Episode 2 of "The Hunting Party" kicks off in Ohio, 1998, amidst the celebrations of Clayton Jessup's sweet 16th birthday. As the camera scans the room, an eerie revelation unfolds: Clayton's family sits lifeless at the table, while he slices into his birthday cake with an unsettling nonchalance. This chilling flashback abruptly transitions to Clayton in the Pit, mere moments before his dramatic escape.
Clayton Jessup emerges as a figure of psychotic grandeur. As Bex and the team delve into his dark past, they uncover disturbing details. He had spent three harrowing days engaging in macabre role-playing with his family corpses, following their poisoning by carbon monoxide. Disturbingly, this isn't his first rodeo; for Clayton, these deceased relatives resemble dolls in a twisted game of his own invention.
Adding to the intensifying crisis, it transpires that approximately 25% of the Pit's inmates have successfully escaped. This developments prompts the President to raise concerned inquiries about the blast, which, as revealed in the prior episode, may have been orchestrated with malicious intent.
Upon Bex's return to the hangar, the atmosphere has undergone a stark transformation. A dedicated taskforce, led by Warden Oliver Odell, is now in full swing, focusing on recovering these fugitives. Their primary target: Clayton Jessup, who they've pinged in Nebraska after his carjacking spree. On a relentless quest for his next family to torment, Clayton narrowly evades capture as Bex, Jacob, and Shane arrive in Nebraska in hot pursuit.
Despite their swift action, the trio arrives too late to prevent the abduction of Irene McFadden, an elderly lady with a daughter named Lucy, who happens to be away at college. The taskforce swings into action, tracking Irene through her phone and earbuds. However, fate deals them a cruel twist as they mistakenly follow Lucy, who ends up inadvertently possessing her mother's earbuds, allowing Clayton to slip through the cracks.
During his incarceration in the Pit, scientists struggled to find a cure for Jessup's deranged mind. But after an explosive, rage-filled incident years later where he cruelly crushed a scientist's spine, the team shied away from any further attempts. Instead, they opted to keep him docile by subjecting him to an endless loop of educational videos, his sole connection to the outside world, serving as a bleak reminder of a humanity he had long since abandoned.Despite the absence of footage from the educational tapes, they managed to capture Jessup's reaction, a fortuitous twist considering his distinctive glasses served as a mirror, revealing through their reflection that the tapes were conceived at the University of Wyoming. They uploaded their videos onto the internet, and upon scrutinizing a particular clip where Jessup seemed to be mimicking actions, they discerned his target: the actors featured in those very tapes. One of them, a man named Walter, had already fallen prey to his clutches, leaving just one individual standing – Michael Brennan. Regrettably, Jessup reached Michael before they did, necessitating a shift in their approach.
This realization dawned upon them after a conversation with Dr. Lancing, the scientist whose back was shattered by Jessup's wrath. While en route, Shane and Bex engaged in a heartfelt chat. Bex's troubled past resurfaced, haunted by the memory of Eli Johnson, the psychopath she apprehended during her teenage years – a serial killer who happened to be the father of her best friend, Naomi. However, what she kept hidden was her moment of cowardice; instead of standing by Naomi's side, she fled, abandoning her friend to her fate. This haunting regret fuels Bex's relentless pursuit of these escaped inmates.
For the time being, Shane and Bex visited Dr. Lancing at his residence, while Jacob delved deeper into his research back at their headquarters. It transpired that Dr. Lancing was on the brink of rehabilitating Jessup. The treatments appeared promising until an unforeseen catastrophe struck. On one fateful day, Clayton, in a gesture of gratitude, approached Lancing for a hug, but a misunderstanding by one of the guards led to Jessup being struck. Clayton Jessup into a rage, resulting in the brutal breaking of Lancing's spine and unraveling their promising progress.
Lancing harbored a deep desire to resume his professional duties, yet the authorities steadfastly refused to grant his wish. As Bex engaged him in conversation about undergoing therapy, Lancing revealed that he had personally orchestrated the videos with actors, filmed in the confines of the basement – the very location where Jessup lay in ambush. Unknowingly, Shane stepped into a perilous trap, finding himself with a gun pressed against the back of his head as Jessup lurked in the shadows.
Desperate, Lancing begged Bex to depart, urging her to vacate the premises so he could confront Clayton Jessup alone. She, however, resolutely refused, leading to a tense standoff. Bex cleverly employed Jessup's own psychological demons against him, keeping him momentarily subdued until Jacob arrived with reinforcements to effect his arrest.
In private, Jacob scolded Bex for her impulsive solo venture, but shared a startling revelation: the Pit's explosion had not been caused by a gas leak; it was a C4 detonation. Adding to the intrigue, Odel affirmed that Eli Johnson was not only alive but being held at the Pit.
Amidst public accolades hailing Bex as a hero, she struggled to maintain composure during her visit with the inmate. Johnson expertly manipulated her guilt and insecurities, reminding her of the fateful decision to bring Naomi to the basement to sift through belongings. Odel had been privy to this information all along and could have disqualified her had the police been aware. Though he covered for her, there were deeper layers to his actions.
Jacob's subsequent inquiries unveiled another bombshell: ten minutes prior to the breach, a colossal data breach of 1000TB from the server had occurred. Could Odel be the mastermind behind this as well?
