“Hunters”

By Megan Bormann

Amazon Prime’s newest series is the fictional story of Jonah Heidelbaum, a young Jewish boy living in New York City in 1977. Jonah is an orphan and resides with his grandmother, Ruth, a Holocaust survivor. Jonah witnesses his grandmother’s murder and starts an investigation that leads him to a team of Nazi hunters led by Ruth’s friend Meyer Offerman. 

Logan Lerman stars as Jonah and offers an agitated persona to a youth struggling to find his place in a country that has a history of persecution and oppression. The show also stars Al Pacino as Meyer Offerman, a soft-spoken but fiercely loyal Nazi hunter devoted to ridding the world of people who escaped justice for their crimes. His character provides a gentle father figure for Jonah after he loses everyone he’s ever loved. 

The plot of the show could be construed as problematic. The story features a blend of badass action sequences, heartwarming familial moments, and graphic scenes depicting fictional events from the Holocaust. Critics have pointed out that the plot struggles with fact versus fiction and could lead to serious misconceptions about concentration camps and the Holocaust. 

The actors’ performances are the most notable aspect of the series. Lerman and Pacino are passionate about their mission and the rag-tag bunch of hunters gives the audience a feeling of kinship and sacrifice that is much needed in today’s world.