The Purge 1x01 What Is America?

 

I’ve never seen any of The Purge movies but I know enough about them to have come to the conclusion that they’re essentially a questionably executed pretty interesting idea, done over and over again. A 12 hour period when every and all crime is legal, and for some reason all anybody can think about is murder? Please. I have more faith in people than that. Most of us would probably do stuff that would be actually beneficial for us in the long run, like rescue animals from kill shelters, or loot a bookstore. Am I just really naive? Maybe. Probably. The point is, I don’t know anything about the bigger mythology of the franchise, if such a thing even exists, which means I’ll probably miss tons of references and such in the TV series, at least until I finally bring myself to watch the movies.

Right! That said, I really enjoyed the premiere. I didn’t understand much of it but it was atmospheric, mildly scary and already a bit nuts, and that’s exactly what I expected. So far there seem to be three separate storylines, but I’m sure they’re gonna intertwine eventually as the night progresses. „The night”, I say, because I’m assuming the whole season is going to take place during this magical 12 hours, which is pretty cool in itself if executed right.

For our main characters so far, we have Miguel, a soldier looking for his sister Penelope, who got swept up in this weird cult whose members willingly give themselves up to be bludgeoned to death by masked people on Purge night, because this way their soul can be cleansed and they can go to the great beyond completely innocent, or something like that… so you know, like a regular cult. 

Rick and Jenna are a couple who are spending this particular nigth at a party hosted by some rich people, whose rich daughter they once had a threesome with. The people at this party are supposed to be totally safe from the Purge but these two seem to be genuinely terrified just to be there. Why? We don’t know yet. What we know is that the party is held in honour of the New Founding Fathers, who I gather are the party currently in charge of this version of America, and they’re responsible for the existense of the Purge, which these rich people just absolutely love. They even distribute masks of the faces of famous murderers, like Lizzie Borden, Jeffrey Dahmer, and one of the Manson girls, to honour these brave heroes who „purged before it was legal”. What a bunch of weirdos.

Our final main character is a lady named Jane, who holds a high position at a company where she spends the night with a group of co-workers after leaving her sick mama in the hospital, which is apparently a place protected during the Purge. Initially she seems like a pretty innocent person, but then she gives a bunch of money to this other girl in exchange for… Purging someone, or multiple someones, in her name, I would guess.

So there we have this colourful cast of desperate people. How far they will go to save themselves and their loved ones during the Purge, and how, if at all, are they connected? We have 10 episodes to find out.