to be the culprit of that action as well, The Hunting Party makes it clear that they are moving forward from their initial foundation and set of mysteries, choosing instead to lay the groundwork for letting their main characters in on more major secrets. This stepping stone helps suggest that there will be more new things to come in the lives of these characters. Yet, “Xander Wax” never feels too much like a guaranteed preparation for the next season or a series finale. It toes the line between closure and new beginnings without a cliffhanger strong enough to have audiences begging the show to come back to learn what happens next.
The finale does a solid job of implying what would come next if the show were to end with season 2, while still leaving easter eggs of what to look forward to in a third season. The main storyline that acted as a let-down in season 2 was actually the suggested love story between Jennifer Morales, a main member of the team, and Jonathan Peck, one of Lazarus’ men who was new to the show in season 2.
The suggestion of their relationship, potentially only designed to justify Jennifer’s easy access to Jonathan’s home later in the season, does not have the set-up it truly needs to pull off the sense of betrayal that they try to bring to it toward the end of the season, after Jennifer discovers the truth about who Jonathan is and what he has done for Lazarus. Their dynamic floats in the background in awkward limbo.
This is not the type of series where you can take time away from the main storyline to focus on a budding love story between them. Yet, there is not enough there in small moments to actively justify the emotional entanglement. The Hunting Party claims they find themselves in. It comes across more as being saddened that Jennifer has been betrayed by her boss, or someone she is only starting to call a friend, than the romantic suggestion that was initially teased between the two characters. Now, being betrayed in a dangerous situation by a work colleague or friend can still be devastating. Yet, because The Hunting Party had not framed it as such earlier in the season, even Jennifer’s decision to offer Jonathan a deal to let him go comes across as underwhelming.
In comparison, the growing bond between Bex and Shane is a bright spot in a series that very much embodies disturbing violence and gore. While Hassani is very much a part of their found family's main trio, and Jennifer is just as much a trusted member of their dynamic, The Hunting Party was doing something a little different with Shane and Bex in season 2. Their relationship, while not quite leaning romantic, certainly was portrayed as being closer, especially as they shared plenty of the season’s quieter, more heartfelt moments. Singing on an airplane, discussing the emotional quandaries behind Shane’s search for his biological mother, joking around on the phone while waiting for orders of food, and more, The Hunting Party began addressing a sensation of a real bond growing. They no longer come across as only colleagues or work friends, but as people who can trust and rely on each other outside of the work environment.
As season 2 comes to an end, The Hunting Party has stepped up its game, continuing to offer some of the most grotesque and disturbing serial killer characters on a weekly basis. Yet, it also sought to balance these darker moments with legitimate sensations of bonding and growth, personally and professionally, between its main characters. “Xander Wax” works as a season finale, or even a series finale, because of its decision to embrace the natural end of one of its main storylines while still preparing a future for itself.
If the show continues, there are plenty more stories to be told, but if “Xander Wax” is the last the audience sees of these characters, there is still plenty of closure to feel okay about the ending. While not everything has been answered, it still offers a sense of peace while hinting at something impactful for its leads to follow next, and in a world of uncertainty surrounding the future of television shows, sometimes, that can be good enough.
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