By The Nerdling

7a.m. is approaching and several scores still need to be settled.

Spoilers will commence in 3…2…1…

With less than an hour to go, Joe has a ways to go before his soul can be purified. Rick and Jenna are next. Rick hired Joe to build security systems on a building the couple were reoutfitting. If you guessed Rick completely screwed over Joe, then you get a cookie.

Rick attempted to deny it at first, telling Joe and his wife he paid exactly what was owed. Even went as far as to say Joe was trying to extort them. Finally, when Jenna’s life is threatened, Rick confesses. The property failed and he cut corners where he could. He found a loop hole in Joe’s contract and didn’t pay him. Rick uses the same line we hear from people like him all the time. Everyone screws everyone over. I guess somehow that is supposed to make it all better.

Joe is not without some heart. He offers a compromise since Jenna is pregnant. Joe gives Jenna a gun with one bullet in it. If she shoots Rick, then Joe will let her go. She and her daughter can live in peace. Rick tells Jenna to do it, to live and take their daughter somewhere else. Not to let her grow up in this broken America. After some crying and pleading, Jenna pulls the trigger. Nothing happens, of course. Joe isn’t going to give someone a loaded gun. Purging is his right and no one else’s. He does keep his promise, Jenna is free to go.

As the couple’s “trial” is going down, Penelope discovered a bolt not tightened all the way down. She and the other woman come up with a plan. Penny uses the bolt to take the other woman “hostage” as her purge kill. Joe is freaked out his rightful victim is going to be taken by someone else and goes into the cage to stop them. Penny jams the bolt into Joe’s eye in one of the shows most gross-out moments. Everyone runs, Rick even grabs a gun for good measure.

As everyone tries to find their way out of the school, Pete and Miguel take care of Rex and the Carnival of Flesh guards using Joe’s traps outside the school. The two men rush inside the school and meet Jenna and Rick. They were separated from Penelope in the rush to get away. The group starts to get their bearings when one of the surviving CoF guards runs in firing his gun. Rick takes a few bullets for Jenna as he, Pete, and Miguel kill the guard. Pete is shot in the leg during the fire fight. He offers to stay behind with Jenna and the dying Rick while Miguel searches for Penelope.

Now on her own since the other woman was killed in a trap, Penelope finds a blocked door to the outside. She nearly makes it out when Joe finds her. As before, he blames her for all that has gone wrong. In the night, and with the country. He even goes so far as to ask where she was born (as a brown skinned woman, if I had a nickel for every time I was asked that question, I would be richer than Donald Trump claims to be).

Penelope has been the most fluid of all the characters on the series. In the span of one night, she has gone from Purge cult devotee, to Purge Night debunker. She poses the best question of the series. If the Purge does such a good job cleansing everyone of their hate, “wouldn’t we stop needing it?” This gets Joe to pause in his Nationalist rhetoric just long enough for Miguel to catch up. The brother and sister fight it out with Joe until the horn sounds.

The Purge is over, Joe’s mission was not accomplished. He gives Miguel his gun back with a shrug. Rules are rules. Of course, there is always next year as Bobby Sheridan declares. Miguel is not doing this all again next year with this crazy man. He shoots Joe and shoves him in the pool.

Flash forward to a year later as The Purge begins in one hour. Pete is readying his bar for the night. Miguel and Penelope have taken up the cause to be a mobile ambulance on Purge Night. Jenna has given up on America. She and her daughter live in France. But all is not great there either as the news reports the EU is entertaining talks of brining the Purge to their boarders.

Like election night, The Purge finale left us with small moments of hope. There was still some bitterness left when all was said done. The death of Jane still haunts me.

When the film series was first introduced in 2013 (hard to believe there was a time where The Purge was not a part of our lexicon), it was a dark mirror of America’s love of violence and guns. Since then, the series has taken on a new life in political commentary as Trump and his devotees spiral us all into a nation of extremes. With Trump’s attempts to trademark “Keep America Great”, The Purge becomes ever more riveting.

A new season will happen in 2019 to further explore Purge Night. Most likely with a new cast. I hope Pete the Cop makes another appearance. He is an interesting character and would make a great linking thread. I hope to meet Bobby Sheridan as well. He is mentioned too many times to not make an appearance eventually.

Till Next Year! Stay Safe!

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The Nerdling was born in the majestic land known as Texas and currently resides there after several years of journeying through Middle Earth in a failed attempt to steal the one Ring from that annoying hobbit, serving the Galactic Empire for a time, and then a short stint as a crew member on the Serenity. Since moving back to her homeland, Nerdling flirted with a hero reputation. Saving children from the dangers of adoring domineering, sparkly vampires (champions with souls are the only vampires worth loving) and teaching normals the value of nerdom, all while rooting for her beloved Dallas Stars. Then came the Sokovia Accords and her short spell of saving others came to an end. With Darth Vader’s reputation rightfully returning to badass status, Nerdling is making her way back to the Empire. They do have cookies, you know. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.