WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Hunters season 2, episode 7!Throughout Hunters season 2, episode 7, "The Home," Jonah tells Hitler a “ghost story,” which explores the important, haunting backstory of Zev during World War II. Hunters season 2 jumps through time as the final season explores Jonah’s hunt for Hitler in 1979, Meyer’s formation of the hunters between 1975 and 1977, Chava’s Nazi-hunting history in 1972, and young Zev’s dangerous backstory in 1942. Zev, who turns out to be Chava’s former significant other, faced very different horrors during World War II than Ruth and Meyer, so it makes sense that Hunters season 2 dedicated an entire episode to his experiences.
In Hunters season 2’s 1942 flashback, Zev and his family are revealed to be hiding in the walls, attic, and below the floorboards of a German couple’s home. When the couple is questioned by Nazi officers, they explain that the noises in the house are from ghosts, which Zev later explains is what Hitler made them become while in hiding. When Nazi officers continue to investigate, it’s revealed that the German architect filled his home with death traps to kill the Nazis and keep Zev’s Jewish family safe. Hunters implies that Zev later used such tactics in his Nazi-hunting career with Chava, which he began after Nazis discovered and killed the rest of his family.
Zev’s Backstory Gives A Different Perspective On Jewish Experiences Outside The Camps
In contrast to the many flashbacks to the concentration camps in Hunters season 1's real-life-inspired story, Zev’s backstory is significant by depicting different horrors experienced by Jewish people during World War II. Some Jewish families were able to avoid the camps by hiding in homes, but they were still living in horrible conditions and risking their lives each day in hiding. The majority of the characters in Hunters season 1 who survived the Holocaust, such as Ruth, Mindy, and Murray, told stories about the horrors in camps, but Zev’s story of hiding in homes is just as important in showing the variety of terrifying experiences faced by the Jewish population during World War II.
Zev’s backstory also gives some insight into how he and Chava survived together before Hunters' main timeline, as he used the architectural traps he learned from Hölstrom to keep Nazis from finding him. Zev and Chava also had very different experiences during World War II, with Chava having escaped the camps while Zev was hiding from Nazis in walls throughout his childhood, which brings more perspectives to their path for revenge and Nazi-hunting partnership. While adult Zev only appears in one scene, his story adds an important layer to the themes of Jewish empowerment that Hunters season 2 emphasizes in the depictions of the real experiences faced by survivors.
Zev’s Ghost Story Connects Back To Chava & Jonah’s Hunters Season 2 Introduction
Amazon's 2023-ending TV show positions Zev’s tale as a “ghost story,” as his family had to pretend they were dead or invisible throughout World War II in order to survive. When Chava introduces herself to Jonah as Ruth’s sister, he says that isn’t possible because her sister died in the camps, to which Chava responds, “Then I must be a ghost. And this must be a ghost story.” Connecting to Zev’s story, a ghost is exactly what Chava had to become. Ruth and Jonah were under the impression that Chava was killed by the Nazis but, like Zev, Hunters’ Chava lived under the illusion that she was dead to survive and continue her work.