Episode Recap: New Holy Ground

The Hunters get ready for their big trip home as Abby looks after an increasingly paranoid Musa, who's confused as to why it's taking him so long to heal and worried that The Exalted are lurking about. He goes to the Quins to 'feed' in an attempt to regain his strength. This ritual is kind of gross and freaks Abby out.

Elsewhere, Regan tells Jackson about McCarthy wanting to cut a deal. He tells her to bring him in ... and not to worry about Finnerman. After giving Finnerman's corpse a McCarthy-style spinal tap, Jackson shows it to Regan and Flynn, claiming that the Hunters have killed her to show that they can get to any of them. They seem to buy it ... sort of.

Flynn offers McCarthy immunity and safety in exchange for intel. McCarthy won't tell them the launch location ... but he'll take them to it. Jackson agrees, but says that if he pulls anything funny he'll kill him himself.

The team gets ready to leave, but at the last minute McCarthy throws a curveball: your average spaceship wouldn't be fast enough to get to the Hunters' planet, so Musa has utilized materials similar to something called 'Project Orion.' After rushing out to warn the Defense Secretary, Jackson tells Flynn that Project Orion was a spaceship program from back in the '50s that was designed to utilize nuclear energy; its launch would've necessitated nuclear explosions, the fallout of which would've covered the entire continent.

Yeah, so. Complications.

Flynn pulls Emme out of school and sends her to live with her aunt in Canada. She resists, saying that she lost Abby and she won't lose him, too. He says that he can't pretend to be her dad anymore and she's better off with real family (we think he's lying!), but she says that she loves him. He says he loves her, too. So tragic.

At Hunter headquarters, Musa lashes out at Liana after she tells him that he looks unwell. He starts to strangle her, demanding to know whose side she's on. She replies with "My own kind" and injects Musa in the neck with something that knocks him out. A Quin rushes to his aid but Liana takes an axe to its chest. Don't mess with Liana, unless you're Regan! A groggy Musa tells Abby that Liana has been poisoning him with his so-called 'medication'; she is one of The Exalted, and must be stopped.

Jackson rallies the troops to raid the launch site. Briggs thinks McCarthy is playing them and they should just put him out of his Hunter misery when the mission is complete, but Jackson's willing to take the risk and keep his promise. Also, they may need more intel and should keep McCarthy in the vehicle until after the raid. Briggs doesn't seem so sure about that ... and hints that he knows what really happened to Finnerman. Great.

The ETU arrives in Mexico and McCarthy leads them to launch site, where Flynn sees Abby looking on as Hunters board the spaceship. Jackson briefs the team: Once the Mexican government has evacuated its citizens from the surrounding area, they will raid the Hunter camp. Regan and Flynn will isolate as many Hunters as possible and Briggs will disarm the ship.

McCarthy tells Briggs that he's gotten what he wanted: the ETU will attack and probably kill Musa, and he'll be free as a bird. He releases himself from his shackles in the back of the truck and prepares to blow this pop stand, but Briggs shoots him in the face. No! McCarthy's dead? But he's great! Well, not great, but ... you know.

When Jackson gets wind of this and tells Briggs he's way out of line, Briggs says that somebody needs to do the right thing ... and that if Jackson wants him to keep quiet about what happened to Finnerman, he'll let him do whatever he needs to do to take out these guanos once and for all. Jackson reluctantly reports that he ordered McCarthy's execution and tells Briggs to lead the raid.

Regan speaks in Hunter language to lure the guards into a precarious position and the ETU soldiers take them down. Liana commands her minions to get Musa on the ship and prepare for takeoff. Abby confronts Liana and they get into a major fight, during which Liana reveals that The Exalted believe that Hunters are meant to conquer humankind. Suddenly, Regan comes in and shoots Liana, sending her running away.

Flynn finds a now almost completely crazed Musa, who tells him that he's the only human who has ever survived The Great Hunt ... a sign that he is the only one who can protect Musa, his people and humankind from The Exalted, who will destroy the Earth like locusts. Musa claims he sent 'an angel' (Abby) to look after Flynn so they could ultimately work together. Flynn, who's had just about enough of this crap, points out that Musa has made his life hell for six years and shoots him. Musa counter-attacks, but Flynn crazily rips his head open! The one remaining Quin attacks Flynn but Abby kills it and saves him. OMG ROMANCE!

Jackson tells Briggs that even though the ship's launch has been sabotaged, the nukes remain set to blow ... in seven minutes. They debate whether to get the Hunters off the spaceship to free them from certain death but ultimately decide they don’t have time. Abby tries to save her people from the ship but she can't get the door open. Flynn urges her to come with him or else they will die, too.

Regan comes upon Liana, who tells her that it was Musa who sabotaged the ship's takeoff. Now, they either run off together, or die together.

As Jackson and Briggs make their getaway, Jackson furiously inquires as to Regan's location as Briggs notices McCarthy's body is missing (hmm!). Abby and Flynn drive away in another car, looking at each other mournfully as they take each other's hands.

The bombs explode, killing hundreds of Hunters.

In Pripyat, Russia, a radio report claims that the explosion was the result of a failed terrorist attack that killed the entire team of terrorists. Regan and her mother walk into a warehouse filled with Hunters in their native forms. "Welcome home," says Liana, as Regan looks on with ambivalence.

End of Season 1.