The Purge – Season 2 Episode 8 Recap & Review

Purge Night Beckons

Purge night looms ominously on the horizon and for our quartet of characters, it all comes down to this. On the eve of the annual holiday, the final pieces move into alignment as we gear up for a dramatic, bloody couple of episodes to round out this second season. We begin in true Purge fashion, with an opening segment involving 3 girls getting dressed ready for Purge night.

It’s 12 hours before that fateful night too and we begin the episode with Ryan and Esme taking part in the group’s ritual before Purge night; dropping a knife between the fingers as an act of trust. These early celebrations are cut short though by the Captain arriving and being briefed on what’s happening. Marcus meanwhile leaves the house and arms the house defences, preparing for the worst. Out on the road, Marcus breaks his son’s arm in a desperate bid to keep him safe. It turns out the hospital is the only place off-limits on Purge night.

Ben meanwhile remains upstairs in his room, causing the other boys to begin worrying about him. Following the death of Kelen however, Ben is anything but sad. Enraged, he shaves his hair off and prepares to head out. It’s just as well too, as we cut forward to 3 hours before Purge night begins. Ryan and Esme call in their favour in the form of Vivian calling out a fake hit on Esme’s location in a bid to allow them to move the officers away.

As we slowly creep toward the start of thje Purge, Ben is confronted by the dorm boys who question his mental state. Given what we know about him already, he brushes aside the threat and stares them down as they point the crossbow at his face. Smirking, he snatches his stuff up and prepares to leave. Only, he sneaks in the upstairs window instead and begins stalking the boys one by one until he chokes out Turner.

Ryan double-crosses the captain and hits the jammer before speeding away. The Purge officially begins as he does, and bullets richochet across the runway as Ryan’s plan comes to fruition. As the group reconvene outside, Ryan sees prisoners on the transport bus and chases after them. Marcus meanwhile notices the hit on him has been lifted…but only because the NFFA arrive at his door instead where we leave the episode.

It looks like the next couple of episodes are going to descend into full-on Purge mode and while I have my own personal gripes with the massive time jumps between some episodes, I do like that the show has expanded on the Purge lore and showcased what happens outside this annual holiday.

While this episode doesn’t have an awful lot to write home about, it does do well to lay the foundation for a dramatic couple of episodes to follow. Quite what that holds in store for our characters though remains to be seen but I’m guessing not everyone will survive the holiday this time around.