If you believed the Pit made people better, Zack Lang is the perfect example that it only sharpens the blade; in other words, someone who’s more intense and edgy. Here's my recap and review of The Hunting Party, "Zach Lang."
Meet Zack Lang (guest star Michael Stahl-David), who wasn't always the most hated man in America. Before the Pit, he was a "Millennial Robin Hood" with a cult following for robbing and murdering the 1%. But post-escape, his MO has taken a dark, elitist turn.
But Lang is now targeting the poor and vulnerable. He doesn't just kill them; he dresses them in bespoke suits and sears luxury watches into their orbital sockets. That is, until he had made a fortune in Bitcoin before his incarceration, Lang used his riches to create a "crypto scam" farm, lure in desperate workers, and turn them into his latest "projects."
Bex and the team discover Zack's "American Psycho" look stems from his childhood. As a teen, Zack killed a family cat and dressed it with his mother's jewelry to impress his wealthy father. After being rejected and kicked out, Zack's revenge shifted from the rich to those who remind him of his poverty, turning them into symbols of a father who never loved him.
But while the team was hunting Lang, Bex was doing her own hunting. In the episode's final moments, she uncovers the bombshell we’ve been waiting for: Colonel Lazarus is actually Caitlin Taylor, a former inmate of the Pit with a history of extreme violence. The "warden" is just another wolf in a different suit.
"Zack Lang" was an essential, though somewhat "standard," episode of The Hunting Party. It nicely illustrated how the Pit can really change a person’s original motivations, all while accelerating the big mystery of "Lazarus." Now that Bex knows who her boss truly is, things are about to become a lot more exciting and dangerous.
Michael Stahl-David brilliantly brought Zack Lang to life with just the right touch of "skin-crawlingly arrogant' charm. The production design, especially recreating Zack’s childhood bedroom for the final showdown, was truly outstanding. It created a claustrophobic and unsettling atmosphere, emphasizing how the Pit’s "rage room" therapy seemed to make Zack even more deliberate in his violence.
My main critique? Zack Lang kind of felt like a "Serial Killer Bingo" card—parental rejection, animal cruelty, narcissistic tendencies—all checked off. The show does a wonderful job at exploring why these characters act the way they do, but Zack seemed a little less "unique" compared to some of the others we've seen. Also, while the team’s banter is usually a real highlight, it felt a bit overshadowed by the weighty Lazarus subplot.
What did you think of "Zach Lang"? What did you think of the Lazarus reveal? Did you suspect her all along, or were you hoping for a different "Pit" connection? Let’s theorize in the comments!
You can catch The Hunting Party on Thursday at 10/9c on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.
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