Recap: The Hunting Party "Adrian Gallo"

If you slept peacefully after the latest episode of The Hunting Party, because that hour was pure nightmare fuel. Here’s my recap and review of "Adrian Gallo."

Did anyone else have trouble sleeping after Thursday night? The Hunting Party just dropped an episode that was equal parts art film and full-blown nightmare fuel. If you thought the Season 2 premiere was intense, “Adrian Gallo” cranked the dial to an unsettling, resin-coated eleven.

This week, the team heads to New Mexico to track down Adrian Gallo ( played by Edoardo Ballerini, terrifyingly calm), a fugitive from The Pit with a very specific method of murder: encasing his victims alive in acrylic resin to “preserve their beauty” forever. You know… normal stuff.

Bex and the team are joined by Detective Erica Burke (guest star Niecy Nash-Betts), the legendary investigator who originally put Gallo away. Erica is clearly haunted by the case — her partner, Jack, was one of Gallo’s victims — and watching her connect with Bex over shared grief (RIP Oliver) gives the episode its emotional backbone. It’s the calm center before everything goes completely off the rails.

Just when you think you’re watching a standard “catch the monster” hour, the show pulls the rug out hard. Gallo isn’t the only one obsessed with resin.

In a genuinely shocking reveal, Erica turns out to be a copycat killer. After years of chasing Gallo, the darkness followed her home. She murdered her own partner and hid victims inside the walls of her house, quietly “finishing” what Gallo started. The episode builds to a tense showdown as Shane and Hassani race to stop her before Bex becomes the next addition to her collection.

““Adrian Gallo” is easily the strongest episode of The Hunting Party to date. It breaks out of procedural comfort, fully embraces psychological horror, and reminds us that those who hunt monsters often struggle with their own inner demons.

Niecy Nash-Betts is unreal. She plays Erica with such grounded, exhausted authority that when the truth comes out, it’s bone-deep chilling. Her speech about how “one bad day” can rewrite your DNA is easily one of the best moments the show has delivered so far.

The horror is stylish and disturbing, with the image of someone waking up inside a hardening block of resin is pure nightmare logic, absurd, yes, but horrifying in exactly the way The Hunting Party does best. It’s glossy, grotesque, and impossible to shake.

And then there’s Bex, the real story here isn’t just the killer, it’s what the killer represents. Erica is a mirror: a good cop who crossed the line after loss and obsession hollowed her out. After Oliver’s death, Bex is standing right at that edge, and the show knows it. This episode feels less like a case of the week and more like a warning. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

What did you think of "Adrian Gallo"? So… did you clock Erica as the copycat, or were you too busy trying not to think about those resin blocks? And do you think Bex is headed for a corruption arc this season? Let’s talk in the comments.

You can catch The Hunting Party Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.