The Hunting Party (2025) s02e06 Episode Script
Lou Kaplan
1
Previously on "The Hunting Party"
It's called The Pit.
It's home to the most dangerous
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.
[gunfire]
[slow tempo music]
[horn honks]
♪
[coffee maker screeching]
Trouble
Ooh, wait.
Can you 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.
- [notification chimes]
- 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. What can I get you?
Hi. Drip coffee, please.
[dramatic music]
TotesTina here.
And it is time to reveal
the newest addition
to Tina's Less to Impress list.
First off, I need you guys to go
no, not go, run
to the cutest new coffee bar
I 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, ugh,
it makes my lips just feel so
[shouts]
[horn honks]
[suspenseful music]
♪
[indistinct chatter]
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 Hasani will explain,
we have a problem.
Last night, the convoy
transporting Noah Cyrus was attacked.
Everyone, including Cyrus, was killed.
[suspenseful music]
Do we know who did it?
Why would somebody do this?
Could have been one of Cyrus' followers
that we didn't know about?
This is way too complicated
for someone of the 13th Hour.
Who else knows about the convoys?
Just my people at CIA.
Well, clearly, you're mistaken.
Someone outside of this command
knew exactly when and where to ambush
a covert prisoner transport.
So either a member of your team
is talking
or one of you is.
♪
Colonel
As it stands, the Pentagon has insisted
upon a certain balance of powers
in the recovery efforts.
So that means, Agent Hasani,
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 H89, Lou Kaplan.
A.K.A., the Selfie Slayer.
Not to brag, but low-key,
I created a program
to alert me if any inmates,
logged on to their dormant
social media platforms.
Wow, that's very clever.
Thank you.
It uses malware software
I designed to bypass VPNs.
It looks like Lou 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 vanity, vitriol,
and self-isolating behavior."
So I'm guessing the nickname
the Selfie Slayer is not a metaphor.
His M.O. is interesting.
Despite the fact
that he carefully selected
and then stalked these victims for days,
the kills themselves were semi-improvised
and always public.
This one, he threw into oncoming traffic
as she was livestreaming.
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 exposé 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.
- Gross.
Yeah.
If he's already logged
back into SnapMax again,
he's probably stalking victims.
Let's head out.
[suspenseful music]
OK, time to shine.
[sighs]
Just remember, be bright.
Be bold.
Be Becky.
[blows]
Ahh.
Oh, please
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.
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 gonna want to start
with two cups of all-purpose flour.
♪
Next, we're gonna crack two eggs.
[suspenseful music]
[sighs] Damn it.
♪
[sighs]
Take seven.
[sighs]
[dramatic music]
[shouting]
[shushing]
[airplane whirring]
You guys get the feeling
Lazarus knows more
about this convoy hit
than she's letting on?
I mean, her pointing fingers
at us is definitely theater.
She knows something.
So do I.
Cyrus's convoy deviated from
its planned route last night.
♪
Maybe they saw the attack coming?
Well, there was no report of
contact before the firefight.
OK, so now we have two mysteries
who attacked the convoy
and how it got deviated
in the first place.
[suspenseful music]
♪
[electronic beep]
[suspenseful music]
[breathes shakily]
♪
What comes next?
The eggs?
Then why are you looking at me?
Crack the eggs.
[sighs]
♪
[sighs]
♪
[cries]
Bravo.
OK, now say it.
♪
[breathes shakily]
Ah!
[gasping]
Becky,
say it.
[breathes shakily] OK.
Hi, everyone.
This is gonna be my final post.
[moans]
[dramatic music]
♪
[airplane whirring]
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, right?
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 clear to 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,
jonesing for another hit
of dopamine, right?
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. [chuckles]
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 skill.
Did you guys know his account
has 10 million followers on SnapMax?
Huh.
World thinks this guy's
been dead for years.
Still, he has more followers
than the people he's killed.
You know, I'm all aboard
the social media's
destroying society train,
but it's not a cause worthy of murder.
Lou rationalized his murders
through his message.
He warned people the dangers
of social media.
He thought it was a just cause,
which is why his therapist at the Pit
tried to humanize his victims.
Just or not, these were people.
That tracks.
Kaplan's file says he was
given Whitmore's empathy drug.
I've seen a lot of that.
It was effective,
so long as he maintained his dosage.
Well, it must have worn off.
Morales got a ping on a body drop
four blocks from where he logged in.
[suspenseful music]
♪
Why is the DEA so interested
in a dead influencer?
Oh, um,
Becky Roman is actually
an undercover informant
for a sting operation we're running.
If you say so, buddy.
Any details on cause of death?
Asphyxiation.
Death by banana muffin.
That's definitely a new one.
Well, we're gonna need the
place to ourselves there, pal.
♪
Thank you.
♪
OK.
So Becky was clearly
in the middle of making a video
when Lou killed her.
That speaks to his old M.O., but
all of his previous kills
were quick and improvised
and public.
This feels more intentional.
Is that because of how he
desecrated the body postmortem?
I mean, he savored the chance
to humiliate her.
That kind of viciousness
speaks to an increased level
of emotional engagement.
Well, we 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?
[phone vibrates]
Hey, Morales, what's up?
A new video was just
uploaded to Becky's SnapMax.
Well, that seems unlikely.
- I'm sending it to you now.
- Thanks.
[breathes shakily] OK.
Hi, everyone.
This is gonna be my final post.
And to start, I
I need to apologize.
I haven't been honest with you.
The truth is
♪
The truth is, I hate baking.
[sobs]
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.
Yeah, how messed up is that?
So now 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 growth.
[dramatic music]
OK.
So then, um,
for the last time
We need to take this down.
We can't do that.
That'll tip off Lou that we're on to him.
Just remember,
make every day sweet.
♪
You think she knew
Lou was gonna post this?
[suspenseful music]
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 sets his sights
on the next victim.
[suspenseful music]
♪
[dramatic music]
- Show me where that is?
- Yep.
I-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.
Bet the building smelled nice,
what with her baking all the time.
Yeah, when she wasn't
setting off smoke alarms.
I mean, she was a sweet girl,
but let's just say,
I made sure those fire
extinguishers were up to code.
Oh, 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 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.
OK, uh,
do you know this person's name
by any chance?
Yeah, it was kind of dumb,
MissConfection.
[suspenseful music]
♪
Oh, hey, check this out.
Becky and MissConfection
have been messaging
for the past three weeks,
and their DMs really took off.
Oh, it looks like MissConfection 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.
[siren blaring]
MissConfection was supposed to meet Becky
at her apartment this morning.
And if she did, she either
found Becky dead or
Or she found Lou,
and he gets two influencers
for the price of one.
OK, her real name is Christina Custodio.
Morales just sent me her address.
It's 10 minutes away.
Here, I'll punch it in.
[siren blaring]
[electronic beep, door clangs]
[dramatic music]
♪
[knocks on door]
Miss Custodio?
♪
Christina, you home?
OK.
♪
[suspenseful music]
♪
Clear.
What the hell is all this?
[clattering]
This is Lou's place.
How did he afford all of this?
Bot farming, stealing
and selling identities,
hacking into bank accounts.
If you're a good enough coder,
making a fast buck 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.
[voice modulated & doubled] I've never
tried baking these before,
but I've been wanting
to make them forever
sourdough spinach feta croissants.
Now, I know what may be thinking.
Are croissants already tough enough?
Well, like I like to say,
when the going gets tough,
the tough get baking.
So let's give it a whirl,
MissConfection-style.
[suspenseful music]
What the hell?
MissConfection isn't real.
What do you mean?
It's a fake avatar
Lou created to catfish Becky.
She doesn't exist.
♪
[suspenseful music]
♪
[dramatic music]
♪
OK, go.
[suspenseful music]
♪
[voice modulated] How's it look?
Like she's you.
Or, um, you're her.
I don't know. Try saying something again.
[voice doubled] 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 MissConfection.
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 do whatever he wants,
like MissConfection baking.
[voice doubled] It's like those deep fake
girlfriends people fall in love with.
- Yes.
- [voice doubled] 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 MissConfection's comment
and DM history, 99% of the
people that follow her
don't have any idea she's AI.
[beeping]
Whoa.
Please tell me these aren't influencers
that Lou is targeting.
No, these are all avatars he's created.
[beeping]
What's what's going on? What is it?
[high-pitched squealing]
No, no, no, no.
Ah, ah, ah.
Ah, ah, ah.
Ah, ah, ah.
Ah, ah, ah.
Whoa.
- Morales? Peck?
- [electronic beep]
You guys have anything?
Nothing.
Who are you?
Yes, you,
Blondie.
♪
What? Are you deaf?
♪
I said, who are you?
Ah, ah, ah.
Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah.
[beeping]
No!
[dramatic music]
♪
[rapid beeping]
♪
Morales. Here, use this.
Oh, you're a godsend.
[beeping]
♪
Oh, I should have seen this coming.
I was careless.
The moment our team found
Lou's computer still on,
I should have known it was a trap.
What exactly is going on?
Lou set a tripwire, and I tripped it.
[sighs]
[beep] 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?
[beeping]
Hey,
this isn't your fault
All right? Just get us back online, OK?
OK.
OK.
♪
[dramatic music]
I'm an FBI agent.
We know MissConfection 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 gonna convince people
social media is the problem
when you're the one out there
using it to kill them?
[suspenseful music]
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's not bad for you,
but they're wrong.
So what?
You're just gonna 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 likes.
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, hmm?
And I will keep helping people like Becky
until humanity wakes up.
[chuckles]
♪
Is something funny?
Yeah, Lou, some free advice for you,
if you're gonna wage war
on 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 nut muffins.
You don't know anything about me.
But, uh,
maybe I'll teach you something, huh?
[whirring]
Rory.
Wait, who's that other guy?
That's his next victim.
It's time to take your juice.
[groans] No, don't.
Lou! No, wait!
[shudders]
Hang in there, buddy. Ooh, rock hard.
[dramatic music]
You're gonna 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 Losquadro. I'm in 924
Samuelson Court.
- Rory, we're on our way.
- Please hurry.
- We're sending an ambulance.
- I can't die.
I don't want to die, please.
[sirens wailing]
[dramatic music]
♪
Hasani?
Got him.
Clearing.
He's OD'ing on steroids.
Shane, cut him down.
[suspenseful music]
Hey, Rory, can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Ambulance is on the way.
You're gonna be fine.
- You got him?
- Yep.
Got you, Rory.
Let's lay him down.
- Got his head?
- Yep.
♪
Clear.
Is he breathing?
Barely.
Ambulance is on the way, Rory.
Just hang in there.
We got you.
You're gonna 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 gonna 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?
- Uh, yes,
as soon as I get
the central server back up.
How long is that gonna take?
Let's go with as fast as I can.
All right, I believe in you. Good luck.
[dramatic music]
Oh, no. No, 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. [chuckles] Uh
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.
Oh, OK.
Uh, 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 thrown out.
Where are they?
Yeah, come on.
Damn it.
Still no luck?
Nope.
Hey, side note.
Did you ever get anywhere with
that track and field theory
about Lazarus, you know,
running the five-minute mile?
Any high school records?
No, it was a dead end.
♪
Bummer.
♪
OK. Um
- What?
- So
Didn't find anything in there.
Get into Rory's laptop yet?
Nope, just looking for the password.
How about you? Find anything useful?
Uh [sputters] Lots of swag.
That's not my style.
MuscleMarco.
That's one of Lou's fake avatars,
and they were supposed to meet next week.
So Lou knew that we were onto him,
and he came here earlier to attack Rory.
Whoa, if that's the case,
then everybody Lou's been catfishing
is in serious danger today.
♪
Which one is it? Where is it?
♪
Oh, hey.
Hey, is this thing gonna start?
It's only two years old.
[whirring]
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?
It's your boy, RippedRory, here.
This is gonna be my final post.
My workouts are legit,
but
all this muscle that you see here,
all this progress,
are not.
They're not.
Man, I'm on gear.
What am I doing?
I've been juicing, man.
I'm sorry to tell you, family.
I'm juicing.
You know, I was so wrapped up in this
- Did you
- Just stop hovering.
Sorry. I'm sorry.
He's uploading it now.
Because it's so hard to stay
true to yourself when you
when you feel like you gotta
keep up with everybody else.
[dramatic music]
It's so hard, man.
♪
[beeping]
Boom, I got him.
OK, uh,
the IP address is 109 East 42nd Street.
That's the headquarters
for SnapMax in Manhattan.
[crowd chanting "Lou was right"]
♪
[horns honking, shouting]
♪
What's wrong, Linda?
Scared of growing a conscience?
[shouting]
That's a nice mask.
How much you want for it?
♪
So Lou uploaded Rory's video
from the SnapMax headquarters.
Looks like SnapMax just
reached a billion subscribers.
Their celebration was today.
Every bigwig from the company
would have been there.
Including Linda Cranston?
Yeah, she was the keynote speaker.
Why does 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 turn 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 others,
he would have messaged her already.
Morales, I need you to scan all
the DMs from Lou's fake avatar,
see if there's any messages
between him and Linda Cranston.
♪
You know, I think that the CEO
of a major social media company
would be too tech savvy to get catfished.
Ah, C-suite makes you 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.
[knocks on door]
♪
Funny, you look like
one of those protesters.
OK, 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 an 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.
Morales, let me guess,
they're planning a rendezvous?
Their last messages were 30 minutes ago.
She told him to come to her home.
[suspenseful music]
Oh.
I can't believe we're really doing this.
It's been so long.
Come on. Take off the mask.
Ah, it might be fun to leave it on.
Your your voice sounds different.
A lot about me is different.
You could say that I'm a whole new Stu.
OK, I can't take any more teasing.
I want to see your face.
[gasps] Oh, God.
Surprise.
♪
You know, it is lovely light
this high up.
[suspenseful music]
OK.
Just relax.
Just connect with your followers, hmm?
♪
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 a proprietary algorithm
to boost users who post
the most polarizing content.
Our AI micro-targets users
with media that will enrage them.
It'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 who demand
[exclaims] 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 care.
♪
What about your children, Linda?
♪
Do you treat them like little lab rats?
Oh, God.
I don't even allow my
children to use social media.
None of us do.
- [door cracks]
- Kaplan! Don't!
- [gunshot]
- [groaning]
♪
[gasping]
♪
Whoa, 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.
- Hey.
- Not another word out of you.
I 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.
Linda, that video will
never see the light of day.
- You have my word on it.
- Your word.
He's supposed to be dead.
If that ever gets out, I'll be ruined.
Give me the phone, now!
Linda, you don't want to hurt anyone, OK?
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 the gun down!
[suspenseful music]
I'm I'm sorry.
[sobbing] I'm so sorry.
[suspenseful music]
[breathing heavily]
♪
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.
OK?
[weakly] OK.
♪
[sighs]
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.
- [chuckles]
Ugh, how do we even write up the things
that we see in this job anyway?
Carefully.
[soft music]
You're hovering again.
♪
I am.
Is there anything else that you need?
♪
[chuckles]
Are you gonna 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?
Hmm.
Well, I have been told that, you know,
I'm in charge.
Is that right?
[chuckles]
Well, I think that we should
settle this over a drink.
♪
[suspenseful music]
♪
[phone vibrating]
Hey, what's up?
- What are you doing right now?
- Um, nothing.
- What's going on?
- Turn on channel nine.
What? Why?
Quick, you're gonna love this.
Just calm down.
why, effective immediately,
I have decided to step down
as CEO of SnapMax
to focus on my family.
- Whoa.
- Yeah,
that's 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.
Listen to me.
I'm asking you who authorized
the 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 Hasani.
♪
[engine revving]
OK, what about BadGuyBuster?
No, I am not creating an account.
BexFiles.
That's a good one.
StoneColdBex.
It's not your worst. You've had worse.
All right, your turn.
What about SecretPrisonGuard
- No.
- [chuckles]
Ooh
SnackMan.
SnackMan?
OK, I like that.
I can get down with SnackMan.
[knocking on door]
Well, SnackMan, my food is here,
so I'm gonna say good night.
I'll see you tomorrow, OK?
OK, StoneColdBex.
- See you then.
- Good night.
[knocking on door]
♪
Hi, Shane.
We need to talk.
♪
Sub extracted from file & improved by
[dramatic music]
♪
Previously on "The Hunting Party"
It's called The Pit.
It's home to the most dangerous
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.
[gunfire]
[slow tempo music]
[horn honks]
♪
[coffee maker screeching]
Trouble
Ooh, wait.
Can you 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.
- [notification chimes]
- 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. What can I get you?
Hi. Drip coffee, please.
[dramatic music]
TotesTina here.
And it is time to reveal
the newest addition
to Tina's Less to Impress list.
First off, I need you guys to go
no, not go, run
to the cutest new coffee bar
I 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, ugh,
it makes my lips just feel so
[shouts]
[horn honks]
[suspenseful music]
♪
[indistinct chatter]
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 Hasani will explain,
we have a problem.
Last night, the convoy
transporting Noah Cyrus was attacked.
Everyone, including Cyrus, was killed.
[suspenseful music]
Do we know who did it?
Why would somebody do this?
Could have been one of Cyrus' followers
that we didn't know about?
This is way too complicated
for someone of the 13th Hour.
Who else knows about the convoys?
Just my people at CIA.
Well, clearly, you're mistaken.
Someone outside of this command
knew exactly when and where to ambush
a covert prisoner transport.
So either a member of your team
is talking
or one of you is.
♪
Colonel
As it stands, the Pentagon has insisted
upon a certain balance of powers
in the recovery efforts.
So that means, Agent Hasani,
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 H89, Lou Kaplan.
A.K.A., the Selfie Slayer.
Not to brag, but low-key,
I created a program
to alert me if any inmates,
logged on to their dormant
social media platforms.
Wow, that's very clever.
Thank you.
It uses malware software
I designed to bypass VPNs.
It looks like Lou 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 vanity, vitriol,
and self-isolating behavior."
So I'm guessing the nickname
the Selfie Slayer is not a metaphor.
His M.O. is interesting.
Despite the fact
that he carefully selected
and then stalked these victims for days,
the kills themselves were semi-improvised
and always public.
This one, he threw into oncoming traffic
as she was livestreaming.
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 exposé 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.
- Gross.
Yeah.
If he's already logged
back into SnapMax again,
he's probably stalking victims.
Let's head out.
[suspenseful music]
OK, time to shine.
[sighs]
Just remember, be bright.
Be bold.
Be Becky.
[blows]
Ahh.
Oh, please
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.
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 gonna want to start
with two cups of all-purpose flour.
♪
Next, we're gonna crack two eggs.
[suspenseful music]
[sighs] Damn it.
♪
[sighs]
Take seven.
[sighs]
[dramatic music]
[shouting]
[shushing]
[airplane whirring]
You guys get the feeling
Lazarus knows more
about this convoy hit
than she's letting on?
I mean, her pointing fingers
at us is definitely theater.
She knows something.
So do I.
Cyrus's convoy deviated from
its planned route last night.
♪
Maybe they saw the attack coming?
Well, there was no report of
contact before the firefight.
OK, so now we have two mysteries
who attacked the convoy
and how it got deviated
in the first place.
[suspenseful music]
♪
[electronic beep]
[suspenseful music]
[breathes shakily]
♪
What comes next?
The eggs?
Then why are you looking at me?
Crack the eggs.
[sighs]
♪
[sighs]
♪
[cries]
Bravo.
OK, now say it.
♪
[breathes shakily]
Ah!
[gasping]
Becky,
say it.
[breathes shakily] OK.
Hi, everyone.
This is gonna be my final post.
[moans]
[dramatic music]
♪
[airplane whirring]
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, right?
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 clear to 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,
jonesing for another hit
of dopamine, right?
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. [chuckles]
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 skill.
Did you guys know his account
has 10 million followers on SnapMax?
Huh.
World thinks this guy's
been dead for years.
Still, he has more followers
than the people he's killed.
You know, I'm all aboard
the social media's
destroying society train,
but it's not a cause worthy of murder.
Lou rationalized his murders
through his message.
He warned people the dangers
of social media.
He thought it was a just cause,
which is why his therapist at the Pit
tried to humanize his victims.
Just or not, these were people.
That tracks.
Kaplan's file says he was
given Whitmore's empathy drug.
I've seen a lot of that.
It was effective,
so long as he maintained his dosage.
Well, it must have worn off.
Morales got a ping on a body drop
four blocks from where he logged in.
[suspenseful music]
♪
Why is the DEA so interested
in a dead influencer?
Oh, um,
Becky Roman is actually
an undercover informant
for a sting operation we're running.
If you say so, buddy.
Any details on cause of death?
Asphyxiation.
Death by banana muffin.
That's definitely a new one.
Well, we're gonna need the
place to ourselves there, pal.
♪
Thank you.
♪
OK.
So Becky was clearly
in the middle of making a video
when Lou killed her.
That speaks to his old M.O., but
all of his previous kills
were quick and improvised
and public.
This feels more intentional.
Is that because of how he
desecrated the body postmortem?
I mean, he savored the chance
to humiliate her.
That kind of viciousness
speaks to an increased level
of emotional engagement.
Well, we 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?
[phone vibrates]
Hey, Morales, what's up?
A new video was just
uploaded to Becky's SnapMax.
Well, that seems unlikely.
- I'm sending it to you now.
- Thanks.
[breathes shakily] OK.
Hi, everyone.
This is gonna be my final post.
And to start, I
I need to apologize.
I haven't been honest with you.
The truth is
♪
The truth is, I hate baking.
[sobs]
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.
Yeah, how messed up is that?
So now 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 growth.
[dramatic music]
OK.
So then, um,
for the last time
We need to take this down.
We can't do that.
That'll tip off Lou that we're on to him.
Just remember,
make every day sweet.
♪
You think she knew
Lou was gonna post this?
[suspenseful music]
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 sets his sights
on the next victim.
[suspenseful music]
♪
[dramatic music]
- Show me where that is?
- Yep.
I-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.
Bet the building smelled nice,
what with her baking all the time.
Yeah, when she wasn't
setting off smoke alarms.
I mean, she was a sweet girl,
but let's just say,
I made sure those fire
extinguishers were up to code.
Oh, 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 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.
OK, uh,
do you know this person's name
by any chance?
Yeah, it was kind of dumb,
MissConfection.
[suspenseful music]
♪
Oh, hey, check this out.
Becky and MissConfection
have been messaging
for the past three weeks,
and their DMs really took off.
Oh, it looks like MissConfection 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.
[siren blaring]
MissConfection was supposed to meet Becky
at her apartment this morning.
And if she did, she either
found Becky dead or
Or she found Lou,
and he gets two influencers
for the price of one.
OK, her real name is Christina Custodio.
Morales just sent me her address.
It's 10 minutes away.
Here, I'll punch it in.
[siren blaring]
[electronic beep, door clangs]
[dramatic music]
♪
[knocks on door]
Miss Custodio?
♪
Christina, you home?
OK.
♪
[suspenseful music]
♪
Clear.
What the hell is all this?
[clattering]
This is Lou's place.
How did he afford all of this?
Bot farming, stealing
and selling identities,
hacking into bank accounts.
If you're a good enough coder,
making a fast buck 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.
[voice modulated & doubled] I've never
tried baking these before,
but I've been wanting
to make them forever
sourdough spinach feta croissants.
Now, I know what may be thinking.
Are croissants already tough enough?
Well, like I like to say,
when the going gets tough,
the tough get baking.
So let's give it a whirl,
MissConfection-style.
[suspenseful music]
What the hell?
MissConfection isn't real.
What do you mean?
It's a fake avatar
Lou created to catfish Becky.
She doesn't exist.
♪
[suspenseful music]
♪
[dramatic music]
♪
OK, go.
[suspenseful music]
♪
[voice modulated] How's it look?
Like she's you.
Or, um, you're her.
I don't know. Try saying something again.
[voice doubled] 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 MissConfection.
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 do whatever he wants,
like MissConfection baking.
[voice doubled] It's like those deep fake
girlfriends people fall in love with.
- Yes.
- [voice doubled] 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 MissConfection's comment
and DM history, 99% of the
people that follow her
don't have any idea she's AI.
[beeping]
Whoa.
Please tell me these aren't influencers
that Lou is targeting.
No, these are all avatars he's created.
[beeping]
What's what's going on? What is it?
[high-pitched squealing]
No, no, no, no.
Ah, ah, ah.
Ah, ah, ah.
Ah, ah, ah.
Ah, ah, ah.
Whoa.
- Morales? Peck?
- [electronic beep]
You guys have anything?
Nothing.
Who are you?
Yes, you,
Blondie.
♪
What? Are you deaf?
♪
I said, who are you?
Ah, ah, ah.
Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah.
[beeping]
No!
[dramatic music]
♪
[rapid beeping]
♪
Morales. Here, use this.
Oh, you're a godsend.
[beeping]
♪
Oh, I should have seen this coming.
I was careless.
The moment our team found
Lou's computer still on,
I should have known it was a trap.
What exactly is going on?
Lou set a tripwire, and I tripped it.
[sighs]
[beep] 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?
[beeping]
Hey,
this isn't your fault
All right? Just get us back online, OK?
OK.
OK.
♪
[dramatic music]
I'm an FBI agent.
We know MissConfection 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 gonna convince people
social media is the problem
when you're the one out there
using it to kill them?
[suspenseful music]
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's not bad for you,
but they're wrong.
So what?
You're just gonna 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 likes.
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, hmm?
And I will keep helping people like Becky
until humanity wakes up.
[chuckles]
♪
Is something funny?
Yeah, Lou, some free advice for you,
if you're gonna wage war
on 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 nut muffins.
You don't know anything about me.
But, uh,
maybe I'll teach you something, huh?
[whirring]
Rory.
Wait, who's that other guy?
That's his next victim.
It's time to take your juice.
[groans] No, don't.
Lou! No, wait!
[shudders]
Hang in there, buddy. Ooh, rock hard.
[dramatic music]
You're gonna 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 Losquadro. I'm in 924
Samuelson Court.
- Rory, we're on our way.
- Please hurry.
- We're sending an ambulance.
- I can't die.
I don't want to die, please.
[sirens wailing]
[dramatic music]
♪
Hasani?
Got him.
Clearing.
He's OD'ing on steroids.
Shane, cut him down.
[suspenseful music]
Hey, Rory, can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Ambulance is on the way.
You're gonna be fine.
- You got him?
- Yep.
Got you, Rory.
Let's lay him down.
- Got his head?
- Yep.
♪
Clear.
Is he breathing?
Barely.
Ambulance is on the way, Rory.
Just hang in there.
We got you.
You're gonna 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 gonna 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?
- Uh, yes,
as soon as I get
the central server back up.
How long is that gonna take?
Let's go with as fast as I can.
All right, I believe in you. Good luck.
[dramatic music]
Oh, no. No, 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. [chuckles] Uh
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.
Oh, OK.
Uh, 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 thrown out.
Where are they?
Yeah, come on.
Damn it.
Still no luck?
Nope.
Hey, side note.
Did you ever get anywhere with
that track and field theory
about Lazarus, you know,
running the five-minute mile?
Any high school records?
No, it was a dead end.
♪
Bummer.
♪
OK. Um
- What?
- So
Didn't find anything in there.
Get into Rory's laptop yet?
Nope, just looking for the password.
How about you? Find anything useful?
Uh [sputters] Lots of swag.
That's not my style.
MuscleMarco.
That's one of Lou's fake avatars,
and they were supposed to meet next week.
So Lou knew that we were onto him,
and he came here earlier to attack Rory.
Whoa, if that's the case,
then everybody Lou's been catfishing
is in serious danger today.
♪
Which one is it? Where is it?
♪
Oh, hey.
Hey, is this thing gonna start?
It's only two years old.
[whirring]
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?
It's your boy, RippedRory, here.
This is gonna be my final post.
My workouts are legit,
but
all this muscle that you see here,
all this progress,
are not.
They're not.
Man, I'm on gear.
What am I doing?
I've been juicing, man.
I'm sorry to tell you, family.
I'm juicing.
You know, I was so wrapped up in this
- Did you
- Just stop hovering.
Sorry. I'm sorry.
He's uploading it now.
Because it's so hard to stay
true to yourself when you
when you feel like you gotta
keep up with everybody else.
[dramatic music]
It's so hard, man.
♪
[beeping]
Boom, I got him.
OK, uh,
the IP address is 109 East 42nd Street.
That's the headquarters
for SnapMax in Manhattan.
[crowd chanting "Lou was right"]
♪
[horns honking, shouting]
♪
What's wrong, Linda?
Scared of growing a conscience?
[shouting]
That's a nice mask.
How much you want for it?
♪
So Lou uploaded Rory's video
from the SnapMax headquarters.
Looks like SnapMax just
reached a billion subscribers.
Their celebration was today.
Every bigwig from the company
would have been there.
Including Linda Cranston?
Yeah, she was the keynote speaker.
Why does 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 turn 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 others,
he would have messaged her already.
Morales, I need you to scan all
the DMs from Lou's fake avatar,
see if there's any messages
between him and Linda Cranston.
♪
You know, I think that the CEO
of a major social media company
would be too tech savvy to get catfished.
Ah, C-suite makes you 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.
[knocks on door]
♪
Funny, you look like
one of those protesters.
OK, 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 an 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.
Morales, let me guess,
they're planning a rendezvous?
Their last messages were 30 minutes ago.
She told him to come to her home.
[suspenseful music]
Oh.
I can't believe we're really doing this.
It's been so long.
Come on. Take off the mask.
Ah, it might be fun to leave it on.
Your your voice sounds different.
A lot about me is different.
You could say that I'm a whole new Stu.
OK, I can't take any more teasing.
I want to see your face.
[gasps] Oh, God.
Surprise.
♪
You know, it is lovely light
this high up.
[suspenseful music]
OK.
Just relax.
Just connect with your followers, hmm?
♪
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 a proprietary algorithm
to boost users who post
the most polarizing content.
Our AI micro-targets users
with media that will enrage them.
It'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 who demand
[exclaims] 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 care.
♪
What about your children, Linda?
♪
Do you treat them like little lab rats?
Oh, God.
I don't even allow my
children to use social media.
None of us do.
- [door cracks]
- Kaplan! Don't!
- [gunshot]
- [groaning]
♪
[gasping]
♪
Whoa, 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.
- Hey.
- Not another word out of you.
I 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.
Linda, that video will
never see the light of day.
- You have my word on it.
- Your word.
He's supposed to be dead.
If that ever gets out, I'll be ruined.
Give me the phone, now!
Linda, you don't want to hurt anyone, OK?
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 the gun down!
[suspenseful music]
I'm I'm sorry.
[sobbing] I'm so sorry.
[suspenseful music]
[breathing heavily]
♪
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.
OK?
[weakly] OK.
♪
[sighs]
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.
- [chuckles]
Ugh, how do we even write up the things
that we see in this job anyway?
Carefully.
[soft music]
You're hovering again.
♪
I am.
Is there anything else that you need?
♪
[chuckles]
Are you gonna 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?
Hmm.
Well, I have been told that, you know,
I'm in charge.
Is that right?
[chuckles]
Well, I think that we should
settle this over a drink.
♪
[suspenseful music]
♪
[phone vibrating]
Hey, what's up?
- What are you doing right now?
- Um, nothing.
- What's going on?
- Turn on channel nine.
What? Why?
Quick, you're gonna love this.
Just calm down.
why, effective immediately,
I have decided to step down
as CEO of SnapMax
to focus on my family.
- Whoa.
- Yeah,
that's 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.
Listen to me.
I'm asking you who authorized
the 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 Hasani.
♪
[engine revving]
OK, what about BadGuyBuster?
No, I am not creating an account.
BexFiles.
That's a good one.
StoneColdBex.
It's not your worst. You've had worse.
All right, your turn.
What about SecretPrisonGuard
- No.
- [chuckles]
Ooh
SnackMan.
SnackMan?
OK, I like that.
I can get down with SnackMan.
[knocking on door]
Well, SnackMan, my food is here,
so I'm gonna say good night.
I'll see you tomorrow, OK?
OK, StoneColdBex.
- See you then.
- Good night.
[knocking on door]
♪
Hi, Shane.
We need to talk.
♪
Sub extracted from file & improved by
[dramatic music]
♪