The Purge

The Purge movies became quite the cultural thing. I'm fairly certain that even people who never watched the movies are familiar with the premise. And I have to admit, that premise seems ripe to be exploited in a TV show. And yet while there is so much time to explore characters and backstories ... the first season feels quite flat.

Still while you get something more on their background, it does not feel enough to warrant certain things. First season almost entirely plays out during the Purge Night ... some flashbacks yes, but overall probably at least 90% are the night itself. And that is something that season 2 does way better. You start with the end of a purge night and then see the consequences of that ... that carry on for a year ... but even here you have flashbacks! So the season 2 is way more rewarding, dealing with a lot of issues and generally speaking the better season of the two. Not just because an apparently well know cameo in the last episode of the show! And as it looks the last episode overall. Another movie is supposed to come out (or should have been released if it wasn't for the Covid thing, you might have heard about that), but it seems we are nearing the end ... let's see how he movie is going to wrap things up. The show could have done with another season (imho)

After watching season 1 I wasn't sure I would see season 2. But I'm glad I did. It's so much better than season 1. I agree with the people saying that you should skip season 1. Season 1 4/10, Season 2 7/10.

I'm only writing beacuse I saw these few very negative comments. I don't get it. It's just the plot episode and you "foresee" how bad it will be? And the characters, settings, background etc. they all were quite well established, too! Some people are being negative for the sole sake of negativity.

8/10 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠 = Heavy Praise

Season 1 for The Purge TV series isn't that different from the movie itself. There are characters who have a small storyline that occurs throughout the nite during the purge which they extended through 10 episodes. Season 2 however is a much deeper and expanded out look answering the question we've all been quietly asking ourselves since the first movie was released in 2013, How does the city go about life the other 364 days of the year. What is revealed is a riveting portrayal of rules we knew nothing about. From the start we even meet the amazing voice actor behind the infamous woman who conducts the announcements. Yes I understand most people watch The Purge because of the violence and gore, I myself am a big fan of disturbing movies. I've seen the most sick and disgusting movies ever filmed throughout the world so I'm not squeamish but the scene featuring the murder of the strawberry dairy farmer is nothing to balk at for a TV series. It may only last about 30 seconds but the scene is very graphic and horrifying due to it's realistic appearance and overly harsh tone.

People by now should understand and have a good grasp of the many terrifying ways someone can be killed or hunted down during those 12 hours murder becomes legal. But fans should be anxious to learn more and commend the writers, showrunners and directors for keeping the story relevant and entertaining as it continues to grow and evolve. Kudos too those behind it.

The script and acting are good enough so far that they don't get in the way of the plot or visuals. We were expecting the entire first episode to be an extended tease of the mayhem to come, so were pleasantly surprised that it actually involved some action, though most of the episode was indeed setting up (interesting and diverse) back-stories.

It was also nice to see the plot dipping its toes into the social ramifications beyond the Purge franchise's usual standby of "people gonna die" or even "rich people gonna kill off the poor people." So it seems to be showing a lot more nuance and maturity than the two Purge movies I've seen so far.

I still think there's a good chance of this series becoming derivative and even tedious, but so far it looks good. I'm also somewhat dubious about making an entire series about a 12 hour event - I wasn't a huge fan of the 24 format. Though perhaps the season won't end when the purge does? For now I'm looking forward to watching the next episodes, finding out what happens to the main characters, and seeing how the social aspects develop.