When Each Story Takes Place
James Stevens Hunters season 2 features multiple storylines taking place at different times, including extensive flashbacks of Al Pacino's character Meyer Offerman.
WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Hunters' season 2 finale!Hunters season 2 primarily follows two storylines set at different times in the 1970s, with two other flashback stories taking place even earlier. Picking up two years after Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman) discovered that Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino) was actually the cruel Nazi doctor Wilhelm Zuchs, Hunters season 2 sees the rag-tag group of Nazi hunters reunite for one last mission. The main storyline in Hunters season 2 follows the title team hunting down Adolf Hitler in Argentina, while the secondary story goes back in time to explore the truth behind why Meyer/Wilhelm originally formed the Nazi-hunting group.
The concept of multiple timelines isn’t new to Hunters, as season 1 of the Amazon original series primarily took place in 1977 with frequent flashbacks to Ruth’s time in the concentration camps in the early 1940s. Amazon’s Hunters season 2 follows a similar formula, but the many time jumps within episodes can be difficult to keep track of. Including Jonah’s hunt for Hitler, Meyer’s flashbacks to forming the hunters, Chava’s Nazi-hunting flashback, and Zev’s “ghost story,” the many timelines in the final season of Hunters are able to properly wrap up the characters’ stories and daring missions.
Jonah’s Hunt For Hitler Is Set In 1979
The primary storyline of Hunters season 2 is set in 1979, two years after Jonah killed The Wolf. From the time Jonah kills Biff and discovers Hitler is alive to the time that he and the hunters manage to place Hitler behind bars for the remainder of his life, the year is still 1979. The main timeline seems to only take place over the course of a few months at most, with the actual hunt for Hunters' real-life Nazi Hitler likely taking no longer than a couple of weeks in 1979.
However, it’s unclear whether the timeline crosses into 1980 when Jonah and Clara get married in Hunters’ series finale. While Jonah told Chava that their wedding date was set for October 10, 1979, Lonny won an Oscar by the time the hunters go to Jonah’s wedding, which likely would have needed to occur in the following calendar year. Though it’s unconfirmed, it seems that Hunters leaves off in 1980 as Jonah secretly tracks a Nazi in Miami on his honeymoon with Clara.
Meyer/The Wolf’s Flashbacks Are Set Between 1975 And 1977
Meyer’s flashbacks in Hunters season 2 begin in 1975, depicting the secret Nazi as he receives a letter from another hidden officer calling him “Wilhelm.” Throughout the next two years, Meyer begins killing Nazis who could potentially expose his identity while also recruiting a team of hunters to his cause. His first recruit is Hunters season 1's returning character Joe, a former employee of his business who he brought on board in 1975. Throughout 1976, Meyer brings Ruth, Lonny, Harriet, Roxy, Mindy, and Murray onto his Nazi-hunting team.
Meyer’s flashback timeline ends in 1977 when he orders the death of Jonah’s grandmother Ruth Heidelbaum. The final scene for Meyer in Hunters season 2 takes place in 1977, two months after Ruth’s death, when he brings Jonah to his home and officially recruits him to the hunters, thus aligning with events of Hunters’ season 1 story. By the end of the season 2 finale, it’s clear that the Hunters character of The Godfather's Al Pacino was brought back in order to confirm that he was the one who killed Ruth after she discovered his true identity.
Chava’s Nazi-Hunting Flashback Takes Place In 1972
Ruth’s sister Chava is revealed to have survived in Hunters season 2, with her introduction being a flashback to 1972. In the flashback, Chava travels to Austria on Van Glooten’s Day and inquires about Hitler to a man who owns a candy shop. Because the candy shop owner didn’t stop Hitler’s escape, Chava removes his eyes and places them on a butter sculpture. This is the only flashback to Chava’s past that Hunters season 2 includes, but it works to show that Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character has been hunting Hitler for more than seven years before Hunters’ main timeline.
Zev’s Haunting “Ghost Story” Takes Place In 1942
Hunters season 2’s penultimate episode explores the past of brand-new characters, as Jonah tells Hitler a “ghost story.” The story’s timeline is set in 1942 at the home of a couple in Germany who is hiding a Jewish family in their home. This turns out to be the backstory of Zev, the future Nazi hunter who Chava fell in love with many years later, who learned how to make elaborate traps from the German architect. While the flashbacks to the 1940s in season 1 primarily explored the lives of Ruth and Meyer in the camps, Hunters season 2’s 1942 flashback provides a different terrifying perspective of the horrors faced by Jewish people who were in hiding during the war.
