The walls are closing in on Franck and his friends. Apple TV+’s gripping French thriller The Hunt has been masterfully building tension since its March 4 premiere, but Episode 3, titled “Collateral Damage,” just turned the screws until something broke. We already knew Franck (Benoît Magimel) was hiding a dangerous secret life of burner phones and mysterious affairs. We knew the group was being stalked by the shadowy hunters they clashed with in the woods. But this week, those two worlds finally collided with devastating consequences.
If you thought the discovery of shell casings in the mailbox was chilling, or that the news of Sonia’s kidnapping was stressful, you haven’t seen anything yet. Episode 3 delivers the fallout, and it is messy, violent, and utterly addictive. From Krystel learning the truth about her husband to Xavier’s fate hanging in the balance, here is everything that went down in the latest episode of The Hunt.
Franck’s Desperate Search for Sonia
The episode picks up exactly where the previous one left us: Franck receiving the terrifying call that his mistress, Sonia, has been taken. The panic in Magimel’s performance is palpable. He immediately shifts gears, reporting Sonia’s disappearance to the police, but he has to spin the narrative. He tells the authorities it’s likely the work of her “abusive ex-husband,” conveniently leaving out the fact that he’s having an affair with her or that a group of vengeful hunters might be involved.
This lie forces Franck into a silent prison. He has to attend a stuffy Mayor’s event with Krystel (Mélanie Laurent), smiling for photos while his mind is racing. He’s completely absent, scanning the crowd for threats. At one point, he overhears elderly women gossiping about the hunters, and he pounces, trying to get information. It goes nowhere, but it highlights his growing desperation. He’s hunting for answers in a town that seems to be closing ranks against him.
Krystel Connects the Dots on the Runaway Girl
While Franck is spiraling, Krystel is quietly doing what she does best: working. Her storyline with the runaway teen, Aya, which felt slightly disconnected in the first two episodes, snaps sharply into focus. At the shelter, a girl named Moda tells Krystel that her friend has vanished. Krystel realizes with a chill that the missing girl is Aya—the very same teenager she tried to help and protect.
This revelation is a masterstroke by the writers. It suggests that the danger plaguing Franck’s family isn’t just coming from the woods; it’s infiltrating every aspect of their lives. Krystel’s professional world of protecting vulnerable kids is now directly colliding with the criminal underbelly that her husband is entangled in. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s getting closer to the truth, just from a different angle.
The Affair is Exposed
The moment fans have been dreading (and waiting for) finally arrived. Krystel’s phone rings. It’s the hospital. Sonia has been found—badly beaten, traumatized, but alive. The police discovered her body dumped, and she’s been admitted. Krystel, being a doctor, goes to the hospital, and that’s where the walls cave in. She sees Franck there. She sees the look on his face. And Sonia, in her shaken state, confirms what Krystel already suspects in her gut: Franck and Sonia were involved.
The confrontation at home is raw and brutally real. Laurent plays Krystel not as a hysterical spouse, but as a woman who is dangerously calm because she is processing a profound betrayal. Magimel’s Franck stammers, deflects, and tries to explain, but there’s no excuse. The secret is out, and the foundation of their family has a gaping hole in it. In the midst of a survival thriller, The Hunt delivers a gut-punch of domestic drama that feels just as high-stakes.
Xavier’s Deadly Detour
While Franck deals with relationship fallout, Xavier (Damien Bonnard) is dealing with a potentially fatal problem of his own. His drug supplier, ominously known as “Cowboy,” has gone missing. Fearing for his own life, Xavier begs Franck for help. Franck, ever the man with connections, takes him to Eddy’s garage, where they find clues pointing toward a hunting lodge.
Franck investigates the lodge and finds evidence that someone was recently tortured there. The implication is clear: the drug trade and the hunting stalkers are likely connected. But the episode saves its biggest shock for Xavier. Driving home on a deserted, isolated road, his car breaks down. As he struggles to fix it, a van approaches. Xavier sighs in relief, thinking help has arrived. He walks toward the vehicle, and as the door slides open, we see them: the same armed, mysterious hunters from the woods. The screen cuts to black. It’s a classic, terrifying cliffhanger that leaves us wondering if Xavier just walked into his own execution.
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The Calm Before the Bloodshed
The Hunt Episode 3 is a brilliant piece of slow-burn tension. It takes the paranoia established in the premiere and turns it into active chaos. Secrets are spilling out everywhere: Franck’s affair is public, the hunters are now physically intercepting the group, and the police are going to have questions about a missing drug dealer and a beaten mistress. The title “Collateral Damage” is perfect—this isn’t just about hunting game anymore; it’s about the wreckage of lies.
With only three episodes left, the series is poised to explode. Can Krystel trust the man she’s married to? Will Xavier survive that van? And what happens when the police investigation into Sonia’s assault crosses paths with the hunting incident? We’ll find out next Wednesday. One thing is for sure: nobody on this show is safe.
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