The dystopia that writer James DeMonaco created has left audiences speechless since 2013. The Purge storyline is created based on the idea that for 12 consecutive hours, every year, the citizens of the United States of America recognize a “holiday” where almost all crime, including murder, is legal. While the results of the event leave behind dead bodies, broken-into buildings, and a whole hoard of disastrous wreckage, the US government happily announces that unemployment, poverty, and crime is at an all-time low the rest of the year. This statement alone makes the NFFA, New Founding Fathers of America, proud to continue on with the horrifying holiday. Each of the five Purge movies do a fair job building on this foundation of decriminalization, but the television series, The Purge, allows for the creation of more intricate storylines and character dynamics.
The TV series gives light to the commercialization of Purge Night by showing the preparation and excitement that goes into the event. From marketing agents deciding on what masks will sell the most, to cults believing in the cleansing power brought on by being purged, to television and theme parks basing their foundation on the cruel happenings of one night, it is evident that the night is a veil for the totalitarian government. By expanding storylines into ten 45-minute episodes rather than trying to connect several seemingly unrelated characters together in a matter of two hours, the audience is better able to follow a character's development and bring emotion when a character inevitably faces a gut-wrenching situation.
During Purge Night: Season 1
The opening scene of Season 1 begins with Penelope Guerrero (Jessica Garza) preparing for Purge Night with her death cult. Every young adult in this unsettling scene has taken proper care of their appearance and put on their identical blue robes to go out into the night in hopes of being purged. The narrative in this scene is Penelope reading a letter to her older brother, Miguel Guerrero (Gabriel Chavarria), letting him know that she is honored to be purged, so that she can join their parents in "The Invisible." Miguel, a US Marine who has just returned home to the States, begins a race against the clock to find his sister before she can be purged. The relationship between the two becomes a focus point for the season. It begs the question, "To what lengths would you go for your sibling?" From drug-addicted exes, Purge Night auctions, and discovering the truth behind the brainwashing cult, the pair does not give up on one another.
Jenna and Rick Betancourt (Hannah Anderson and Colin Woodell) shed light on what a white-collar Purge Night party looks like during the evening. Jenna, a charity-driven woman who loathes the night, and her husband attend an NFFA party in attempts to receive funding to go towards a greater cause. The couple is able to justify their decision because they see it as taking money from the bad and doing meaningful work with it. After discovering that the party is under attack, the couple barely makes it out alive to later endure a night full of even more frightening events. In this relationship, the audience is able to empathize with a pregnant mother trying to do right by her family, a man who is conflicted on where he stands on the holiday festivities, and the troubles that come with keeping secrets that reap dire consequences later down the line.
Jane Barbour (Amanda Warren) is a businesswoman who feels wronged by her misogynistic boss, David Ryker, so much so that she hires a hitman to take him out on Purge Night. Jane admits to the setup being very out-of-character for her and tries to justify to her hired help, more to herself, that what she is doing is the right thing because it is her right as an American to purge. When Jane's conscience wins her over, hours after the sirens have initiated the night, she flees her secure office in search of David to stop the killing. Unsurprisingly, Jane finds herself wishing she had stayed locked down for the night. In this scenario, it makes one wonder what they would allow slide 364.5 days of the year, and what they would deem worthy of murder. Would a horrible date be worthy of purging? Would inappropriate office banter? The conflicted morals that Jane displays are sure to hit home with a lot of people.
Joe Owens (Lee Tergesen) is the element in Season 1 that brings all the storylines together. After discovering a pro-Purge motivational speaker's lectures, Joe takes his message to heart. He feels that as a red-blooded, hard-working American man who has recently been laid off, he is due some peace via purging. Over the next several months, he not only orchestrates a plan to purge everyone who has severely wronged him or made him unhappy, but he holds his own sick version of trial to make his victims confess what they did to him. Joe creates fear by taking small inconveniences and natural daily happenings to the extreme and justifying one's life for his own peace. This character could very much be the friendly nextdoor neighbor, the man who holds the door open at a coffee shop, or the grocery bagger at the store. The need to please everyone all day every day becomes an active thought knowing that guys like Joe would exist if the purge came to our country.
After Purge Night: Season 2
Marcus Moore (Derek Luke) becomes a unique character when he is "randomly" targeted in his own home. As a successful African American man in a wealthy neighborhood, it would be reasonable to assume the hateful act was based on race, but that is not the case. After the sirens have concluded Purge Night, and Marcus finds himself still standing, he soon learns one of the secrets to the night: an online black market. Someone, or several people, anonymously took a hit out on Marcus, and the person to fulfill the act will receive the monetary reward. For a year, Marcus has this bounty over his head, and his fear and pride collide.
Ryan Grant (Max Martini) and Esme Carmona (Paola Núñez) form an unforeseen reliance after both find themselves in threatening situations after Purge Night has ceased. Ryan is a cop by day who spends the year planning for his Purge Night heist. When one of Ryan's partners is caught on private property after the sirens conclude, Esme, a surveillance analyst for the NFFA, flags him for arrest. Shortly after, Esme finds herself in trouble with the government for discovering their "suicide" coverups. The two come together to expose the NFFA as being fraudulent in their claims that purging reduces anger and hatred. This unlikely pair makes people reflect on their own integrity. Can a message be important enough to cost someone their life? Is it right to take from someone if the rewards help the less fortunate?
Ben Gardner (Joel Allen) is an ordinary college student. He lives in a fraternity house, he has a beautiful girlfriend, and he has to undergo an initiation into the brotherhood. Unfortunately for Ben, that means going out on Purge Night. While out with his fraternity brother, Ben finds himself trapped by a menacing purger. After quite a bit of bloodshed, Ben ends up being the one standing and holding the blade when the sirens sound to end the holiday. When he arrives at the fraternity house, everyone, including the friend who left him, is relieved that he made it back alive. Over the course of the following year, Ben finds that he cannot match the feeling he had when he was purging. It does not take long for Ben's curiosity to lead to murder. After he buys into the "Purging is good" message, Ben longs for the next holiday event.