When working in science fiction or fantasy, there's a selection of ready-made villains to choose from. Orcs, demons, aliens, and various non-human monsters fill the role well. Only one group of unsympathetic evil-doers comes to mind in historical fiction. Many have observed that there's no treatment too harsh for a Nazi. The heroes of Wolfenstein and Hunters come together to demonstrate the one appropriate response to fascism.
The trajectory of the Wolfenstein franchise offers a unique look at the cultural presence of Nazis. They were seen as easy disposable shooting gallery targets, literally standing in the place of the demons from Doom back in the 90s. By 2014, when MachineGames took over the series, they had become a pressing concern again. Imagine going back to 1992 and informing a Wolfenstein 3D fan that the franchise would go on to court controversy by boldly depicting the violent murder of Nazis.
What is Hunters about?
Fans of World War II history may recall that the Allied Powers were more lenient on the Nazis than one might expect. 24 Nazis, including Martin Bormann, Hanz Frank, and Julius Streicher, were tried at Nuremberg. Of those, ten were hanged by a comically incompetent executioner named John C. Woods. Several high-ranking Nazis escaped to foreign countries or committed suicide. However, several Nazi scientists, engineers, and technicians were given free passage to America to help the US win the space race. Others made their way to South America. Over the decades, people took up the task of hunting down those fascists who escaped justice. In Hunters, showrunner David Weil takes influence from those stories and his own life as the grandson of Holocaust survivors to create a heightened alternate-history action drama.
The year is 1977. Star Wars is the highest-grossing film ever made, Fleetwood Mac has captured the charts, and a growing conspiracy of Nazis has entrenched itself in the halls of power across the United States. When young Jonah Heidelbaum's grandmother Ruth is mysteriously murdered, he enters a new world of revenge. Jonah meets Meyer Offerman, who explains that he and Jonah's grandmother survived Auschwitz together. After Jonah hunts down his grandmother's killer, Meyer brings him into the Hunters, a diverse group who work together to root out and kill hidden Nazis. Jonah's talents as a codebreaker help the Hunters uncover the conspiracy at the highest levels of the American government. The Hunters swiftly discover that they may be all that stands between the world and a potential Fourth Reich.
How does Hunters relate to Wolfenstein?
Hunters and MachineGames' take on Wolfenstein follow diverse bands of specialists from varied backgrounds with interlaced motivations coming together to kill Nazis. The premise of each work is obviously tied together. Wolfenstein: The New Order takes place in an alternate 1960 in which Germany won World War II, while Hunters is set in a more grounded take on reality. In Wolfenstein, the Nazis have won. All opposition has folded, allowing the fascists to own the world. The games take time out to explain that white Americans were broadly happy to accept Führer's rule. The Nazis in Hunters haven't won yet, but the same comorbid bigotry allows them to blend in easily.
Both works are about people killing Nazis, but they're also as much about the Hunters as the prey. Fascism, whether it's under the Nazis or infiltrated by them, has no place for the heroes of these stories. BJ and Jonah, utterly opposite characters in many ways, could disappear into Nazi-led America, but they're fundamentally rejected by it. They're stories about communities forming in unlikely places. People band together to protect themselves when the system lets them down. The two works depict their heroes defending themselves in much the same way.
Does Hunters have a second season?
Hunters' second season dropped on Amazon Prime Video this January. The first season was mired in controversy, but the second didn't draw as much attention. The showrunners were clear that the second would be its final season. Hunters frequently depicts Meyer and Ruth's time in Auschwitz, causing tonal whiplash between the campy fun violence of the main story and the horror of the camps. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum criticized the show for depicting methods of torture that never occurred. Most Nazi vengeance films shy away from that aspect of the era, but Hunters uses that story to add depth to its heroes. The second season takes place after a startling revelation, pushing the narrative further into alternate history.
Hunters is a complicated show, but its blend of genres offers something satisfying to a specific type of viewer. Its constant references to comics lay out its goal; to create superheroes where they aren't often allowed to appear. It provides much of the same catharsis of MachineGames' Wolfenstein, with an added edge of depth and a strong cast of characters. Hunters is available in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video. Anyone looking to see some normal folks take on BJ Blazkowicz's day job will enjoy the series.