Original subtitles

Previously on The Hunting Party. It's called The Pit, home to the most

and violent criminals in history, all of whom the world believes are dead.

Or at least it was, until the blast hit.

Shane deserved to know the truth. What are you going to tell him? Hey, we found

your serial killer mom and she happens to be our boss.

I don't know, but I'll find the right words.

You were impressive.

Thank you, sir.

And my name's John, by the way.

Jonathan Mitchell Peck.

I read your file. I've been thinking a lot about that, and I should never have

kept that from you or the team. I am done looking for her. You don't want to

find your mom?

Welcome. My name is Noah Cyrus.

Make one of those heart design things.

I want to post it.

Maybe a star.

No, wait. A flower.

Like an orchid.

They don't really teach us how to do that.

I can make a swirl.

That's just so basic.

Just try a flower.

It's already half swirl.

I mean, if you have to make a fresh one, it's totally fine. I will pay for it.

Do you mind?

There are other people in line.

Oh, shoot.

Oh, my gosh. I forgot that I have hot yoga in 15.

Don't worry, though. When I post this, I'm going to totally make your cafe go

viral.

Sorry for that.

Can I get you?

Hi. Uh, drip coffee, please.

Coach Tina here.

And it is time to reveal the newest addition to Tina's blessed to impress

First off, I need you guys to go. No, not go. Run to the cutest new coffee bar

just found.

Bernice's Coffee.

No, seriously, people, it's the best oat milk latte I've had all year.

Whoever's feeling blessed, say blessed.

Also, this new raspberry lip gloss, oh, it makes my lips just feel so good.

Hey, did

Peck tell you what this was all about?

Uh, no, but when I get a call to come to the command center, it's usually not

for breakfast.

Right, but when it's an inmate, I always get a heads up.

You didn't?

As Agent Hassani will explain, we have a problem.

Last night, the convoy transporting Noah Cyrus was attacked.

Everyone, including Cyrus, was killed.

Do we know who did it? Why would somebody do this?

Could it have been one of Cyrus' followers that we didn't know about?

way too complicated for some other 13th hour.

Who else knows about the convoys? Just my people at the CIA.

Well, clearly you're mistaken.

Someone outside of this command knew exactly when and where to ambush a

prisoner transport. So either a member of your team is talking or one of you

Colonel. As it stands, the Pentagon has insisted upon a certain balance of

powers in the recovery efforts, so that means, Agent Hassani, prisoner transport

and relocation remains under your purview for now.

I don't think I need to impress upon you all the seriousness of this operational

failure.

Sorry to interrupt, Colonel.

We just got a hit on another inmate.

No more mistakes.

I expect perfection.

Dismissed.

Inmate H -89 Lou Kaplan.

A .K .A. The Selfie Slayer.

Not to brag, but low -key, I created a program to alert me if any inmates

onto their dormant social media platforms.

Wow. Very clever.

Thank you. It uses malware software designed to bypass VPNs. It looks like

just logged on to his old SnapMax account for the first time since 2019 in

Midtown Manhattan.

I guess even pit inmates can't stay off social media.

SnapMax, that's the one that's like if Instagram and TikTok had a baby, right?

Well, I don't know. We have a strict no social media policy at my house. That's

fun. It says here that Lou was a gifted coder and one of the original software

designers for SnapMax. He had some pretty lofty ideals about social media

fostering community and empathy.

I'm sensing a turn coming.

Well, he wanted his technology to bring people together.

Instead, according to him, the app, quote, became a breeding ground for

vitriol, and self -isolating behavior.

So I'm guessing the nickname The Selfie Slayer is not a metaphor. Pismo was

interesting. Despite the fact that he carefully selected and then stalked

victims for days, the kills themselves were semi -improvised and always public.

This one he threw into oncoming traffic as she was live streaming, and then

another he beat to death in Prospect Park using his own tripod.

He claimed that his six murders were a message, a way to wake the world up to

the dangers of social media. The Post wrote a whole expose on him, turning him

into a social media sensation himself, an ironic...

poster child for disruption.

They even had merch with his face on it outside the courthouse during his trial.

Gross. Yeah.

If he's already logged back into Snapmax again, he's probably stalking victims.

Let's head out.

Okay. Time to shine.

Just remember, be bright, be bold, be Becky.

Hello, fellow bakers! It's your friend Baking with Becky, and today I've got a

big treat for you all. We're making banana nut muffins.

Now, I know these look a bit ripe, but don't you worry. That's the secret to

yum.

But before we start, I want to make sure you hit that subscribe button to stay

in the loop for all my best new recipes.

All right, it's baking time.

Now, you're going to want to start with two cups of all -purpose flour.

Next, we're going to crack two eggs.

I get the feeling Lazarus knows more about this convoy hit than she's letting

off.

I mean, her pointing fingers at us is definitely theater.

She knows something.

So do I.

Sarvis' convoy deviated from its planned route last night.

Maybe they saw the attack coming?

Well, there's no report of contact before the firefight.

Okay, so now we have two mysteries.

Who attacked the convoy and how it got deviated in the first place.

What comes next?

The X.

Then why are you looking at me?

Crack the X.

I want to try to put this in terms that someone as simple as you can understand.

I had the biggest tech companies in the entire world engaged in heated bidding

wars to bring me to their teams.

Instead, I chose SnapMax, a no -name startup, because I believed in their

mission.

Also, Linda Cranston personally came to my home and practically begged me on her

hands and knees to work for her.

We designed SnapMax as a tool to help our users connect.

But after SnapMax launched, a very unfortunate truth became abundantly

me. Most people are basically rats.

But it's worse than that because we have the intellectual capacity, but we don't

use it.

All the likes and the clicks and the comments and the shares, don't think for

another hit of dopamine.

Just click, click, click, click, click, just for dopamine.

Just a little hit.

Tell me, are you on social media?

Yeah, of course you are.

This guy seems like a real winner.

Yeah. Hey, how can you be so whiny and crazy at the same time? Oh, it's a

Did you guys know his account has 10 million followers on Snapchat?

Huh.

The world thinks this guy's been dead for years. Still, he has more followers

than the people he killed. You know, I'm all aboard the social media destroying

society train, but it's not a cause worthy of murder.

We rationalized his murders through his message.

He warned people of the dangers of social media. He thought it was a just

which is why his therapist in the pit tried to humanize his victims. Just or

not, these were people.

That tracks.

Capsule's file says he was given Whitmore's empathy drug.

I've seen a lot of that.

It was effective.

As long as he maintained his dosage.

Oh, I must have worn off. Roliff got a ping on a body drop four blocks from

where he logged in.

Why is the DEA so interested in a dead influencer?

Oh, Becky Roman is actually an undercover informant for a sting

running.

If you say so, buddy.

Any details on cause of death?

Asphyxiation. Death by banana muffin.

Definitely a new one.

Well, we're going to need to place to ourselves there, pal.

Okay. So Becky was clearly in the middle of making a video when Lou killed her.

That speaks to his old MO, but... All of his previous kills were quick and

improvised.

In public.

This feels more intentional.

Is that because of how he desecrated the body post -mortem? I mean, he savored

the chance to humiliate her. That kind of viciousness speaks to an increased

level of emotional engagement.

I only got Lou's therapy to thank for that.

All of the other kills were successful influencers.

I mean, Becky's got a decent following, but nothing like the others, so... Why

her?

Hey,

Morales, what's up?

A new video was just uploaded to Becky's Snapmax.

Oh, that seems unlikely.

I'm sending it to you now. Thanks.

Hi, everyone.

my final post.

I need to apologize.

I haven't been honest with you.

The truth is I hate baking.

It's messy and it never turns out right no matter how close I stick to the

recipe.

I'm not special.

I'm just a nobody.

And a liar.

But I hate everything about what social media has turned me into.

This is tough to watch.

I am a fraud.

And if we're being honest, I might as well tell you, I don't even really eat

baked goods.

I'm gluten free.

Yep. How messed up is that?

This is the part where normally I'd swap out the burnt muffins for the pretty

store -bought ones.

But not today.

I guess that's gross.

Okay.

So then, um, for the last time... We need to take this down.

If we can't do that, that'll tip off Lou that we're on tour.

Just remember, make every day sweet.

You think she knew Lou was going to post this?

Yeah, I do.

I think Lou got Becky to make that final video before he killed her.

And he forced her to post it as some kind of warning?

This is what social media can do. No, this was a confession.

He wanted Becky to confront how social media had turned her into a dishonest

version of herself.

How did Lou know she was a fake?

I don't know.

But I think he wanted Becky's followers to take it to heart.

We need to figure out how he targeted her before he set this out for the next

victim.

Show me where that is.

Yep.

I don't understand. Who would want to hurt Becky? I know this must be hard.

Were the two of you close? She was a good neighbor.

Very focused on building her brand.

But the building smelled nice. Well, with her bacon all the time.

Yeah, when she wasn't sitting with smoke alarms.

I mean...

She was a sweet girl, but let's just say I made sure those fire extinguishers

were up to code. No, that's good.

When's the last time you two spoke?

Yesterday. She was all excited because someone was coming over this morning to

do a, you know, a collab.

Sorry, there was another influencer over this morning? And apparently it was

kind of a big deal. Whoever this person was, she said she had a huge following.

Okay. Do you know this person's name by any chance?

Yeah. It was kind of dumb.

Miss Confection.

Oh, hey, check this out.

Becky and Miss Confection have been messaging for the past three weeks, and

their DMs really took off.

Well, it looks like Miss Confection started her channel two months ago.

She's already racked up over 100 ,000 followers.

That's not normal, is it?

It is if you buy them.

Miss Confection was supposed to meet Becky at her apartment this morning, and

she did, she either found Becky dead or she... Or she found Lou, and he gets two

influencers for the price of one. Okay, her real name is Christina Custodio.

Morella's just sent me her address. It's ten minutes away. Here, I'll punch it

in.

Christina, you home?

Claire.

What the hell is all this?

This is Louie's place.

How did he afford all of this?

Bot farming, stealing and selling identities, hacking into bank accounts.

you're a good enough coder, making fast bots is never a problem.

Everything's still running. I think he saw us coming.

Hey guys, I cannot wait for y 'all to see my latest post.

I've never tried making these before, but I've been wanting to make them

forever.

Sourdough spinach feta croissant.

Now, I know what you may be thinking.

Aren't croissants really tough enough?

Well, like I like to say, when the going gets tough, the tough get baking.

So let's give it a whirl, Miss Convection style.

What the hell?

Miss Convection isn't real.

What do you mean?

It's a fake avatar Lou created to catfish Becky.

She doesn't exist.

Okay. Go.

How's it look?

Like she's you. Or you're her.

I don't know. Try saying something again.

Abracadabra.

How does this even work?

Well, I've hacked into his system, and people like Lou use AI avatar generators

to create virtual people like Miss Confection.

It happens all the time.

They're so human -like, it's hard to tell the difference.

But Lou then used advanced generative video creation tools to make his avatar

whatever he wants, like Miss Confection baking.

Just like those deep fake girlfriends people fall in love with.

What? I saw a documentary.

It's not just fake girlfriends.

AI avatars like Lil Miquela do fashion campaigns, brand integrations, you name

it, and she's 100 % not a real person.

And judging from Ms.

Confection's comment and DM history, 99 % of the people that follow her don't

have any idea she's AI.

Whoa.

Please tell me these aren't influencers that lose targeting.

No. These are all avatars he's created.

What's going on? What is this?

Morales? Peck?

You guys have anything?

Nothing.

Who are you?

Yes. You.

Blondie.

What are you, deaf?

Here, use this.

Here, got this.

I should have seen this coming. That was careless.

The moment our team found Lou's computer salon, I should have known it was a

trap.

What exactly is going on? Lou set a tripwire, and I tripped it.

Damn it.

Lou's virus fried the entire server.

Even the backups got hit.

How long do you think it'll take before we get our computers up and running?

Hey, this isn't your fault.

Just get us back online, okay?

Okay.

Okay.

I'm an FBI agent.

We know Miss Confection is an avatar you made up, Lou.

Well, kudos to you then.

That's more than I can say for Becky, huh?

But what can you expect from minds that have begun to rot from the inside out?

You really think that you're going to convince people social media is the

problem when you're the one out there using it to kill them?

Oh, I actually disagree.

You know, we used to reward creativity, we used to reward innovation, and now

we're just obsessed with our own reflections online.

Hmm?

God, humanity is going down the drain so fast.

Addiction, depression, anxiety.

Our lives feel broken, not because they are, but because nothing can compete

with edited, rehearsed perfection.

God, we pay more attention to the little lights in our phone than we do to the

real world around us.

People think that social media is not bad for you, but they're wrong.

So what? You're just going to kill influencers? That's your answer?

You know that these are people, right?

People? Oh, barely.

Becky's was a pitiful existence.

Look, she was a lab rat.

She was addicted to the dopamine drug of life. I gave humanity a

beautiful gift, a gift to unite us, and people like Becky turned that into a

cesspool of narcissistic banality.

She didn't know what to like, what to believe in, until it went viral.

So you know what I did? I freed Becky from the maze.

And I will keep helping people like Becky until humanity wakes up.

Is something funny?

Yeah, Lou, some free advice for you. If you're in a wage war and narcissistic

banality, then maybe don't speak in cliches.

I am speaking truth to power.

And I think what scares you is that my message is resonating.

People like what I say. They're tired of sleepwalking through the abyss.

Millions have seen my face.

Millions have heard my voice since I was captured by somebody much, much smarter

than you. Truth to power.

Lou, you are lying to yourself. You want to talk about being a fraud? You're not

mad at influencers.

You're mad because you felt ignored your whole life.

And these snuff films, those are your banana, not muffins. You don't know

anything about me.

But, uh, maybe I'll teach you something, huh?

Sorry. Wait, who's that other guy?

That's his next victim.

Hey, it's time to take your juice.

Lou, no! Wait!

Hang in there, buddy. Ooh, rock hard.

You're going to be famous, Rory.

My name is Rebecca Henderson. I'm with the FBI. Can you tell us who you are and

where you are right now?

I'm Rory.

Rory LaSquadral.

I'm in 924 Samuelson Court. Rory, we're on our way. We're sending an ambulance.

I can't die.

I don't want to die, please.

Hasani?

Got him.

Clearing. He's OD 'ing on steroids.

Shane, come down.

Rory, can you hear me?

Can you hear me?

Ambulance is on the way. You're going to be fine.

Got you, Rory.

Let's lay him down.

Head? Yep.

Claire, is he breathing?

Barely.

Ambulance on the way, Rory. Hang in there.

We got you. You'll be all right.

So you didn't catch Lou, but you did save Rory. That's no small feat.

Lou left Rory's laptop, trying to get in, but I'm definitely locked out.

Look, if he's following the same pattern as he did with Becky, his next move is

going to be to upload Rory's final post from wherever he is right now. When he

does that, we need to track his location. Can we do that?

Yes, as soon as I get the central server back up. How long is that going to

take? Let's go with as fast as I can. All right. I believe in you. Good luck.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. What is it? What can I do?

Lou's virus fried the entire system, but the physical server I initially

programmed when we started the command center shouldn't have been affected,

except that it's not here.

Someone must have replaced it and thrown it out when we were sidelined. I asked

for them to be upgraded.

You did this?

These are supposed to be better.

Well, unless they have them lying around somewhere, I'm gonna have to factory

reset this whole situation, which is time that we don't have.

The old servers are here. They're here? What do you mean? They're military

servers with top -secret information passing through them. They weren't

out.

Where are they?

Uh, yeah, come.

No luck?

Nope.

Hey, side note, did you ever get anywhere with that track and field

Lazarus? You know, running the five -minute mile? Any high school records?

No, it was a dead end.

What? Didn't find anything in there. Get into Rory's laptop yet?

No, just looking for the password.

How about you? Find anything useful?

Lots of swag.

That's not my style.

Muscle Marco.

That's one of Lou's fake avatars, and they were supposed to meet next week.

So Lou knew that we were on to him, and he came here earlier to attack Rory.

Well, if that's the case, then everybody losing catfishing is in serious danger

today.

Which one is it? Where is it?

Hey,

is this thing going to start?

I'm only two years old.

All right, now you can find Lou.

Only if I can hack into the main server for SnapMax before he uploads the video.

What's good, everyone?

Is your boy Rip Rory here?

This is going to be my final post.

My workouts are legit.

But... You know this muscle that you see here?

How this progress... Are not.

They're not.

Man, I'm on gear.

What am I doing?

I've been juicing, man.

Sorry to tell you, family. I've been juicing.

You know, I was so wrapped up in this.

Did you stop hovering all right, sorry, he's uploading it now Because it's so

hard to stay true to yourself for you when you feel like you're gonna keep up

with everybody else It's so hard man

Oh

My god, I'm okay the IP

address is 109 East 42nd Street

That's the headquarters for Snapmax in Manhattan.

How much do you want for it?

So Lou uploaded Rory's video from the SnapMax headquarters.

Looks like.

SnapMax just reached a billion subscribers.

They're a celebration with today. Every bigwig from the company would have been

there.

Including Linda Cranston?

Yeah, she was a keynote speaker.

Why did that name ring a bell?

Lou mentioned her in his therapy videos.

She was the CEO of SnapMax that hired him to build the app, then used it to

it into this vanity -fueled empire.

Lou's going after Linda.

Directing us to Rory's place was just a distraction to get us off the scent of

his ultimate prize. And if he is targeting Linda like he did with the

would have messaged her already.

Morales, I need you to scan all the DMs from Lou's fake avatar to see if there's

any messages between him and Linda Cranston.

I think that the CEO of a major social media company would be too tech -savvy

get catfished.

Huh. Easy makes it soft.

No, Peck's right. He would have had to up his game with Cranston. It may not

look like catfishing that he did with the others, but there's got to be

something.

Hey, there's this guy, Stuart Wyatt. He's been messaging Linda Cranston for

weeks.

Funny. You look like one of those protesters.

Okay, so Lou's pretending to be a real person because Linda knew this guy.

Yeah. And it looks like he knew her intimately.

Based on the messages that we're reading, Linda and the real Stuart had

affair years ago when they worked with Lou.

In the early stages of Snapmax.

Get in here, Stu.

Office romances, they're never a secret. And Lou knew that being a fake Stuart

was the best way to catfish Linda.

Well, let me guess. They're planning a rendezvous?

Their last messages were 30 minutes ago. She told him to come to her home.

I can't believe we're really doing this.

It's been so long.

Take off the mask.

It might be fun to leave it on.

Your voice sounds different.

A lot about me is different.

You could say that I'm a whole new Stu.

Okay, I can't take any more TV. I want to see your face.

Surprise.

You know, it is lovely light this high up.

Just connect with your followers.

Hello.

I'm Linda Cranston, CEO of SnapMax.

When I started this company, I said it would connect the entire world, create a

better global community.

But... But that was a lie.

The truth is...

Community doesn't sell.

SnapMax uses the proprietary algorithm to boost users who post the most

polarizing content.

Our AI micro -targets users with media that will enrage them.

That's a lot of technical jargon, Linda.

How about a little simpler for the lab rats in your maze?

We promote division.

But why?

Why would you do that, Linda Cranston, CEO of SnapMax?

Because anger goes viral.

Self -righteousness is addictive.

Everyone wants to think that only they can see the truth.

I run a company with shareholders.

No excuses!

The truth.

For once, Linda, for once in your life, you

wanted to get rich.

Yes, I wanted to get rich.

And you didn't care how many little lab rats you hurt in the process, did you?

You don't care.

Tell them. Tell the rats.

I didn't.

What about your children, Linda?

Do you treat them like little lab rats?

I don't even allow my children to use social media.

None of us do.

You don't want to do that. Who are you? We are the good guys. Linda, put the gun

down. Shoot her, Linda. Shoot her. Shut up.

How is he still alive? They said he died in prison. Linda, lower your weapon.

Just kill her, Linda. Kill her. Another word out of you.

I need that phone.

What? That recording. I need it. Now. I need to destroy it. What's the matter,

Linda? You're afraid people might see the real you for once? Shut up.

That video will never see the light of day. You have my word on it. Your word?

He's supposed to be dead.

Look, if I ever get something, I'll be ruined.

Give me the phone, now!

Linda, you don't want to hurt anyone, okay?

You just think that you're out of options, but you're not.

Whatever you've said, whatever you've done, it can be forgiven.

There is a chance at redemption, but that chance goes away if you don't put

gun down.

I'm... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

I know you have a lot of questions, but it's been a long day. So right now, have

a drink, take a bath.

Tomorrow, someone's going to reach out about next steps.

Okay?

Knock, knock.

Hey, you're still here.

Yeah, I was just writing up a report.

And don't worry, I left out the bit where you yelled at me.

Well, you know, stay away from my servers.

Now I know.

How do we even write up the things that we see in this job anyway?

Carefully.

You're hovering again.

Anything else that you need?

Are you going to ask me out or what?

No.

Maybe.

I'm not even sure I'm allowed to, you know, given the boss -employee situation

here. Oh, you think that I work for you.

I have been told that, you know,

I'm in charge.

Is that right?

Well, I think that we should settle this over a drink.

Hey, what's up? What are you doing right now?

Um, nothing. What's going on?

Turn on Channel 9.

What? Why?

Quick. You're gonna love this.

I've come down. Why?

Effective immediately.

I have decided to step down as CEO of SnapMac to focus on my family.

Whoa. Yeah.

That CEO speak for I did some shady stuff and now I'm bailing before anybody

finds out.

Noah Cyrus' convoy was attacked when it varied from the route at 2200 hours.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down and listen to me. I'm asking you, who authorized

change in the route?

That's what I'm telling you, sir. I have it right here.

That's impossible.

Look again.

Records show the prisoner transport was given field orders to reroute by agent

in charge, Jacob Hassani.

No, I am not creating an account.

Bex Files.

That's a good one.

Stone Cold Bex.

Not your worth. You've had worth.

All right, your turn. What about Secret Prison Garden? No.

Ooh.

Snack Man.

Snack Man.

Okay. I like that. I can get down with Snack Man.

Well, Snack Man, my food is here, so I'm going to say goodnight.

tomorrow, okay?

Okay, Stone Cold Bex.

See you then.

Good night.

Hi, Shane.

We need to talk.